Good Intentions - Adrian Hell #6 (Adrian Hell Series) (12 page)

I raise an eyebrow. “Can I… help you?”

They look at each other and giggle. The one on the left steps forward and leans against the table. “We’ve… ah… we’ve seen you around here before. What’s your name?”

I take a sip of my beer and try to remain casual. I’m doing my best to stay optimistic, but sadly, I’m too old and too experienced to avoid being cynical. I’ve been coming to this club, on average, maybe twice a week for the last three weeks. I come here for the atmosphere, and for the beer. I don’t come here to dance, socialize, or pick up women. And while I don’t consider myself to be bad looking, I wouldn’t ever assume I can attract any woman I want. So, when two stunning, seemingly eager, women approach me and start flirting—which I think is what this is—I’m immediately skeptical.

I look at each woman in turn and smile courteously. “The name’s Brad. Brad Foley.”

The one leaning on the table moves to my side, and her friend sits down and slides across the seat so she’s next to me. Both of them link my arms, laughing.

“Nice to meet you, Brad,” says the one on my left. “I’m Nicki. That’s Hannah.”

Her friend squeezes my arm. “Hi, Brad!”

I smile politely. “Hi… Hannah. So what are you two doing in Abu Dhabi?”

Nicki shrugs. “We’re on vacation. We wanted to see the world, y’know. After everything that’s been happening, we decided life’s too short, so we should seize the moment. Hannah, what’s that saying?”

Her friend frowns. “Crap a dime, or something…?”

I smile, trying not to laugh. “You mean carpe diem?”

“That’s it!” squeals Nicki.

Crap a dime
? Seriously…

“You’re so smart!” gushes Hannah. “And handsome… Oh my God, that watch is gorge! Can I try it on? It looks heavy…”

And my skepticism prevails!

I admit I may have been a little indulgent with my newfound wealth. I bought some nice sunglasses—Oakley, gold-rimmed, tinted lenses—and this watch, which is a gold Rolex, complemented with diamond and platinum highlights on the hands and face. It’s a bit extravagant, I know, but I thought I should allow myself a few luxuries, to go along with my new life.

I gently remove her hand from my arm. “I don’t think my watch is really your style, sorry.”

She looks a little deflated, but quickly bounces back. “So, me and Nicki are going to hit another couple of bars before going back to our hotel. Do you wanna join us? You would have a wicked time, promise!”

Nicki leans in close. “You
so
would, Brad!”

I annoy myself sometimes. Put me in a room full of guys armed to the teeth, all trying to kill me, and I’m fine. I’ll either talk my way out, or shoot my way out, every time. But give me two young, scantily-clad, willing women with dollar signs in their eyes, and I turn into an over-polite, apprehensive teenager who doesn’t have a clue!

“Friends of yours?”

I look up and see Lily standing here, holding our drinks.

Oh, thank God!

“Hey. So, Nicki, Hannah—this is my… ah… this is Lily.”

The girls turn to look at her. I see their faces change in an instant. The territorial instincts of the wild woman in her natural habitat instantly take over. These two can’t be older than twenty-five. They must know they’re attractive, but they’ll know that neither of them can hold a candle to Lily. She’s stunning on a whole other level, and it’s effortless. She doesn’t need short dresses and make-up… she’s just
that
hot. And she’s probably aware of it, too, but she doesn’t let it influence her behavior in any way.

Lily’s staring at each of them, challengingly. I don’t know if it’s just because I know she’s an assassin, but she looks really fucking scary right now! Hot… but scary.

Hannah slides out of the booth and moves to stand beside Nicki. Both of them are a little taller than Lily, but that’s likely to do with their heels. Not that it matters—Lily’s not exactly going to back down from them.

They’re standing with their backs to me. I take a sip of my beer and watch. Even I know it’s best to stay quiet when women are doing… whatever
this
is that they’re doing.

Without a word, Lily pushes between them and stands next to me. She holds my gaze for a brief moment, and then leans forward, places one hand behind my head and—

…

…

…

…

…

—kisses me.

Sorry—I was always taught it’s rude to talk with your mouth full…

Holy crap, that was incredible! Her lips were soft, her tongue was warm, and I could feel the passion in her touch.

She pulls away and smiles at me, and then turns to face Nicki and Hannah. “Beat it, you pair of whores. And if you come near my man again, I’ll shoot you.”

Their eyes nearly pop out of their heads, and they both turn and run across the dancefloor and out through the main doors. Well, I say run… it’s more of an awkward totter, in those shoes. Without saying anything, Lily slides my beer across the table to me and shuffles in beside me. She gets comfortable and has a sip of her drink.

I’m not entirely sure what just happened there. Or why. Not that I’m complaining, I just feel… guilty—like I’ve been unfaithful or something. I think back to my session with Kaitlyn earlier, and the things she said about misplaced guilt and how people react differently to loss. In a split-second, I summarize a month’s worth of therapy and decide that, right now, I need a drink.

I take a large gulp of my beer and turn to look at her. “So…
that
was new.”

She shrugs, stares at her drink, and waves a hand dismissively. “They were only here for your money. I was just doing you a favor.”

“I know they were. I had it handled…”

She looks up at me. “
Sure
you did…
‘I don’t think my watch is really your style…’
Please!”

I frown. “How do you—?”

“I can lip-read. I was watching from the bar. You’re hopeless, d’you know that?”

I nod and stare at the table. “I do.”

Out the corner of my eye, I see her smiling at me. “Okay, Adrian, I… I do need your help. I’m sorry for randomly interrupting your new life like this, but—”

“Hey, if this is your idea of interrupting me, don’t feel bad—I can learn to live with it!”

We both laugh, and she goes a little flushed. “Listen, can we get out of here? Go somewhere quieter? I can fill you in on the details of my contract.”

“Sounds good. Come on.”

We both stand and head across the dancefloor, navigating our way through a growing sea of people, all jumping up and down to the music. We step out into the humid evening and take a right, walking side by side in the direction of the coast. Lily slides her arm around mine and leans in slightly.

“Tonight’s been nice, thank you. It was just what I needed to unwind.”

I smile. “I’m glad it helped. So, are you gonna tell me what happened?”

She stands straight, as if she’s steeling herself for the unenviable task of telling me. “Well, it all—”

“There they are!”

We both frown, confused, and look behind us. Nicki and Hannah are walking purposefully toward us, striding confidently in their heels. Behind them, six men are huddled together, looking angry. They’re all big guys, and they look capable and organized. They all have tanned skin and thick, black beards, painstakingly groomed in a variety of different styles.

Nicki steps forward. “Hey, asshole… no one turns us down, do you hear me?”

Lily and I exchange another glance. She smiles. “This should be fun!”

I rub my eyes with tired frustration. “I think you and I interpret fun
very
differently…”

10

22:06
AST

I turn to face the approaching mob, my mind already running at full speed, playing out my first few moves. I glance at Lily. “Just follow my lead, okay?”

She pats my arm. “All yours, hotshot.”

We don’t make a move, we just stand and let the group come to us. The girls stop a few feet away from us, standing defiantly with their arms crossed and a hip cocked to the side—the universal position that pissed-off women assume right before a confrontation.

The huddle of men fans out to surround us, taking up the full width of the sidewalk. The few passers-by hurry to give us a wide berth. Nicki and Hannah push their way into the middle, smiling arrogantly as if they’ve gotten one over on us both.

A man from the right steps forward and moves next to the women. His hand disappears inside his pocket, and comes out a moment later wearing a set of brass knuckles.

I take a deep, calming breath, trying to keep my heart rate steady. I can sense Lily doing the same beside me. We both stand loose, ready for anything.

Hannah shakes her head. “You should’ve just come with us, Brad. Yeah, we were gonna rob you, but chances are you wouldn’t have been hurt that much.”

Nicki nods in agreement. “Plus, you
are
pretty cute. We might have taken pity on you…”

I ignore them both and look at the man standing with them. He’s a powerfully built guy, a bit shorter than me, but wider, with more obvious muscle mass. His bulky fingers look swollen, forced into the grip of the brass knuckles. He’s staring at me, trying to look intimidating.

Dick.

In my head, I’ve already planned how I’m going to take out all six of these pricks. Shouldn’t be too difficult, especially seeing as I have Lily with me. But I want to understand something first…

I point to the guy in front of me. “Are you in charge?”

He doesn’t say anything, but I notice the two women glance at him expectantly, so I guess he is.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes… So, what is this, exactly? Are you really just a gang who go from club to club, using these two bicycles…” I nod at Hannah and Nicki. “…to lure rich, gullible idiots outside so you and your boys can rob them?”

Hannah tuts loudly. “Hey! Who are you calling a bicycle? What does that even mean, anyway, asshole?”

I smile. “I’m insinuating that, like a bicycle, I suspect most people have ridden you at some point…”

Next to me, Lily snorts as she laughs aloud.

Hannah’s eyes go wide and she scoffs with shock. Nicki looks angry and lunges at me, winding up a big slap. I barely need to move to catch her hand, but I do, firmly, as it comes round aimed at my face. I grip her wrist tightly enough to stop her moving, but no more than necessary. She’s just a dumb kid at the end of the day, and I don’t want to hurt her.

“Don’t be silly…” I push her arm away. “Now be quiet, darlin’—the grown-ups are talking.”

The circle of men all visibly tense, dropping their arms and getting ready to fight.

I ignore them, focusing again on the main guy standing with us. “Let me save you some time here, Chief. There aren’t enough of you to take anything from me. I appreciate the gesture—I’m sure it’s a sweet little set-up you have here… But I’m the wrong guy, alright? So let’s save everyone some time and some pain. Just cut your losses and walk away, no harm, no foul.”

He shakes his head and smiles. “You don’t know who you’re fucking with…”

I raise an eyebrow. I actually feel pretty bad for the guy…

I look at Lily. “Are you still bored?”

She cracks her neck and winks at me. “Believe it or not, I’m starting to feel a little entertained.”

“Glad to hear it.” I look back at the guy. “Okay, you little fucktrumpet, this is your only warning—your only shot at walking away from this unscathed and unaided. I suggest you take it, before it’s too late.”

He steps toward me, raising both arms and clenching his fists.

Here we go…

I don’t move forward to meet him. Instead, I stay still and simply push my foot forward and down, connecting with his kneecap.
Then
I take a step forward, keeping the momentum going, so I follow through as if I’m stomping a cockroach and want to put my foot through the ground. All his weight is currently on that leg, and it snaps like a twig. He screams and buckles, falling quickly to his side. He lands hard, clutching his injured leg, which is flopping lifelessly around in his hands.

“Oh,
nice
!” shouts Lily, hitting my arm in a congratulatory fashion.

The two women are stunned. They gasp and hug each other, shuffling outside the circle to safety. The remaining men exchange uncertain glances, but no one moves.

In my experience—which is, sadly, quite vast in this area—if you have a group of adversaries like this, the best strategy is to hit the first one who moves or talks. Put them down, hard and fast, with little or no warning. Usually, the one who acts first is in charge, and if you drop
them
, the rest of the group will be shocked and confused, which gives you a great advantage.

I look at each one in turn. “Anyone else? Anyone still think
this
is a good idea?”

There’s a guy on our left, maybe a step or two behind us, who’s the only one close enough to grab us if he wanted to. He needs to go next, just to hammer the point home. I subtly nudge Lily’s arm. Without a word, she quickly steps toward the guy, turns counterclockwise and slams her forearm and elbow into his temple. He didn’t even see her move, let alone process the strike or attempt to block it. He was just standing there, minding his own business, preoccupied with trying to look imposing. She caught him right on the money and he dropped like a stone.

I look back at the group, who have now all taken a step back. “Seriously… anyone else feel compelled to finish what you started?”

Silence.

“…is the smart answer—well done. Now, fuck off, all of you.”

Without hesitation, they scoop up their unconscious friends and walk away from the club, tails between their legs, leaving Lily and myself with the two women. Hannah and Nicki look terrified. As they should. I take a step back, and Lily moves toward them. They visibly shrink on the spot.

Lily lets out a tired breath. “You two should choose your friends better. Do you actually realize how close you both came to dying tonight?”