“Wait,” Dakota said, “are we sure about this?” Everyone turned and stared at her and Dakota felt compelled to continue. “I mean, maybe that guy wasn’t going to hurt us. He could have just been another person who came expecting a party.”

 

“Are you kidding me?” Adam yelled, throwing up his hands, his voice echoing off the buildings around them.

 

“Calm down,” Joey said. “You guys said you came here for a party. Who told you about it?”

 

“This guy I used to know DMd me on Twitter,” Marley answered.

 

“Are you sure that was really him? You can impersonate anyone on Twitter; all you need is a picture and you’re good to go. Was his account new?” Joey asked.

 

“Yes,” Marley said, as tears appeared again on her face. “He said he had just started the account; that’s why he didn’t have any followers or anything. I never should have believed him.”

 

“You were led here,” Adam said to Dakota. “Someone brought you to this garage so they could kill you, leave no witnesses, clean up the mess, and take your body God knows where. Someone is trying to kill you, Dakota. This is the second time that you’ve been attacked and you want to chalk it all up to what, coincidence?” He didn’t know what else to say. He was kicking himself, he had heard the news from Andre last night and didn’t do anything about it. Too vague, he thought. Not worth telling anyone, and as a result Dakota had almost died in a parking garage six blocks from him. And now she was questioning the attack? Did she really think it was just another confused partygoer – one with a gun who was hunting them and who ran when discovered?

 

Didn’t she understand how precious she was, how easy it would be for something to happen to her? She was so delicate and kind and generous, but there were bad people out there, awful, selfish, murderous people who had set their sights on the Kane family. People who didn’t care who died or what the cost would be, all they cared about was getting what they wanted. He needed to protect her; it was his fault this had happened at all. If he had done anything with the information from Andre, this all could have been prevented, but Adam had hesitated and now this was the punishment. He needed to convince Dakota that the threat was real.

 

“Should we call the police?” Marley asked.

 

“And tell them what?” Dakota responded softly, “that we were trespassing when we were surprised by a man with a gun? People will think we’re either making it up, or stupid. Besides, they caught the man who attacked me and my father.”

 

“But they haven't caught the man who paid him,” Adam said.

 

“What do you mean? No one paid him; he was a man with a grudge.”

 

“Was he? According to witness testimony and paperwork from the time, your father and Michael Martin ended on good terms, and then, suddenly, years later he’s back and trying to kill the both of you? It doesn’t make any sense.”

 

“But that’s what the police said. Why would they lie?”

 

“They’re not necessarily lying,” Joey said. “But the police have quotas that need to be filled. It looks good that they’ve caught the killer; re-opening the investigation looks bad.”

 

“I talked to someone last night,” Adam said quietly, “someone in the game, and he said that this goes deeper than Michael Martin. I didn’t say anything because he didn’t have any names to give me, but, after tonight. I don’t think he was wrong.

 

“If we’re not going to the police then can we at least go home?” Marley said. Her very look evoked pity, her hands and knees dirty from hiding in the parking lot, and there were tear stains on her face.

 

“I’ll call you a cab,” Joey said. “Do you have somewhere safe to go?”

 

“I can go to my mom’s. She’s super paranoid, lots of security. Dakota, you can come, too.” Marley said.

 

Adam felt a pain in his stomach. He didn’t want Dakota out of his sight. He didn’t want her to be at some strange woman’s house. He wanted to her next to him. He wanted to always be in a place where he could reach out and touch her. “You should stay with me,” he blurted out before he had time to think about it. “We thought the house was safe before, but you were attacked and your apartment is no good. There’s only one exit, so you’re basically trapped in there. We can figure something more permanent out tomorrow.” What would he do if she said no? If she just callously rejected him, or laughed at him? But she didn’t, she looked up into his dark eyes, and he could see tears were forming in hers. Wet drops were hanging from her perfect lashes and all he wanted to do was wipe them away.

 

“That would be nice,” Dakota said, nodding her head. A weight lifted from Adam’s shoulder, a burden he didn’t know he was carrying was suddenly gone. But burden wasn’t the right word; it wasn’t a burden, but an emptiness where something should be. Dakota had burrowed into his heart and planted herself there in the weeks he had protected her, in the night they had spent together. When he had been separated from her, she had been pulled from him and he had been longing for her every day. But now she was back. He only wished that it wasn’t the threat of death that had brought her to him.

 

A cab pulled up for Marley. Adam and Joey assured her they knew the driver and she would be safe. They told her to lock all the doors and close the blinds on her windows when she got home, to keep a lookout and make sure no one was following her.

 

“Call me,” Marley said as she pulled Dakota into a strong hug.

 

“I will, and you text me the second you’re home.”

 

“I will,” Marley said, stepping into the cab, which quickly took off.

 

“I should go back to the club,” Joey said. “I can take the guns and the lights, lock them back up.”

 

“Yeah, I’ll take Dakota home,” Adam said handing the shotgun and light to Joey who straddled his bike and quickly took off, leaving them alone in the dark parking lot. “We can take a car home,” Adam said, turning to Dakota, “I can call the club and have one sent over.”

 

“What about your bike?” Dakota asked.

 

“I’ll send someone to come and get it.”

 

“Why don’t we just ride to your house?”

 

“I wasn’t sure you would want to. Some people think they’re scary,” Adam said.

 

“I trust you,” Dakota said and Adam wanted to kiss her. He wanted to hold her and listen to her talk about anything. She trusted him; she wanted to be with him. Why hadn’t he called her earlier? Why had he punished himself with wanting her, and convincing himself he couldn’t have her? He had known what they shared was a real connection and he had faltered when he let someone else tell him what to do. Who was James Hastings that he could have ordered Dakota and Adam apart? Why had Adam ever listened to him in the first place.

 

Staring at Dakota Adam removed his leather jacket and held it out to her, and Dakota turned her back and let him slip the jacket over her arms. He gently, spun her around and zipped the jacket up, the sleeves falling well past her wrists while the base of the jacket grazed her thighs.

 

“Here,” he said handing her his helmet. “I only brought one, you should wear it.”

 

“What about you?” Dakota asked, taking the helmet from his hands.

 

“I’ll be fine. It’s not far.” Adam’s breath felt shallow in his chest, like he couldn’t get enough air. He wanted to get Dakota home, to his home. He wanted to be somewhere warm and safe with her.

 

Adam straddled his motorcycle and looked back at Dakota, standing next to him.

 

“Hop on,” he said.

 

“I just get on? Don’t I need to know how to ride it?”

 

“Can you ride a bicycle?” he asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Then you’ll be fine. Just hold on to me.”

 

He felt Dakota settle onto the bike behind him. Her warm body was flush against his. He could feel her warmth through his shirt, could smell her perfume. Her hands snaked around his waist and Adam reached down to squeeze her hand once before revving the engine and taking off.