The truck was big and black and mean, and it smelled like pine air fresheners inside. It was brand new with leather interior and not the sort of vehicle I’d been expecting the big guy with the beard to be driving. Penny and I climbed up into the back seat and buckled ourselves in as he slid into the driver’s seat and slammed his door closed. He started the truck up and glanced back at us. “You two cold? I can turn the heat on.”

Penny and I both shook our heads and remained mute.

He gave us what I think he thought was a reassuring smile, but it was more than a little unnerving. He didn’t seem like the sort who smiled often, and it looked unnatural on his face.

When he put the truck in drive, his phone started ringing. He groaned and fished it out of his pocket. “I have to get this. Just give me a minute.” He answered the call, and I could hear the tinny voice of a man through the speaker. He was talking fast.

I looked in the rearview mirror. I could see the man’s furrowed brow and angry brown eyes. When the voice fell silent on the other end, he started talking. “We couldn’t have foreseen it going down this way. What the hell were we supposed to do?”

The voice went off again.

“Listen. I can’t talk right now. They’re in my truck.” A moment of quiet as he listened to the other person again. “No. I know. But I have to make sure they get home okay. I’ll meet you at your place after. Just give me half an hour.”

He hung up the phone and tossed it into the passenger seat. Then, he pulled away from the curb and asked where we were driving to.

Penny gave him her address reluctantly. He said he knew the area.

We all sat in awkward silence as he drove. I continuously glanced up to look at his eyes in the rearview mirror. I was painfully aware of the horrifying fact that I was attracted to him. Very attracted to him. He was sexy as hell with his thick brown beard and mane of even thicker dark hair. His shoulders were broad, his arms were thick, and the way he’d held me up in the alley was … intoxicating. I could still smell him. And feel the taut muscle of his chest beneath my hands.

I had to get my shit together. He was exactly the sort of man any girl with a brain should steer clear from. He was bad news all over. And dangerous. Not the typical dangerous “vibe” some guys gave off as part of their persona but real danger. I was pretty sure he’d been out in that alley to kill the man who had grabbed hold of me.

In fact, I was positive he and his friends were there to kill him. And I’d foiled their plans.

I made eye contact with him in his mirror and looked away out through my window. I willed him not to say anything. And he didn’t for a couple more minutes. When he did finally speak, his voice was warm and reassuring. “The two of you handled yourselves well out there.”

Penny shifted uncomfortably beside me. I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. I forced myself to meet his eyes in the mirror again. Good lord, that stare of his was incredible. It was like he was looking right into my soul, like he was laying me bare and analyzing all the dark crevices of my mind. “I thought Penny was the most frightening one out there.”

Penny nudged my foot with hers. “Hey. Now is not the time for jokes.”

But our driver was chuckling, and he was the one I was hoping to make laugh. The sound was like melted butter and steam. Warm and smooth. There was something seriously wrong with me. He took a right turn and said, “Your friend is right. There’s nothing funny about what happened, and I’m sorry you were both caught in the thick of it. That was not supposed to happen.”

I wanted to ask him what was supposed to happen but thought better of it. I didn’t know him, and just being attracted to someone wasn’t enough reason to start prying.

We pulled up in front of Penny’s apartment. When she reached to open the door, he twisted around in the driver’s seat to face us. “I know you probably won’t take me up on this because you hate my guts, but if either of you ever needs help, you can call me.” He handed me a card with his number scrawled on the back. “My name is Derek. And I mean it. If you need anything, just call that number, and I’ll come running.”

“I bet you would,” Penny seethed.

“I’m sorry about my friend,” I said as Penny hopped out of the truck and waited for me on the sidewalk with her arms crossed. “I think she’s just freaked out. She’s usually not this rude.”

“She’s not rude,” he said.

“Oh, she’s rude as hell.” I smiled.

Derek gave me a long look. “She’s a good friend. She’s protecting you. As she should.” He looked like he wanted to say more. There was something on the tip of his tongue, but he let it go. “But really. Call me. For anything.”

I opened my door. “I will. Thank you, Derek.”

Derek rolled down his window as I walked around the hood of his truck. “Yo, Penny. Make sure the two of you drink a lot of water and have something to eat. You’ll feel better.”

Penny scowled at him. “We’re perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves. You can go now.”

Derek flashed me a white smile before driving away, and I knew as his taillights faded around the corner that I’d be seeing that smile in my dreams for weeks. Maybe longer.

After slipping inside Penny’s apartment, we both showered and dressed in our coziest clothes. I opted for a pair of sweatpants and a loose pullover while Penny got cozy in her pink plush robe and slippers. Then, she made tea, and I whipped us up a couple sandwiches. We took our plates and our mugs out to the living room and cuddled under blankets while we ate. We barely said a word the entire time.

When Penny was done eating, she pulled her knees to her chest and sipped her tea. “Should we call the cops and tell them what happened?”

I’d already had this thought. “I don’t think I want to.”

“What? Why?”

I shrugged. My explanation wasn’t going to help convince her. “I think there was something bigger going on than what we were a part of. Getting involved would be a bad idea.”

“Getting involved? We already got involved! That asshole held you at knifepoint, and those six meatheads just let it happen. Do you seriously not want to do anything about it?”

I swallowed my last bite of sandwich. “I think something is already being done about it. Just not by the law. I can’t explain it properly, but I just know we should leave it alone. Trust me on this?”

Penny groaned into her mug. “Fine.”

“Thanks, Penny. I’m sorry.”

She sighed. “No. I’m sorry. I should never have forced you to go out with me tonight. Look what happened. You almost got …” she trailed off and shook her head, unable to say it. “Never mind. You know what I mean. I just never thought it could have gone so wrong so fast, you know?”

“It was fun while it lasted. Honestly. I had a good time.”

Penny shook her head at me. “How can you say that after what happened?”

I shrugged.

“What the fuck, Evie? I nearly shit myself out there, and you-you held it together like it wasn’t the first time a big scary man had threatened to kill you. I thought things were going to end really badly. I thought I was going to have to call your parents and tell them you were dead, for fuck’s sake.”

“I get it, Penny. I’m sorry, but I’m all right. See?” I put my hands on my chest. “I’m right here. And so are you. And we’re both fine. And I was scared, too, for the record.”

Penny extracted herself from the couch one long leg at a time. “I’m going to make more tea. Do you want some?”

“Sure,” I said.

I sat on the couch and waited as she puttered in the kitchen. Try as I might, I couldn’t think of anything else besides Derek and that crippling smile of his. And, of course, the way his big, strong hands had effortlessly guided me to my feet, and how he had held me up, and how he had taken the time to make sure we got home safely. And his eyes. And his body—

“Evie?”

I glanced up at Penny who was extending a mug of steaming tea to me. “Oh. Sorry. I was lost in thought.”

“About what?” she asked as she sat back down.

I bit my bottom lip. Should I tell her? Would she think I was crazy? Probably. Would she judge me? Probably not. Penny had a good way of speaking her mind but never making me feel like she thought I was less than. I took a deep breath. “I’m thinking about him.”

Penny burned her tongue on her tea and swore into the mug. Then, she looked incredulously up at me and shook her head sternly. “You need to nip those thoughts in the bud right now, girl. They’ll be your undoing. He’s not just a bad boy. He’s a grown ass dangerous man who will eat you for breakfast.”

“I never said I wanted to date him.” I scowled.

“I know. But I also know where these thoughts lead. Curiosity killed the cat, Evie.”

I rolled my eyes. “I can’t help that I think he’s hot.”

“They were all hot!” Penny said a little loudly. “Each and every one of them was fine as hell, but you don’t see me fawning all over them. They’re criminals, Evie. Hardened criminals. They were going to off that bald guy in the alley, for crying out loud!”

I scowled at her. “Like I said, I didn’t say I wanted to date him. All I said was I’m attracted to him, and I can’t control that.”

She sighed. “I’m sorry I freaked out. I’m just stressed.”

“It’s okay.”

“I mean it, though. Stay away from him. Throw his number out. Don’t leave it around to tempt you. He’s nothing but bad news, and you’re too smart not to know that.”

I stared down into my tea. She was right. Again. Like always.

Derek spelled nothing but danger and drama. He was everything I should be avoiding in my life right now. But he was everything I wanted. A little bit of risk. A little bit of something different.

I knew why I was drawn to him. There was something in his eyes that screamed freedom. He was owned by no one. He owed this world nothing, and he did as he pleased. I craved that. I longed to be free in my own way. To not be pinned down by a boss whose pockets I filled, to not be exiled from my family because of my decision to quit law school, to not be bound to my best friend’s couch because I was dirt poor and had nowhere else to go.

He was everything I wanted and also everything I should run from.

But I’d told myself when I quit law school that I wasn’t going to run anymore.