Chapter 3 - The Predator's Warning
“Well, well, look who found herself a sugar daddy.”
A harsh, grating voice echoed from the alleyway beside the apartment building.
Clara stiffened in Julian’s arms, the color draining entirely from her face.
A man stepped out of the shadows, twirling a baseball bat.
It was Marcus.
Her ex-boyfriend, a low-level enforcer for a neighborhood loan shark, and the monster who had left the marks on her arms.
“Put the bitch down, rich boy,” Marcus sneered, spitting a wad of gum onto the sidewalk.
“She owes me money, and I intend to collect.”
Julian did not flinch, nor did he put Clara down.
Instead, he looked at Marcus the way one might look at a cockroach before crushing it.
“Elias,” Julian said calmly, his voice terrifyingly quiet.
“Open the door for Ms. Hayes.”
Julian gently placed Clara into the backseat of the car, shutting the heavy armored door to lock her safely inside.
Through the tinted glass, Clara watched in horror and awe.
Marcus swung the bat, aiming for Julian’s head.
Julian moved with lethal grace, dodging the heavy wood and stepping into Marcus’s space.
With one swift, brutal motion, Julian struck Marcus in the throat, sending the larger man crashing to the concrete.
Julian stood over him, straightening his pristine cuffs.
Even through the thick glass, Clara could hear Julian’s chilling words.
“If you ever look at her again, I will make sure they never find your teeth.”
Julian turned his back on the gasping, choking man and climbed into the car.
He looked at Clara, his eyes entirely devoid of the violence she had just witnessed.
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“Are you alright?” he asked softly.
Clara could only nod, realizing she had just been claimed by the most dangerous man in Boston.
