ONE

Tulsi Tern’s mind wandered. Despite its meandering, her thoughts kept returning to one question: why on earth had she agreed to this date?

Kieran Rigby had been asking her out for months. Every time she went into the gym where he worked, he’d find a pretext to start a conversation. In turn, he’d come up with some way to work his impressive physique into the discussion. Each time she was polite in her attempts to excuse herself.

Kieran wasn’t the type of man who understood subtlety. Nor was he often rejected. Many of the women at the gym huddled and giggled whenever he was nearby. Other females wanted reasons to get closer to the man they dubbed “The Hunk.” Tulsi was the opposite. “The Hunk” didn’t do anything for her. No butterflies. No anticipation. In fact, her gut groaned whenever he appeared.

Over time, she’d learned the hard way that her gut knew more about men than her head. If she’d paid more attention to her instincts then she wouldn’t have wasted so much of her life with Bradley. Thinking about her ex while sitting at dinner with another man probably went against a zillion first date rules.

Tulsi tried to focus. Kieran was talking. He did that a lot. He talked about muscle groups and workouts, protein shakes and his latest diet. He told her about where he got his hair cut and what different colognes he wore on different occasions. She’d heard it all but absorbed none of it.

They’d gotten through the entrée and she was trying to figure out a plausible reason to refuse dessert. Her date liked to take care of himself; maybe she could come up with an excuse about calories or fat content.

His cellphone began to buzz next to his glass. It wasn’t the first time the device had interrupted his rhythm. Hence how it had ended up on the table. He’d taken the animated handset from his pocket almost the moment they sat down. At regular intervals, it sprang to life, buzzing and skittering across the tablecloth.

Each time she told him to pick it up. He never did. Kieran just ignored it and kept on talking. She had no idea why he didn’t divert the calls to voicemail. It suggested that he didn’t want whoever was calling to know that he was ignoring their attempts to get in touch with him.

“You can answer it,” she said again.

His head moved in a shake on his linked fingers that were arched under his chin. His elbows on the table supported its weight.

“No,” he said, his eyes fixed on hers. His smile grew again. “It isn’t important.”

“Clearly it is,” Tulsi said, adjusting her napkin in her lap. “Someone needs you. You should pick it up.”

Again, he shook his head. “It’s only my brother; it’s really nothing. He was taking care of something for me tonight. He’s probably just calling to say it’s done.”

“Or not,” she said. “There could be a problem. Maybe he needs your help or something went wrong.”

Throughout their conversation that night, he hadn’t once mentioned a brother. He hadn’t mentioned his family, but she hadn’t asked. The date could only be described as dire. No way she’d repeat this fiasco.

“I waited six months for you to say yes to going out with me,” he said. “I don’t want to waste a second talking to Rowdy. I can do that any time.”

“It doesn’t make the best impression,” she said. “That you’re unreachable to people who care about you.”

His expression loosened as he considered her words. “I’m reliable.”

Tulsi eyed the facedown phone that was still moving across the table. “Prove it,” she said. “I’ll wait.”

He picked up the device and answered it, making no secret of his irritation. “What?” he snapped.

Almost as soon as the word was out of his mouth, his face hardened. He stood up, showing her his forefinger to ask for a minute, and strode toward the exit.

Tulsi folded her arms and sank back in her chair. This was the story of her life. Going around in circles, hitting the same hopeless disappointments one after another. Nothing in her life clicked. Nothing had for a long time. She tried to be like other people. She tried her best.

Starting her own business was meant to be a triumph. As much as she enjoyed her boutique jewelry store, it didn’t thrill her. Nothing thrilled her. In moments like the current one, the speed of the seconds of her life slipping away seemed to accelerate. Numbness crept through her. Tables around were occupied by couples and groups, laughing and talking, going about their lives. It all seemed so nothing. So pointless. So benign.

Tulsi didn’t want what she had, but had no idea what she did want. Experience. Excitement. Anything but this. Anything but normality. Niceties. Pleasantries. Mediocrity. She paid her bills and her taxes. She smiled at customers and always did her chores. One day became the next until a week had passed. A month. A year. And, still, her life was middling.

One thing was clear as day, Kieran didn’t give her a thrill. No man did. At least, none that she’d already met. She didn’t think it was too much to ask to feel some iota of excitement. Arousal. Chemistry.

All she wanted was the magnetism that she’d been promised all her life. That women the world over were promised and never received. She wanted the zing. The bubbles. The butterflies. Tulsi didn’t want to be polite. She wanted to be insane with lust. To act on impulse. To be with a man who would drive her so crazy that she wouldn’t be able to contain herself around him. A man who would not only want her to take risks but encourage it. A man who’d always be there to protect her. To catch her. A man she could need and who’d need her in return.

Those thoughts were probably worse than the ones she’d had about Bradley. This was a date and she wasn’t thinking of the man who’d brought her out or any she’d ever been with. Tulsi was conjuring a fantasy. One that had joined her many times through the years when she was alone picturing what life could be.

He didn’t exist. Not really. She had to get over him.

For sure, Kieran wasn’t going to live up to the fantasy.

Despite her overwhelming urge to flee, she stayed put. Her mother had always taught her the importance of manners. Kieran knew where to find her anyway. He’d showed up at her store more than once. No doubt he got her information from her membership paperwork at the gym. Raiding her file for his own personal gain was probably illegal. But did it matter?

He was pursuing her. Just as women were raised to believe Prince Charming was on the horizon, men were raised to believe they were supposed to pursue. To chase. To hunt down the object of their desire. Sure, it was creepy and made her uncomfortable. But he was fulfilling his societal role. It wasn’t always easy to know where the lines were drawn. What was healthy romantic interest? What was criminal stalking?

Sometimes the only distinction was the female at the center of their interest. And if, like Kieran had shown, he couldn’t read her disinterest, he probably believed this was all part of the “hard-to-get” chase.

The server was heading her way. Tulsi contemplated ordering more alcohol. At that, Kieran reappeared at her side, tugging his wallet from his pocket. He didn’t sit down, just tossed a few bills on the table.

“You were right, something did happen,” he said.

“Oh,” Tulsi replied, not sorry that their evening was going to be cut short.

Except Kieran had other ideas.

He snatched her hand the moment she stood up. “I’ll take you home. I just have to make a stop first.”

“A stop?”

“Yes,” he said, taking her purse from the table.

“I don’t need an escort,” she said. “I can make my own way home.”

“I was raised better than that,” he said, putting an arm around her to sweep her out of the restaurant and onto the street. He flashed a quick smile her way. “Besides, how can I kiss you goodnight if I don’t make it to your doorstep?”

The question awakened her gut, but not in a positive way. To her, it was obvious they had no chemistry. She didn’t understand how Kieran could see it any other way. He hailed a cab while she renewed her objections. They fell on deaf ears.

Less than a minute after leaving the table, she was in the back of a cab with Kieran’s hand on her knee. Kieran chatted to the driver, which gave her some reprieve. At least until she noticed the bustling cosmopolitan center was thinning and becoming much more ghetto. Wherever they were going it was in a shady area of the city that she’d never visited. Even the cab driver’s tone became wary when Kieran started to give directions.

Realizing that her knowledge of Kieran was limited to where he worked and what he looked like, Tulsi wondered what she’d let herself in for.

The cab stopped. Kieran paid the driver and bundled her out onto the sidewalk again. Above them were broken streetlights incapable of fulfilling their original function. A distant siren offered some comfort, proving that they hadn’t walked off the end of the world. Yet, there was no one on the streets. The darkness was enhanced by grime and graffiti that made her question what this stop involved.

Kieran took her hand and led her to a building, shoving through a door that was loose on its top hinges. Ahead, two figures loomed in an unlit corridor. The curse of naivety landed on her shoulders. She’d tried to refuse to join him. If she’d had any idea they were coming to this sort of place, she’d have been much more forceful in her objections. Everything had happened so quickly that she hadn’t had the chance to think it through.

“Who is she?” one of the featureless figures asked.

The pair were disguised by shadows. Other than their shapes being tall and broad, she couldn’t decipher anything else about them.

“My date,” Kieran said, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

“You brought a date?” Tulsi shook her head. Before she could say anything, the figure spoke again. “She looks terrified. Why would you bring a woman out here?”

“We were on a date,” Kieran said, like that was explanation enough.

“You knew we were doing this. You picked tonight. Said it was urgent.”

“I thought you could do it without me.”

Tulsi shrugged his arm off her shoulders, which forced her closer to the two strangers who she noticed then were actually standing at the foot of some stairs. “What exactly is going on?”

“I like this one, she’s spunky.”

“You keep your hands off, Rowdy. This one is all mine.”

“All yours?” she objected, twisting to look up at Kieran. “So far, this night has been miserable. I don’t see it getting any better. Where are we?”

For a moment, it seemed that Kieran didn’t know which way to turn. His behavior confirmed her suspicions: the idiot was ignorant to her disinterest. It was a mystery how he could be. The restaurant had been boring. Wherever they were now bordered on dangerous. It was one extreme to the other. Confidence had a lot to answer for.

The danger was made more palpable by the presence of the third man. The one who hadn’t said a word. Being closer, with her eyes more adjusted to the dull illumination, Tulsi could see more of him. His hair was dark, his eyes too. They cut a more severe scowl than any she’d ever seen. Stubble on his jaw surrounded straight lips that displayed little expression.

Somehow, he seemed angry. But there was no tension in him. He was at ease. His demeanor should’ve quelled her apprehension. He didn’t look like he was about to throw a punch or rush into war. There was no sweat on his brow. His arms were loose at his sides. He wore a leather jacket over a dark tee-shirt and jeans that had seen better days.

Something about him drew her focus. Allure terrified and intrigued her in equal measure. The sensation was the same she’d experienced when driving past a pile-up on the highway. Her stomach churned with fear, regret, heartache… Yet, there was also fascination. Curiosity forced her to keep looking even when she knew she should turn away.

Even though she was looking right at him, it took her at least half a minute to realize that he was looking back at her. As terrifying as his aura might be, there was also something comforting about it. About the confidence and capability his ease suggested.

The danger of this neighborhood would surely set anyone on edge. Not him. She got the feeling that even if ten armed men rushed through the door, he wouldn’t do more than blink.

Their eyes locked. Tulsi had never been one to stare. It wasn’t that she was easily intimidated. Her mother had just taught her it was rude. Usually she felt a compulsion to fill silence. Not this time.

She didn’t know what he was doing to her, but it felt like something profound. He had no sense of expectation and yet, there was anticipation crackling in the air. That may have had something to do with wherever they were going. Whatever the men were planning to do was intense. Already she knew this quick stop was more than just a casual errand.

This area was nothing like anywhere she’d lived. Tulsi hadn’t been raised with wealth or poverty. She’d been somewhere in the middle. A non-descript kid in a nondescript neighborhood with a nondescript family. Growing up, nothing about her was interesting or exciting. Nothing interesting or exciting ever happened to her.

She’d never known her father. But that hadn’t mattered. She had never needed him. Her mother worked to provide everything. Sure, they didn’t have fancy cars or the latest gadgets, but she was never made fun of for not owning decent sneakers or having holes in her clothes.

Her mother looked after her. When she came of age and her mother got sick, Tulsi had cared for her in return. Her mom didn’t often come into her thoughts. Though that night was turning out to be an exception to the norm. She tried her best not to think about the woman who she’d lost more than half a decade ago.

Whoever the stranger was, he didn’t make a sound. Didn’t speak a word. He just stood there looking at her as she looked at him. Rowdy and Kieran had exchanged words, but she hadn’t heard a single one. The chill that had touched her fingertips as she’d walked through the broken door, dreading what lay ahead, began to ebb.

If this man was on her side, she’d be safe. Without ever hearing him speak or seeing him move, she understood he was her best chance at getting through this.

“I’m sorry, miss,” Rowdy said. The sound of his voice unlatched her gaze from the stranger’s. “We’re already late and the guy we’re going to see doesn’t like to be disrespected. Cabs come by once an hour in this neighborhood. We don’t have time to track one down. This should only take a minute.”

The stranger went first. He ascended the stairs, his long legs taking them two at a time like the one between didn’t exist. Still, he didn’t make a noise.

Tulsi was mesmerized again. He disappeared around the corner at the top of the first flight. Rowdy went after him. It wasn’t until Kieran put his hand on her lower back to urge her forward that she started to move.

“That’s Wreck,” Kieran said, tilting to murmur in her ear as they followed farther behind the other two. “He doesn’t say much. Never has. And he doesn’t like to be touched. I don’t know why, just a weird thing about him. Not sure there’s anything normal about him though… He’s just here for backup. To provide some muscle.”

That didn’t inspire confidence. If she wasn’t already aware that something shady was going on, he’d just confirmed it. Only people who were going to do something dangerous needed muscle.

On the second floor, they congregated in a group. “What’s the apartment number?” Rowdy asked.

“You called me and demanded I come down here because you needed the apartment number?” Kieran asked, trying again to put his arm around her shoulders.

Stepping away from the attempt brought her arm up against Wreck’s. When Tulsi looked up, he was fixated on Kieran and didn’t seem to notice that she was touching him. Maybe it was just skin to skin contact he didn’t like. Or, it could be that she was so inconsequential he didn’t even register her feeble self against his capable form.

Being so close to him, she caught the scent of something. His soap maybe? His deodorant? It wasn’t potent enough to be cologne. Whatever the smell was, it sent a bolt to her belly like a punch that made her breath burst from her lungs.

Rowdy and Kieran looked at her. Tulsi didn’t dare look up to see if Wreck was looking too. Fighting to find composure wasn’t easy when clarity identified what she had just felt. The spark. The thrill. That’s what she experienced standing next to this man who was a head and shoulders taller than her. He hadn’t said a word. They’d barely shared air for more than a couple of minutes. Yet, she wanted to pick up his arm to wrap it around her body and nuzzle herself close to his chest.

Her imagination was getting carried away with itself; she couldn’t control it.

“Tuls, you okay?” Kieran asked.

For the first time that night, she felt something positive toward her date. The question was genuine. Even so, she couldn’t admit what had caused her to gasp in such a way.

“No shock that dating you made her sick,” Rowdy said. “How long you guys been going out? Maybe she’s just come to her senses.”

Kieran shoved his brother. “Tonight is our first date.”

Rowdy snorted a quiet laugh. “This is a helluva first impression. How do you follow a date like this?”

As was to be expected, Kieran wasn’t discouraged. “I’ve got big plans for this girl. Big ideas.”

“Ideas are all they’ll ever be,” Tulsi said causing Rowdy to jeer and shove his brother.

She hadn’t really known that she was going to speak her thoughts out loud. Her mind was still reeling from the revelation that her gut had found what it had been looking for all her life.

“Let’s get this done,” Wreck said. The rumble of his voice was almost a growl. Impatient and unimpressed, he was certainly more fed up than scared. “The woman stays here.”

“Tulsi,” she said, garnering the courage to peek up at him. “My name is Tulsi Tern… And I can make my own way home.”

Except she didn’t want to. Her instincts screamed at her to stay close to the man at her side. The attraction was primal. Pure feral hormones drove her fascination. It was also ludicrous. Nothing could come from it. He’d be in her life for a matter of minutes. They’d part and never see each other again. It wasn’t like she could hand him her number. If he didn’t like to talk, he would never call anyway. Depending on the guy code rules, Kieran could claim to have seen her first and ask Wreck to keep his hands off.

So even though her immature hormones wanted to throw caution to the wind, reality, as always, brought her crashing disappointment.

“You’re not getting any tonight, brother,” Rowdy said.

“There’s still time,” Kieran said, though it did seem his mood had flattened.

“Apartment number,” Rowdy said again.

“I can’t believe you wrecked my night for this bullshit,” Kieran responded. “The night was perfect until you called… asshole.”

“Whose debt is this?” Rowdy asked.

Kieran sighed. “Mine.”

“And who is paying this debt for you?”

“You,” Kieran said, moving closer to dip down and whisper at her. “He never just does anyone a favor.”

“Get over it,” Rowdy said. “Like Wreck said, let’s just get this done.”

Kieran mumbled a response. “Last door on the right.” Wreck marched down the corridor. Rowdy went next. Instead of leaving her at the top of the stairs, as Wreck had suggested, Kieran put an arm around her to take her with him when he trailed along after his brother.

(C) Scarlett Finn 2020

Warning: Contains explicit language and imagery. Suitable only for ages 18 and over.