Aria's POV
"Who the hell are…?"
His hands reach for his coat pocket in such precise action that it makes me gasp. A gun materializes in one hand, and he points it at the men.
"I don't know how to give instructions twice." His tone is dark. Calm. Not weathered by the rain. "Get the fuck out!"
The first man looks at his partner and takes a long step back, away from the drama. But the scarred one doesn't back down. Everything happens so fast. One minute, my back is pressed against the wall, and the next, a blade is pressed down my throat.
"Don't come close, old man," he sneers, laughter on his tongue. "One more step and her blood is going to be splattered on the floor. I have killed before, and trust me when I say I don't mind killing again."
I practically see my life flash before my eyes. The blade hasn't nicked my skin yet, but I close my eyes tight, bracing myself for it. I have imagined my last days on earth, but never did I even consider that it would be on a dark curb in my junior year in college.
"Do you know the thing about real killers?" Damien's cold voice comes up again. "They don't actually brag about it."
A loud scream pierces through the air, and my eyes fall open at once. The blade is gone from my neck, with the man on the floor, holding on to his bleeding hand. I take in the large cut, made by his own blade, and my eyes come up to meet Damien's.
"How…"
"Car," he orders, not looking at me. "Now."
I seem to be frozen to the wall, shaking violently, and watching the scene unfold before me. Both men scramble away, one pulling the other. They get into the van and drive off.
That is when he finally looks at me. "Get. In."
I shake my head, my eyes still wide, my blood still roaring loud in my ears. "I'm not going anywhere with…You can't just…"
"Aria!" He snaps, moving closer. "Those men will be back with reinforcements. And I can't hold them off. In the car."
When I don't answer, he wraps a hand around my arm and pulls me in the direction of his sports car. He pulls open the door to the passenger seat and gently pushes me in. I hold my breath when he leans in to buckle the seat belt across me.
"Shit!" he murmurs. "You are shivering." He takes off his coat jacket and tosses it across my chest before striding around the car, getting behind the wheel.
"I thought you were in the military," I whisper as he takes a sharp turn. "What are you doing here? How did you…"
"I left the military." His reply is clipped, leaving no room for further probing.
"You didn't attend Dad's funeral." With the threat gone, my brain settles and begins to work the way it actually should. "You were his best friend."
"I am here now, aren't I?" His muscles bulge as he makes another turn. "And drop the Uncle Damien thing. Makes me feel old."
I take a proper look at him. He looks nothing like his age, with only a few strands of silver in his hair, slicked down by the rain. Beads of water dance on his forearm, and I suddenly forget how to breathe. His forehead is furrowed in concentration, like he is trying so hard to force something out of his mind.
"Damien." It sounds foreign, but familiar. "You haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?"
"I just saved your life, kiddo. Shouldn't you be grateful?"
We get to a traffic light, and the car slows to a halt. That is when I look around me. "Where are we going?" I ask, eyeing him dubiously.
"Do you always ask a lot of questions?" He murmurs, staring straight ahead.
"Take me to my dorm."
"No."
My head jerks back in surprise. "Excuse me?"
The light turns green, and the engine purrs again. The rain beats hard around us. He relaxes an arm on the window, his eyes easing up, his expression unbothered.
"You are in danger, Aria. And it is my duty to protect you. Just in case tonight told you nothing, those men are not going to stop with just brandishing a knife in a dark alley."
"I can take care of myself." I don't know why I am angry, or why a part of me blames what happened tonight on him. "I have been doing just that since I got into college. And see? I am fine."
"Your father's will was faxed to my lawyer this afternoon."
I blink, momentarily stunned. "What has that got to do with anything?"
"It names me your legal guardian until you graduate from college. I am responsible for you."
His jacket falls from my body as I sit up. "Guardian? I am twenty-one, not some fucking child. Of course, my father, even in death, knows how to hold me down with his controlling grip."
"He's only looking out for you."
"You call this protection?" I glare at him. "This is bossing me around. I need to go to my dorm, not some place you are taking me to."
He says nothing.
"Damien!"
We stop in front of a high-rise building. "Listen to me, Aria. For now, you do not leave the building without my driver. You do not switch off your phone, and you most definitely do not take off what I am about to clasp around your neck."
A laugh slips from my throat. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Trust me. I wish I were."
He reaches into the console of his car and retrieves a thin platinum chain with a small pendant. He leans in mechanically, fastening it at the nape of my neck like this is the totally normal thing to do to a grown woman he hasn't seen in over ten years.
I hold my breath when his fingers graze my skin, the sudden warmth spreading through me. For some weird reason, I feel heady, and my eyes flutter close.
Despite the warmth in the car, a chill hits when he takes his hands off me. "If you touch me…"
"I think you should be more worried about how see-through your top is right now, than my hands on you."
"Shit!"
I grab his coat off the floor and place it over my chest. The shrill of his phone pierces through the odd silence. The screen comes on.
R. Melendez.