“Ray…it’s okay. I had it under control.”

Doctor Death staggers back, but moments later he pulls himself up, going head-to-head with Ray. They are instantly swarmed by bouncers, and within minutes they are both outside on the patio.

“I’m leaving.” Doctor Death holds up his hands palms forward in a gesture of surrender. “Not causing any trouble. If I was out of line, I apologize. Just calm down.”

“Calm down?” Ray hits him with a left hook. Doctor Death dodges the blow only to meet Ray’s right. His head snaps to the side and blood trickles from his nose.

“Predator. Stand down,” Rampage shouts. “He apologized.”

But Ray doesn’t stop. He is kicking and punching without mercy. If Doctor Death wasn’t a fighter too, he would, no doubt, be unconscious on the ground, but he manages to hold his own, albeit in a totally defensive mode. Still, he is clearly suffering, and when Ray raises his hand for a hammer fist, I can’t take anymore.

“STOP.” My voice rises to a shriek, and I take a step toward them. Rampage grabs my hand and pulls me back.

“You, go over there. You’ll just get hurt.”

“If I go over there, Doctor Death will be Doctor Dead.” I step forward and grab Ray’s arm. “Please. Stop. He’s down. He apologized. He’s not a threat.”

“Get back.” Ray sweeps his arm back to free himself from my grip, and the force of his swing sends me flying into some empty patio tables. I hit the ground hard.

“Sia!” Ray looks down at me aghast, his opponent forgotten.

But when he takes a step toward me, I hold up a hand. “I don’t know you. Just leave me alone.”

Hammer Fist and Blade Saw run to help Doctor Death, and Jess and Rampage help me up. Staggering to my feet, I grab Jess’s hand. “Let’s go.”

She glances back over her shoulder to where Ray is still standing. I can feel his eyes burning into me, willing me to turn around.

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more certain.”

Chapter 23

Undress me

Jess drops me off at home. A storm hits just as I wave good-bye. Thunder booms overhead and lightning sheets the sky. How perfect.

My apartment door is unlocked and light streams from underneath. The stolen “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door handle is Tag’s way of letting me know he’s decided to crash at my place, a necessity after I almost had a heart attack the first time I walked into the dark apartment and found him on my couch.

“Got a pic from Rampage.” He holds up his phone with a picture of me and Ray on the dance floor. “Didn’t think you’d be home tonight.”

With a sigh, I dump my stuff and join Tag on the couch. “Doctor Death squeezed my ass. Ray went ballistic. He totally overreacted. I thought he was going to kill him. So I left. I couldn’t deal.”

“I guess not. You okay?”

A ball of emotion rises in my chest, and my throat tightens. “I don’t know what to do. It feels so right when we’re together. He can be so gentle and passionate, and he has this dry sense of humor that cracks me up. He just…gets me. Sometimes he knows what I want before I do. But every time I think I know him, I find out something that makes me second-guess myself. I just wanted to be able trust someone, but he has so many secrets. And the violence… Even though I love the fights, sometimes I think he isn’t in control. He knocked me down tonight. I know he didn’t mean to do it, but it happened.”

Tag’s face softens in sympathy. “He’s crazy about you, Sia. He pulled all sorts of strings and called in all sorts of favors to find Luke. That guy has connections like you wouldn’t believe. And he did it for you. It should have been me in that alley making sure justice was done. But Ray wouldn’t let me near him. He said he didn’t want me to mess up my police career. And that was for you as much as it was for me, because he thought you’d blame yourself if I did.”

“He was right.”

“My police work is all about catching guys like Luke and putting them in jail,” Tag says. “It’s about me finding justice and getting over the guilt of not being there to protect you. But Ray was there for you and only you.”

“Tag…” My voice wavers. “It’s not your fault. You warned me about Luke. You did everything you could do. You can’t feel guilty for my choices, and you can’t feel guilty that there are people like Luke walking the streets. You’re a good person. The best. Why do you think Jess has stuck it out for so long?”

“Lack of a better option?” He turns away and his shoulders heave.

“She has an option. Right now. And she’s still waiting for you to get your head out of your ass.”

“Seems to be a family trait,” he says, leaning back against the cushions. “I’ve got this sister who’s in love with this guy, but she says she can’t be with him because she doesn’t trust him. So she keeps pushing him away. She doesn’t realize you can’t trust someone if you don’t let them close enough to see what kind of person they really are.”

“So, what happens to this sister of yours?”

Tag shrugs. “Don’t know. She’s got her head stuck up her ass pretty damn far and it’s a long way down.”

“Very sweet. But very crude.”

“That’s me.” Tag grins. “That’s what keeps the ladies coming back.”