Chapter 7: Saved by Her Knight

Annalyn’s POV

I stood before Table 15, gripping my tray tight as my heart slammed in my chest. My pulse roared in my ears, but I forced my face to remain calm.

As soon as I stopped at the table, the boys booed.

“Holly fuck.. you’re right Kristoff, She’s really hot… Damn, look at those sexy legs,” one of them said with a loud laugh, dragging his gaze across my bare thighs like they were for sale.

I swallowed hard.

He's been talking to his friends about me?

That son of a bitch!

“This is for Mum,” I told myself. “Just survive this. Just smile.”

I gave a polite nod. “Good evening, and welcome to Velluto. I’m Anna. I’ll be your waitress tonight…”

Kristoff leaned back in his chair, his grin sharp and mean.

“Is that what you think you are? A waitress? Ohh, how convenient.”

They all laughed, loud and harsh. I rolled my eyes and bit my tongue. No comebacks. No cracks. I needed this job.

Kristoff tilted his glass lazily. “Tell me Anna do you really think you can earn 1.5 million dollars working as a call girl?”

“A waitress Kristoff, let that sink into your dead skull” I retorted sharply before I could control myself

“Ohhhhhhh!!!” His friends booed but he just smiled and continued

“That’s what they told you? You and I know that they hired you because of your pretty face and all, so you’re nothing but a sexual fantasy to these men who come in here. Now if you accept my offer, I’m willing to foot your mothers hospital bill, get you a private apartment somewhere in the heart of town… I’m well capable…

I couldn’t hold on anymore, i snapped, my voice low and cutting. “For someone who’s engaged to a Quinn, you seem oddly unsatisfied, I wonder why?”

Laughter again. Loud, braying.

“So I’d advice that you butt out of my business. If you’ve got an order, drop it so I can get it done.” I concluded

“Uuu…Feisty! I love feisty women,” another one said.

I ignored him, squared my shoulders. “What would you like to have?”

The one seated farthest to the left leaned forward. “Get us the most expensive liquor this place stocks.”

“Of course,” I said stiffly. I turned and walked away, their jeers trailing behind me.

“Ohhh yaaa,” someone called in a filthy tone, “that ass looks spankable!”

I shut my ears, kept walking.

At the bar, I exhaled a shaky breath. My hands trembled as I reached for the bottle they’d requested. I pulled four shot glasses onto a tray and carefully filled them, steadying my nerves.

Then I returned.

As I approached their table again, I could feel their eyes crawling over me. I placed the tray down, set the glasses in front of them one by one, and retrieved the empty tray.

The man to my right watched me like a predator. His eyes gleamed, and he rolled his tongue across his lips like he could already taste me.

Disgust prickled across my skin.

I straightened. “Anything else?”

The same man leaned in. “Yeah. I’ve got a dare for you.”

I stared. “Not interested.” And turned to take my leave

“Twenty thousand dollars,” he said casually.

The table roared again.

I paused. Turned and my eyes fell on Kristoff first

His face remained unreadable, blank.

I turned to the man, trying to see if he was bluffing. “What dare?”

He smirked. “Take all four shots. Right here. Right now.”

My eyes widened.

Four fucking shots?

I had zero alcohol tolerance. Two would probably knock me over. But… twenty thousand dollars? That was a huge chunk toward Mum’s bill. I could barely make two thousand in tips in a week here.

I hesitated.

The man saw my doubt and reached into his wallet. He pulled out a black card and tossed it onto the table.

“When you’re ready.”

I looked at the card. No games. No lies.

“I want cash,” I said, voice firmer. “If I’m doing this, I want real money, not some credit stunt.”

Kristoff’s mouth twitched. He was amused. Maybe he thought I’d back down. Then suddenly his phone rang, He glanced at it and his face twitched into a smile, he signaled his friends that he’d be back.

But before he stood up he picked up the call and said into the speaker stylishly as if to taunt me, “Hello Wifey” before walking out with his phone pressed to his ear.

I watched him walk outside, it had been days but the pain still lingered.

The man’s voice broke my focus as he eaned back with a shrug. “Take it or leave it.”

I stared at the glasses. Did I really have a choice?

“…Deal.”

I picked up the first shot. The smell alone made my stomach churn. I pinched the bridge of my nose and tipped it back.

It burned like hell. My throat ignited, my eyes watered.

They cheered.

The second shot. I hesitated only a second before downing it. My stomach coiled tight. The room tilted ever so slightly.

And then I felt it.

A hand. Slithering up my bare leg, to my thigh.

I jolted.

My hand slapped his wrist.

“Don’t you dare touch me again, I’m not a call girl. I’m warning you.”

He stood, grabbing my wrist and yanking me flush against him.

I gasped.

His mouth hovered over my face “A waitress this hot? Don’t flatter yourself. You’re a call girl, and you should act like one… unless you want me reporting you to your manager over there.”

He tightened his grip around my waist. I struggled, heart hammering.

Watching.

Unmoving.

Then a voice cut through the noise, sharp and commanding.

“I’d let the young lady go if I were you.”

Every head turned.

I turned.

There he was.

Alexander Quinn.

Coming down the stairs from the VIP lounge in a tailored black suit, looking every inch like power incarnate.

His gaze was fixed on the man holding me.

The man instantly released me.

Alex descended slowly, each step measured. Even through the haze of liquor, I couldn’t look away. He moved like a god… dangerous, elegant, unshakable.

He walked right past me and stopped in front of the man.

“The next time I see your hands on her,” he said calmly, “I’ll make sure to break each one of your fingers. Personally.”

The table went dead silent.

He didn’t shout. He didn’t need to.

The man turned pale. Kristoff still hadn’t said a word.

Then Alex reached for my hand.

His touch was firm, steady.

“Let’s go,” he said.

He guided me away from the table, through the crowd, past gawking onlookers. I followed, light-headed, half-drunk and stunned.

Outside, Alex opened the car door for me, his hand brushing the small of my back as I slid in.

The moment he joined me inside, something strange bloomed in my chest.

Heat.

Sudden and thick… rising under my skin, crawling down my spine, coiling low in my belly.

I blinked. Swallowed.

Why did the air feel too hot and stuffy all of a sudden?