">"You can just take him the date, right?" she asked uncertainly. "Can this little meeting wait?"
">One of the goons behind her grabbed her. She saw a knife in his other hand and tried to pull away. She was pushed into the wall.
">""We're here to deliver the daily penalty," the leader said, smiling. "Date first."
">"Thursday night," she blurted out.
">"Okay, good." He pulled out a knife. "The boss also wanted us to remind you that time is running out."
">"I have until the end of the week!"
">"Face or body?" the guy holding her against the wall asked.
">The question made her freeze. Maybe Jonny was in the neighborhood last night already, because he was coming to her apartment to break her arm. Bruises to broken bones to being sliced up ... nothing would be left of her at the end of the week.
">She tested the grip of the guy who held her pinned to the wall.
">"You don't have to do this," she whispered. "I forgot. That's all. I'm sure Jonny understands."
">"We'll let you off easy. Body," the leader decided.
">Jessi panicked as the guy holding her whipped out a knife. She kicked him and wrenched away, running. His buddy grabbed her and wrapped one arm around her neck, the cold blade of a knife biting her throat. She went still, heart hammering.
">"After that move …" the leader said. "Face."
">Immobilized, Jessi watched the guy she kicked move closer, knife raised. She opened her mouth to scream, but the goon holding her clapped his hand over it. She squeezed her eyes closed, bracing herself for the fire of a knife ripping into her skin.
">It didn't come. The knife at her neck lifted, and she was flung away from him, pushed into the wall. Her eyes flew open. She whirled and stared. In the passage of a few seconds, all three were rendered motionless on the ground.
">Processing what happened took her adrenaline-fused mind a long moment. Her eyes went from the men to Xander. He'd silently and quickly disabled all three. Not a drop of blood was visible. Did he kill them? How did someone so large move that fast?
">She wiped away a few stray tears, hands quivering. Xander's muscular frame was tense enough that she saw the veins on his biceps. His wariness scared her as much as the thugs had. The light in his eyes was lethal. She suspected he was dangerous, but right now, she felt the danger radiating off him in a similar charged energy to Jonny's, except that Xander's had the same effect as adrenaline on her. Her heart raced. His sex appeal was amplified by the dangerous edge; he was on the verge of snapping.