Free Heat it Up: Off the Ice - Book One by Stina Lindenblatt Page B

me.
    “Do you have to leave? I thought maybe you could stay and protect me.”
    “Protect you from what?”
    He nods toward Pink Shorts and her friends.
    I start to laugh but it turns into a yawn. “I should go. I have to drive home.”
    “Then let’s get out of here. I’ll walk you to your car.” He tells Nik he’s done for the night, and his friend winks at me. Inwardly I groan. I might want to have sex with Kyle, but I don’t want Nik to know about it. Then again, what difference does it make? If I have sex with Kyle, he won’t want anything to do with me after that. Isn’t that how it goes with one-night stands? He had sex with that woman from earlier and he wasn’t interested in sleeping with her again. Was that because she wasn’t so hot under the covers after all, or because he doesn’t do repeat business?
    A sad ache slams into me. Is that really what I want? Exploring Helsinki with Kyle has been more fun than I ever expected. Am I ready to risk it for sex-ed 101?
    As I deliberate the pros and cons of my plan, we walk to where a man’s stumbling to the driver side of the car. His girlfriend is sitting in the passenger seat. My entire body goes numb at the realization of what he’s about to do.
    “Hey buddy,” Kyle says. “You aren’t driving, are you?”
    The man responds, but his words are slurred. I can’t tell if he answers in English or Finnish. He turns and opens the door.
    Before the man can climb in, Kyle grabs hold of his shoulder and whips him around. The man staggers but manages to steady himself with the car door. The girl in the car shrieks at us in Finnish.
    “You’re too fucking drunk to drive,” Kyle yells in his face.
    The man shoves Kyle away and slurs what I guess to be obscenities. Kyle’s jaw tightens and he shoves him right back, pushing him against the car with a lot more force than is called for.
    I don’t know where the man gets his strength from—maybe from fear or from anger or from the alcohol—but he knocks Kyle’s arms off him and swings at Kyle. Kyle’s own anger isn’t enough to dull the effects of the beer he drank. And he’s not fast enough to block the blow. The man’s fist slams into Kyle’s jaw.

Chapter Thirteen
Sofia
    There’s a misguided belief that a woman needs a man to protect her. He’s the hero of her story, the one who makes her feel loved and safe. To hell with that.
    Sometimes men need saving, too.
    I grab the jerk’s arm and attempt to yank him from Kyle. None too thrilled at my attempts to intervene, the man lashes his hand out at me. His ring digs into the flesh below my right eye, and gouges the skin. Blood trickles down my cheek but there isn’t time to worry about it. Kyle lies sprawled on the ground, stunned, his glasses on the asphalt near him. The man sneers at him and moves his leg back, ready to kick Kyle in the ribs.
    “Kyle!” I scream out.
    Kyle looks over at the man, and rolls out of the way. He staggers up but doesn’t move fast enough. The booted foot hits him low in the ribs, below his arm, and Kyle collapses to his knees.
    I throw myself at the man. It’s a stupid move, but it’s all I can come up with to buy Kyle time to get up.
    The man’s girlfriend goes back to shrieking and jumps into the brawl. She grabs hold of my hair and yanks my head back. I cry out in pain.
    Just as I expect them to both turn on me and beat me to a pulp, someone yells in Finnish and the woman is lifted off me. Dazed from being hit in the face, it takes me a minute to realize two cops have stepped in. The man and the woman are talking to them in Finnish. The man slurs while the woman’s shrill voice digs into my brain. Kyle is still on the ground but is now sitting, his glasses back on his face.
    “He was going to drive while drunk.” I point at the man. “Kyle was stopping him before he got behind the wheel and killed someone. He assaulted Kyle and kicked him in the chest.” I kneel next to Kyle and tenderly touch where the boot