Heated Pursuit (Alpha Security #1)(13)
“Not so talkative now, are you, bitch?” he jeered, sidestepping toward the left.
Penny’s heart instinctively shot to her throat, but she pushed it down and focused, never letting his hand leave her line of sight. She hiked up her minuscule skirt, centered her balance on the damn high-rise boots, and waited for him to make the next move.
He didn’t keep her waiting long. He lunged. A quick spin to the right and he stumbled past. Like the training exercise with Logan, she snapped a roundhouse kick against his wrist. There was a loud crack on impact, and then they both watched as the serious-looking blade skidded beneath the nearby Dumpster.
Her attacker leapt to attention first. Penny didn’t see his fist until it caught her jaw. Colorful starbursts exploded across her dimming vision.
One, two, three. He slammed her into the nearby wall, giving her no time to recuperate before driving a fist into her left flank. Her head spun. Her torso ached. But the sound of his victorious laugh cut through her pain like heated steel through butter.
With a warrior’s yell falling from her lips, she whipped a clenched fist into his face, making impact hard enough to stun him for the knee she drilled into his midsection. The second he doubled over, she followed it up with a second—and final—ram into his face. Bones crunched and the * dropped. Hard. And most importantly, unconscious.
Fits of nausea forced Penny to lean heavily against the wall. She didn’t even attempt turning around when another dark shadow entered the alley. Somehow she knew it was Rafe. He stepped into a beam of light, and the look on his face nearly took her breath away all over again. Muscles tensed, he glanced from the scumbag on the ground to the woman cowering by the Dumpster. When they returned to Penny in a visual scan, his eyes softened.
“Are you okay?” No yelling, no cursing, no getting in her face and calling her ten shades of stupid. His gaze darted over her face as he took a hesitant step closer.
“I’m good. No worries.” She waved him off with a forced smile, afraid she’d burst into a puddle of tears if he touched her for even one second.
Her humorless laugh was the wrong move. Pain rippled around her side, each wave stronger than the previous until her knees buckled with the effort to remain standing. A tight-lipped hiss was all it took to find herself in Rafe’s arms.
He became her support. Firm yet gentle, he tucked her against him and didn’t flinch when she gripped the back of his shirt, probably taking off the first layer of skin.
“Slow and steady,” he ordered gently. He caressed his palm over her battered torso. “No sudden movements, okay? And it’s probably best to save the yoga breathing for when you don’t have a few broken ribs.”
“I don’t think anything’s broken.” Her voice went tight, and she was afraid to breathe too deeply.
She sent him a weak smile and got an unidentifiable look in return. It froze on his face, his vivid blue eyes homing in on hers. The power of that one single look made her throat convulse. Years of growing up amidst tough, seasoned military men, and not once had one made her the least bit nervous. Until now. There was something about Rafe that made her unsteady and a little bit unsure of herself. And she wasn’t sure she liked it.
Behind Rafe, the remaining team staggered into the alley. Their expressions ran the gamut from amusement to concern, maybe a bit of appreciation. Trey’s, however, was all anger.
Red faced, he stopped no less than two feet away.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Trey’s voice boomed, breaking the tender silence. “Were you trying to get yourself killed?”
“No. I was trying to get between a pair of decent-sized fists and her.” Penny tipped her head to where Chase stepped over the man on the ground to get to the young woman. The brunette cringed away from him at first, but he got down to his haunches, speaking to her in a low murmur. “Five more minutes in that jerk’s company and she wouldn’t be able to tell you a thing.”
“One wrong f*cking move and you wouldn’t be able to either.”
Logan interceded, blocking Penny’s view of Trey’s scowl. “Take a breather, man. Our little lady did f*cking incredible. The ass-hat never saw it coming.” He flashed her a wink and earned himself a glare from Rafe when his congratulatory pat on the back made her wince.
“Shit.” Logan cringed. “Sorry, darlin’. You’re going to be one big-ass bruise in twenty-four hours. You know that, right?”
Penny groaned, half chuckling. “Aren’t you supposed to be the Southern gentleman of the group? You’re not supposed to remind me that I’m going to look and feel like death warmed over piping-hot coals.”
“Hell, honey, you’d look rock-star gorgeous even on your worst day.”
“Thank you for being such a good liar,” Penny teased.
Sean stepped forward, eyeing the scene around them. “Our contact in the policía is on his way, which means the rest of you better make skid marks.” With a semi-amused shake of his head, the Alpha team leader asked her, “How you holding up? Does Chase have to patch you together with glue and tape?”
“I think everything’s in its proper place.” Though she couldn’t imagine feeling any more sore if she’d wrestled with a professional linebacker. Purposefully ignoring the gazes of both Trey and Rafe, she asked, “So, did I pass? There can’t be anything more real world than what just happened, right?”