That pretty little thing needs to watch herself. She has no idea what’s lurking in the shadows. A sweet curvy woman like her, full tits straining at her buttoned top, ripe ass ready for the taking, high ponytail swinging with every step, she shouldn’t be out in a dark alleyway alone. She should be in my bed. I'd feast on her all night.

In the darkness, waiting and watching, I adjust myself, my cock long and hard just from watching her. That's not like me, at least not lately. Once upon a time, I’d been randy and ready, having a good time making women scream for more. But then I’d stood up and served my country, training with the best of the best as a Navy SEAL. And I’d watched the best of the best get taken out, losing limbs, giving up their lives, leaving behind wives and babies.

Gone are my lighthearted days of play. Now I know better. I used to believe in happy endings. But fairytales are only in books and movies.

I’d signed up to be a hero, the good guy in the white hat riding in to enforce justice. But the world I’d seen as a SEAL didn’t play by the rules. Sometimes good guys got mowed down. Sometimes bad guys came in the form of kids with bombs strapped to them. The world of order I'd thought I was defending turned out to look a hell of a lot like chaos.

I finished my last deployment four months ago. I respect the hell out of the men and women who serve our country. But I'm never going back.

The man I am now, crouching on a fire escape, gun in hand, is a far cry from the man I once was. I'm still a trained sniper lurking in the night. But now I’ve teamed up with the bad guys, providing cover as bad men punish other bad men.

It's a means to an end. And I'm close to that end. After tonight with a little more cash in my pocket, I'm gone. I have a cabin in the middle of nowhere in northern Wisconsin. It's only six hours north of Chicago, but it's a different world. No backfiring cars sounding like gunshots. No jostling, noisy crowds triggering my fight-or-flight response. No crying children giving me flashbacks of airstrikes. I'm going to vanish without a trace, heading into the wild to live off the land. No one will even know my name.

Next to the restaurant’s dumpster, the gleam of a cigarette glows in the darkness. It’s like a flare going up to signal an exact location to a copter. Looks like the bad guys have finally arrived. Alert the neighborhood. Who the hell lights up a cigarette while working this kind of a job? Amateurs, that’s who. The heyday of the Chicago mafia is long over. Those two down on the corner are no Al Capone-era mobsters. They're small-time, two-bit thugs.

That's why Big Rudy has to hire me to cover his ass. He needs no witnesses, no escaped assets. I'm his back-up plan. If all goes well, I won't even have to do a thing to collect my money. But with those two idiots in charge of sealing the deal, that's a big “if.”

That sweet young thing had best not come outside again. She doesn't want to get caught in the crosshairs. No way would I hurt a hair on her head, but those two gorillas on the corner have the precision of a giant meteor. There’s no telling what might happen if she gets in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Damn, she had some juicy curves. When she put a bag into the recycling bin, she had to strain up and over. That little skirt had pulled tight across her full ass. I could see the outline of her cheeks, the hem only a couple inches down from paradise. I’d swallowed watching her tug it down, as if a skirt like that could do anything to hide what she has to offer.

She’d paused before she’d headed back inside, a worried look on her perfect, heart-shaped face. So young and innocent, she stirred something deep within me, a yearning, a hunger. If I were a good man, I might think good thoughts. I might consider stopping by the restaurant tomorrow, ordering a cup of coffee, maybe asking for her number to take her out on a proper date.

But I’m not a good man, not anymore. A growl forms in my chest as dark thoughts surface. I picture her down before me, those full lips wrapped around my thick cock. Right there in the dark alleyway, she could kneel, her bare knees on the rough pavement. That ponytail wrapped in my fist, she’d look up at me with those wide, innocent eyes as I fucked her mouth.

I stifle a groan. My balls ache. I'm rock hard, my dick hammering for release. It's been too long since I've been with a woman. It’s not that I haven’t had the chance. I left the SEALs, but not the training. I still push myself to the limit every day like I’m training for the zombie apocalypse. Some habits die hard.

Women want me, but I haven't wanted to be with a single one in a long while. Not until now. Inconvenient timing to suddenly have my inner caveman roar. Nothing I can do about it, though. I’m nothing more than a ghost making my last appearance before I vanish.

I don’t even know the details of this job I’m on. I don’t want to. All I know is what I need to—protect the men stealing the asset. Someone’s done something to piss off the big guy. Now they’ll pay. If I had to guess, I’d bet it’s the owner of the restaurant where my little beauty works. He probably owes Rudy money. The place looks like a legit establishment, but the best scams have the best fronts. He’s probably running something on the side. Maybe he took a loan and didn’t sell enough of whatever he’s moving.

Now he’ll be taken and tortured until he pays. All bad people, doing bad things. The less details I know the better.

The back door opens. I’m ready.

Damn it, my girl comes out again, looking up, looking down. She’s nervous, like she can sense the danger. I tense, every muscle in my body ready to go. She needs to get out of there.

She hesitates, peering down the alleyway into the dark. My finger on the trigger ready to keep her safe, I hold my breath, watching. Run away, beauty. Bad shit is about to go down. She needs to be far gone when it does.

The gorillas move first. Quicker than I would've guessed they could, they grab her, wrestle her arms behind her back and secure her wrists in a zip tie. She’s so much smaller than them, her eyes wide with terror. What the hell are they doing? This girl's no threat. This girl needs protection.

One gags her before she can even get out a scream. The other takes out a syringe. He brings it to her slender, pale neck and pumps it into her.

Hell no. She’s the asset. She's the one they're going to kidnap.

Not on my watch. Instinct takes over, so strong it pierces through my darkness. They will not hurt her. I will save her, and I will keep her safe.

I spring like a panther down to the sidewalk, silent, on my feet in a fraction of a heartbeat. They don’t hear me. They don’t see me. I don’t even have to use a bullet. An elbow to a windpipe, the butt of my gun to a forehead and the gorillas are down, crumpled, one sucking wind, one unconscious.

Beauty lies at my feet slumped in a heap, motionless on the sidewalk. I crouch down, a quick finger to her pulse. It’s strong and sure. I knew it would be, but still I exhale in relief. I know how these bastards work. They knocked her out so they could drag her off. Then she'd wake up in a basement some place where no one could hear her screams for help.

That’s not going to happen. I cradle her in my arms, holding her tight to my chest. She doesn’t stir, but I feel her breath, warm and even against my neck. Her breasts pressed against me, I stand, carrying her with ease as I take off into the night.

Crack dealers late on their payments, pimps not pulling their weight, those were dirty, rotten crooks. When Big Rudy messed with them, as far as I was concerned it was scum screwing around with scum in a petri dish brimming with filth, every one of them beneath my moral radar. Over the past few months, it had been easy to detach and stay removed from the jobs. I’d rationalized it in my head. They were just bad guys taking out other bad guys. All I was doing was keeping watch.

But this woman? Shit got real once I saw her. Asleep in my arms, vulnerable and soft, she’s all that's good in the world. And she's mine now.

In seconds, I reach my truck around the corner. I lay her gently in the back seat. Passed out as she is, she’ll be more comfortable lying down. Her brown hair spreading out over the seat, contrasting with her milky skin, she looks so peaceful, a sleeping beauty. Her breasts are splayed, full and round, almost too big for her shirt. The hem rides up, exposing a glimpse of her stomach.

I close my eyes briefly to clear my head. Now’s not the time.

Buckling the seatbelt snug around her waist, I leave her wrists tied. I don't know what they gave her or how much, so I don't know how long she'll be out. She might panic when she comes to and injure us both. Better to leave her bound. But I untie the gag, exposing her plump, berry pink lips.

It takes all my willpower to force myself to step away, close the truck door and climb into the driver's seat.

She may have escaped two monsters in the night. But she's fallen into the clutches of another. And I’m going to drag her deep into my cave.

I hadn't taken her with a plan. But now it comes to me, laid out clear like a soldier in battle. I know where I'm headed, what I need to do to keep her safe. And I will keep her safe. They’re not going to touch a hair on her head.

They will try to. I know it with certainty. They will come after her and me. Big Rudy will not like what has gone down.

In the blink of an eye, acting on impulse, I've fucked up all my plans. One second I'd been poised and ready, about to gain my freedom. Now I've painted a huge bullseye target on my back.

But that doesn't matter. Nothing matters anymore except getting her safe. From everyone else.

But not safe from me.