The family hugged her and she hugged them back. Carrie watched them walk away with a smile on her face. Once she was alone, she stepped under the streetlight and I saw a thin sheen of sweat covering her skin. She’d worked too hard tonight. Then again, she always did, especially when it came to helping others.

As she reached into her pocket to grab her phone, I swore I saw a shadowy shape move behind her, but it could have been a trick of the light. I tried to sink back into the shadows before it was too late and she spotted me, but she turned my way. At first, she didn’t see me, but I knew the exact second she spotted me. Her nostrils flared and she gave me her back. Clearly, she planned on pretending she hadn’t seen me.

When she pulled out her phone and started texting or calling someone, I hesitated before I walked up to her. “Hi.”

“Are we surprising each other now? I didn’t realize we were there,” she murmured, still not looking up at me.

Okay. I deserved that. Maybe we weren’t supposed to be friends anymore, but I could at least apologize for my bad behavior. “I’m sorry I lost it the other night.”

“It’s fine.”

She still didn’t look at me. I shifted on my feet and scanned the dark alley behind her. I couldn’t get rid of this uneasy gut feeling that something was back there. “No, it’s not.”

Finally, she lifted her head. “You’re right. It’s not, but if nothing else, I now know exactly how you feel about me. So thanks for that.”

“No, you really don’t.” I ran a hand through my hair. “I don’t even know how I feel most of the time.”

“Well, good for you.”

Yeah. She was pretty pissed at me. Well, I’d been pissed at her too. “Thanks, Ginger.”

She stiffened. “Don’t call me that.”

“Or what? You’ll kiss me into submission again?”

The glare she gave me should have turned me into nothing more than a pile of ashes. Instead, it made my whole body quicken with excitement. I liked when she played hard to get, damn it. “Go away.”

“And leave you standing here all alone in the worst section of the city?” I snorted. “Yeah. Not happening. Where’s your cab?”

“Late.” She walked past me, her shoulder bumping into my arm. It was probably supposed to be a shoulder bump, but she was too damned short to pull it off effectively. “If you won’t take the hint, then I’ll leave you.”

I fell into step beside of her, my hands in my pockets. This wasn’t a good section of the city, and she was playing stupid games. I thought I heard a footstep behind us and spun, ready to protect Carrie, but nothing was there. When I turned around, Carrie had an eyebrow raised and an amused expression on her face.

“Chasing shadows?”

“In this section of town, it’s probably not a shadow.” I searched the darkness, certain someone or something was out there. “Let’s go. Now.”

“Not with you.”

There it was again. A footstep. A shuffle. I grabbed her elbow. “This is an even stupider move than kissing me. You looking to get robbed or worse?”

She broke free and stumbled backward. “I’m looking to get rid of you.”

“Well, newsflash. Storming off in the worst section in San Diego isn’t the way to do it.” I reached for her, but she skirted out of my reach again. “Get on my bike, and I’ll drop you off.”

“Not happening.” She tried to step around me, but I blocked her again. She stomped her foot. Actually stomped her foot. “Get out of the way!”

“No. We need to leave. Now.”

Something fell in the alley behind us, clattering against the pavement. Carrie seemed oblivious to the threat, but I wasn’t. My entire body knew a fight was coming, and I wanted Carrie far, far from it. A shadow moved behind her as my worst nightmare came to life. A man wearing a black ski mask and a pair of black gloves appeared seemingly out of thin air, holding a knife to her throat.

“No quick movements,” he rasped, his eyes on me.

I held up my hands and surveyed the rest of the shadows. Nothing else moved. It looked like the mugger was working alone. “Easy now. We’re not fighting back.”

Carrie’s eyes went wide, and her face ghostly white. “Finn?”

“Just do as he says,” I said, keeping my voice calm and soothing, while inside I was ready to rip off this asshole’s face piece by piece. The man pressed the knife against Carrie’s white skin and I saw red. Lots and lots of fucking red. My heart pounded in my head, and my whole body braced for a fight. “Let go of her right now.”

The man laughed. Fucking laughed. “Give me all of your money and jewelry, and I’ll think about it. Now.”

“Finn,” Carrie said, her voice soft. I could tell she was seconds from panicking, and if she panicked, there was no telling what this man would do.

“Look at me.” When she followed my command, I saw the fear deep in the depths of her blue eyes. It was like pure acid in my stomach. I didn’t want to see her look at me like that ever again. I didn’t drop Carrie’s gaze, making sure I looked calm and collected for her. “Do what he says, babe. It’ll be okay.”

She fumbled with the bracelet on her wrist, her fingers slipping on the clasp. Once she finally managed to get it off, she handed it to the man holding her. He snatched it up and shoved it in his pocket. Judging from the way he shook as he held Carrie, the money he earned from the sale of the bauble would go straight into his veins. Or up his nose.

His unsteady hand made the knife slice Carrie’s throat. It was just a tiny scratch at best, but it made me ready to make him bleed a hell of a lot more. “Let go of her.”

“Once I’m done, you’ll get her back,” the man sneered. He pressed the knife even deeper into Carrie’s neck and a tiny trickle of blood rolled down her throat. “Money. Now.”

I wanted to throttle the piece of shit. Now. But I knew I had to set the scene right. I needed to get the threat away from Carrie before I made my move. Then it was game fucking on. The asshat wouldn’t know what hit him.

“Here you go,” I said.

I took a wad of cash out of my pocket and held it out, waving it around just out of reach. The fucker reached for it, but couldn’t quite touch. He extended his arm, letting the knife fall away from Carrie’s throat. Bingo. Just what I’d wanted.

Moving so fast the man never saw it coming, I captured his wrist and spun it behind his back. The knife clattered to the ground and Carrie leapt back from it, her eyes wider than ever before. Yanking the guy’s arm up behind his shoulders, I kept a firm pressure on him. I wrapped my forearm around the guy’s neck in a chokehold, squeezing tight enough to knock the guy out but not kill him.

No matter how tempting it might be.

“Come near her again, and next time you won’t wake the fuck up,” I snarled in his ear, fury making it hard to keep my grip loose. The thief tried to break free, but went limp in my arms. I let him drop to the ground and took the bracelet out of the guy’s hand, then shoved the cash back in my pocket too. “Let’s go now.”

Carrie nodded quickly, taking my hand when I offered it. Neither one of us spoke as we climbed on the bike, helmets on and tension high. She clung to me, so I could feel her entire body shaking. Trembling. She might be in shock. I didn’t know if the shock was from my quick reaction to the robber, or the robber himself.

Either way, it wasn’t good.

I choked the throttle, speeding down the PCH to my apartment. When we got there, I hopped off the bike and yanked off my helmet. After helping her to her feet, I gently removed hers. She looked at me, not touching me but not moving away either.

“Why did you bring me here?” she asked.

I looked around. Though I hadn’t thought it through, I’d brought her back to my place. Leaving her alone was out of the question right now. “I don’t want you to be alone tonight.”

“Oh.” She took a shaky breath, her face still far too pale for my liking. “I’ll be fine. You don’t have to—”