Henri growled something behind her, and she risked a glance over her shoulder. The man had reappeared and was running towards her, Henri close behind. Tessa turned on her heels and ran for the stairs. The man’s face was twisted in rage, and he moved faster than was humanly possible. Suddenly there was a pressure across her shoulders, and she fell to the ground. They hit a table, and it shattered beneath their combined weight. She rolled onto her back as her body screamed in protest and the man snapped down at her. Tessa shielded her face with her arms.

“Tessa!”

One second the man was on top of her. The next Henri ripped him away from her. Through a haze of pain, she watched as the man flew across the room, hitting the side of the bar. A sickening thud made her want to throw up. Henri knelt next to her looking like himself again. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have moved.” Tessa managed a groan, curling up next to him. “I just wanted to get somewhere safer.”

“I would have kept you safe.” He brushed some strands of hair away from her face. “Did he bite you?”

She closed her eyes. “I don’t know. Oh God, what the hell is going on?” Henri put an arm underneath her legs and another under her arms. In one fluid motion, he stood. Tessa half expected a groan of effort, but when it didn’t come she looked for the other man. “Did you kill him?”

“I don’t know. I’ll get one of my men to check on him after I get you out of here.”

With measured steps, he walked across the dance floor and to the back door.

“Are you okay?” She didn’t know how to talk to him about what she saw. Her whole body hurt, but he didn’t seem to be having any trouble in moving.

He smiled, but there was a real worry there. “He managed to hit my shoulder with that hammer of his, but I’ll be okay.”

Tessa wriggled out of his grip, and he let her down. Every part of her hurt, but she couldn’t see much of the damage, only the blood that spread across the sleeve of her top. As her feet touched the floor, she wobbled. Henri reached out and grabbed the top of her arms, holding her in place. “You shouldn’t carry me, not if you’re hurt. I can walk.”

“Damn, you’re stubborn.”

“You’ve already done too much for me,” she protested.

“Do we really have to argue about this now?”

She peeked up at him. The security guard looked odd, fuzzy around the edges like she was looking at him from beneath water. She blinked a few times, but he didn’t snap back into focus.

“Tessa?”

Suddenly her feet didn’t want to carry her, and the pain vanished.