"I dare you!" She retorted with a wide grin. I clenched my jaw. "Or maybe I should insist that you apologize and see how that feels!"
"You're very lucky I feel charitable and find you intriguing. Nobody, I repeat nobody, talks to me like..."
"I can tell you're a big baby and a bully. I'm trying to help save your life! The least you can do is be appreciative!" When I didn't reply, she said, "Stay still and try not to move, alright? This is going to hurt... and can you stop pointing the gun at me?"
To provoke her further, I didn't respond for about a second. She glowered at me, and a slow smile tugged at the corners of my lips. I found I enjoyed getting under her skin. She was cute... too cute. I nodded and lowered my hand again, gritting my teeth as she leaned in and began to carefully probe the wound with her fingers. She winced at the sight of the blood that oozed out, and I watched as she forced herself to stay calm and focused.
"Where did you learn to do this?"
"I work with animals in my spare time," she said with such relish. I chuckled.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"It's a kick, I must say. A few minutes ago, your girlfriend was talking smack at me and calling me homeless, and now here we are..."
"She's not my girlfriend," I said, instead of putting her in her place. An unfamiliar feeling clouded my chest.
"It's none of my business, sir," she replied.
"She wanted to get laid, and I obliged," I said, intentionally trying to shock her. In reaction, though, she deliberately poked me with the knife.
"Hey!" I grunted in pain.
"Sorry," she said in a honeyed tone. The little shit. She then took a deep breath and used her knife to make a small incision around the wound.
I gasped in pain, clenching the gun in one hand and the air with the other as she worked to extract the bullet. She was methodical and precise, carefully maneuvering the knife to avoid causing any further damage.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she managed to dislodge the bullet and carefully extracted it from my leg. She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly bandaged up the wound, using a shred of my Tom Ford shirt and whatever supplies she had on hand.
"There, that should do it," she said, giving me an awkward reassuring pat on the arm. "You're going to be okay."
I nodded weakly, my breathing starting to slow down as the pain began to ebb away. "Since you've touched my dick, you should at least tell me your name," I said. She gasped.
"You're disgusting and vulgar, sir!" she retorted, sounding shocked.
"So are you going to tell me your name?"
"No!"
"Too bad, I could reward you for what you've done tonight."
"I didn't do it for money," she snapped as if offended.
"I know your first name is Adele... I heard you talking to yourself."
"That was private!"
"Not if someone can hear you," I replied. She growled in annoyance.
"Do you have help coming, or should I help you dial 911?" she said in exasperation.
"No, no cops. My men should be here for me shortly."
"Of course. So... can I leave you and go? Will you be alright?"
"Give me your full name, Adele," I insisted.
"I told you, I don't need a reward..."
"So then you are one of them?"
"One of them?!"
"Stop playing dumb! People who blew up my car and are trying to kill me."
"Again with that?! And that's scarily specific. What could you have possibly done to warrant anyone coming after you? I know you're an utter jerk, but still..."
"First, that's none of your business. Secondly, don't try to get me off track."
"Unbelievable! Dude! You just accused me... You know what? You're right. None of my business..."
"Tell me your name."
"No!" she replied.
"If you are one of them, I'm going to find out, and you'll hate having me as an enemy," I said in the chilliest tone I could muster.
"Help me, God! If I were one of the people trying to get you as you claimed, why then am I helping you?"
"To confuse me, obviously," I said matter-of-factly. "Why wouldn't you tell me your name?"
"Christ! Fine! I'm Adele Rutherford," she said, moving back from me to wrap her arms around herself. My heartbeat picked up speed. There might be more than one family with that name in Brooks, but the only other Rutherford I know is Mark.
"Shit!" I cursed mentally.
"Are you still conscious?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yeah."
"Did you hear me?"
"I did..." I said, contemplating whether to ask if she knew Mark.
"I'm Archer, Archer Donovan," I said. She nodded and lowered her gaze, but not before I deduced that name rang a bell.
We both heard footsteps, and I held my breath to look in that direction. When I looked back at Adele, she was gone.
"Boss, we've got to leave now. I've got reinforcements coming," Chad said, not stopping to look at me as he helped me up. I got up, not feeling as shitty as before. I looked around to see if I could spot her, but she wasn't there.
I allowed Chad to get me away from the alley and further down to the main road. When he helped me to the back of a car at the end of the road, I looked through the window to see if I could catch a glimpse of her, but everything was just quiet and dark, and it was still wet. It was as if she'd been a figment of my imagination and had just vanished.
"Do you have your phone on you?" I asked Chad. He quickly passed one to me from the front seat. I dialed Mark's number. It rang for a while before he picked up.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I'll live. What about you guys?"
"We're all good. Drop off your missy at home," he replied in a teasing tone. I heard the others laugh.
"Not my missy, just a date," I said. Normally I wouldn't even bother justifying that with an answer. Whatever their assumptions were, they wouldn't bother me. My take on women was not hidden from my friends, but all of a sudden, it mattered, and I knew why.
Mark had spoken about a sister once and had told us how he had almost beaten his stepfather to death for trying to assault her, and how he had run a boy out of town for trying to take advantage of her.
If Adele was Mark's sister, then whatever budding interest I might have in her must be squashed. Otherwise, there would be a lot of complications. And if Mark wanted me dead, there was no chance in hell he would miss. Mark was as deadly as he was determined. The last thing I need was him as an enemy.