The night was cool as Evie walked home from the diner. She shivered into her thin cardigan, wishing not for the first time that Alexei was here with her. Not just because she knew he’d offer his jacket if he was, but because that creeping sensation of being watched was back.

Evie quickened her pace, but the feeling didn’t dissipate. She couldn’t hear any footsteps over the thundering of her heartbeat in her ears, but she was mostly sure no one was actually there. It was only that the feeling of safety she’d slowly built up during her time training with Alexei had been an illusion all along. It hadn’t been that she’d got her confidence back, it was only that Alexei had been at her side most nights and she had become used to his protective presence. She’d felt safer with him nearby.

Now, all that was shattered. She was back to her usual paranoid self, with cold sweat breaking out all over her, and her breath coming in thick pants. She wanted to flee to safety, but she forced herself to keep walking at a normal pace. She wouldn’t let her paranoia defeat her. This isn’t who she was anymore. She was stronger. Better.

Less than a block to go.

A hand closed over her mouth.

Evie tried to scream but no sound emerged from behind the leather gloves on her attacker’s hands. She struggled, but the man closed his arms around her chest to lock her to him and dragged her into the dark alley to her left.

The stench of alcohol and cigarettes reached her as she tried to breathe through her nose. Fear gripped her as she got an inkling of who might be holding her.

She froze for a moment, terror locking her limbs. But as he dragged her further into the dark alley, away from the slanting light of the streetlamp that lit the entrance, she twisted and fought his hold with a clawing desperation.

He adjusted his grip over her mouth and she drew a breath to scream, but his hand clamped down again before she could make a sound. Her jaw ached from him shoving it so roughly. Bile rose in her throat from the potent mixture of fear and bad smells. The rotting garbage of the alley almost overpowered her attacker’s aroma of alcohol, cigarettes, and excitement.

He kicked at her knees, trying to get her to kneel in the darkness. But Evie managed to stay upright because he could only kick one knee at a time.

It was only then that Evie’s mind cleared. She knew some self-defense. Alexei had taught her. Clearly they hadn’t done the drills enough because it hadn’t been second nature to her, but that didn’t mean it was too late. She could fight back. She could get out of this.

She dropped in his arms, taking him by surprise so he loosened his grip. It wasn’t enough to get free, because as she squirmed away his arm clamped down tighter around her waist. But the grip wasn’t perfect, and she managed to wrench her right arm free and drive her elbow back into his stomach.

Her attacker grunted, doubling into himself, and Evie experienced a powerful thrill from knowing she’d hurt him.

She kicked back, getting him in the knee, and this time he crumpled. Evie threw herself out of his grip and stumbled forward, only to realise there was a dead end up ahead. The only way out was behind her attacker.

She spun around and tried to race past him before he recovered, but it was too late. He grabbed her around the waist and used her own speed against her to throw her to the ground.

Evie screamed, as loud as she could, until a hand clamped over her mouth again.

Her attacker crawled forward and the dull illumination from the street light was enough to reveal a familiar, horrible face.

“Jimmy,” she tried to say, but his gloved hand muffled her voice. Instead, she pleaded with her eyes. He ignored her, his grin growing wider.

“Now I have you where I want you.”

She shook her head, trying to buck him off, but he pressed his weigh more heavily over her, trapping her legs with his knee.

“You’ve deserved punishment for what you did to me. But you’ve had that beast following you around so long I almost gave up. But now he’s gone, and you’re all alone.”

Tears pricked Evie’s eyes. What would he do to her? She couldn’t take another beating, or worse. Not now, when she’d finally become stronger.

Her lungs tightened until she could barely breathe. Blackness swam at the edge of her vision. She needed air, needed not to panic. She’d survive this, whatever happened. She had to. She had to tell Alexei how she felt. She couldn’t die without him knowing what he meant to her, that she was sorry she’d been too afraid.

Jimmy reached for the collar on her work shirt, his grimy hands pushing her lapel aside.

“You were always a pretty bitch, even when you didn’t obey me. I suppose that’s why I kept your useless ass around so long.” He tore violently at the collar, popping the buttons until they pinged off in the darkness like tiny death knells.

The cold air hit her exposed skin and Evie nearly sobbed. Not again. She couldn’t go through this again.

She freed her left hand. She reached out with it, scrambling in the darkness for something, anything she could use. Her hand touched grime and other substances she’d rather not think about. But not anything useful.

Her fingers found something, and a faint scraping echoed down the alley, like glass on concrete. A bottle. She could use that.

She strained forward, the tips of her fingers grazing the smooth side of the bottle as Jimmy pawed at her breasts. The bottle slipped further out of reach, sliding over the ground.

Tears slipped down her cheeks. She couldn’t reach it. She didn’t have a weapon.

She took as deep a breath as she could manage and hardened her resolve. She’d just have to fight with her fists, her legs, her teeth, whatever she could. And if she couldn’t stop Jimmy, she’d still survive. She’d done it once before.

But first, she’d give it everything she had.

She reached up and without hesitating, ground her thumb into Jimmy’s eye. He howled in pain, rearing backwards and away from her. She scrambled to get up, but he still knelt on her legs even as he clutched one eye and glared at her with the other.

So, she punched him with all the might she could muster in her sitting position. He rocked to the side from the force of her blow, but didn’t budge from his position on her legs.

He recovered more quickly than she’d imagine. Before she could use his surprise to her advantage, he launched himself towards her, wrapping his hands around her throat and squeezing tight.

Her eyes popped wide as she tried to suck in a breath, but she couldn’t. Jimmy’s eyes were burning with hatred as he stared down at her, leaning his weight onto her throat. She slapped at his face but he ignored her, madness having seeped into his expression. He was driven by hatred, by a lust for violence.

And at the moment, Evie didn’t think she’d survive it.

Her vision blurred, then darkened as her lungs screamed for air. This was it; her last moments. So many regrets.

She thought she heard Alexei calling her name, but surely that was just wishful thinking.

Her vision went black.

Then, the pressure on throat disappeared and she sucked in a heaving breath. As her lungs filled and her senses returned, Evie had a moment to be grateful she was alive. Then, she wondered how.

She turned her head to see Alexei, his hulking shape distinguishable in the darkness, slamming Jimmy against the wall. He wrapped his own hand around Jimmy’s throat, and Evie had a moment of savage satisfaction at the sight of Jimmy’s pants-shitting terror.

Alexei glanced her way, eyes assessing. His expression flooded with relief as he saw her struggling to sit up.

His eyes darted back to Jimmy, squirming uselessly in his grip, batting at Alexei’s tree-trunk arms. Alexei’s expression turned to one of intense, savage hatred as his gaze landed on his captive. His chest expanded and he looked like he was preparing to destroy Jimmy, an outcome Evie couldn’t find it in herself to regret, except for the trouble it might cause Alexei.

She finally understood the rage Alexei had felt as he’d seen the men in the bar intimidating her. The last of her anger towards him disappeared.

She struggled to her feet, intending to tell Alexei to stand down. As much as a dark part of her might want Jimmy to hurt, it wasn’t right.

But there was no need for her to say anything. Alexei dug into his pocket and held out his phone to Evie.

“Police,” Alexei said. “I’ll hold him until they arrive.”

Evie blinked at him, then slowly took the phone from his hand.

“I’m not sure how long I can keep him,” Alexei reminded her.

She smiled at him, a big beaming smile that showed how pleased she was that he’d listened to her. She had no doubt he was holding himself back purely because he knew she didn’t like violence. Then, she dialled 911 and spoke to dispatch. She didn’t take her eyes off either man as they waited. Jimmy alternated his glare between both of them, but as much as he struggled against Alexei, he was impotent against Alexei’s superior strength.

“Give up,” she hissed to Jimmy. “It’s over. You’ll never be able to come after me again. You’ll rot in prison for attempted murder.”

Jimmy’s eyes narrowed at the threat, but Evie held his gaze. She wouldn’t back down to him.

The police eventually arrived and took Jimmy into custody. The paramedics came soon after and checked Evie over, pronouncing her physically fine. The police took photos of her injuries for evidence. Both Evie and Alexei gave statements, and the officers seemed pretty sympathetic to her side of the story.

When they left, Evie quickly turned to Alexei. But as she looked on his hewn perfection—like the brutal planes of his face had been carved from marble—she suddenly noticed how disgusting she felt. There was an unidentified substance in her hair, and she still stunk of that alley and Jimmy’s filth.

“I need a shower,” she half-joked. She wanted to look beautiful for Alexei, when she begged him for forgiveness, for another chance. She wanted to be irresistible.

His jaw tightened at her words and he stepped away from her without saying anything.

Evie’s heart sank. She should have known that just because he’d saved her life, it didn’t mean he wanted to get back together. She’d hurt him, badly, and accused him of some unpleasant things.

Evie swallowed and blinked back tears. “Well, thank you,” she said as she backed away. “I tried to use your self-defence moves, but I guess I wasn’t ready yet. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been there.”

His expression softened, just slightly. “I was happy I could help.”

Evie nodded, then turned to go. After a few steps she hesitated, then turned back to him. Alexei stood where she’d left him.

“You…” she paused, then drew in courage with a deep breath. “You didn’t hurt him.”

“I wanted to,” Alexei said quickly.

“But you didn’t,” Evie insisted.

Alexei glanced away, then back at her, his eyes intense. “I didn’t want to scare you. Even if I think he deserves to be pounded into the dust.”

Evie’s heart swelled. “Part of me thinks he deserves it, too.” Her words were an olive branch, a prelude to an apology.

But Alexei laughed it away, a tinge of bitterness edging his voice. “Yeah, I can imagine.” Then, “Take your shower. I’ll see you around.”

He turned away, dismissing her.

Evie tried not to cry, tried not to think of all the ways she’d ruined things as she trudged back to her apartment.