Risking it All (Crossing the Line, #1)(48)

Sera shivered under the iciness of his order. As she watched, the group of men behind Bowen converged on the car, keeping their weapons trained on the intruders. Two of Bowen’s guys lowered their weapons in favor of wrestling her captor to the ground. His friends watched helplessly, unable to lower their weapons and help their friend or they would risk being shot.

Finally, one of them cursed and shoved his gun into the waistband of his jeans, the others quickly following suit. They piled back into the car, leaving their friend behind as they peeled away from the curb.

Bowen jerked his chin at two men in his crew. “Follow them. This ends tonight.”

As they jogged off to follow Bowen’s dictate, he sauntered forward. Almost as an afterthought, he picked the bat up off the ground and went toward the man who’d been left behind. Dozens of patrons had spilled from Marco’s to witness the action, and they all watched in rapt silence now as Bowen tapped the bat against his palm. Every tap felt like a physical blow to Sera, who wanted desperately to wrap her arms around him and beg him to stop, but she couldn’t move. This man, this frozen, rage-filled version of Bowen…she didn’t know him.

He came to a stop directly over the left-behind crew member, twirling the bat in his hand. His gaze met hers for a brief, heavy second before he raised the bat and brought it down with enough force to make her gasp and jump back.

Her heart raced out of control, breath shallow in her ears. She was terrified to watch, to see the death her decision had caused.

The bat connected with the sidewalk beside the man’s head, sending shards of wood in every direction. Some members of the crowd reacted with relief, others with disappointment. The latter made her sick even as thankfulness swamped her.

He hadn’t done it.

Her stunning relief was short-lived.

Bowen crouched down and looked the cowering man square in the eye. “You.

Are a dead man.” Slowly and purposefully, he rose to his feet and held out a hand to her, his attitude daring her not to take it. She swallowed the hard lump in her throat and slipped her fingers against his cool palm, resisting the urge to snatch her hand back when she heard his low growl. One second she had both feet planted on the ground, the next he’d swung her up into his arms to carry her toward his car. She mentally begged him to look her in the eye as he settled her into the passenger seat and shut the door. Through the closed window, she heard him shout to his men, his words falling like boulders on her chest.

“You know where to take him. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

His order left no doubt as to what would happen when he got there. He planned to kill the man for what he’d done.

Sera vowed then and there she would do everything in her power to stop him.





CHAPTER SIXTEEN


Twice in his life, he’d been scared.

The first time, his father had pointed a gun at Ruby. He’d been on the floor with a freshly broken arm, too far away to get between his sister and the bullet. From his position, he’d watched resignation transform her features, features so similar to his. It had been such an obvious acceptance of her own death, he’d almost looked away so it wouldn’t be etched on his memory, but somehow he’d

forced

himself

to

continue

watching. Somehow it would mean she didn’t

die

alone. So unfair, he remembered thinking. After the close calls and scrapes they’d been in, she wouldn’t even get the chance to fight.

All

of

it,

all

these

individual

catastrophes, took place within his mind in one second. The longest second of his life.

Until tonight.

He hated the feeling of fear. It slithered like a living thing through his veins, trying to shut him down. Out of self-preservation, he allowed the fear to close himself off to anything but burning, festering anger. He welcomed it. Let it become comfortable and focused on it.

Anything that would block out the image of Sera being choked, feet dangling in the air, hands clawing at her neck. If he let himself dwell on it, he knew with 100 percent certainty his world would implode.

The anger had a few different shapes, the first of which was directed at himself. He shouldn’t have left her alone, knowing she would take any opportunity to further her investigation.

It had been a poor decision and he’d nearly paid for it the worst way possible. Losing— No. Don’t think about it. Stay focused.

Anger. Anger at Sera. If he let himself feel it, maybe he could battle this need to pull the car over and drag her into his lap. Rock her. Smell her hair. Tell her what a crazy, stupid, maddening, beautiful girl she was. Shout at her. Kiss her. Shake her. Demand she hold him until this block of ice inside him melted and he stopped feeling shaky.

He wouldn’t let himself, though. It was vital he keep his rage, hold on to it like a precious gift. Whenever she touched him, he lost the grip on his darker self. The self that had finally made an appearance tonight, much to the delight of his crew of *s. Even Wayne had been smugly satisfied to see him promising violence and retribution.

While Bowen might regret giving the man what he wanted tomorrow, tonight he couldn’t give a shit. This hot, pumping anger needed an outlet and it would be unleashed on the man who’d put his hands on Sera.

At the reminder of what he’d seen as he walked out of the restaurant, his grip tightened on the wheel, making the car swerve. In the seat beside him, Sera’s hand flew to her throat. That’s when he noticed the red marks. Just over her windpipe, five fingerprints that had to have been digging into her hard, for a good while, to leave those kinds of marks behind. He stared at them, letting them fuel his anger, ignoring the brown eyes trying to get his attention. If he looked into her eyes, knowing he’d almost lost the chance to ever do so again, he would lose it. He would f*cking lose it. After what felt like an hour-long drive, but in reality had only been three minutes, he pulled up in front of his building. He took a moment as he rounded the car to scan the block for Connor’s car, but didn’t see him.