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He swallowed his own feelings on the matter, focused on keeping her safe. Bud knew something was up. He could tell by the way his dog kept leaning into him and sighing, almost as if he was trying to say that they should make up. Throughout the morning, he went between the two of them, checking that they were OK.
If only humans were as uncomplicated as dogs.
They’d been going for several hours and were stopped at Verve for a fast coffee break when Kane noticed a group of men staring at Lexi, openly watching as she stood by the counter studying the various options on display.
The men — who couldn’t have been more than twenty-five — jostled each other, running their eyes suggestively up and down her body in a way that raised his hackles.
She was dressed in shorts and a white tank today with a pair of strappy sandals on her feet. Her clothes weren’t exactly revealing, though there was no outfit in the world that would be able to hide her dangerous curves. Still, their open leeriness made his blood pound.
He took several steps toward them, dropping down to focus on Bud’s collar so he could hear their conversation.
“I’m telling you, it’s her! I’d recognize that body anywhere.” This was said from a lanky guy in skinny jeans. His blond hair couldn’t successfully hide the bad acne scars that had left deep pockets on his skin.
“Because you printed out those pictures and plastered them all over your wall?” His friend, a hipster with a mohawk and cropped pink pants retorted. Kane never trusted a man who wore pink.
“Are you going to talk to her? What’re you going to say?” Asked another. The smallest of the group, he seemed shyer and the most nervous of the bunch. He stole a glance at Lexi then flushed as if she had caught him staring. The guy couldn’t have had any experience with the opposite sex in his entire life.
“Any girl willing to put herself out like that isn’t interested in what I’ve got to say,” Mohawk laughed, grabbing his groin. “She’s only interested in two things: money and the D.”
The group laughed, much louder this time. Lexi finally noticed them as she turned toward them.
“What’s up, Babe? You wanna hang with us today? I’ve got a pool you might like. Bikinis are optional which I figure will be fine seeing how you’re quite the exhibitionist.”
Lexi’s reaction was stunning.
She went from looking normal to stricken in under a second flat.
Her mouth went slack, her eyes filled with shame. She didn’t reply, stunned by this horrible intrusion into her life. She moved her oversized bag to cover as much of herself as she could, all thoughts of a drink now clear out of her mind. It took every inch of willpower not to just run out of there.
Kane cursed himself for waiting this long to deal with the situation. Striding to the group, he growled, “That’s enough.”
If they heard the threat in his voice, they didn’t show it. Mohawk laughed louder.
“You don’t have to defend her. Any girl who would sell pictures of herself in little more than underwear is desperate for the attention. I’m just giving her what she wants.”
His friends laughed as Kane felt a rage so strong that it burned like fire. Eyes narrowing into slits, he spoke in a low but lethal tone.
“It’s jerks like you who give guys a bad name. Those pictures were taken against her will while she was at home. And even if they weren’t, it doesn’t give you the right to talk to her like that.”
The others backed down a step, not wanting to get into it with a man several times their size, but Mohawk’s reputation was on the line now, as was his ego. Jutting out his chin, he glared back at Kane, defiance in his eyes.
“Who the hell are you, her boyfriend?”
“No. I’m her… friend.”
“Well,friend,” Mohawk sneered the word. “Good luck defending her honor to the masses. You’ll need it since no one is buying that story.”
Kane wanted to punch the arrogant punk’s face. Reading into the tension, Bud bared his teeth, issuing a low growl that caused the group to take stock. Sparring verbally with Kane was one thing but an angry dog on the defense of his master was something else entirely.
Lifting both hands, Mohawk retreated. “Get your dog to calm down, man or you’ll have my parents’s lawyers to deal with.”
Kane had had the punk’s number before he’d even spoken a word. He was some poor rich kid whose parents had likely never paid him enough attention, so now he paraded around the world looking to make everyone as miserable as he was.
“He’s reacting to the hostility you’re throwing our way. He sees you as a threat… and he’s been trained to take those out, so if you don’t want to see a chunk taken out of that skinny ass of yours, you’d best be leaving now,man.”
Mohawk glared at him, but he also knew the game was up. “Come on,” he said to his friends. “The clientele sucks in here, anyway.”
His remark didn’t make any sense, but Kane chose to let it go. The faster Lexi’s color came back to her, the better he’d feel. Bud, however, wasn’t placated from the group’s exit. Sniffing the air suddenly, he alerted, letting Kane know that something else was wrong.
