PROLOGUE
Thursday, October 31, 2019
TJ Arlington’s Halloween Party
TALON
“Have you seen my brother?”
The woman muttered something, which I assumed was her brother’s name, but I didn’t catch it.
I watched as she moved to another person, asking the same question and getting another negative response. But she was intent and not at all swayed by the sideways glances she was getting, much less the posturing by all the Dominants looking to intimidate.
She disappeared into the fray for a moment, but I caught sight of her again when I noticed a couple of security guards making their way through the crowd. No doubt on their way to intervene because this woman had dared something so crass as to come inside without her flapper dress.
Heaven forbid.
Without so much as a goodbye to Ian and Isaac Stokes, I turned to follow the woman.
Because I towered over everyone in attendance, I located her easily, watched as she turned her question on the security guards who were already attempting to urge her back the way she’d come. While I could see them, I couldn’t hear what she was saying over the din of conversation, but I could deduce relatively well: they wanted her to leave, she didn’t want to go, and they weren’t going to ask nicely.
We’d see about that.
Several people had started to turn, drawn by the insistent commands being barked by the security guards.
“I told you, I need to find my brother,” the woman exclaimed, her low, raspy voice bordering on hysterical.
She attempted to shake off the hand curling around her arm, the security guard clearly not interested in hearing her out.
Despite her somewhat disheveled appearance, the woman had a natural beauty about her. With her hair in a haphazard ponytail and not a lick of makeup on her face, she looked far too sweet to be amidst this lascivious and carnal group.
Beneath what looked to be her workout attire, I could see she was on the thin side. Delicate bone structure, small breasts, and legs that went on for miles. She was a bit taller than average for a female—I’d venture a guess at somewhere close to five nine, maybe five ten—with the longest, shiniest hair I’d ever seen. And her face. She was proof there was a God, because she’d been put together in a manner that could only be created by the heavens. From a physical perspective, she was breathtaking, catching plenty of eyes as she strolled through.
For the first time in a long time, I found myself entirely enthralled by a female and overwhelmed by an instinct to protect her.
Before I could intervene, the security guard in a tacky suit grabbed her arm, jerked her toward him.
“You can’t be here,” the little twit insisted, his meaty paw squeezing her arm. “You don’t have an invitation, nor are you wearing the appropriate attire.”
On a good day, I wasn’t the sort of man to stick my nose where it didn’t belong, but I was compelled by some dark driving force to intervene.
“I’m not here for the party,” she insisted. “I told you, I’m looking for my brother. His name’s—”
“Not tonight you’re not,” the man declared, rolling right over her as he pulled her toward the front of the house.
I stepped into his path, blocked his attempt to drag her away. The move brought him to an abrupt halt, had him locking his hand more tightly around her arm.
“Hey,” she hissed, trying to pry his fingers from her arm. “You’re hurting me.”
Anger, hot and bright, erupted, and it took everything in me not to rip his head clean off his body. It was an emotion I wasn’t familiar with, one I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt before.
“If you wouldn’t mind,” the idiot in a cheap suit huffed, trying to move around me without bothering to meet my gaze. “She’s not permitted to be here.”
“I think she asked you to remove your hand.” I kept my voice even, the deep baritone all I generally needed to get the desired result.
The man sighed, glared up at me. There was instant recognition but not an ounce of concern. “I’m not here to argue with you, Talon. She can’t be here. Master Arlington said—”
I nodded my chin toward the hand still gripping her arm. “Off.”
He released her, then stepped back, his palms coming up in a sign of surrender. “Whatever. I’ve got to inform the rest of the team. They won’t be nearly as nice as I’ve been.”
Before he could walk away, I gripped his shoulder, my hand covering the entire joint, squeezing just enough to have his arm going numb. “Next time you think of being nice to her, I’ll break your fingers. One by one.” I leaned down to his level. “Then I’ll feed them to you.”
The man howled, his knees buckling as my fingers dug deeper into the nerves.
“Okay. Yes.” He attempted to shrug off my hold. “I won’t touch her again.”
I released him, my eyes shifting to the woman. More specifically the way she was rubbing her arm, her expression pinched from pain.
The bullshit excuse for security stormed off in a huff, but I was more interested in the big brown eyes peering up at me.
“Are you okay?” I took her wrist, pushed her sleeve up, and gently raised her arm to study the angry red marks the bastard had left on her flawless pale skin.
Her eyes locked on the spot where my skin touched hers, but she didn’t pull away. “Yes. I’m fine. Look,” she said softly. “I really am sorry. I’m not trying to crash the party. I just need to find my brother.”
I motioned her out of the path of the other guests, hoping they would redirect their attention now that the show was over. “Who’s your brother?”
“Ransom Bishop.”
Well, wasn’t this an interesting turn of events? I’d known Ransom Bishop for many years, and never had I learned he had a sibling.
“He’s not here,” I told her.
Her eyes widened and a glimmer of fear glinted in those mesmerizing amber eyes, replacing the determination. “He’s not? He said he would be here.”
I motioned toward the front door. “I saw him leave about an hour ago. Said he had to take care of something.”
Her hand covered her mouth. “Oh, God.”
Releasing the wrist I’d inadvertently been running my thumb over, I motioned for her to step toward the hallway. No sense causing another scene.
“Have you tried calling him?”
“Yeah, but … he didn’t answer.” She exhaled her exasperation. “He does this sometimes. When he’s busy.”
“And you suspect he’s busy?”
She offered a half shrug. “Must be. If not, his memory’s going, because he forgot to pick me up.”
Before we could continue our conversation, footsteps sounded behind me. I knew from the scurry of feet that there was more than one person coming my way. With my body blocking the woman from view, I glanced over my shoulder, narrowed my eyes at the leader of the pack of assholes.
“Hey. She can’t be here,” he barked, glaring up at me as though he might have the mind to take matters into his own hands should I not heed what was clearly a warning.
When I didn’t budge, he attempted to look around me.
As though it was my sole position in life, I didn’t move, keeping her sheltered between my body and the corner, my back to the room. There was no way he could see around me unless he forced me to move. Or tried, anyway. Which he wouldn’t. Not if he knew what was good for him.