Sweet Peril (The Sweet Trilogy #2)(24)

Outside the nightclub, one way led to crowds of people and hopping nightlife. In the other direction were the outskirts of town, quiet and dark. It was from that direction we heard a muffled female cry of pain. We moved quickly, trying not to draw attention toward the alleyway where we headed. We turned the dark corner just in time to see the man open palm Zania on the side of her face. Twice.

A shot like that to the temple would have sent anyone sprawling, but he had a hold of her ripped shirt, which hung open to reveal a bloody spot at the top of her white bra. Was that . . . had he bitten her? When he ripped open the button of her black pants, I gasped.

Everything happened quickly then. Kope burst forward, grabbed the guy, and slammed his face into the wall with a crack. Zania fell and I ran to her side, crouching to lift her head into my lap. Her eyes fluttered.

“You’re okay,” I told her. Alcohol fumes wafted up at me as I smoothed back her hair, and my insides clenched with a greedy need. I did my best to ignore it and was careful not to touch the bloody welt growing on her cheekbone.

Kope had the guy’s arm cranked behind his back and they were conversing none too friendly in Arabic. The man looked to be pleading his case, but Kopano wasn’t having any of it.

“No man of God sheds the blood of a woman for tempting him,” Kope growled in English. There was a fury in his stance that made me pause and watch, wondering if he’d be able to rein in the temptation to bring down his wrath on this guy.

The man barked a hate-filled response and spat bloody saliva down the wall.

“He knows English?” I asked.

“Yes,” Kope answered.

Good. I needed to get rid of this guy immediately before Kope’s wrath could escalate. I spoke sharply.

“You are going to leave us, right now, and not attempt to follow us or harm us in any way.” I pressed the meaning of my words toward him, using the persuasive power of influence that I’d gained through my double-angel parentage. I didn’t know if it would work on this strong-willed man, but thankfully his mind was weaker than it had seemed.

“Yes!” the man shouted. With reluctance, Kope pulled him from the wall and shoved him toward the alley’s exit. When he’d gotten his footing and ran, Kope stood there, shaking in anger. His light eyes had darkened, and I needed to calm him.

“It’s okay, Kope,” I whispered up at him. “He’s gone now. Let it go.”

He shuddered and paced for a few minutes, clenching and unclenching his hands. I gave him a smile of reassurance as I watched his breathing slow to normal. Not wasting a minute more, he leaned down and lifted Zania’s long, lightweight frame into his arms and began the trek to her house. The streets of the neighborhoods were quiet. We passed a few people who stared, but thankfully nobody tried to stop us or question the scene.

At Zania’s house, I dug my hand into her pocket and pulled out the single key to let us in.

“Which way is your room, Zania?” Kope asked. Her name sounded melodic on his lips. She lifted a floppy hand toward the stairs.

I rushed ahead up the stairs and opened the door, switching on the lamp and pulling back the coverlet before stepping out of the way. Kope laid her down with care. Then in a move that surprised me, he slid the high heels off her feet and placed them on the floor before covering her. His hands shook, and I wondered if it was leftover nerves from the altercation with the man. Watching Kope handle her with such care stirred an unexpected surge of affection inside me.

Zania whispered something, and with his hands still on the top of the blanket, he leaned down to listen.

She brought her arms around his shoulders and pulled him down.

“You can kiss me,” she whispered.

My eyebrows went straight up and Kope’s back stiffened. With a strangled grunt, he dropped the blanket and disengaged from her grasping arms. For one tense instant he stared at her like she was a bejeweled serpent, beautiful yet poisonous.

“I am sorry,” he whispered low.

His eyes shot to mine for one hot moment before he turned to leave us. I heard him go down the stairs and out the front door.

Whoa.

Zania rolled to her side and curled up, making a choking sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

“Even brother Neph are repulsed by my touch,” she slurred.

“What?” I was shocked. “No, I can assure you Kope was not repulsed. Just the opposite, I think.” His lifestyle was common knowledge among our group, so I hoped he wouldn’t mind if I explained a little to alleviate her concern.

“Kopano is celibate, but he doesn’t hate women. He’s nothing like that man tonight.”

I smoothed her hair back, and touched her face with soft fingers. I found myself nursing her as Patti had done me when I was ill from the maturation of my senses. Zania made that choking sound again and a torrent of tears poured forth. When I moved closer to hold her, she reached out and clung to me as she cried, pressing her face into my abdomen.

“Don’t leave me,” she begged through drunken, pained tears. My eyes stung. The thought of having to leave her the next day made me sick to my stomach. I wished I could pack her up and take her with me. All I could do was hope that we’d earned her trust and that she’d hold the glimmer of optimism in her heart to get her through each day.

As she fell asleep curled in my arms, her words haunted me. Don’t leave me.