ZAK

Kalista is shivering so hard her teeth chatter. Shuffling a little closer, I pull her into my side and wrap my arm around her shoulders, pulling her into me so she can absorb the heat from my body, “Shh, it’s okay. The bossman is on top of it, you don’t need to worry anymore.” I say whatever I can think of to calm her, even though we’re no closer to pinning down who is behind this attack on her. But with this escalation of events, I give it 48 hours before Abe has a solid lead.

She nods, turning further into me but remains silent.

Moving my hand up and down her arm, I try to warm and console her as much as I can. “Is there something I can do for you? Someone I can call?” Surely she would prefer to be comforted by a friend than me. I’m not great with this shit, I can’t handle seeing chicks cry.

Kalista licks her lips, then hands me her phone, “Ellie,” she whispers, then burrows back into my side again. Maybe I’m not so bad at this after all?

Flicking through her contacts, I slow at the letter ‘E’, and scan each entry until I find Ellie. I hit the call button. It rings a good dozen times before someone answers.

“Oh, now you want to talk? Where the hell have–”

“This is Zak,” I interrupt her rant. “I’m calling for Kalista, there’s been an incident and she is pretty shaken up. Your name is the only one I could get out of her. Can you come? She needs a familiar face right now.” Silence follows and I wait for a response.

Thirty seconds later I pull the phone away from my ear to look at the screen, making sure the call is still connected. It is. “Hello?”

“Wha—I, shit. Where is she? I’m coming.”

I relay the address of the hotel and end the call. Handing the phone back to Kalista, I let her know, “Your friend is on her way.” We sit in companionable silence for the next twenty minutes, and I wonder where Abe disappeared to. He won’t be too far away, that much I know.

Glancing around the lobby my focus is pulled to the entrance where a tiny woman in iridescent green leggings has just pushed through the doors. She shoves her way past Alec and storms towards us. She’s on a mission, that much is clear. But I don’t know if this is Kalista’s friend, or another errand runner for the guys fucking with her.

I shift my body away from Kalista’s, just enough to be able to block the fiery, little redhead’s approach if need be. Kalista slumps further back into the couch cushions, blinking heavily, clearly she hasn’t noticed the inbound chick with terrible dress sense.

Standing, I move to intercept, and that’s when I notice the redhead’s eyes. I’ve never seen anything like them. I can’t look away, I can’t breathe, I can’t—

“Who in the hell are you? What happened?” The petite redhead glares up at me for a moment, then shifts to the side, trying to look behind me. I snap out of my haze, stepping in front of her, blocking her path to Kalista. Those entrancing eyes burn a hole straight through me. “Move,” she commands.

I’m struck speechless. The fire in her green gaze consumes me.

Her eyes narrow into slits, “Get out of my way, big man, before I’m forced to relieve you of your most valued body part.”

My hand automatically moves to protect my dick, but I hold my stance in front of Kalista, until her icy hand touches the back of my bicep.

“It’s okay, Zak. This is Ellie.”