It was happening, the woman realized. What every girl dreads: a man was trying to force her into his car. She had met some friends at the bar after work. It was Friday night, time to unwind. Her two friends left her an hour ago. She thought she might try and chat up the cute bartender, but she wasn't very good at flirting. Frustrated, she had walked out of the bar alone.
Looking for a taxi, she saw the thug coming towards her from out of the shadows. Panic overtook her. She turned to run, but she was too slow. The thug grabbed her and tried to stuff her into the backseat of a nearby sedan. Too afraid to scream, she did her best to fight back. She kicked and squirmed and swung her arms, trying desperately to break free.
Suddenly she was released. She tripped and fell. Her mind was screaming at her to get up, but she was unable. She looked up to see him looming above her. This was it. He was going to get her.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
The thug turned his attention to a tall man in a suit. Where had he come from? Pulling a switchblade from a jacket pocket, the thug made a lunge for the good Samaritan. The Samaritan seemed to be expecting it: he easily blocked the attack and knocked the knife from the attacker's hand. He then landed three quick blows to the thug's jaw, knocking him on his ass. A final kick to the nose ended the confrontation. Blood spurted out onto the concrete. The good Samaritan was then picking the stunned woman up.
"Are you all right?"
She nodded dumbly. It had all happened so fast! Who was this guy?
"Can you get home on your own?"
She stopped and took a good look at her rescuer. He was tall and lean with hard eyes that were glittering from the adrenaline rushing through his system. He was dressed in an exquisitely hand-tailored dark gray suit. He was slightly graying, but his tan skin still maintained a youthful glow. He was very handsome. It was his voice, however, that made her weak in the knees: low and silky with an undercurrent of menace.
"Miss?"
"Yes," she answered. "I'm perfectly capable of getting home."
They stared at each other for a few moments.
"Thank you for saving me," she said.
"It's what I do."
"I'm Annie."
"John."