It wasn’t his business. He hated this world. He hated humans.
He stepped back, sipping his scotch, hoping it would dull the razor blade of shame sawing at his heart.
Movement outside drew his gaze, and his hand tightened on the glass as he saw a group of men he didn’t recognize moving toward the alley.
His eyes narrowed farther, his face tightening, as he took in the rapidly escalating situation.
It wasn’t his problem. He wasn’t human. It wasn’t his place to get involved in their world.
The men were spread out now, blocking the entrance to the alley.
The sound of shattering glass echoed through the empty club room as Adrien threw down his tumbler and ran for the exit, cursing himself all the way.
Two
Kelsey cursed the prick who had chased her out of the building as she backed away from the men crowding the entrance to the alley.
It was easier to think of his flashing, disgusted eyes and blame him than it was to consider her current situation. The danger she was in.
So far, she had evaded roving gangs and the eyes of predators. It appeared her luck had run out on this rainy, dark, cold night.
There was a streetlight overhead, just bright enough she could make out some of the features of the men closing in.
She moved toward her things, afraid if she crouched to pack up, they’d take the moment to ambush her. “I’m not causing any trouble. If I’m in your way, I’ll leave.”
“And go where, sweetheart?” the man in front said, resting a meaty arm closed in a worn leather jacket on the brick wall and leaning against it. He was trying to look relaxed, but he and all his group appeared sharply alert. Predators closing in on their prey.
Trying to keep it from running or putting up a fight.
“We don’t mind you staying as long as you don’t mind giving us a little something in return.”
She fought the urge to roll her eyes. If only she had a dollar for every time someone had offered her basic human decency in exchange for some price she couldn’t or wouldn’t pay.
She felt her neck and chest tightening as adrenaline flooded her. She tried to walk toward a gap in the group, but they closed and one of them shoved her roughly, causing her to land on her butt on the damp ground.
“I don’t want any trouble,” she said, putting up both hands, wondering if she screamed, if anyone would hear her or care. Hysteria rose in her, mixing with fear, but she knew from experience that no one would come when she was in trouble. That the only one she could depend on was herself.
“What’s going on here?” A sharp, arrogant voice echoed from behind the men, and she looked up to see them turn around as a man walked into their midst.
They stepped back from her to greet him, and she saw the shock and confusion on all their faces as the douche from before, the one with flashing silver eyes, walked into the center of the alley, unaware or uncaring of the amount or type of men surrounding him.
His hands were in the pockets of his fancy gray dress slacks. He wore designer shoes that were surely being ruined by the mud, and he had on a tailored light-blue shirt that shone in the lamplight. He turned up the cuffs and addressed the men around him.
“I asked what was going on here. I demand someone answer.”
He was taller than she’d originally thought, at least a few inches over six feet, and significantly muscled, though in an elegant way that seemed sculpted more for looks than the raw strength needed on the street, which the men around her possessed.
“You demand?” The leader, a man with dark, stringy hair and a large, stocky build, looked at the newcomer with a sneer. “Go back to your penthouse, pansy.”
“Pansy?” The man with silver eyes raised a dark brow, and she realized belatedly that he was almost painfully handsome. The type of man that drew women like a magnet. She’d overlooked it earlier because her need for shelter and warmth had been her full focus, but watching him now, her only hope for escape, she couldn’t avoid it.
The man was beautiful.
“Pansy,” the leader said, folding his bulky arms. “Prick. Get out of here. We found her first.”
Beautiful douchebag, as she’d named him, curled up his lips in a sneer. “Found her? For what purpose?”
The leader let out a loud, mean laugh, and his friends snickered with him. “What do you think?” He made a crude gesture, and she saw her potential rescuer’s expression darken.
“How dare you?” he said. “What a new low for disgusting behavior, and I assure you my expectations for humanity are already exceedingly depressed.”
The men stared at him, as if unsure what to make of his odd, formal speech.
The man sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. His eyes darted to her with an unreadable expression, and then he turned to face the leader. “Nonetheless, I don’t wish to hurt anyone. So if you and your men would simply leave immediately, I am willing to let you go. But you must go quickly.”