Finn entered the courtyard, a cloud of laughter and flirtation swirling around him as he effortlessly drew the attention of his newest fanbase. The group of women surrounded him, hanging on his every word, their chattering almost musical in its rhythm. They laughed together, clearly entranced by Finn’s effortless charm. But Finn’s eyes, ever sharp, found Conner’s almost instantly.

The exchange between them was brief but loaded with meaning. Conner gave a small, discreet signal—nothing more than a firm stare and nod.

Finn’s playful grin faltered just for a second, his attention momentarily shifting from the group of women to Conner’s expression. A quiet understanding passed between them before Finn, ever the professional, nodded once. He gave the women around him a quick, half-apologetic smile, as if to say, Excuse me, ladies. He turned back to Conner, his earlier enthusiasm tempered by the knowledge that tonight’s plans could be abruptly interrupted.

“Got it,” Finn mouthed, his easy demeanor slipping into something more serious as he subtly adjusted his position, always alert.

“Pardon me,” Conner said, approaching the couple in question.

Ben held a tight grasp on the girl’s wrist when he looked up. “What do you want?”

“I wasn’t speaking to you,” Conner spoke in a firm tone as he stared Ben down, before looking back at the woman. “Would you like to come with me?” he offered with kind eyes.

“Are you blind? She’s with me.” Ben yanked her to his side and glared up at Conner. “Get lost.”

The woman glanced between the two of them and gave Conner a discrete nod. Conner offered her his hand. “Come with me.”

Ben hit his hand away. “Are you deaf?”

Conner swallowed hard to keep calm and Finn began to casually move up from behind. “Ben, isn’t it?” Conner sneered. “You’re a parasite, Ben, and this young woman no longer wishes to be with you. So, I’m going to make sure she finds a safe way home tonight.”

“Is that so?”

“It is, so let’s keep this dignified, shall we?”

He glared back at his date with pinched lips, then back at Conner. “Why? Are you afraid I’ll rip you apart?”

“Not at all. In fact, I’m really hoping you’ll do something stupid so I can give you a small

taste of your own medicine.”

The cowering woman stepped up to Ben’s side saying, “Ben, I’m feeling tired anyways. I’ll just get a ride home and then see you later. Okay?”

He looked down at her with disgust. “You do whatever you want,” he said shoving her off him. “Just leave the money.”

She hesitantly went to open her clutch, but Conner interrupted. “Don’t you think you’ve got enough out of her for one night?” He gave the woman his hand again and she took it before Ben could argue. Conner kept his hand on her back as he guided her safely back into the mansion—Finn close behind. They made it out of Ben’s line of sight and Conner stopped her.

“Are you alright?”

She nodded but her quivering split lip said otherwise. “Thank you,” she trembled while avoiding eye contact with him.

“My name is Conner. My friend Finn here,” he said gesturing Finn closer, “will take you wherever you want to go.”

“I’m Genevieve.”

“You’re going to be okay, Genevieve. Especially if you ditch Ben for good.” She gave no signs of assurance that she would, but it was her choice. “You’ll need to find some wheels,” Conner told Finn. “I’m not finished here, yet.”

“Easily done. This place is filled with people that love me. Unlike some people…” he gloated. “Come, lovely Genevieve. Let us away!” he said in his lighthearted way as he wrapped an arm around her.

Conner adjusted his shirt as he started back toward the courtyard to finish dealing with Ben. His goal was to make a point, not a scene and he was confident all it would take was a sum of money. Making his way through the crowd, Conner could hear Ben scornfully hollering at him and turned to see that he had formed himself a small posse of bulky men. Luckily, the chaos of the party muffled most of it so very few people were aware.

Conner was sure to make eye contact with Ben before drawing him and his goons through the crowd of partiers to the other side of the house. He left the door to the billiard room ajar as he entered and continued through to the adjoining patio. It was dark out and far enough away from everyone to go unheard. Conner sat back against the stone railing facing the doors and waited as his prey stalked him.

Ben was first to exit onto the patio. “Oh good, you stopped. I thought you were going to keep running like the little girl you are,” Ben said folding his arms.

Conner began rolling up his sleeves. “Run? No. I was luring you away from everyone so they wouldn’t hear you cry out for help.”

“Bwahaha! It’s four against one! You’ll be the one crying when this is over,” Ben threatened.

A chilling, yet attractive grin appeared on Conner’s face. “We shall see.”

Ben glared. “Get him,” he ordered. All three men came forward at once. Conner took down the smaller of them with one kick to the groin. Another punched Conner hard enough that he stumbled backward into the iron patio table before catching himself.

“Hello!” Conner laughed. “That was a great hit.” He charged at the larger guy like a football player running toward a striking sled and slammed him against the house. Someone struck from behind and pulled him back for a series of blows to the side and gut. The big guy pushed the others out of the way and began pummeling Conner one hit after another. He then grabbed Conner by the shirt and shoved him through the glass door back into the billiard room. Shattered glass lay all around him. As the posse stepped through the door frame, Conner used the pool table to get back to his feet. He stood leaning against the table and pulled a large glass shard from his forearm.

“Awe, did you get hurt?” Ben scoffed.

He tossed the bloody shard to the side. “Not at all.” Conner reached into the pool table pocket and grabbed two balls. He hurled them as he whipped around, hitting the largest guy in the chest and the second made contact with Ben’s clavicle. Ben roared out in pain while the large guy tried to breathe again. The smaller guy charged at Conner, but Conner was done messing around. He delivered a swift kick to the guy’s stomach followed by a couple of punches to his head before the guy fell to the ground.

Conner then charged toward the man who’d shoved him through the glass. Everything in the room instantly became a weapon, from pool cues and balls to expensive ornamental pieces on shelves. It wasn’t long before Ben became viciously angry. He turned to find the sharpest object he could and charged Conner with it while he was fighting off the other man. He plunged an iron fire poker into Conner’s abdomen.

The big guy was stunned and let go of Conner. “What did you do? We were just going to rough him up!”

Ben didn’t even waver. He glared at Conner saying, “Guys like you just don’t know when to mind your own business.”

Conner tore his button shirt open, exposing the wound just below his rib cage. “And some people don’t play fair.”

The big guy backed away. “I’m really sorry, man.” What happened next was something none of them expected. Conner grabbed the poker with both hands and drew it out of the wound.

The man standing behind the big guy went pale “I think I’m going to be sick.”

The wound began closing up all on its own—healing from the inside out—and their jaws dropped. “That wasn’t very nice, Ben,” Conner said in a nearly demonic tone as he glared down at him.

“That’s impossible,” he panicked. “What are you? Some sort of freak?”

“That’s right. A freak you really shouldn’t have pissed off.” Gripping the poker in a tight fist, he attacked, this time without remorse. Conner never lost control in a fight. He was lucid and precise. But there had been a few times when prejudice shrouded his desire to exercise restraint and it was always for the same reason. Conner’s biggest failing was turning the other cheek when it came to bullies or anyone profiting off of pain. His mind became shrouded in darkness as he pulled off his shirt and wrapped it around the smaller guy’s neck. He pulled him back against his body while fighting off Ben and the other guy. When the guy passed out Conner let go and moved on to the next. Debris fell from the walls as bodies slammed up against them over and over in a frenzy for survival, but Conner wasn’t even breaking a sweat. The big guy’s head came down against the pool table hard and he finally dropped. The next guy went down eas

ily with a single punch to the jaw. It was just Conner and Ben now. “I saved you for last,” Conner grinned.

“My lawyers are going to have a field day with you.”

“You think you’re the first one to say that to me, Benjamin? You couldn’t have thought of anything more original?” Conner taunted. “You know, this could have all been avoided if you were just a half decent guy to Genevieve.”

“What do you care? Who’s she to you?” he yelled.

“You’re right, this isn’t about Genevieve as much as it is about you. The truth is, I hate people like you, Ben.” Conner grabbed his shoulder, pushing his thumb down against his clavicle.

“Aaa! Stop!” Ben begged as he dropped to his knees.

“If you know what’s good for you, you won’t come into contact with Genevieve ever again. Do you understand?”

Ben nodded. “Yes. I understand.”

Conner firmly tapped his shoulder causing Ben to whimper in pain. “Good boy.”

Grabbing his shirt as he left the room, Conner inspected it. Blood and a hole marked where Ben had stabbed him with the iron poker. He stepped into a nearby bathroom, tossed his shirt into the trash, then cleaned himself up at the sink before walking back out amongst the partiers. He would have to leave before anyone discovered Ben and his bozos. He grabbed a glass from a passing waiter holding a tray full of beverages and chugged the colorful fluid down as he moved through the crowd toward the front doors.