Azriel lay next me, his arm draped across my stomach. I listened to the sound of his breathing, the even rise and fall of his chest. In fifteen years, I’d never told him how I felt about him. And in turn, he’d never professed his affections for me. I didn’t know what love was. My parents had never spared much time for me, and seemed happy to see me married off and out of their home. And Henry . . . he hadn’t shown me an ounce of kindness, let alone love. I wasn’t even sure if I knew how to love, but I thought I loved Azriel. He had to love me, as well. He showed me kindness and passion. He protected me and saved my life. If that wasn’t love, I didn’t know what was.
Had Joe’s mistress felt protected?
I left my corporeal form, and Azriel stirred for a moment before settling back into sleep. The gray hour of dawn couldn’t be too far away, so rather than take the chance of being caught without the shroud of shadow to protect me; I dressed in the suit and tucked my hair up into the fedora. I cast one last look at Azriel and brushed my fingers through the silky-soft strands of his hair. He couldn’t protect me forever. I was going to have to learn how to take care of myself.
I wandered invisible, unsure of where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do. It’s not like I was looking for trouble, but for some reason, I almost hoped that trouble would come looking for me.
With nowhere else to go, I found myself standing in front of the building Joe Connolly had used to meet with his mistress. I stared up at the fourth story window, thinking of the emptiness in the man’s eyes when he died. I’d always known that Azriel was dangerous. Deadly. God help any fool who dared to cross him. He’d called Joe’s girlfriend a liability. And though I hadn’t thought anything of it at the time, I’d realized since our meeting with Lorik that I was a liability, as well. I didn’t want to be his weakness, the one thing an enemy could use as leverage. I may have been immortal, but neither Azriel nor I were completely safe from harm.
The sound of a scuffle floated to my ears on the morning breeze, and I turned my attention to the source. I narrowed my eyes, concentrated my preternatural senses and zeroed in on the ruckus that came not from around the block, but further away––closer to the waterfront.
It wouldn’t be long before the sun crested the eastern horizon. The gray hour was upon me, and I used the last minutes of darkness to speed through the city streets past Pike Place Market into the warehouse district. I knew the area all too well. I’d learned some very valuable lessons on this pier fifteen years ago: that I was stronger than I could have ever imagined, and that mercy was a weakness I couldn’t afford.
A woman’s enraged shriek brought me out of my reverie, and I followed the sound from Belltown all the way to Colman Dock. Four men, dressed in ragged sweaters and caps pulled low over their heads, struggled with a slight but furious girl who kicked and scratched at them as they tried to shove her into the baggage room.
Something inside me snapped. It had been almost two decades since I’d been a victim in any form, but I knew the fear this woman felt. I entered the fray, even though mere minutes would see me trapped in my corporeal form. I was substantially stronger than a human man. I could have broken one’s neck, long ago. I didn’t need any other proof than that memory to solidify the belief that I could—and would—end a life before the sun rose if need be.
“Ah! God damn it, she bit me!” One of the men shouted, and a loud crack resounded in the vast covered dock as he rounded on the girl and slapped her.
A snarl tore from my throat as I grabbed the bastard by the shoulder and threw him a good ten feet away. Wood splintered as he crashed into a crate, and his grunt of pain gave me a perverse sense of satisfaction. I kicked at attacker number two, glad I’d worn the pants Azriel bought me tonight. The range of motion was wonderful. I would be hard pressed to go out in a dress ever again. I’d managed to stop two out of the four men, and rather than continue on my violent rampage, I centered my attention on the girl who slapped and kicked and tried her hardest to escape the iron grip of the men who still had a hold of her.
I wrenched her free with no effort whatsoever and sent her stumbling toward the dock exit. “Run!” I shouted. “Get out of here!”
She didn’t need to be told twice. As quick as a rabbit she scuttled out of sight, her shoes echoing into silence as she fled. I didn’t have time to congratulate myself on a job well done, however, because I’d failed to consider my next move, once I’d managed to rescue the girl. My strength was indeed impressive, but I hadn’t managed to incapacitate any of the men. And now that I’d stripped them of their fun, they focused their combined energy on a new target.
I cursed my foolishness that I hadn’t paid better attention to my surroundings. They came at me from all sides, two in front and two behind. The two men behind me were angrier, considering I’d roughed them up a bit. I reached for the shadows, desperate to join their company. A ray of early morning sunlight filtered in through the roof and my heart stuttered in my chest. Too late. Something swooshed behind me and I spun. The heavy length of chain rushed at my face so fast I didn’t have time to react. It smashed against my head, and a bright white light of pain exploded in my skull moments before darkness swallowed me whole.
* * *
“Do what you want. I’m not taking a woman while she’s knocked out. Where’s the fun in that?” a muffled voice poked through the dark haze of my brain, pulling me from a state of nothingness.
“The way she tossed you around, Pete, it might be best to take her that way. Wonder why she’s dressed like a man,” another voice said.
“Who cares why? All that matters is what’s underneath her clothes.”
“She could be someone important,” a third voice entered the conversation. “Might be a bad idea to mess with her if we can make a buck off of her.”
“Ransom?” the first voice, Pete, asked.
Silence fell and I assumed the men were all contemplating the situation. It appeared that perhaps money meant more to them than the possibility of rape. Good for me, I supposed. Though at present, my situation could be considered anything but good. I couldn’t discern my surroundings, though I knew they’d moved me from Colman Dock. And though I couldn’t see the sky, the fact that I was confined to corporeality was proof enough that I hadn’t been unconscious for long.
My captors weren’t taking any chances with me. Heavy chain had been wound around my body several times, anchoring me to a post as big around as a large tree. My confidence that I could easily escape faltered. Though certain I could break even a thick rope, I didn’t think I could break through this much chain. I smelled the briny tang of the inlet and heard the gentle lap of water somewhere below me . . . no longer at Colman Dock, but we had to be close to the waterfront still.
Azriel had to be awake by now. I tried to push my worry to the back of my mind. Would he think I’d left him? God, I had to get back to him. I couldn’t let him think that he meant so little to me that I would simply sneak away while he slept.
“She’s not worth anything to us unless we figure out who she is.” The men began their plotting again, as they talked about me as if I were nothing but a fine piece of merchandise.
I refused to sit and wait to hear my fate decided by these imbeciles. They’d been out looking for sport, and when I’d ruined their good time, I became the consolation prize. I’d played the victim once, and it was not a role I planned to reprise. “I’m no one you want to tangle with. That’s all you need to know about who I am.”