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“Stay,” Chaya mouthed with a fierce look.
Stay? Like she was a puppy. A dog.
“This isn’t going to be good for business, Jane,” Hoyt spoke behind her.
Turning, she stared at the young man who didn’t have a hope of managing the restaurant by himself. Hoyt was capable, but even with the two of them, they couldn’t keep up.
He was frowning, his gaze disapproving.
Janey pasted on a smile. “That’s what I thought about the bombing of my apartment last night. ” She flinched as another whoop filtered through. “I bet we’re packed tomorrow. ”
She turned away from Hoyt and rubbed her wrist, then flinched at the sound of a siren in the distance.
God, just what she needed. She breathed out wearily. She needed more help, because sure as hell, tomorrow was going to be even busier.
Alex stood back as the sheriff and two city cops arrived. Three less-than-courageous jackasses were writhing on the blacktop as he, Natches, and Timothy leaned against a nearby car.
The crowd that had gathered to see a good, brutal bloodletting was mumbling in disappointment. It didn’t take long to put three soft-core little bastards to the ground.
Mark and Tyrell were inside watching Janey. They’d slipped into place as Alex, Natches, and Timothy headed outside.
As the sheriff’s car and the city cops pulled in, Timothy stepped forward, badge in hand.
“Special Agent Timothy Cranston. ” He smirked at Zeke as the sheriff bit back a curse. “Cuff ’em and take ’em in. I’ll follow along behind later. ”
“Charges?” Zeke sighed as the two police officers moved to cuff the three men despite their protests.
“We’ll start with endangering a federal agent and move on from there. ” Timothy hitched his pants and grinned placidly back at Zeke. “Is that a problem?”
“Probably,” Zeke bit out. “Cranston, I’m just about tired of you trying to run my county. ”
Timothy waved the objection away. “Don’t worry. The chief of police really likes me. I can just deal with him. ”
Alex stared at the dazed assailant who had dared to bruise Janey’s delicate wrist. He could feel his shoulder throbbing; he was bleeding again, but fuck it. His fist in that little asshole’s face was worth it.
Adrenaline was still surging through him, though. There had been no outlet for the fury that pounded through him, and now it was turning into something more. Another man had dared to touch Janey, to insult her. He turned his head and glared at the crowd gathered around.
“Natches”—his voice was overly loud—“the next asshole that touches my woman may never be found again. ”
Natches stared back at him in mocking disbelief. “Yeah, well, I might help you hide the body. ”
Zeke rubbed his hand over his face in frustration as Timothy chuckled. Alex stared at the crowd. He couldn’t forget Janey’s accusation, her belief that he was ashamed of her, ashamed of his relationship with her.
The thought slammed into his mind. Blood surged through his veins. He left Natches and Timothy to deal with what he could see was Zeke’s anger building. He pushed through the crowd, aware of several couples following him out of the cold.
He entered the restaurant, his gaze meeting Janey’s, seeing the worry, the concern, the acceptance that he was going to pretend he was doing no more than defending a friend.
Fuck that.
He stalked to her, pulled her from behind the reservation counter, and as he curved his fingers around her neck and her lips parted, he pressed his lips against hers. His tongue delved inside her mouth, taking her gasp and filling her with his lust.
He felt her hands press against his abs, her fingers curling, her lips softening. And he pulled back.
“Next time, yell for help, dammit,” he snarled. “And the next bastard that tries to manhandle you might not survive it. ”
He moved her, gently, back behind the register counter, then parked himself directly behind her. Fuck it.
Fuck everyone that wanted to gossip. Screw the bastard watching her. At least now he knew Janey wasn’t undefended. And as far as Alex was concerned, she never would be.
