“Fine!” Without a second thought, Eric agreed. So they wanted cash? That would make things easier.

He lifted his arm, unclasped his watch, and held it out.

“This alone could feed all of you for years.”

“Wait—what brand is that?” Their expressions shifted the moment they saw the watch; greed flickered in their eyes. Satisfied with what they’d taken from him, they turned toward Hadley.

“What about you?” They assumed women carried even more expensive items.

“Necklace, bracelets—hand them over. Now.”

“I’m not wearing any,” Hadley replied, shaking her head. She meant it. Despite having the means, she rarely wore jewelry unless necessary.

“You expect us to believe that?”

“Check her yourself!”

“Got it!” The man restraining her moved his hand toward her shoulder.

“Get off me!”

“Don’t you dare touch her!” Frantically, Eric dug into his coat pocket and pulled something out.

“Here—this pen! It’s made of gold!” He held it up and added quickly, “And the cap has diamonds—real ones!”

“Give it here!”

“Let her walk to me first!” Eric called out, stretching a hand toward Hadley.

“One hand for the girl, one for the payment!”

The men’s eyes darted between each other, silently agreeing. They’d already gotten more than enough for one night, and all they wanted was cash.

“Deal!” Without hesitation, the man shoved Hadley forward.

“No funny business!”

“Don’t worry. I’m not that stupid.” A faint smirk formed on Eric’s lips as he reached for Hadley with one hand and held the pen high with the other.

Feel the thrill on gα?ησν?s?c?m

“Eric!”

The instant their fingers touched, Eric yanked Hadley behind him and hurled the pen far into the darkness.

“Go get it!”

Without missing a beat, he tightened his grip on her hand.

“We’re getting out of here.”

“I’m with you!”

“Hold it right there!”

As they turned to escape, their way was cut off again.

“Hey, you!” one of the men shouted, jabbing a finger at Eric’s chest.

“That thing on your neck—give it up!”

What?

Without thinking, Eric lifted a hand to the red string resting against his neck. A tight crease formed on his brow.

“It doesn’t mean anything. Just a worthless trinket.”

“Worthless?” None of them looked convinced. If it were worthless, why had he instinctively protected it?

“Stop wasting time—hand it over!”

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