Chapter 9

Delilah wrapped her arms around herself. It was a chilly night, but she wasn't going to go far. She just needed a few minutes away from that place. If Luca was still involved with Marc, that meant his entire life and everything he'd worked so hard for could be destroyed if Marc felt like it.

"Why would you do that?" she muttered to herself. She knew how hard Luca had fought to get free of that world and make a life for himself. Why would he throw it all away?

Someone tapped her shoulder, and she spun around, lurching backward from a man wearing a baseball cap.

"I've had to wait almost a week to find you," he said.

She swallowed hard. "I don't have any money on me."

"You think that's what I'm after?"

Delilah tightened her hands into fists. "Don't you dare touch me."

"So you're a coward when you don't have backup?"

"Coward?" She wasn't sure where the anger came from, but she welcomed it. "You're a strange man threatening me at night on an empty street."

"Strange man, huh? Is it strange to not want to be embarrassed in front of my friends?"

"What friends? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't. Now that you don't have your bodyguard nearby."

"Wait." His face jumped into her memory. "Are you the guy with the medium rare steak?"

"So you do remember."

"I never asked Samson to interfere." She took another step back, but he followed. "Have you been waiting outside the restaurant all week? Why? To scare me?"

"No. To teach you a lesson."

He pulled something from his pocket, and she lifted her arms, knowing it would be useless against any kind of weapon.

"Hey!" a deep voice shouted from across the road.

The man looked, and Delilah took the opportunity to kick her attacker between his legs.

He grunted and dropped to the ground, and she looked at the man running toward her.

"Samson? What are you doing here?"

Her attention was drawn back to the man on the ground, who'd straightened and lifted his arm, pointing the can he was holding at Samson. He pulled the trigger, spraying red paint across Samson's chest.

Samson didn't flinch, but his eyes widened when he looked down at his shirt.

Delilah laughed when she realized it wasn't a weapon and the threat was gone.

Samson wasn't smiling. He took two steps to close the space between him and the man and right-hooked the guy in the face, knocking him out cold.

"What are you doing?" She dropped to her knee and checked for a pulse.

"I'm sorry, was he a friend of yours?" His tone made it clear he knew the truth of the situation.

"All he had was paint."

"Yeah. ‘Had' being the operative word. Now it's all over my shirt."

"You can get a new one."

"You are impossible. Is there nothing I can do that's right in your eyes?"

"You could have hurt him bad."

"He stalked you in the middle of the night. He got what he deserved. You're welcome, by the way."

Samson was right. He'd come over to help her, and all she'd done was criticize him. But now she didn't know how to pull herself out of the hole she'd dug. "I don't have my phone on me. You'll have to call the ambulance."

Samson gave her a scolding look. The man on the ground moaned and rolled to his side.

"There, see?" he said. "Still alive."

"Yeah, but he was unconscious. He needs to go to the hospital."

"Fine." Samson made the call.

Delilah rubbed her eyes. She didn't know what it was that made her want to fight him all the time. Samson was right. The guy deserved what he got. She'd been terrified until Samson turned up.

"I'm sorry," she said once he was off the phone. "Thank you for your help. I don't even know that he would have stopped with the paint. Not to mention he could have had anything in his hand. I didn't really know what he was going on about or why he was here at first." And now she was rambling.

"Do you know him?"

"He was the guy with the steak."

Samson's brow furrowed.

"He was giving me a hard time about how his steak was cooked," she continued. "You came in and settled things."

"Oh yeah." He shook his head. "And he came after you because of that?"

"I guess. If you hadn't been here… Wait, what are you doing here? The restaurant's been closed for hours."

"I was driving around."

"Down this street? Do you live around here?"

"No."

A woman wearing a skimpy blue sequined dress pranced across the road to join them. "Is that blood?" she screeched when Samson turned to her and she saw his shirt.

"It's paint. Don't worry," he said.

She leaned nearer to the man on the ground. "Is he dead?" She looked more disgusted than concerned.

"Nope," Samson said.

"No match for you, though," she said, cozying up to Samson. Then she looked at Delilah, checking her out from head to toe, intrigued. "You're lucky he was here."

Delilah pursed her lips at Samson, then lifted her eyebrows. "Yeah, really lucky you guys were nearby. Doing…whatever it was you were doing."

"What do you think we were doing?" she said.

Samson snickered. "If you're not careful, Simone, you'll give her the wrong idea."

"You telling me I didn't give you what you wanted?"

"You were very helpful."

"Sorry to interrupt your evening," Delilah said.

"You didn't interrupt anything." He kept his eyes on her as though he was trying to dissect her response.

Simone poked him playfully. "I didn't know you were the shy type." Her head jerked around when she heard the sirens. "I gotta get going. I don't want to stick around for this."

"Why don't you wait in my car? I'll give you a ride home."

"No thanks. I can walk." She pulled off her heels, dangling them from her fingers before kissing Samson on the cheek. She used her thumb to scrub away the lipstick before walking away, swinging her hips.

Samson smiled after her, then looked at Delilah. "What?"

"You're telling me you two weren't doing what it looks like you were doing?"

"Absolutely not. I needed information, and she knows things others don't."

"But she is a prostitute."

"That is her occupation, yes. But do you really think I would have to pay for it?"

"It would keep things from getting complicated."

"True. But I wouldn't do that to Simone."

"Why not? Do you care about her?"

"Would that surprise you?"

"Yeah. It would."

"Then maybe you haven't got me all figured out like you think you do."

"I never said I did."

"No, but you think it."

"Are you always this irritating?"

"Are you always this stubborn? Let me guess. You get it from your cousin?"

"Not really. He's much more accommodating than me. That's why he allows you into his restaurant."

"Allows me?"

"That's right." She crossed her arms.

"Oh, I see."

"What?"

"I've gotten to you. That's why you're so combative."

She scoffed to hide her fear that he was right. "What on earth would make you say that?"

He smiled at her the way he always did when they were having an exchange. It didn't matter what she did or said. He always enjoyed it.

"It all makes sense now," he said.

"You're delusional."

"Then why haven't you served my table?"

"I have."

"A couple of times in the first few weeks you've been here. But not since. Not on purpose, anyway."

"I can't help it if you're not at one of my tables. I'm not the one who sets the roster."

"It wouldn't be that hard for Luca to keep you away from me. Do you think you need his protection?"

"I'm pretty sure I can handle you on my own." When he opened his mouth to respond, she put her hand up. "Don't."

"Don't what? You don't even know what I was going to say."

"I'm pretty sure I do."

She was relieved the ambulance pulled up at that moment. Their conversation had gone in a direction that was making her uncomfortable.

Samson replayed the night in his head. He'd enjoyed wiping the smug look off Delilah's face when the police said they wanted to take him to the station to speak to him down there. She would have enjoyed watching him pushed into the back of the police cruiser. Instead, he'd called Trevors to explain his position.

But when he thought of Simone and the information she'd given him, his smile faltered. If what she said was true and Demir was collecting weapons for an attack, it was possible that hundreds, if not thousands of Christians could lose their lives soon.

He let his thoughts drift back to Delilah as he drove into the parking garage. She'd maintained a subdued outrage as they'd spoken, but he was sure a small part of her had enjoyed it. She'd hid it well, but it was there despite her best efforts.

As he walked to the elevator, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He huffed. Of course they'd pick a night he was distracted to make their move. But he wasn't distracted enough.

He kept up his pace. Then he saw a flicker of movement from the other direction and dropped to the ground as a round was fired.

He rolled, pulling his own gun when a man charged, and Samson spun, catching the guy on the head with his fist before he turned again and kicked. Another came at him from behind, and he allowed his momentum to push him around as he took him out and dove for cover again.

He fired a couple of rounds and tried to get to his phone so he could call for backup but had to duck as another man jumped for him.

After throwing him off, Samson head-butted another who'd entered the fight. Whatever it was Demir was up to, he'd just over-played his hand and exposed himself. Few things warranted this kind of response when all he'd done was watch the embassy from his car. That meant that whatever was going on, it was big.

Samson licked blood from his lip as he waited for any further attack. When none came, he stood, exposing himself in order to elicit another move if any was coming, but the garage remained silent.

He kept his gun in his hand as he entered the elevator, a little out of breath. Once the doors closed, he put it back in the holster and pulled out his phone.

"You have got to be kidding me," Trevors said when he answered. "I only just got back to sleep. Don't tell me you've punched out another guy."

"The night is still young."

"You are walking a very fine line, my friend."

"What if I told you I've got a present for you? A bunch of presents, actually. I think there's seven or eight."

"It's not my birthday."

"If you can get someone down to my parking garage now, I'd consider it a personal favor. This is a respectable apartment building. I don't think they like bodies strewn around the place."

"What happened this time?"

"You can charge these guys with assault and see what they have to say for themselves."

"Saving more damsels in distress?"

"No. These guys were here for me. I had a chat with Demir a couple of days ago. I don't think he liked it."

"You've been to see him?"

"He didn't like me hanging around."

"You let him see you on a stakeout?"

"I wasn't trying to be discrete. I wanted to get a response."

"Sounds like you got one."

"A big one."

"Were they there to scare you off?"

"By the looks of things, I'd say I'm wanted dead or alive."

"That's a bold move, even for Demir. They can't afford to draw more attention to themselves."

"I guess he thought I was worth it."

"All right. I'll have them picked up."

"I'll call you when I know more."