“How’d you know?”
He smiled, showing bright teeth. Forever must have a damn good dentist. Everyone’s teeth looked so white and…sharp.
“I heard your stomach growl.”
Either he was guessing or he had phenomenal hearing. Right then, however, she didn’t care to find out which it was. “Oh. Well, good-bye.”
“You take care, you hear? Things might get a little hairy tonight.” He laughed as though he’d told the best joke anyone had ever heard. “Hairy? Get it?”
She didn’t bother saying she hadn’t. Instead, she picked up her pace and dashed around the corner and into Milly’s, ignoring the noise of revelers all around her.
The diner was packed. She stopped, stunned at the number of people. Not only was every table and stool taken, but many people stood next to the bar, reaching past those seated there to grab from the bowl of nuts or take their drinks.
Then it hit her. She wasn’t the only one staring. Everyone in the diner was staring at her and talking amongst themselves. She swallowed, but her mouth had gone dry.
“Christy, what are you doing here?”
She managed to drag in a fresh breath when Milly pushed through the crowd and came to her side.
“I meant to bring you some dinner, but as you can see, the place is really busy right now.” Milly tugged her back to the front door. “You go on back up to the apartment and I’ll bring you anything you want. You just name it, okay?”
She’d never had anyone want to get rid of her as much as Milly seemed to. Acting braver than she felt, she plastered on a smile for the people gawking at her. “No, thanks. I’d like to eat here.”
Two men at a nearby table stood up. She could feel the heat from their eyes boring into her. Maybe she should’ve taken Milly’s advice.
“Yeah, Milly. Let her stay.” The tallest of the men couldn’t have been older than his early twenties. The lecherous look he gave her sent chills down her spine.
“Back off, Bailey. And you, too, Wilson. You know who she is and who she belongs to.”
The blatant stares of the others were forgotten as she faced Milly. “Who I belong to?”
Milly tried to backtrack as fast as she could. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. Just forget it, okay?”
“But, Milly—”
She turned her around and pushed her toward the double doors. “Now, please, Christy, do yourself and all of us a favor and get back to the apartment. The moon’s going to come up soon, and once it does, you can’t be outside. It’s just too damn dangerous.”
She thrust off Milly’s hold. “I’m so tired of hearing everyone tell me that. Now that those creeps are taken care of, what’s dangerous about this place? Especially inside your diner?”
“Damn it, girl.” Milly grabbed her arm and jerked her back toward the other patrons. “Don’t you have eyes? Can’t you see how they’re looking at you?”
Christy scanned the diner. Every set of eyes, especially the male ones, were locked on her. “They look like they want to…”
“To what? Say it so you’ll believe it.”
“Like they want to eat me.”
Milly turned her around again. She crooked her neck and strained to see the rest of the people. She was right. By varying degrees, the men in the place had their focus locked on her. Their gazes were fierce, hot with hunger, reminding her of the way Lance, Duncan, and Grant had looked at her. With one exception.
These men’s gazes had no love in them. Only an intense craving that had fear crawling up her spine.
“Now get out of here and back into the apartment. Hurry!”
She didn’t argue. Instead, she pushed out of the restaurant and started for the side of the building.
The next second she was off her feet and thrown over a man’s shoulder.
Chapter Eight
Christy let out a scream, but the people out in the street paid no attention to her. They carried on laughing, dancing, and having sex in the shadows.
“Let me go!” She pounded on the hard back, but she might as well have been trying to bring down Mount Rushmore. Pushing against him, she craned her head around to see who it was that had her, but at the rate he was moving, she only got jostled so hard that she couldn’t lift her head up far enough to do any good.
She beat at him, kicked as hard as she could, but it was no use. And then she noticed it. The rush of excitement, the thrill she always felt whenever she was around either Grant, Lance, or Duncan sung into her. It had to be one of them carrying her.
She stopped struggling, willing to let him take her away. Her hair bounced around her face, then all at once, she was thrown again, her body flying backward until she landed on her back. The force knocked the air out of her, but it didn’t really hurt. The mattress she’d landed on had softened the blow.