A muffled scream broke from me as I was yanked back up against a hard body and pulled along into an alleyway. Repulsion converged with the vortex of terror in the pit of my stomach. The phantom of beady eyes appeared before me as I was spun around with strong hands and had my back pressed up against the frigid stone wall.

Churning bronze then came into focus a moment later, chasing the ghosts away, but the memory, cold and repulsive, still crawled underneath my skin.

The calluses on his palm ...