Big Easy Temptation (The Perfect Gentlemen #3)(28)

“I’m taking that bag back,” Dax yelled as he moved down the alley.

“Fuck you,” the man said in a deep voice and reached for his bike.

Darkness had fallen and very little light penetrated the bodies and buildings from the main streets. Shadow encroached on all sides, but Dax was determined. He went for the bag.

The man’s foot kicked out, catching him on the forearm. Dax gritted his teeth and whirled around, attempting to stay on his feet. The asshole was stronger than he looked and Dax found himself taking a hard punch that landed him on the ground, his knees hitting the bricks with a jaw-jarring strike.

Pain flared through him, but he tried to shove that aside and reach for the laptop bag.

Just as he grabbed it, Dax realized the asshole on the bike had brought along more than a helmet for protection.

“Let go.” The man stood over him, gripping a gun in his hand.

Unfortunately, Dax knew what kind of damage a SIG Sauer could do, and the thug looked pretty competent with the damn thing. He was forced to drop the leather satchel.

Damn it, he was in the inferior position, never thinking that his pleasant evening with Holland could turn dangerous so quickly. He calculated his odds of distracting the other man, but his knee had taken a nice hit, the right one bleeding. Jarring pain swept through his thigh and gripped his kneecap. He might be able to use his martial arts training and catch the criminal off guard with a well-aimed kick using his uninjured leg, but if he couldn’t sprint away, Dax knew he’d have a big, fatal hole in his body.

“I’m serious, fucker,” the man ground out. “Move another inch and I’ll blow your head off.”

Dax believed him. Humiliation flashed hot through his blood. He should be able to take down a lone assailant and retrieve Holland’s bag. He was a damn Naval officer. He’d had years of training, but that didn’t make him Superman. He was defenseless against a speeding bullet.

“Dax!”

Shit. Holland. She’d followed him. She would have a gun, but might not see that this fucker also did until it was too late. The thug could turn and shoot her before she could even defend herself.

Never taking his eyes off Dax, the criminal stooped down and nabbed the bag, looping it over his head and across his chest. The gun never wavered as he shouted down the narrow alley, “Don’t make a move or I’ll blow his head off.”

“Take the bag and go. I’m not making any kind of move.” Holland halted near the street, her hands in the air. “You don’t have to make this worse. Right now, all you’ve managed is some petty theft. We’ll file a report and move on. You shoot him and the cops won’t ever stop looking for you.”

The man used his free hand to lift his bike, but he didn’t turn his back to either of them. The alley was narrow, letting out to the next street west. He could easily lose himself in more tourists.

“Go on. I won’t stop you,” Holland promised, her voice calm and easy.

The man backed down the alley and took off.

Dax rose to his feet, eyeing the distance between himself and the assailant.

“Don’t you dare,” Holland warned, racing down the alley, her gun in hand. She carried it with the competency of a woman who had been around firearms all her life. She got to the end of the alley and holstered her weapon.

“We can still catch him,” Dax insisted.

She pulled her phone from her purse and started to dial. “You’re not going anywhere. Chasing him down was a crazy thing to do.”

Dax had to stop her from making that call. “Holland, if you call the police, the press will follow. They’ll be everywhere. It’s why I took off after him in the first place.”

She hesitated, sighed, then tucked the phone way. “I have to file a report, but you’re right. Are you okay?”

The night had gone to shit. “I’ll clean up at home.”

“Absolutely not. We’re a block from my place. Let’s go.”

“How can you let him get away with that?”

She frowned. “You know how? Because if I chased him down and started shooting, someone would get hurt. You’re looking at me like I should have been more of a cop. You know what? I was being a cop, Dax. My job is to protect and I didn’t act any differently than I would want someone else to in my situation. That computer is a thing. It can be replaced. People can’t.”

Dax studied her stony expression, her tight jaw. She was more upset than she was letting on.

“I’m sorry. I thought I was helping.” He’d thought he could be her hero. He’d done it a hundred times over the course of his career, but he’d failed with his woman.

“I know. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

So he could head home. Gabe and Mad were probably somewhere partying it up. He would sit with his mother and have a quiet, lonely chat over a glass of brandy, see if he could catch a glimpse of the laughing, happy woman he remembered from his childhood.

He followed Holland toward her place and wished they’d never left the restaurant.


*

This is going to hurt.” Holland winced as she dabbed the antiseptic on his elbow.

Dax hissed slightly but didn’t flinch. More proof that he was completely insane. Instead, he stared at a stationary point above her head.

“You really should have let me call the paramedics so they could take a look at you.”