“Honestly, this is overkill.”
“You keep saying that. And I keep telling you that it’s not.”
She winced. “I probably should not have chased that idiot.”
“It was really brave though.”
“Well, my aunt calls me impetuous. Always diving in headfirst.”
“You get mugged often?”
She laughed. “No, thank God.”
“Well, we survived.”
“Thank you for the doctoring,” she said hurriedly.
“That’s okay. I told you it’s better if someone else does it. Don’t you agree?”
“Sure, I guess. Well, thanks for everything.”
I lifted my brow. She wanted to be rid of me. Why was that?
“Lyra?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m getting the impression that you want to be rid of me. Tell me I’m wrong.”
Lyra
He wasn’t wrong. I did want to be rid of him.
Because I wanted to go kick some ass. Stannis Prochenko’s ass to be specific. I’d recognized him immediately when Marcus tore off his mask. What was he doing in LA? Why was he after me? That son of a bitch had taken my purse, but for what reason? The ID was fake. The address was fake. It led to a bait house in Koreatown, but Marcus didn’t know that. He’d been very heroic, but I knew he was lucky to still be alive.
He’d had no idea who he was trying to protect me from.
I was surprised, actually. He’d been remarkably capable. Fast. Well-conditioned. And the wrestling move he’d used to get Stannis in the chokehold was impressive.
But as capable as he was, he was no match for Stannis.
Besides, Stannis was my kill.
Easy does it. You can’t kill every idiot who comes for you.
Under normal circumstances, I would have let a random mugger go. But there was a gun in my purse. The last thing I needed was for some idiot to find the gun and use it. It was untraceable with the serial number filed off, but still, I didn’t want to be part of him killing someone with a gun he’d stolen from me. So I’d had to go after him. And then, of course, Marcus Black stepped in with his stupid sexy shoulders and uncanny way of dealing with the mugger.
Since when do you think his shoulders are sexy?
I frowned at that. Something had happened in that fight. He’d just taken that hit to the jaw that would have crumpled half the agents I knew. I supposed he was lucky and hadn’t taken the brunt of it. He’d been paying attention to me, worrying about my safety.
How was I supposed to tell him I was the last person on earth that he should be worried about? I was more than capable. And it’s not like I didn’t have a knife strapped to my thigh. Honestly, I could have dispatched that idiot Prochenko in seconds.
But Captain America over there had wanted to do the right thing. But now, if he would just let me leave, I could go after that idiot.
I scowled. There was a part of me that thought maybe the mugging had been something untoward, something other than what it was. But what if it had just been an ordinary mugging? They happened all the time. We lived in the States, for the love of Christ. Still though, it was harder to just accept that idea knowing who it was. I wanted to go out and find him. Remind him why it wasn’t nice to take things that didn’t belong to him.
That is vengeance. We don’t do vengeance.
Marcus was speaking. His voice was lower than I’d ever heard it before. There was something sexier about him that night. And God, was that stubble? He was always so clean shaven, looking extra Boy Scout-like. I didn’t like a mountain man beard, but a little five o’clock shadow? That was hot. What else was different about him?
“Hmm?”
“I was saying it seems like you were trying to get rid of me.”
“I’m not. But I think you’ve done enough for one evening. You were my knight in shining armor. I don’t want to take up any more of your time.”
“Ah, the brush-off.”
I sighed. He was very cute. So good looking. But if I was being honest, he was a complication. And I didn’t need complications.
“Marcus, I like you. You are—well, you know what you look like.”
“I think I would probably like it more if you told me.”
I grinned at that. When had he gotten so…I don’t know…sexy?
Maybe that was the adrenaline talking. Or was it because I watched him pick up that mugger by his shirt like it was nothing? His shoulders had bunched, and he was decidedly less nice. Was that it? Just a hint that there was something under the façade, and suddenly my blood was boiling?
“You’re great, Marcus. Honestly, you are. But maybe I’m just not ready to date right now.”
“Uh-huh,” he said.
“I just got out of a thing a while ago.” I used a line that I’d built my profile with on the site. “Maybe I just need more time.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And thank you. Did I ever say thank you? You saved me. I just—” My gaze flickered to his lips.
“You think we should be friends?”
I nodded. “Yes, friends. Friends sounds good.”
He could be my friend.
Except none of your friends have shoulders like that.
“Lyra?”
I lifted my head, blinking and hoping I was giving him a demure I’m not trying to run out on you look. I just wanted to leave so I could go chase that whacked-up mugger.
“I have enough friends. I’m not really looking for any more.”
I frowned at that. I didn’t want him to disappear; I just didn’t need any sudden complications.
Maybe you don’t like that tingle low in your belly that you haven’t felt in practically forever.
“Right. So, can we just—”
“Lyra?”
“Yeah.”
“You keep looking at me
