Page 6 of Switch

Mike struggles, cursing and yelling, but the men hold firm, hauling him out of sight.

I stand frozen, my heart still racing as the first man turns back to me.

“You okay?”he asks, his voice softer now.

“I… I think so,”I stammer, wrapping my arms around myself.

He nods, his dark eyes scanning me like he’s making sure I’m really telling the truth.“You sure?”

“Yeah,”I whisper, still trying to catch my breath.

The man takes a step back, giving me some space.“Well, you won’t have to worry about him anymore.”

I swallow hard, my throat tight.“Thank you.”

He tilts his head slightly, a small smirk tugging at his lips.“Anytime.”

The chaos of the last few minutes replays in my mind like a bad movie, but he stands there, looking completely unfazed. His broad shoulders are relaxed, but there’s something sharp in his gaze, like he’s still assessing the situation, still on edge in a way that says he’s used to stepping in like this. Like it’s justnormalfor him to be the guy who handles shit.

“You want me to walk you to your car?”he asks, voice steady and calm.

I freeze. My stomach flips as I realize the small problem with his offer.

“Oh, shit,”I mumble, running a hand through my hair.

He raises an eyebrow.“What?”

I hesitate, feeling my face heat up.“I, uh… I didn’t drive.”

His brows pull together, his easy stance turning rigid in an instant.“You’re telling me that guy was supposed to drive you home?”

I flinch at the sharpness in his tone, but before I can even respond, he’s already shaking his head, his jaw tight.

“Motherfucker,”he mutters.“That asshole was drunk. You could’ve been hurt—or worse.”

“I didn’t know he was going to drink like that,”I say quickly, my voice defensive.“But I wasn’t planning on getting in the truck with him if he was acting like that.”

He doesn’t look convinced, his eyes narrowing as he mutters something under his breath.

I exhale sharply and reach for my phone, needing to call someone to pick me up and get me out of here.

Except when I unlock it, there’s no signal.

“Of course,”I groan, holding the phone up like it’ll magically catch a bar if I wave it around enough.

He watches me, his expression softening slightly.“No service?”

“Nope,”I say, sighing in frustration.“Perfect end to a perfect night.”

He stands there for a moment, hands on his hips as he glances around the carnival. Then he looks back at me.“I’ll give you a ride.”

I blink.“What?”

“I’ll take you home,”he repeats, his tone firm but not unkind.“I’m not leaving you stranded here, and there’s no way in hell I’m letting you try to figure this out on your own.”

I hesitate, my pulse still racing for an entirely different reason now.

“You don’t even know me,”I point out.

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