Chapter 2

Derek browsed his local Reddit for news as he waited for the elevator in his apartment building. Mostly the same old thing.

Why are people so rude these days?

OMG rent is outrageous.

And then a new one…

White wolf sighted along Rideau Canal. And within the last hour, too.

He snorted. More likely a large dog or a coyote. Ontario had wolves, but they tended to stay far from big cities like Ottawa.

As the bell dinged and the elevator door slid open, he tucked his phone into the armband he wore for jogging. He probably should have taken the stairs down, but the last time, someone had pissed in the stairwell, and he'd stepped in it. Those shoes got tossed. It was one thing to piss on his own shoes because he was drunk and lacked aim, another to slosh around in someone else's urine.

As Derek exited his building, he broke into a light jog. Fall, his favorite time of year. The evenings got dark early, the air crisp instead of redolent like in summer with the festering garbage. Even better, fewer people on the trails running along the river so he could jog without having to play dodge the pedestrian. Then again, not many people out and about this time of night. He'd worked a graveyard shift, getting off at four instead of one since someone failed to show, home by five because transit sucked. Despite the hour, he liked to indulge in a quick jog then be in bed by dawn so he could get up early afternoon to do it again. Not ideal, but rent needed to be paid.

He might not have minded his dull life so much if he at least had a girlfriend. His last one hadn't worked out. Apparently, after six months of dating, him saying "We should move in together" was controlling. According to Stacy, "You're stifling me. I need my space." It should be noted they saw each other maybe once a week, given their alternating schedules. The whole let's-live-together thing had been his way of spending more time with her since she'd also complained, "I never see you."

At thirty-three, Derek could safely say he didn't understand women, but that didn't deter him. As his grams always said, "There's a bitch out there somewhere, you little bastard. So chin up, make sure to wash your bits, and whatever you do, don't tell them you like pineapple on pizza." Because, according to his grandma, women would run screaming if they knew.

Grams tended to tell things straight with many cuss words. It made school concerts growing up entertaining because Grandma had no problem hollering, " Sit your ass down. Some of us want to see something other than your talentless jizz." Also amusing? Her ranting as the refs tossed her out of his hockey games for taunting the opposing team. Then there was the grilling of Derek's potential GF's with questions like, " Can you cook, or is your idea of fine dining opening a can?" "You going to be true to my grandson, or am I gonna have to take you out to the woodshed for a chat?" His favorite… "So what prepping have you done for the apocalypse?" For some reason, that question sent a few running. Good. Derek didn't need someone who would question his stockpile of water, Ramen noodles, and his bug-out bag for when shit hit the fan.

He'd yet to meet a woman who passed the Grams test, although a few, after meeting her, did think they could demand he cut her out of his life. Like fuck. Love me, love my family.

Heavy metal blasted in his air pods, the heavy beat the perfect accompaniment for the slap of his sneakers on pavement. The lights along the canal lit the path well until a section by a bench overlooking the water. Burnt out or vandalized? Probably the latter. Since the pandemic, crime had gotten worse.

Speaking of which, as he entered the dark section, three dudes wearing face masks, bulky hoodies, and oozing attitude stepped into his path.

Derek slowed his jog and drawled, "Morning, fellas." Because with dawn about to burst, it was no longer night.

"Give us your stuff." The skinniest one held out his hand.

Derek arched a brow. "I'd rather not. I hate setting up new phones."

"Hand it over or else," a second dude ordered, whipping out a switchblade.

It led to Derek eyeballing guy number three. "Let's hear it. Don't let your buddies get all the threatening glory."

"Uh…" Guy number three apparently didn't have a catch phrase of his own.

"Okay boys, let's get this done." It should be noted, Grams didn't just teach him how to swear more mightily than a trucker—and she could get quite creative when it came to cussing at drivers that should get out of her fucking way. Grams had been in her fair share of bar fights because she did so love her whiskey, but if she mixed it with beer… watch out.

To those who might be appalled he'd taken pugilistic lessons from a little old lady, one, his grandma wasn't little, and two, she'd never lost a fight—something Gramps took pride in. Gramps liked to sit back and watch, even wager, and had won more than a few tidy sums that way.

"Guess we're doing this the hard way." The guy with the knife took one step forward, and Derek almost rolled his eyes.

"Dude, did no one ever teach you how to use that thing?" Derek reached out, chopped the wrist, and grabbed the falling blade. "Let's get rid of this before you cut yourself." He pulled back his arm and tossed the flimsy weapon into the flowing water.

Three sets of surprised eyes ogled him before guy number one barked, "Get him!"

Three against one. Looked like he'd be getting a full cardio workout tonight.

Sweet!

Derek ducked under a clumsy blow and nailed the guy in the diaphragm, bending him over double. He then spun and thumped the dumb one, clocking him in the face and sending him reeling.

Number three would have turned and run, only a giant white dog stood in their way, growling softly, hackles raised. Must be the wolf they were talking about on Reddit.

Derek ignored the pup as he grabbed the men he'd smacked and tossed them into the canal. Let the water wash away their sins. Or drown them. Either way, a win for society.

Guy number three apparently had a knife of his own, and he pulled it to threaten the big floof.

"Out of my way, mutt." Thief number three feinted with his blade, and the big dog looked unimpressed.

Derek, however, took exception. "Animal abuse is not cool, dude. Pick on someone human."

The guy half turned to snarl, "Fuck off, or I'll stab you too."

"Have you learned nothing in the last two minutes?" With that, Derek kicked the back of buddy's knee and, before the guy could recover, chopped the hand with the knife. Plop . The weapon went for a swim and drowned.

"What the fuck, man?" whined the dude.

"Listen up because I am about to give you some really good life advice. One, stop robbing hard-working folk. I don't bust my ass forty-plus hours a week for some lazy pukes to steal my shit. Get a fucking job. Two, three against one? Not cool, dude. If you wanna have a go at someone, then it's one-on-one. And ditch the knife. If you're gonna fight, then do so like a man. Three, if you're going to play tough guy, then can you at least take some lessons? This was pathetic. I didn't even break a sweat."

Derek would have sworn the dog appeared amused as it cocked its head. The wannabe thief was more confused than anything.

"Are you a cop?"

Derek actually shuddered. "Fuck no. Just a regular Joe who isn't fucking about to let three punks bully him. Now, I'll give you a choice. Jump or get tossed."

"What?"

"Jesus you're stupid. I blame our public education system." Derek reached over and grabbed the guy, hauling him off his feet before heaving him over the railing to join his friends, who clung to the concrete side of the canal blubbering about it being cold. He leaned over the rail to give them one final piece of advice. "Don't let me see you again."

With that, he turned to the dog. "Hey, puppers. You lost? Hungry?" He didn't see a collar.

The dog, a good size, with a fluffy coat of white fur, glanced to the sky, which began to lighten, before yipping and running off. Probably had to get home before its owner realized it had gone missing.

Derek pressed play on his phone and resumed his jog, only to pause about a hundred yards later when a naked woman jumped out from behind a tree.

Startled, he just about fell over. He also had to tuck his tongue into his mouth because holy hot babe.

Platinum hair that was almost silvery white, honey-colored skin, peach-sized boobs, narrow waist, and, damn, the carpet matched the drapes.

He gaped, at a rare loss for words.

Her lips moved, but it took him a second to flip off his music and mutter, "Say that again?"

"I need help. I've been robbed."

So not a drug addict in the midst of an episode. Had to watch for those. Nothing worse than being accosted by a naked woman wielding a knife who screamed she collected dicks. And, yes, it had happened. Grams gave him shit when she found out he fled. " Why didn't you take her down?" "Because I wasn't about to have a sexual assault charge on my permanent record." These days instigators somehow got away with being victims.

"You need me to call the cops and an ambulance?" Derek asked the woman. He went to dial 911, and she exclaimed, "Oh fuck no. I don't need to answer a zillion questions or have some paramedics groping me. I'm fine. Just naked."

A reminder that had him stripping his long-sleeve Henley. "Here take this. Sorry, it's a bit sweaty from my jog."

She didn't seem to care as she slid it over her head, covering those luscious curves.

Mmm-hmm.

And what the fuck was wrong with him? This woman had been attacked. He shouldn't be looking at her lustily at all. If Grams were here, she'd have cuffed him for sure.

"Thanks," the beautiful woman murmured.

"Can I call someone for you?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Need a ride? I can call a cab and get them to drop you off at your place."

Her teeth worried her lower lip before she admitted, "I don't remember where I live."

"You have amnesia?" He couldn't help sounding incredulous.

"Seems so." She shrugged.

"You really should go to a hospital if you got smacked in the head."

"No doctors," she scowled. "I'm more hungry than hurt."

Not the reply he expected. "Do you need me to buy you some food?"

"Depends, know any places doing steak this time of day?" A fleeting smile curved her perfect lips.

"Not around here."

"Pity. A good steak, barely singed, always fixes everything."

A woman after his own heart. "Well, guess I should get going, that is unless you've changed your mind about me calling a cab."

"Can't I just go home with you? I just need a place to crash for a day or two."

And here came the grift. Derek pursed his lips. "Listen, lady, I don't do scams, and before you deny it, I know how this works. I take you to my place. Next thing I know, some gorilla shows up claiming to be your boyfriend. He beats the crap out of me, and you rob me blind."

Her lips parted. "Does that actually happen?"

"Not to me, but I read about it on Reddit."

"So that's a no on a place to crash for a few days?"

"Guess you'll have to amnesia-scam someone else."

She sighed. "Bloody hell. As you might have guessed, I don't have amnesia, but I can't go home. It's not safe."

"Then why not say that in the first place?" Derek crossed his arms and gave her a stern look.

"Because I'm not looking for a hero. Just somewhere to hang while I figure shit out."

"There are shelters you know."

"The second place they'll look," she muttered.

"What's the first?"

"My apartment."

Her answers had him frowning. "Who's looking for you?"

"Some bad folks. I need to lie low for a while until I know it's safe, and before you ask, I don't have money for a motel. I can't contact my family or friends, not if I want to keep them safe. What a fucking clusterfuck."

Look at her using Grams' favorite word. While Derek got the impression the naked lady wasn't telling the whole truth, he didn't get a danger vibe from her. On the contrary, he found himself intrigued, and it wasn't as if he couldn't take care of himself. If a goon showed up, he'd show him a lesson about what happened to scum who preyed on good Samaritans.

"You know what, you can come stay for a few days, but I warn you—I've got only one bed, and it's mine." Because his chivalry only went so far. "You're welcome to the couch, though."

"Couch is fine. I've slept on worse."

"Follow me, then."

As they began to walk, he asked, "What's your name?"

"Athena."

"As in the goddess?"

"Yeah. My mom loved the Greek gods. I'm Athena, and I have a brother called Ares, and a sister named Selene."

"I'm Derek, after my gramps." Idle chitchat, kind of incongruous given he walked with an almost naked hottie. He noticed her bare feet. "Do you need me to carry you?"

"Whatever for? My legs work."

"Because you have no shoes and I don't want you cutting your feet or something."

She glanced at her toes. "Bah. I'll be fine."

Tough chick. Most broads would have been in hysterics after being robbed. Or… "Wait, were you actually robbed?"

"Not exactly. More like kidnapped and held prisoner."

"By who?"

"Some very annoying people," she grumbled. "When my chance came to escape, I didn't have time to get dressed. Guess I'm lucky the first person I came across wasn't a rapist."

"Fuck those pervs. Grams says the only way to cure a rapist is to cut off his dick and choke him with it."

A short laugh emerged from her. "I like your grandma already."

"You'd be one of a few," he admitted ruefully. "She scares off most folks."

"Not you?" she questioned.

"Nah. She's awesome. I hope to be half as tough as her one day."

They reached his apartment building, an ugly thing built back in the seventies. Red brick with no character. He unlocked and held open the door for her to enter the vestibule. She angled her head and sniffed before saying, "Is there a building in this city that doesn't have pee in the stairwells?"

She could smell it in the lobby? Might be time to ask the superintendent to bleach the stairs again. "Yeah, it's getting to be bad in a lot of places. At least the rent isn't horrendous."

"Oh don't apologize. Just pointing out a fact. My place had the same problem for a bit."

"How did you solve it?"

"The pisser had an unfortunate tumble down the stairs and landed face first in it."

He couldn't help but laugh. "By unfortunate, do you mean pushed?"

"Why, Derek, do I look like the type of girl who would sully her hands?" Athena drawled then winked.

He kept chuckling as they entered the elevator. "Kind of refreshing to meet someone who doesn't put up with bullshit. Although I gotta wonder, how did you get involved in a bad scene?"

"By not being careful." She leaned against the elevator wall as it rose. "And before you ask, I'd never met the folks who snagged me. All I know is apparently I met some kind of criteria."

Given her looks, he could only come to one conclusion. Sex trafficked. Damn. Meaning no flirting by him, no leering, no nothing. Derek wasn't about to make her trauma greater.

"Think they'll come looking for you?"

"Probably." She hesitated before adding, "Don't worry. I'll be gone before they figure out where I am."

She kept saying "they." As in, more than one person.

"Even if they do show up, I'm not afraid," he quickly stated. "More just wondering if I need to be more on guard than usual."

"You should be fine. It's me they're after."

"Any way I can help you get them off your back?" he offered, because his grandma raised him to be a gentleman who helped people in need. And he hated scum. If vigilante justice wasn't punished more severely than actual criminals, he'd have long ago started cleaning up the city.

"You've already done enough by giving me a place to crash for a few days. Thanks."

"No problem."

With that, they arrived at his place. She declared the couch perfect, and then, despite his earlier claim, Derek tried to insist she take the bed because he suddenly felt bad about putting her on that lumpy thing. She refused.

He might have fought longer, but he needed sleep before his shift tonight. He pulled out some leftovers in the fridge, a bucket of fried chicken and another of hot wings which they devoured in silence—unless her staring meant something. After their meal, he said goodnight and hoped he wouldn't wake to an apartment stripped of all his valuables. He'd be pissed if she took his collector edition Xbox.