I pull the trigger, and a rush of satisfaction runs through me as I watch Joey’s body go limp. I knew when I brought him out here he wouldn’t be leaving alive. I could have done it fast, but I had to give him one last beating before he left this earth. He’d earned it after all.

The silencer muffles the sound of the gun, and the snip of the bullet going through his head is followed by the quiet of the night. Normally I would’ve had my men handle something like this, but I’d known Joey for years. He owned a deli in the city where I ate every so often. I just didn’t know that he liked beating on his wife and kids. I’d given him a warning a month ago when I saw the evidence. Then I’d given him a beating so he knew what it felt like. He didn’t appreciate someone bigger than him laying down the punishment. He found out quick what it felt like to be powerless. It was a lesson he needed, and I thought that would be the end of it. It happened after I saw his wife shuffling around the deli with a black eye, her daughter sporting one just like her mother. I couldn’t believe it had been going on under my nose and I never saw it before then.

It had enraged me that I’d been giving his place of business protection when really it was his family that needed it from him. I hated that I hadn’t seen it sooner. Normally I’m good with reading people, so it only pissed me off more that I’d missed it.

Then today, I came into the deli to check on things, and the little girl had a split lip. I felt it was my responsibility to handle it then and not just give out the order. I was partly responsible for the little girl’s busted lip. When her young innocent eyes met mine and I saw the misery in them, Joey’s fate was sealed. He’d never lay his hands on them again.

I’ll still give the deli protection, but as a penance, it will be for free and for life. As long as Joey’s family owns the place, I’ll make it right for them. It’s only right after not acting sooner.

A muffled cry snaps my eyes away from the body on the ground, and I turn to see someone standing in the dark alley behind the junkyard. The sight takes me by surprise because it’s the middle of the night and this place is always deserted.

I can barely make out the shape of the person on the other side of the fence, but I can tell they are small. They could even be a child. My eyes focus in, and the moonlight picks up the shadow. It’s then I can see it’s a woman. Just as I open my mouth, she turns and takes off running.

“Fuck,” I mutter, jamming my gun back into its holster and taking off after her.

I race toward the fence and jump up, my foot connecting with the center of the chain-link fence as my hands go to the top. I push myself over the top, landing on my feet in a quick, smooth motion. My legs are longer than hers, and she’s not far ahead of me. I don’t even really need to full-out run to keep up with her, but the closer I get, I can’t help my eyes going to the sway of her ass.

My cock jerks, taking me by surprise. I almost trip over my own fucking feet as I stare at her lush, round ass trying to get away from me. What the fuck? My cock hasn’t shown interest in anything for a long while, and now just watching an ass sway as it runs has it coming to life. This is not what I need right now. I can’t even remember the last time I had an interest in jacking off, let alone the last time I wanted a woman.

I’m distracted by her body as I keep pace with her and watch as she runs toward a run-down apartment building. I grit my teeth, wondering why she would think running into this place is a good idea. A woman with a body like hers isn’t safe in a neighborhood like this. What was she even doing in the alley? And why am I having all these thoughts? I can’t concentrate because I’m too busy wondering if her tits are bouncing in the front and I can’t see them.

She gets closer to the building, and I can see trash bags litter the entryway because people are too lazy to walk the extra ten feet to throw them in the dumpster. All of the windows have air conditioners in them, telling me the building doesn’t have any sort of cooling system. The ones that don’t have them stuck in have bars on them.

The whole place pisses me off, and I’m also getting mad that she’s cornering herself. She can’t possibly think this is the shelter she needs to see, because there are likely worse things in that building than the man chasing her right now. She’s gotten ahead of me, and I watch as she pulls open the door, darting inside. I follow her, eating up the space she’s managed to put between us. She’s quick, I’ll give her that.

She goes for the stairs, running up them, and I hear her feet pounding their way up. I run behind her, taking them three at a time. I don’t want to catch her just yet; I want to see where she’s going first. She’s got some sort of plan in her head, because she’s on a mission to get there now.

She makes it to a door, pulling out her keys and trying to get them into the lock. She’s acting like if she gets through the door, it will stop me from coming in there. I guess this dump is where she lives.

She glances over her shoulder and finally sees how close I am. She watches me coming for her, and her eyes grow wide with fear. She fumbles with her keys, dropping them to the floor. In a panic, she goes to reach down for them, but it’s too late. I’m on her.

I cage her body against the door she was trying to get inside. I wonder if anyone is on the other side waiting for her. The idea pisses me off for some strange reason.

She closes her eyes tight, clearly not wanting to look at me. Or maybe she doesn’t want to look at what she thinks is coming. It’s then I really see her.

Her long dark hair hangs in a loose braid over one shoulder. Some of her rich locks have come loose from it, a few strands around her face. Her skin is soft and creamy, and I have an urge to know what it feels like. I lean in a little, getting the smell of strawberries and honey. I didn’t know someone could smell sweet like that, and my mouth waters.

I release one of my hands from the door and run my finger down her cheek. I need to find out just how soft her skin really is. The desire to touch her is overwhelming. Just as I make contact, her eyes fly open, looking straight up into mine.

It feels like someone sucker punches me. I’ve never seen eyes like hers. I almost think they can’t be real. They are a light gray, with a soft purple around her pupil. It’s stunning, and I can’t break the contact. I don’t know how long I stand there just staring into them, getting lost in something I’ve never felt before.

“Please don’t hurt me,” she whispers, pulling me from the trance she had me under.

Hurt her? I’ll fucking kill anyone who tries to harm a hair on her head. She looks like she fell from heaven.

My angel.

“I’m not going to hurt you, angel,” I tell her, my voice coming out deep.

I can hear the need in it. The fear in her eyes doesn‘t dissipate, and it twists my stomach into knots, something that hasn’t happened to me since I was a kid and thought I’d disappointed my father. She’s terrified of me. It’s written all over her face. I’ve scared this perfect angel. Fuck, I don’t even know what’s happening. Something is pulling at me. My body feels like it’s throbbing. Every muscle is on fire, and I feel like I’ve run for days instead of the distance it took us to get here.

Her full lips part a little as she studies me. I drop my hand from her cheek, already missing the feel of her softness against my rough hands. Jesus, I can’t believe I just had that thought. What is this woman doing to me?

My eyes run down her small frame, and her size irritates me. She shouldn’t be walking around at night. She barely comes up to the middle of my chest, how could she possibly protect herself? It’s then I notice what she’s wearing. A burnt colored orange waitress uniform with Rita’s over her left breast. It looks like it’s made out of cheap polyester, and I wonder if it hurts her soft skin. Why is this angel working at a restaurant when she could be a goddamn supermodel? Hell, this is California. I don’t know why I haven’t seen her plastered on billboards and in magazines.

“Please,” she whispers again.

My gaze shoots back to hers, and I know the anger must be showing on my face. I try to mask it, but it’s pushing forward. I’m not used to having to control myself. The feeling is foreign to me. When I want to do or say something, I just do it. But I don’t want to scare her.

“If you’re running from someone, you don’t run home,” I grit out. “Then that person knows where you live.” Her mouth forms an adorable O shape. She’s probably wondering why the man who chased her down is giving her this information.

She backs up a little more, trying to get farther away from me. That only angers me more. I want her to move toward me. I want her out of this shitty-ass building that needs to be torn down. That’s something I’ll need to look into.

“I swear I won’t say a word.”

Her promise makes me remember why I’m here. That I chased her down because she saw me kill a man. She’s a witness to a crime that could put me behind bars for the rest of my life.

“Have you eaten?” I don’t know why I ask the question, because it’s not the direction I should be going in. I should be more concerned about other things, but I can’t seem to help myself and I can’t find the will to stop myself.

“I…” She glances down the hallway both ways, and I wonder if she’s looking for someone. A boyfriend maybe? Not a husband. I didn’t see a ring when my eyes traced every part of her body. If she had a boyfriend, she doesn’t any longer, that’s for fucking sure. I’ll have my men bury him next to Joey. Then they’ll only have to dig one grave. What kind of man would leave her unprotected?

“You didn’t, did you,” I say, and it’s not a question.

She looks tired and hungry on top of being scared to death. I reach up and touch her cheek again, and she flinches. My jaw tightens.

“You won’t tell anyone about what you saw, will you,” I demand, again not asking.

She shakes her head. I slide my fingers across her cheek, stealing another touch of her, unable to control myself. Maybe she isn’t an angel. Maybe she’s a witch who has me under her spell. I shake the ridiculous thought from my head.

I drop my hand, going for her purse. She doesn’t stop me as I dig through it, finding her wallet and looking at her ID.

“Thea.” I say her name, liking how easily it falls from my lips. She doesn’t respond. I look into her purse and see she doesn’t have any credit cards and only a little bit of money. I see an old cell phone and grab it. I glance back to meet her eyes, and she’s staring at me with that fucking scared look still on her face. I click on the buttons and put my number in her phone. Then I hit send and end the call when I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I drop the phone back into her purse, then slide the strap back up her arm.

I take out my wallet and pull out some of my cash. I don’t want to give her so much that she’ll use it to take off on me, but I want her to have enough so I know she can take care of herself. I slide the bills into her purse, then lie to her.

“That’s to keep quiet,” I tell her. Then I give her the truth. “I promise you, that man is exactly where he’s supposed to be.” She just nods, and I hate it because I want to hear her talk again.

She licks her lips, drawing my eyes there. My cock grows more painful at the sight, and I’m going crazy because I’ve never had a reaction to a woman like this in my life. It should piss me off how I’m feeling, but I like it. I haven’t felt like I’ve wanted for anything for a while, and now need is pumping through me. A need for something that I can’t have. Not yet.

I reach down, picking up her keys from the floor. I move closer to her and feel her breath stop as I slide the key into the lock and turn it, opening the door. I pull the keys out and put them into her purse.

“Go inside and get some sleep, angel.”

She stares at me like she doesn’t believe I’m letting her go. I can’t believe it either, but I think we have two different ideas of what I’d do with her if I didn’t let her go into her apartment. She probably thinks she’d end up like Joey, but I’d have her locked in my bedroom.

“Thea. In. Lock the door and keep that pretty mouth shut.”

She nods again, turning to go into her apartment. Before she can step away, I grab her hip and pull her back to my chest. I lean down so my lips are right next to her ear.

“Anyone else in there?” I ask, needing to know I’m not sending her into her place with a man inside. She shakes her head. “Boyfriend?” I push, needing more. She shakes her head again.

I inhale her sweetness one last time and then let her go. She scrambles inside, shutting the door in my face. I wait just a second until I hear the lock click before I make myself walk away from her door.

When I get to the street I stand outside her apartment building and take out my phone and make a call.