The Nightlife: Las Vegas (The Nightlife Series) by Travis Luedke Page B

  She twisted
around to steer Aaron the opposite direction.
    She yelled up against his ear, “That tall blond guy with the
black T-shirt and khaki pants, I don’t want to talk to him.  We dated for a
couple weeks.  He’s a total creep!”
    She hugged Aaron close and ducked her head into his rock
solid chest.  All that strength and power there just under the skin.  He would
protect her.  He had promised.  She tried her best to hide behind him.  After a
moment of playing ostrich, curiosity got the best of her.  She peeked over
Aaron’s shoulder.  Roger looked in her direction with a squint of recognition
and surprise.  As he spotted her, he immediately headed towards them.
    “Oh shit!”  She pulled hard on Aaron trying to drag him away.
    He went rigid, halting her flight as he shook his head. 
“We’re gonna deal with this here and now.”
    As he spoke, Roger arrived.  He grabbed her by the arm.  “Ana,
where the hell have you been?  I’ve been calling you!  You haven’t been home
for two days!”
    She looked to Aaron, hoping for understanding and
forgiveness, but mostly for protection.  She clung to him as the creep tugged
on her arm.  She yelled back over the music, “I told you to stop calling me! 
Leave me alone!”  She rolled her eyes in disgust.  “I don’t want anything to do
with you!”
     
    * * * *
     
    Anastasia turned to Aaron, begging with her eyes, “I broke
up with him days ago, honestly!”
    That’s when he caught a glimpse of the truth in her mind.  The
bruises on her arms the guy left her the night they broke up.  Much like he was
doing right now with his punishing grip on her.
    Aaron had seen and heard more than enough.  His possessive
instincts raged, the predator rattled the cage to be let loose.
    The fool made the situation worse by opening his mouth.  “Why
didn’t you answer my calls?  And who the fuck is this?”
    Aaron stepped up, his gaze and mind boring into the man.  Roger .  Roger liked to push his weight around, especially with the women he
dated.  The predator ripped open the bars to its cage and flooded Aaron with
unbridled aggression.  He moved in the blink of an eye, snapping out to break
Roger’s hold on Ana.  He shoved her behind him, creating a protective wall of
his own body.
    Roger shook his hand in pain.
    He got in Aaron’s face, not the smartest thing to do at the
moment.  Aaron growled low and menacing.  He tried to keep a grip on the inner
beast, but it was hard.  He and the predator were of the same mind on this,
they both wanted Roger’s head on a platter.
    He read it all plain and clear in Roger’s mind, a severely
unhealthy obsession with Anastasia.  But she hadn’t been the first.  Roger was
a serial stalker.  It figures Ana would latch onto a guy like this .  Highly
confident and arrogant, Roger exuded a false power.  He had been stalking Ana
for a month straight before he made his move to date her.  Ana’s particular
pathos was exactly what he looked for.
    Ana barked over Aaron’s shoulder, “Roger go home!  I don’t
want to see you!  Its over!  I’m here with my fiancé, we’re getting married!” 
Just a little white lie, but not so far from the truth.  Her commitment to
Aaron and Michelle was for life, till death do us part .  Saying it aloud
to discourage Roger didn’t make it any less true.
    “What the fuck?  She’s with me dude.  We’ve been dating for
weeks!”  Roger protested.
    Two weeks .
    Roger sneered down at Aaron––he had a couple inches on him. 
“Let me guess, you just met her yesterday and already she’s telling you how in
love she is, how you should get married.  How much money has she taken you
for?”
    Aaron looked over his shoulder to Ana as she gasped.  Shock
and disbelief flitted across her face followed by denial.  She shook her head ‘no’
emphatically.
    “You son of a bitch!”  She cursed Roger.
    Aaron watched her closely, following her reactions.  Was
it