Set by Alessa Thorn

3

Set had never been a knight in shining armor in his long life. He wasn't in the hero business, but he needed to put the doctor at ease enough to trust him.

That's not something you need her to do either.

He was surprised that he wanted her to feel safe with him.

Set had been late by mere minutes. The doctor's camp had been in an uproar by the time he arrived, and Ayla was gone.

It didn't take him long to track them to a shitty neighborhood in Aswan. He expected more from Moussa's men. He had planned to prevent a war by not killing them...and then he got his first good look at the doctor.

A photo hadn't done Ayla Neilos justice. Even dirty and sweaty with one cheek bruising, she was fascinating. The image hadn't captured the intensity of her big hazel eyes that felt like she had physically grabbed his guts and pulled hard.

Set hadn't been sucker-punched by destiny in a long time, but he knew it when he felt it. He had been a god of protection before a god of war, and this woman with a death sentence hanging over her head and full, utterly fuckable lips was about to become his number one priority. She just didn't know it.

For fucks sake, not now. Not her.

Set had been mentally scrambling right until the moment the bastard holding Ayla made her bleed. He suddenly didn't care about avoiding war and being diplomatic to ensure Cairo didn't become a battleground. That one drop of blood trickling down her throat had woken the sleeping monster.

Now the whole shitty apartment looked like a slaughterhouse.

Fucking pull yourself together. You're not out yet.

"Let me help," Set said. He picked Ayla up, carried her over the bloody piles of men to the front door, and placed her back down on a clean spot. "Stay close and behind me."

Set took her smaller hand in his, and she nodded. She looked pale but wasn't going into shock yet, which was a surprise.

In this part of Aswan, people had learned to look away when blood-stained people stumbled out of a building.

Set led them down side streets, eyes scanning the cars driving past, the people on the footpaths, constantly searching for anyone Moussa might have sent as backup. They would find the mess at the apartment soon enough and would be hunting both of them.

Let them come.

He was more than ready and wound up enough to really do damage.

"Where are we going?" Ayla whispered, dousing his fiery bloodlust.

"To a safe house, then I can figure out how to get you to Cairo in one piece," Set replied. He stopped at a market stall to buy her a scarf and tossed it to her. "Here, cover that blood on your shirt."

He knew that anyone around them would happily tell Moussa's serpents about the big mercenary and blood-stained woman.

Only a handful of Kader's people knew about the apartment in Aswan. There were safe houses scattered all over Egypt for his men to use for whatever business they had in the area. Set knew Ayla only had a certain amount of time left before the stress of the night got to her.

She's a doctor. Maybe she's used to it.

"We are almost there," he said, gruffly trying to reassure her. Sweat was starting to bead on her increasingly pale face.

Set checked the address on his phone again, and three streets later, they found the right building.

Inside, the narrow winding stairwell was littered with cigarette butts and smelled of cooking. Set opened the door and rested a hand on the small of Ayla's back, pushing her gently inside.

"Let me check the rooms," he said, locking the door behind them. He did a quick scan of each room, but a rattle at the door had him stepping back into the hall.

"You don't want to do that, doctor," he said. Ayla's hand froze on the deadbolt.

"You have no right to keep me here," she replied, a spark of fire in her hazel eyes. Anger was better than panic.

"For the time being, it's what's in your best interest. You don't think Moussa has men watching your camp? Or the apartment you're renting while you're here? You are a wanted woman, and you will die tonight if you leave here," Set replied, crossing his arms.

"And what makes me any safer with you? I don't know you! You killed all of those men!"

"Because I don't want you dead, Ayla. I'm going to protect you, and you might not like being stuck in here with me, but you'll like being tortured, raped, and murdered a lot less."

Ayla turned her back to him, rested her head against the door, and sobbed. Set would rather face an army alone than deal with a woman's tears.

"Why is this happening?" she whispered.

"Because of your father."

Ayla let out a choked laugh. "God, not you too. My father is dead."

"No, he isn't." Set had the disturbing impulse to bring her into his arms and comfort her.

Ayla turned, tear tracks down her dirty face. "Do you have a way to prove it?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Well?"

"I'll tell you, but only after you've had a shower and had something to eat. You'll feel calmer once you've washed the blood off," Set said, pointing to the bathroom door. "I'll find you some clothes. They will be men's, but they will be clean."

Ayla wiped at her cheeks and looked him dead in the eye. Again, he felt that clenching pull on his Ka, telling him that she was important and needed his protection.

"Can you promise me that I'm going to get out of this alive?" she asked.

"I can if you stay with me."

"You're just as much of a killer as those other men were."

Set laughed. "No, I'm so much worse. That's why you should be glad I'm on your side."

"I should be glad?" Ayla snapped, anger taking over. "I was just kidnapped, beaten, and almost killed for a man who is meant to be dead!"

"But you weren't because of me. The words you're searching for are 'thank you,' doctor."

Ayla glared at him, and damn if he didn't love that furious challenge in her eyes. She stepped into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

"New soap is in the top drawer," Set called, grinning when she called him an utterly filthy word.

Keep hold of that fire, doctor. You're going to need it.

A search of the apartment produced a clean t-shirt and a pair of jeans that Set placed outside of the bathroom door. The window in there was too small for anyone to get through, so he left her to it.

Set washed the blood off his arms and face in the kitchen sink. He needed to message Kader to reassure him he had Ayla. She had nothing of her father's looks at first glance, but he had seen the same kind of anger in her eyes.

When Kader got that look, Set knew he was about to kill a lot of people. Kader's anger inspired bloodlust. Ayla's fiery glare hit him...elsewhere.

Shit. You have no right to think about the boss's daughter that way. Especially a soft healer who cries.

Set had an unnatural weakness for things that were forbidden, and she certainly was. He could hope she was the kind of person who responded to threats to her life by fucking the nearest man senseless, but he doubted it. He didn't need this kind of distraction in his life.

Set splashed his face with water again and went to see what food they had. Maybe if he ate, it would calm down what she had woken in him, and he would be able to think clearly again.