Silver (Date-A-Dragon Book 2) Read online

  She hadn’t wanted him to run, but now, seeing the sheer numbers and size against him, she wished he had.

  The leader only gave her a glance before shaking his head. “Shut up, bitch. We’ll deal with you next.”

  The stranger’s silver eyes flashed just before a fist shot out and connected with the leader’s face with a loud crack that echoed through the alley.

  The leader staggered back, dazed, but the stranger darted forward, following up with a sharp hit with his other fist, crushing it into the other side of the leader’s face.

  Kelsey heard the impact as much as she saw it, and his feet practically lifted off the ground as her rescuer sent the man flying backward to collide with a small group of trashcans that had been huddled next to a brick wall, minding their own business. The cans made a symphony of clanging as the lids careened in every direction.

  “Burt!” the man that was holding Kelsey called out in shock.

  The stranger whipped around, his dark hair flicking tiny beads of raindrops to the side as his quickly dampening shirt began to better reveal the incredible, bulging muscle beneath his shirt.

  “You,” he said, pointing at the man behind her. “Unhand the woman now,” he commanded, though Kelsey couldn’t help but feel a little off-kilter at the strange way he had of talking at times.

  Kelsey felt the man behind her freeze as the stranger strode in their direction. But he wasn’t paying attention to the fact that the other men around him were now springing into action. She tried to call out to warn him, but she wasn’t fast enough, and she saw a dull, rusted pipe slash through the air and catch the man in the shoulder with a loud thud.

  The man with the silver eyes cursed, then whirled around, catching his attacker in the gut just as another one leapt onto his back, attempting to wrestle the huge, muscular rescuer to the ground.

  On the one hand, the rich jerk seemed to have almost superhuman strength. But on the other, it seemed pretty clear by his lack of awareness that he probably didn’t get in fights like this very often.

  Either way, Kelsey just prayed nothing would happen to him.

  With a grunt and a heave, the stranger grabbed his assailant from behind by the collar of his heavy jacket and heaved him bodily overhead, slamming him into the ground, sending water splashing high into the air and making the pavement beneath her rumble.

  This time the now-soaked stranger spun around just as two more approached from behind. Both men stepped back reflexively, as his silver eyes seemed to almost glow with ferocious rage.

  “Dirty humans. Can’t even fight fair, can you,” Kelsey thought she heard the stranger mutter.

  Both men just glanced at each other in confusion, then one reached into his back pocket and brandished a sizable knife, the blade clicking open and gleaming steel in the glittering raindrops.

  The stranger didn’t back down, though. Instead, his eyes slitted, as if in disgust.

  With complete confidence, he strode forward, and the man raised his knife defensively. The stranger swatted it away without a second thought, and Kelsey heard the blade clatter into some hidden corner far down the alley.

  In utter shock, the man looked down at his hand where the knife had been, then up just in time to see the stranger smack him with the back of his hand, so hard the guy was sent reeling to into the side of a large green dumpster, making a metallic groan from the force of it.

  As the last guy pondered whether he should run from or charge her mysterious knight in shining armor, Kelsey glanced behind her to see the man still holding her, slack jawed as he watched agape in horror.

  This was her chance.

  Summoning her strength, she shoved her elbow into his side just as she brought her right foot up and drove it down into the man’s toes. He immediately yelped, and his grip on her slackened just enough for Kelsey to free herself.

  She turned and made a run for it, heading for the end of the alley, but the guy recovered quickly, turning on his heel and going after her.

  “Hey, come back here, you.” She could hear his voice, harried and angry, right behind her.

  Kelsey turned around, the man only a few feet away, just in time to see him plucked away like a chicken fleeing a fox.

  “Not so fast,” the stranger growled, and Kelsey wasn’t sure if he was addressing her or the man he now held above the ground in one hand. The thug flailed wildly, and for a moment, the stranger seemed to consider his prey, right before throwing him backward toward the exit of the dank street like so much garbage. He rolled several times, then came to a stop with a loud, “Oof.”

  Her rescuer dusted off his hands, and Kelsey noticed his shirt was torn in several places and his slacks were covered in mud, but he seemed otherwise unharmed by the whole thing.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, sounding more annoyed than caring at the moment.

  Kelsey opened her mouth to respond, on edge and out of breath, the empty pit in her stomach screaming for food, when she saw a dark object behind her rescuer, something raised high over his head

  “Look out!” she shouted as she saw a huge gray cinderblock come smashing down. She heard a loud cracking sound as cement and rubble exploded everywhere, and she made out the shape of the leader behind the stranger, his face bloodied, his eyes burning with revenge.

  But to Kelsey’s shock, the stranger whirled around like a bolt of lightning, catching the guy in the jaw so hard she could swear she heard bone break and sending him flying backward and into two of his cohorts who were busy trying to drag one of the limp shapes of their friends out and away from the alley.

  The two of them got back up to their feet quickly, and they and another hurriedly dragged the others away, fleeing for dear life as they groaned in pain.

  The danger gone, Kelsey felt herself pulled toward the strange man that had just as quickly thrown her out into the street as he had come to save her.

  His shirt was covered in specks of cement, and around them the rain slowed to a light drizzle, then stillness as the alley became quiet.

  It wasn’t until she reached his side, looking up at him, that she saw blood streaming down one side of his face, the trail disappearing somewhere in his thick, now-matted hair.

  “Hey, are you okay?” she asked, alarmed.

  “I’m fine,” he muttered, his speech slurred. But it was clear by the slight sway in his body that he wasn’t.

  It made sense, though. People didn’t normally take a cinderblock to the head and walk away from it as though nothing happened.

  Frankly, she was shocked he was still standing.

  “Come on. We need to get you help,” she said, grabbing his arm. He pushed her away lightly, insisting again there was nothing wrong.

  He tried to walk for the exit of the alley, but he stumbled two steps in, almost losing his footing.

  “Damn cheap humans. Always causing trouble,” he mumbled, his words almost unintelligible now. He tried to take one more step, then pitched forward like a diver off a cliff, face first into the ground with a muddy splash.

  Three

  Kelsey stared down at her unconscious rescuer, face down in the mud, designer clothes ruined, hair matted and dark.

  Why had he even come for her? Why would he go so far? She’d seen the disgust in his face.

  Her whole life, she’d seen indifference and meanness in people’s eyes, but he’d shown a different level of hate, at least at first.

  But he’d come down here for her. Fought to his limit for her. Gotten himself knocked out for her.

  So she couldn’t just leave him in the dirt. Even though her stomach was aching from hunger and she was tired from lack of sleep and she just wanted to get out of here before the cops could show up or the guys from before could come back with new friends. She had to get this guy to safety.

  She looked at the road ahead of her and cracked her knuckles. She’d heard of people having extra strength when adrenaline flooded them; she’d just have to hope for the same.

  She g
ot on the ground, ignoring her pack because she couldn’t carry any more than him, and pulled on his arm, hefting him up so she could wedge herself under his shoulder. He was surprisingly heavy, but she was still strong from her work in the restaurant stockroom. Had always been fairly strong because she needed to be, or it was natural. She didn’t know. But she was.

  She groaned, slowly standing, pulling him with her. His weight was half on his own feet, which dragged on the ground, and half on her back as she held both his arms and dragged him slowly forward, taking it step by step.

  Luckily, it was late and no cars were passing through this little side street. She crossed it, her heart pounding, every muscle in her body whining in agony, and when she reached the glass doors, she set him down with a sigh and took deep, heavy breaths.

  That was the last of her strength.

  She looked to the side of the door and saw a doorbell and intercom. The last thing she wanted was to draw more attention, but she had to let this man’s friends know he was injured before she took off. It was the least she could do, even if she’d never asked him for help.

  Well, not out loud.

  She pressed the intercom button and heard a buzz, but no answer. She pressed it again. Again, longer, and finally heard a groggy voice on the other end.

  “Adrien, is that you?”

  She glanced at her rescuer. Adrien, was that his name? It was unique, like he was. “No,” she said in a voice that was hoarse from exertion. “I’ve got your friend down here. He’s badly hurt.”

  There was a short pause. Then the voice returned. “I’ll be right down.”

  She let go of the intercom button and sank next to her rescuer. He was slumped awkwardly, so she lifted his head and rested it on her lap. She couldn’t resist pushing damp hair off his brow and taking a look at his beautiful face. His hair at the front was matted and blood streaked down his forehead and over his face.

  The rain had let up momentarily, thankfully, and she looked up at the dark, cloudy sky as she waited for his friend to show up to get him.

  She didn’t have to wait long.

  The man who opened the door was as striking as her rescuer. He had neck-length, dark-brown hair and an exotic, tanned face with eyes that almost seemed gold and were tilted up at the corners. He wore silk pajamas, a loose tunic over flowing pants, but she could still see he was tall and muscled like her rescuer. Adrien?

  He motioned for someone behind him. “Sever,” he said. “Come out here.” He knelt in front of Adrien and gave her a curious glance before looking his friend over. He sighed. “I’ll need to take him upstairs.” He looked at her. “I’ll need you to come with.”

  She gaped, then shook her head. “No way. He needs to go to a hospital, and I need to get out of here before the men who did this come back.”

  “No,” he said. “You need to come with us until we figure this out. You could be in danger.” He put a hand out for her to shake it, but she hesitated. “I’m Citrine by the way.”

  She took his hand and shook it, surprised by the gentleness there. When she looked into his eyes, a surprising warmth went through her.

  “I promise you’ll be safe with us,” Citrine said, motioning to the man behind him. “This is Sever.”

  She squinted up at the giant who had just appeared through the door. He was the oddest yet. Tall and Viking strong, with a long gray braid that swung down his back and hair that was shaved on the sides.

  He folded his arms and looked down at her, and a small shiver went through her. “Who are you?” he asked. He nudged Adrien with his foot. “And how did this happen?”

  She just gaped at him as he bent to pick up Adrien and then slung him over his shoulder, standing easily as if his friend’s weight were nothing.

  Like his friends, he was incredibly handsome. The type women would be naturally drawn to.

  “She isn’t going to talk until we get her inside,” Sever said. “I can tell.”

  “I’m not going with you,” she said stubbornly.

  “You want us to call the local authorities?” Sever asked. “Because we can do that.”

  She bit her lip. She didn’t trust men, let alone people in general. But if they were going to call the cops, what choice did she have? She hadn’t done anything wrong, but she had no proof of that. Cops scared her.

  “No,” she said. “But I need my things.” She pointed at the alley, and Citrine looked up.

  “I’ll get them. Wait here a moment.”

  She watched as he stood and jogged across the road. He paused, picking up her things, and she saw him spend a moment processing her situation as he observed how little she had.

  It was slightly humiliating.

  He came back with her stuff in hand. “Come on. Let’s go inside. We can talk there.”

  “This is kidnapping,” she muttered.

  “I think of it as you getting some free shelter and us getting some much-needed info on our friend.”

  “He really should go to a hospital,” she muttered.

  “Oh, he’ll be fine,” Citrine said lightly.

  “He’s had worse,” Sever said. “Deservedly so.”

  She looked at the braid-wearing giant in surprise. “He didn’t deserve this. He was saving me.”

  They had just reached the bottom of the stairs, and Sever raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Excuse me, what?”

  Citrine stopped dead. “He rescued you?”

  “Adrien?” Sever said, aghast. “This guy? Are you sure you saw right in the darkness?”

  She nodded, vaguely offended for Adrien that his friends didn’t believe he would do something selfless. “Why? Is it so shocking?”

  Sever gave her a long look head to toe. “Yeah,” he said drily. “It really is.” He looked at Citrine. “A human,” he said in a hushed voice.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, following them as they started up the steps.

  She got no answer from the men in front of her until they reached the top of the steps.

  “We’ll talk more in the morning,” Citrine said. “For now, I’ll show you your room.”

  “I’m not staying in some strange building with men I don’t know,” she insisted, trying not to think about how warm and nice a room here would be.

  She followed them to the hallway at the end of the current one, and Citrine walked to a door to the right. He pulled out keys and unlocked the door.

  “Look,” he said. “We run a legitimate business, and the last thing we would do is commit a crime or hurt someone. You can tell anyone where you are, but we need you to stay here.”

  She took a step back, wondering if they would chase her if she ran.

  “Look into my eyes,” Citrine said, stepping forward. “I promise you no harm will come to you.” He removed a key from the keychain and held it out to her. “This is the only key. No one will come in without you opening the door.”

  She reached out and snatched it from his hand. She didn’t want to stay, but she didn’t really have a choice. And when she snuck a look at his eyes, she did trust him, despite all her reasons not to.

  Plus, she still owed Adrien at least a thank you. And she wanted to stick around long enough to make sure he was all right.

  “Fine,” she said. “I’ll stay. Just until morning.”

  Citrine smiled in satisfaction while Sever just let out a huff. “Perfect,” Citrine said. “We will see you in the morning, then.”

  She looked at Adrien. “Take care of him.” She couldn’t make them go to the hospital, and they probably knew more about their friend than she did.

  She unlocked the door to her room and walked in, feeling she was in a dream.

  She turned around to shut the door and noticed there was a deadbolt as well. She couldn’t resist grinning as she slid it into place.

  Safe.

  She was safe. And warm. She backed up and jumped onto the bed, which was soft. Heavenly soft. She looked up at the ceiling, noticing a fan. Imagine being so
warm that you needed to have a fan to cool you.

  She wanted to get up, strip out of her clothes, see if there was a shower, or what else was in the room, but she was just too tired. With the deadbolt ensuring no one could hurt her and a soft bed beneath her, she couldn’t overcome her exhaustion even a minute longer.

  She fell asleep on top of the covers, slipping into dreams about flashing silver eyes.

  “He saved her. Adrien got himself beat up for a human.”

  “I know.”

  “What do you think it means?

  Adrien’s head was aching, blurry, and he groaned as he slowly forced his eyes open. Who was talking and why and about whom?

  The room in front of him swam, sunlight streaming through the window, and the two men sitting across from the couch he was on looked over at him.

  He blinked a couple times, rubbing his head, as it all came back to him in bits and pieces.

  “Sever. Citrine,” he said tersely. “What are you two doing?”

  “Making sure you actually wake up,” Citrine said. “You took a nasty blow last night.”

  “I did. I did?” He looked around him, whipping his head a little too quickly and stopping with a groan, covering his eyes. “What happened?”

  “There’s a human woman in the apartment next door that says you saved her.”

  Adrien groaned again, trying to remember. He’d been drinking, looking out the window. And then… there’d been a spy?

  “No,” he said. “It’s not what you think.”

  “It’s not?” Sever asked with a sardonic grin. “Because it looks to me like you finally decided to be a hero to a damsel in distress.”

  “Shut up,” Adrien said bitterly. “No. It’s not like that. She was… camping out in the hallway. I thought she was a spy and chased her out. I didn’t know she was…”

  “Homeless,” Citrine said quietly.

  Adrien nodded. “I was just watching from the window, drinking my scotch, thinking she would go back to her car, but…”

  “But there was no car,” Citrine said.

  “Yeah,” Adrien said, touching his head and realizing there was a bandage wrapped around it. “What’s this?”