Page 37 of Walking in Darkness

This bastard couldn’t be far.

I was halfway down the block when I spotted him. He was on the opposite side of the street outside a small restaurant. He leaned against the dingy brick wall like it was his post, flanked on either side by two other men.

He was probably in his late twenties and had dark, slicked-back hair. Wearing slacks and a striped button-down shirt.

I felt it swarm.

A cloud of lechery and self-indulgence all mixed in a vat of cruelty.

He was the one.

Didn’t miss that his eyes moved to the girls at the end of the street—checking hisproperty—before he slanted them back to me.

I could feel it burn into my side, and the raucous conversation the other two guys were having clanked off when they noticed where their boss had set his attention.

I kept facing forward, acting like I hadn’t noticed them lurking across the street.

Minding my own business.

Oblivious.

Which wasn’t the smartest game plan, either, considering the fuckers were likely to jump me, though I guessed there was something about me that kept them rooted.

Or maybe some lone bastard wasn’t worthy of their time. They had more important crimes to keep them busy, like coercing vulnerable runaways into chains.

Violence pulled through my consciousness, and I had the urge to turn, rush across the street, and take all three of them out.

But I couldn’t attack without a plan. I had to play this smart. Couldn’t act so recklessly, the way I used to do. Running into situations with guns blazing, not really caring if I came out whole on the other side.

Nothing to lose.

Now I had Aria. Now I had thiscompletenessthat throbbed inside me.

Her face passed behind my eyes, and my stomach churned in disquiet.

The last thing I wanted was for her to feel like I’d disrespected her.

Belittled her.

That hadn’t been my intention, even though I’d seen the offense and worry playing through those gorgeous eyes.

But it felt like my responsibility to keep her from this.

I couldn’t imagine her walking down this street with me. Putting her in even more danger than she was already in.

It seemed risky and imprudent.

Unnecessary when keeping her safe was the only thing that mattered.

I had to do this on my own, and I had to get this piece of shit by himself.

Wait it out or come up with a way to lure him out.

Needed this fast and clean so I could get back to Aria.

So I kept moving, making a right at the intersecting road, walking all the way down the block before I made another right, winding around so I would come back toward the girls in the opposite direction from where I’d begun.

The whole time, I calculated.