Silver(32)

“You’d think he’d have rented it by now, given how much he seems to care about money.”

“Care?”

“You know, to steal it from a woman who desperately needs it. It’s so cowardly and low I can hardly comprehend it. It doesn’t help my opinion of humans.”

“Humans?”

“Men, I guess,” he said.

“You’re kind of a misanthrope, aren’t you?” she said.

“Yes,” he replied, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “Though I’ve recently met someone who is changing my mind.”

A warm rush went through her, cutting through the cool night air and her nervousness. She was here with him and she was safe, and her belly was full and she had somewhere to go home to.

All that remained was this one last thing, which he wanted her to let him help with.

She leaned on the railing as she waited for Bernard to come back.

When he appeared out of the darkness, she noticed there were two employees following him. Men she recognized as servers, whereas she had always spent most of her time doing prep in the stockroom and kitchens.

They were tall, though, and it gave her a bad feeling that they were coming with him.

Bernard pulled out a keyring that jangled as he walked up the steps, shouldering them out of the way so he could unlock the door.

He swung the door open, and Kelsey walked in, followed closely by Adrien, who stayed protectively between her and the door.

“We’ll check for things in here alone, and you can give us the money after,” Adrien said, gesturing for Bernard and his lackeys to go.

But Bernard shook his head slowly. “I’m afraid not.” He came into the room, ducking under the door, and his two friends followed him in.

Dread sank through her as she watched them close the door, making the space around them shrink with their presence.

Adrien let out a frustrated sigh. “Am I correct in guessing you didn’t bring the money?”

Bernard glared. “The money is mine.” He turned to Kelsey, menace in his eyes. “And I’m going to make sure I get the rest of what I’m owed as well, you little slut.”

“Four,” Adrien said in a harsh tone.

“Shut up,” Bernard said, stepping toward Adrien. “You two, grab her.”

Adrien’s whole body went rigid as she gasped and stepped back quickly from the men coming toward her. Her legs hit the back of the bed, and she bounced onto it, then quickly tried to get up as Bernard laughed.

“Nah, leave her there. She belongs on her back,” he said, throwing his head back.

Adrien moved almost too fast to be seen, tapping one of the men going for her on the shoulder.

When the man turned, Adrien hauled off with a huge punch that knocked the other man away from the bed. Then he turned and shoved the other guy, so hard the man actually flew into the wall and then slid down it, expression slack from the impact.

Adrien cocked his head, looking kind of surprised. Just how strong was he that he could do that seemingly on accident?

The other man had recovered and was staggering back, facing Adrien with fists up, and Adrien just rolled his eyes, as if bored of the whole situation. He drove a fist into the man’s stomach, and when he bent with an, “Oof,” Adrien used his other hand to punch him in the side of the face with a sickening crack.

The man slumped forward on the ground, and Adrien kicked him casually out of the way, sending his body flying.

Then he turned to face Bernard, who looked like he was considering whether or not he should run.

“Uh,” Bernard said.

“Five,” Adrien said, holding up a hand with all five fingers extended. “Five times you insulted my mate. You hand over the money now, or you find out what five means.”

“I don’t have it,” Bernard whined. “And it’s not fair anyway. She broke things, and I did everything for her.”

With a snarl, Adrien closed the distance between them and held Bernard up by the neck with one hand.

Holy hell, how was Adrien able to do that? Was he some kind of superhero or something?

Bernard’s legs dangled, toes scraping the ground as he gasped for breath.

“My mate doesn’t need your precious money,” Adrien said angrily. “And you are one of the lowest life forms I’ve ever encountered. And I wouldn’t bother wasting another minute on you, except I can’t let insults to my mate go unanswered.”

What was a mate? Was that just another old-fashioned term he liked to use?

She didn’t really care at the moment. He’d protected her as if it were nothing, and it was incredibly… hot.

“One,” Adrien said, and he slammed the hand he wasn’t holding Bernard with into his face with a loud crack.