Part 21 (1/2)

He s.n.a.t.c.hed her purse from her shoulder, nearly wrenching her arm from its socket. Opening it, he began tossing her things onto the ground in a mad search for cash. When he came to her wallet, he shoved her bag at her, and she held it tightly while he looked through her wallet. Good luck, she thought. If she had twenty dollars in there, it was a lot.

He pocketed the small amount of money he found and threw her wallet to the ground. ”Where is it? In your pockets?”

”I said didn't sell anything,” she said coldly.

”b.i.t.c.h.” He slapped her hard across the face, her head smacking the wall with the force of the hit.

She saw stars, the pain overwhelming and intense.

”Why are you here? What were you planning to sell?” he asked at the same time his gaze focused on her chest. ”This is it, right?” He put his hands on her beloved necklace. ”Your boyfriend buy this for you?”

She closed her eyes, unable to stand being this close to him and unable to believe she'd ever considered selling something so precious to her.

That's when her fight instinct kicked in, and she kneed him in the groin hard. She didn't have enough leverage to take him down, but the element of surprise along with the initial pain had him rearing back in shock.

”You stupid b.i.t.c.h.”

She expected him to slap her again and braced, ready to duck, but he grabbed for the necklace instead and yanked hard, breaking the chain.

He held up his prize. ”This oughta net me a nice sum. Don't think I'm done with you either.” He turned and headed out of the alley and back onto the street.

”Oh h.e.l.l no,” she muttered, having had enough. Not just for today but for a lifetime.

She started after him and slammed into him with the full force of her body, taking him down. He rolled, flipping over, and she ended up on top of him, her hands around his throat, and she began to squeeze...

Her mother's face flashed in front of her eyes, and she tightened her grip. ”I hate you,” she screamed at him as his body bucked and he clawed at her in an attempt to dislodge her.

”Riley!”

She heard her name at the same time sirens sounded. Hands gripped her by the shoulders, pulling her off him, but she was too hysterical to focus on who'd come to her rescue or what had happened to the man who'd never been a real father.

Ian pulled up to the p.a.w.nshop just after Alex. It took mere seconds for him to process the scene. Riley's hands around a man's throat, Alex pulling at her shoulders. Her father began to rise, coughing and sputtering but clearly intending to run. Ian slammed the man back to the ground just as a police car screeched to a halt, and the cop approached the scene.

”She attacked me,” her father sputtered at the uniformed cop.

The coward, Ian thought.

”Shut the h.e.l.l up.” Ian shoved his foot on her father's chest so he couldn't move until a cop showed up and took over.

The officer pulled the older man to his feet. Before he could ask questions, a middle-aged man walked out of the p.a.w.nshop and headed for the cop.

”He attacked her in the street,” the shop owner said, gesturing to Riley's father.

”You're the one who called it in?” the cop asked.

The other man nodded.

With a grim expression, the cop pulled her father's hands behind his back and cuffed him while reading him his rights. Then he turned to the guy from the store. ”Wait here. We'll need to take your statement.”

With her father subdued, Ian turned to focus on Riley. He saw her on the ground, Alex holding her in his arms.

He gritted his teeth and walked over to them. ”She okay?” he asked.

Alex met his gaze, a warning look in the other man's eyes.

Right. Like Ian was going to start a fight with her now. Thanks for the faith, he thought with disgust.

One of the cops came up beside Ian.

”Ri?” Alex eased her away from him. ”The police are here.”

”Does this belong to you?” The cop held out the necklace Ian had given her. ”He had it clutched in his hand.”

She nodded then groaned and grabbed her head. ”Yes,” she said, not meeting Ian's gaze.

”It's evidence for now, but you'll get it back when the case is over. Did you hit your head?” the officer asked.

”He slapped me, and I slammed into the wall in the alley,” Riley said, her voice hoa.r.s.e from screaming.

Ian winced and wished he'd done more than restrained the son of a b.i.t.c.h for the police.

”An ambulance is on its way. You're going to need to be checked for a concussion.”

”But-”

”No arguing,” Alex said, helping her rise to her feet.

She raised her tear-stained face to Ian's for the first time. ”Stay with me?” she asked him.

He couldn't say no.

Didn't want to.

But the pain over her putting herself through this when she could have turned to him devastated him. He'd asked her for one thing if they were going to go forward, and at the most crucial moment, she hadn't kept her promise.

An hour later, he and Alex sat in the hospital waiting room while Riley was taken in for tests.

”You'll take her home from here?” Alex asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

Ian s.h.i.+fted in his seat. ”Actually I was going to ask you to do it.”

The other man narrowed his gaze. ”I don't get it.”

Ian studied his hands, trying to figure out how to explain his most personal feelings to a guy he barely knew. ”After the fundraiser, I thought Riley and I had come to an understanding.”

You either trust me or you don't. You either instinctively come to me first or there is no us. On that, I can't compromise, he'd told her.

”Yet at the first sign of trouble, she went off on her own,” Ian said.