Heartbreaker (Unbreakable #1)(4)

The universe punished me at every turn.

Do the right thing. Don’t do the right thing.

My life had been crammed with disappointments and challenges. Because of them, I’d walked the narrow path of responsibility for two long years.

But now I was being tested. Kiki was a temptation I hadn’t expected. I didn’t know how or why: With only a few random conversations at the club and three awkward rides home she’d burrowed under my skin.

Which was exactly why I couldn’t see her again.

No way in hell could I follow through on her invitation.

“Fuck.”

I’d never been so turned on and pissed the f*ck off all at the same time. But wanting and not being able to have—story of my life.

I sucked in a sharp breath. “Get a grip, D.”

Her scent filled my nostrils. Vanilla and something a little spicy. Like a damned mouthwatering cookie.

The air in the cab sweltered. I cranked the AC up. Then I finally put the truck in gear and pulled away from her house. When I reached the end of her street, I hooked a left and headed toward Downtown Philly.

Her scent got stronger with every breath, like her essence still lingered where she’d sat. Which was ridiculous. I glanced toward where she’d been seatbelted in, trusting me to get her home safely—where she had straightened with confidence, asking me to stay the night.

What a night it would have been. Unforgettable. Unforgivable.

Dark fabric caught my attention. I reached over and tugged on a mass of silky material, but it was caught on something. With a frown, I pulled over to the curb, then turned the cab light on and leaned over. Not wanting to rip the delicate fabric, I followed its length with my fingers, then untangled its corner from around the plastic molded base of the passenger seatbelt where it was secured into the floorboard by the door.

I stretched the find out between my hands. It was a tiny jacket of some kind. If jackets were made of see-through material—almost all sleeves, no buttons or zippers.

Unable to stop myself, I lifted it toward my face. And inhaled.

Kiki.

“No wonder you rubbed your arms,” I grumbled. “You were freezing your ass off. Not that this thing would even help.”

I turned the truck around, then headed back toward her house.

“Some plan of staying away from her.” Hadn’t even made it back to the city. But the sudden backtrack was only to return her jacket-thing. All it was.

Her yellow house still had its porch lights on. But all the windows were dark. Not even a light glowed upstairs. Maybe she’d passed out on a couch.

I parked on the opposite side of the street, then got out, her soft jacket bunched in my fist.

A flash of movement in the narrow alley beside her house caught my attention. The alleyway led behind the house. Widely spaced streetlights along its edge disappeared into near darkness halfway down. Two large figures strode down the middle, arms spread wide as if corralling an animal.

A smaller silhouette walked beyond them with a familiar sway of the hips, flutter of a skirt.

Kiki.

I couldn’t make out her face in the dark, but I knew her shape, how she moved.

My heart thundered as I marched toward them.

One of the guys called down the alley. “Come on, girl. We won’t hurt you.”

“She’s with me,” I growled.

Startled, the guys spun around. Young. Not much older than me. Shadows marred their expressions, made them appear more menacing. Didn’t matter. I would beat the shit out of them.

One stepped closer, eyes narrowing. “Don’t look like she’s with you.”

I tucked her jacket into one of my back belt loops.

The guy on the left pulled something from his pocket. Metal gleamed in the lamplight.

“She is.” I tilted my face down, glared at the punks from under drawn brows. “Right, babe?”

“Right.” Kiki stopped within my peripheral vision. Nervous, she shifted her weight from one foot to another.

Problem was, we were in a bad situation: Kiki on one side, me on the other, danger between us. What the hell was she doing out here? Had they broken into her house? Chased her down the alley?

Best-case scenario? Them leaving at my end of the alley, without incident.

Didn’t even want to give thought to a worst-case.

With slow steps, I arced away from them, moving flush with Kiki’s higher backyard fence. It gave them a wide exit path. As I advanced, they took the hint and moved opposite me. They circled around, mad dogging me the entire time. I stared back. And I never took my attention from their hands, nor the way they shifted their bodyweight.

“She’s not worth it,” the farthest one bit out before spitting on the pavement between us.

Not for you, she isn’t.

After another few steps, they turned and vanished around the corner.

I waited a full two breaths before turning to find Kiki standing right beside me.

“Thanks,” she said. Her tone was casual, like I’d just held open a door for her.

“What the f*ck?” I put a protective arm around her shoulders, needing to touch her. “Are you okay?”

She leaned further into my side. “Yeah. They wouldn’t have hurt me.”

“Don’t be na?ve. They sure as f*ck would have.”

“I can take care of myself.” She whipped out her keys and brandished a five-inch black metal kubotan that dangled from the keyring.