Better When He's Bold

I tried in vain to brush some of the grossness off my pants, but had no such luck.

“What do you mean some guy was following me? What does Race have to do with anything?”

The guy shoved shaking hands through his gross hair and tugged on the oily strands, obviously upset.

“Race told me to keep an eye on you. I owe him so much money I couldn’t say no. There’s been a guy, I’ve seen him a couple times. He’s watching you. He followed you here tonight and was behind you when you got out of the car. This alley is dark and isolated on purpose. I didn’t want the guy to grab you or some shit. Race would fucking kill me for that, so I grabbed you instead. I wanted to warn you.”

He took a few steps back from me and pulled out his phone. I was still trying to get my head around the fact that Race was having someone follow me, when the greasy guy muttered, “I’m gonna call him.”

Just then my phone went off with Adria finally returning my calls.

“Where are you?”

I was scared and I was mad. It wasn’t a good combination.

“What do you mean?” She sounded sloppy and drunk.

“I came to get you like you asked. Where in the hell are you, Adria?” I wrinkled my nose as a whiff of whatever I had landed in snuck up into my nose. What an awesome way to end the night.

“I left with some guys that were really nice. I’m going to an after party back by the university. You should meet me there.”

Oh, for the love of all that was holy. I was going to murder her. I gritted my teeth and clenched my phone so hard in my hand that it hurt.

“Why did you ask me to come get you if you were just going to leave with a bunch of random dudes, Adria?” I was starting to really rethink calling her a friend.

“Oh, loosen up, Bry. You need to get out more. I knew you wouldn’t come hang out if I just asked you. You need to live a little. Come to the party! Oh, and bring the blond hottie. I saw him floating around the crowd while I was there; yummy.”

I hung up on her and had to seriously fight the urge to throw my phone back into the muck on the ground. I growled—actually growled like a beast—and looked back up at the nervous guy watching me.

“What did the guy who has been following me look like?”

“Yeah, Aldo, what did he look like?”

I spun around, startled at the sound of Race’s deep voice. His golden head cleared the top of that nasty stairwell, and I couldn’t stop my eyes from rolling greedily over him. He had on dark jeans that were rolled up over well-worn, black cowboy boots, a fitted black sweater that had a hood on it, and over that a dark gray blazer that looked tailored and expensive. He looked as out of place in the dingy alley as I felt.

The guy, Aldo I guess was his name, started pacing back and forth in front of me like a nervous little rodent. I came to the rapid conclusion that I wasn’t fond of the people Race did business with.

“A bigger guy, like your size but thicker. At first I thought it was a couple different people, which is why I didn’t say anything. He wears a hat or glasses, and one time I think he even had on a wig. And he never drives the same car. One day it was a truck that followed her to work, and then a Volkswagen that followed her from school. I’m not cut out for this shit, Race. I just like to bet on sports.”

Race’s green eyes drifted over me then over the nervous guy. I saw his chest rise and fall in a heavy sigh.

“Fine. Consider your last marker paid.”

“For real?” I could practically feel the guy vibrating with excitement.

“Yeah, but next time you’re going to have to pay in actual cash, Aldo. No more solids from me.”

The guy nodded and practically darted off into the night.

I crossed my arms over my chest and tried not to flinch when he prowled toward me.

“You were having me followed and didn’t bother to mention it? I’ve been jumping out of my skin all week thinking someone was after me.”

Race shrugged and moved until he was totally up in my space. I breathed him in and wondered how he could make even this dank alleyway smell divine.

“If Aldo wasn’t such a waste of skin you wouldn’t have even known he was there. I wanted whoever has been messing with you to know that we know he’s there. What happened to you? Why are you all dirty?”

I blushed hotly and hoped he didn’t notice. “That Aldo guy grabbed me and freaked me out. I fell.”

He lifted a sandy eyebrow and reached out to rub a spot on my cheek. “What are you doing here anyway?”

Wasn’t that the question of the night?