Lucky Girl (Lucky Alphas Book 2)
By: Mallory CroweHarper went ashen, and he could see her trying to sort through the lies and the truth.
“For fuck’s sake, enough of the soap opera. You want her out of here? She’s gone. Haynes, take the girl. Stone, you come with me. We’ve got some banking to do.”
Lucas waited as the other man, Haynes, took Harper by her upper arm and dragged her out of the room. She didn’t fight him. All she could do was stare at Lucas, dumbfounded.
Well fuck, he’d really been convincing apparently. It would be a shame to die while Harper thought he was a bastard. But as long as she was alive, she could think whatever she wanted.
That bastard. She had no idea what he was planning, but the fact that he needed her out that badly was a horrible sign. What the hell was he planning that he didn’t want her around?
And she wasn’t crazy. He hadn’t taken that money. She was absolutely a hundred percent certain.
Now she just needed an explanation, and she wasn’t letting this brute get rid of her until she got that. She tried to yank her arm away from him, but he held tight as they got outside. She thought he was going to drag her to the car, but instead he bore right, heading for the garage. “Where are we going?” she demanded.
“Like you heard, we’re not giving up our leverage until we get what we want. So come on, leverage.”
She was just about to tell him where he could shove his leverage when three loud shots rang out.
Harper froze. The blood in her veins suddenly turned to ice. Shots. She didn’t have her gun, and as far as she knew, Lucas never carried one, so that had to mean....
No. She started to run back to the house, but the brute’s grip around her arm tightened. Without hesitation, she folded her arm until her elbow was in a sharp point and jammed it back into his chest. He’d been so focused on trying to keep her from getting away from him that he had no time to stop her from getting closer.
Her elbow hurt like a bitch as it rammed into his ribs, but she figured it had to hurt him more. As he was slouched over, grabbing his ribs, she shoved her knee up. She was aiming for the spot she’d just elbowed him but missed, instead getting the edge of his throat and his chin.
He grunted again. This time, he barreled forward, running a shoulder into her stomach and sending them both tumbling to the ground. He tried to get his weight fully on top of her to pin her down, but Harper immediately writhed and tried to use the strength of her legs to throw him off. She was able to push him to the side and started to crawl away, but he grabbed her ankle and pulled her back. Her fingers gripped the grass, pulling some out, and she threw it in his face. The grass didn’t do much, but little bits of dirt particles around the roots managed to get to his eyes.
“Bitch!” he screamed as his hands went to rub at his eyes.
She was just standing up when she saw someone walking toward her. To her shock and amazement, it was Lucas. He was taking one determined stride after another, closer and closer toward her with a fearsome expression she’d never seen before. She wanted to ask him what happened, but no sound came out. But one piece of the puzzle was clear. He had a gun clasped firmly in his hand, his index finger on the trigger. As he got closer, he lifted the gun up, and without hesitation or fear, he pulled the trigger again and again and again.
Harper’s heart leapt to her throat and she froze. It took every ounce of strength she had to turn her head over her shoulder to see the man behind her slumping over on the grass, motionless.
“Are you okay?” asked Lucas.
Suddenly she was being pulled up, and Lucas was touching her. His free hand ran over her cheek, her neck, her waist, and then along her back, pulling her close. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“I am....” She struggled for words. She was so sick of being manhandled, but if Lucas hadn’t pulled her up, she wasn’t sure she would be able to stand on her own. “What was that?”
“They were going to hurt you. I can’t let them hurt you. Ever.”
Harper wrapped her arms around him and held him close. “I’m right here, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”
“A boat.”
“What?”
“For our first date, it would be on a boat. I’d take you sailing, and we could watch the sunset together. But it would be in the fall, so the nights would be chilly. When it got dark and cold, we’d have to go below deck to warm up. There’s not a lot of room below deck, you know. So we’d have to get close. Cozy.”
