Page 59 of Stay Toxic

The adrenaline pumping in my veins doesn’t let me analyze the change in the situation immediately; I don’t even know what I’m seeing, over the erratic beat of my heart.

My mother's bodyguard, the monster from my nightmares, is on the pavement, on his knees, and there's someone standing behind him. I blink, the blurry vision taking shape, but not making any more sense.

I know that guy. I've seen him recently, haven't I? Tall, dark hair, cold eyes, all dressed in leather.

He's holding a gun with a silencer to the back of Joseph's neck.

"You know, I'd shoot, but I've had a busy weekend, and cleanup is a bitch," he drawls, with a lazy, matter-of-fact voice. "I guess it's your lucky day, my friend."

The stranger hits Joseph at the back of his head so hard I hear a thump, and he goes down, face first.In no time, the man in leather has him stashed in the back of his own van, where he wanted to lock me up.

Then those booted feet walk to me, and he removes his gloves, offering me a hand."You good?"

I look up into that face. It's pretty. Too pretty for someone so very casual about violence.

I swallow hard. "I…thank you, yes."

"I'm good with faces," the guy says. "You belong to my cousin, don't you?"

Now that he mentioned it, I can finally place him. I met him at the gala. He's not the one who told Sebastian they'd be upstairs after the auction, but he looks like him. Except for the eyes. His are silver, not blue.

"I…" I clear my throat. "I'm seeing Sebastian."

The man nods. "Markus," he introduces himself. The one with the pink-haired girl.I barely saw his face, given how busy it was at the gala, but I’ve seen them around campus.

"I'm Tia. Thank you for that."

"It's not over, whatever it is. That man was a professional—albeit not a very talented one—and he was after you. Anything I should know?"

I frown. "Why should you know about my problems?"

He shrugs. "If you're with Sebastian, you're intertwined with my family. And if my family has problems, they usually come to me."

I let him pull me to my feet. "It's not…I'm not?—"

Not what? Moments away from being kidnapped by my evil mother's gross bodyguard?

I try again. "Sebastian won't be affected by this. It's my issue."

A smile tugs at Markus's lips. "Now that, I very much doubt."

26

Markus stays with me while we wait for the help he called.

As the shock leaves me, I notice there's a motorcycle on the other side of the pavement. It looks too expensive compared to the other cars in the parking lot, and it certainly goes with him, so I assume it's his.

I clear my throat. "Thank you for stopping. I'm lucky you were around."

"Luck has little to do with it. I patrol for that kind of shit. It's more common than you'd think in southie."

I blink. "Seriously? We're in Thorn Falls."

"And if you knew how many young, pretty things have been taken from these streets, you'd run back home."

I don't tell him nothing could make me run back home.

I expected an ambulance, maybe the police, but instead, we're soon surrounded by a bunch of black cars. Men wearing identical suits grab Joseph from the back of the van.