She broke off when the man with two women, who was sitting by the door, leaned toward her as she walked by. There was a snarl, then before she could blink, Leo had shoved her behind his back, and Malachi had the gorgeous man pinned against the wall of the bar, his hand around the man’s throat. The girls at the table started shrieking and calling for the owner.
Ava peeked from around Leo’s back, and she heard Malachi whisper, “If you want to survive to see the dawn, come no closer. My dagger hungers for your neck.”
She gasped. “Holy shit!”
Leo spun and almost shoved her past Malachi and the other man, dragging her onto the sidewalk outside the bar.
“What the hell was that?” she yelled.
“Ava, let’s get going.”
She shook off the hand that had reached for her shoulder. “You people are maniacs! Get away from me!”
Ava was practically running toward the hotel. She could see the doorman sitting outside the door, smoking one of the sweet cigarettes he always carried. She could smell the waft of tobacco reach her nose a second before a hand grabbed her shoulder. Malachi spun her around, then immediately raised his hands in surrender.
“Let me explain, Ava.”
“Explain what? How you threatened to stab some guy because he was making a pass at me?” She backed away from him, inching closer to the doorman with every step. “He wasn’t even making a pass at me. He leaned in my direction, and you—”
“There was a girl almost killed tonight.”
“That’s horrible.” She kept backing away. “But what the hell does that have to do with me?”
“Those men are…” She saw him give Leo a panicked glance. “They’re… in a gang.”
Liar. She shook her head. He was lying; she could hear it.
“And that gang is the one responsible for this girl’s attack. They specialize in… human trafficking, and they’re targeting foreign women traveling alone.”
He was just making things up as he went along, but his voice… His inner voice was still panicked. Worried. He was lying, but it was out of fear. Something had frightened the big, bad bodyguard, and it had to do with her safety. That reason alone caused her to take a deep breath and stop backing away from him. Logic, even the fuzzy logic she had to work with from all the wine, told Ava that if Malachi wanted to harm her, he’d had plenty of opportunities in the week and a half they’d already known each other. He’d had her alone many times. So obviously something else was going on.
She asked, “What does this have to do with me?”
“There were four of them in that bar, Ava. One attacked me earlier as an associate and I were rescuing a girl they had kidnapped and almost killed. We have a standing assignment from our bosses in Vienna about this organization. They’re active all over the world, and for some reason, they’re targeting you. We don’t know why.”
For the first time, his words had the ring of truth. Ava took a deep breath. She still felt like there was something she wasn’t seeing, but at least some of what he said made sense.
“Carl,” she muttered.
“What?”
“My stepfather, Carl Matheson. He’s rich as Midas. Richer, maybe. In addition to being a film producer, he also has all this family money. Shipping. Oil. He’s loaded. If it’s human trafficking, they probably want me for ransom. It wouldn’t be the first time someone has tried.”
Or succeeded. She tried not the think about the awful week when she was eight. Routine, they had called it. The monsters who had taken her in Brazil had laughed and called it a routine kidnapping when they teased her. One girl for one million dollars. A respectable week’s work. She hadn’t slept through the night for a year afterward.
Malachi said, “That must be it. They’ve become bolder, and I don’t know why.” He stepped closer cautiously. “I’d like to stay at the hotel. I called already and booked the room next to yours.”
And just like that, she was pissed off again. “Didn’t ask me, did you? Did you ask Carl? Is anyone going to even pretend to keep me informed?” She spun around and walked toward the doorman. He frowned for a moment before he said something to Malachi in Turkish. Malachi barked back, then the doorman shrugged and opened the door to their group.
“Some security you are,” Ava muttered. “I was told this hotel had the best security in the city. I stayed here for that reason. I don’t need handlers. I don’t want someone watching me eat breakfast and following me to the bathroom, Malachi.”
A wave of embarrassment washed over her as she walked to her room. For a few days, she’d almost felt normal. The voices were quieter. She was going out and touring a city she was growing to love. She’d forgotten Malachi had been hired to look out for her. She’d felt like she had a friend who enjoyed her company. Enjoyed spending time with her. Maybe even…
She was foolish to have forgotten. Other people got those things. Not her.
“Ava.” His voice was softer, pleading. She refused to turn around. “I’m trying to keep you safe.”
“By getting a room in my hotel without even asking me?” she asked in a hoarse voice. She had to get away from him. She was seconds away from crying. “By ordering me around like I’m a child?”
“Please—”
“I’m going to bed now. I don’t want to talk to you. I’m tired, and we’ll talk more about this in the morning.”