Free Hero by Julia Sykes Page A

in Leo’s fist.
    Dex snapped something unintelligible. It took me half a second to register that he’d spoken in Russian. In that short heartbeat of time, he’d reached beneath his suit jacket to place his hand on the gun that was holstered to his side.
    Leo froze, his handsome features twisting with a snarl.
    Dex’s fingers curled into my waist, and he began to back out of the café, dragging me along with him. I followed without resistance, not breathing until the door chimed above us. The heat of the pavement outside rose up around us, and I gasped in warm air.
    We were out.
    Dex turned, keeping his body curved around mine as he hustled me to a waiting black sedan and half-lifted me into the passenger seat. He slammed my door and hurried to the other side of the car, getting in and jamming the keys into the ignition. Tires squealed, and we jolted forward.
    “Sharon,” he growled. I looked over and realized he was speaking into his phone. “I’m taking Chloe back to the field office.” There was a pause. “Because you weren’t watching her. You let her wander off on her own. I’m taking her to Kennedy.”
    “ Wander off ?” I demanded as he ended the call. “I’m not some puppy that slipped its collar.”
    He glared at me. “Well, consider yourself officially leashed. You’re welcome.”
    I crossed my arms over my chest, seething. “You can’t talk to me like this.”
    “Like what? Like I just saved your ass?”
    “Everything was fine until you barged in. I don’t remember calling in the cavalry. What the hell were you doing there, anyway?”
    “Other than rescuing you?” he ground out. “Clayton called in about his informant. When I heard Sharon was taking you to Brighton Beach, I decided to come make sure you were safe. Again, you’re welcome.”
    “Well, I’m not going to thank you. I was just having a conversation. Like I said, I was fine until you came in.”
    “Do you know who those men were? You were having a conversation with members of the Bratva . Do you know what the Russian Mafia does with beautiful women like you? Do you have any idea the kind of danger you were in?”
    “I wasn’t in danger,” I insisted, but doubt made my stomach clench. “Seriously, we were only talking.”
    Dex’s jaw firmed. “You do need a leash.”
    “What I need is for you to stop being a dick and take me back to Sharon.”
    “I don’t think so. I’m taking you to Kennedy. He can deal with you.”
    I threw up my hands, exasperated. “I don’t need to be dealt with.”
    “This conversation is over. I’m taking you back to the field office, and that’s final.”
    “You’re a domineering ass.”
    “When it comes to keeping you safe, I’ll be as domineering as I need to be.”
    “So that’s what this is about? You’re the noble Dom in shining armor protecting the helpless sub? God, you have a major hero complex.”
    His lips pressed together in an angry line, and he didn’t respond. We rode back to the field office in stony silence, neither of us willing to admit that we were at fault.

6
    Dex
    I didn’t understand her attitude. A hero complex ? Really?
    She obviously didn’t have a clue what the Bratva was capable of. I’d witnessed it firsthand, had seen my friends tortured and violated by the ruthless vory . When I’d found her in that café, so close to men who took gorgeous women like her and sold their bodies…
    I felt sick just thinking about it. Sick and angry. I couldn’t believe Sharon had taken Chloe to Brighton Beach and left her alone in an area where we knew the Bratva operated. Why had Chloe gone into that café in the first place? Did she have no sense of self-preservation?
    I ground my teeth together against further questions. Interrogating her wouldn’t get me anywhere. She was obviously just as frustrated with me as I was with her.
    Kennedy will deal with her. He’ll send her home, where she’ll be safe.
    If anyone could intimidate the fiery woman into