Page 34 of Inferno

She leans in suddenly and grabs a fistful of his greasy black hair, yanking his head back.

“Be careful out there on your own, you sick fuck.”

My brows lift. That venom in her tone? It’s real. She’s not bluffing.

She pushes him off and he crashes into a table, limbs flailing.

I step closer. I need to be near her.

“You okay?” I ask.

We sit, our eyes locking again. Electricity. No bullshit.

“Yeah.”

But her gaze is somewhere else, teeth nibbling at the edge of her nail.

“You’ve taken down two guys in one day. Pretty impressive.”

She doesn’t respond.

“And you punched me in the dick. Anyone would think you hate the male species.” I try to tease, but her walls shoot back up.

Her face sharpens. She snaps to look at me.

“The first guy tried to mug me and that one drugged my drink. Tell me, what the hell is there to like about your kind?”

I clench my fists. That’s what I didn’t want to hear, because now I want to murder the fucker.

“I’m sorry,” is all I manage to get out.

And she laughs. It’s a sound that splits through the tension and damn it, I want to hear it again. I want to hear all her sounds.

“What, on behalf of all men?” she asks between giggles.

“If that makes you happy, then yes. On behalf of the entire male population, I apologize for our scumbag behavior.”

But inside? Rage. “He drugged your drink?” I ask, already planning how I’m going to make that bastard disappear.

“Yep. I rejected him. He didn’t like that. So, he thought he could take what he wanted instead.”

There’s something hollow in her voice. Sadness, masked in steel.

“Can you give me a second?” I ask, needing to go fix this before it eats me alive.

“Sure. You want a drink?” she asks, and fuck, her voice hits me low.

“I’ll take a beer, please. Ice cold. No drug additions, please.” I grin, trying to keep it light.

“Maybe this is my chance to get my revenge against men.”

She winks, and I’m toast.

“I’ll be one minute,” I tell her, praying she doesn’t vanish when I turn around. I have a feeling she’s a runner. I have to keep her close to keep bashing down these walls.

I head straight for my table and slam my hands down.

Finn’s head snaps up.

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