Page 30 of Duty

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It was nearly three in the morning before Haven was finally able to close the bar, and lock up. Last call came at two, and the final dance was over by two-thirty in the morning. All the patrons had to be gone and tabs paid within ten minutes after the final dance. The bouncers always made sure that everyone followed the rules.

It made work easier, anyway.

Georgie—the last security guard to always leave every night—waited with Haven as she locked the entrance doors to the club, and then turned to face the darkness of the parking lot. There was a very large part of her that was entirely unsurprised to see Andino leaning against the side of her black Cadillac SUV, and looking like he had all the time in the world to stand right where he stood.

She might have grinned.

May have liked to see him there.

Possibly got a thrill from it.

Haven wouldn’t admit it.

Jesus.

Who was this man?

At his side, the dog—Snaps, she thought Andino had called him—sat next to his master, but his behind wiggled when he saw Haven. As though he recognized her, and was excited to see her. It was cute—such a big, nasty looking dog, and he seemed joyful to see her.

“That a problem?” Georgie asked, nodding in Andino’s direction.

Haven laughed a little, and shook her head. “Definitely not a problem, but thanks for looking out for me, Georgie.”

“That’s my job, girl.”

The security guard gave her a wink, and a smile before he took the steps two at a time, and headed for his truck parked at the far end of the lot. Haven didn’t miss how Andino’s gaze narrowed on the man after the whole wink thing, and didn’t move until Georgie pulled away.

“Did you just glare at him for winking at me?” Haven asked.

Andino’s piercing green gaze turned back on her in a blink as she approached. “Yes, I did. Is that a thing?”

“Who, Georgie?”

“Who else?”

“He’s an employee. I don’t fuck my employees.”

Andino chuckled and straightened a bit, so he wasn’t leaning against her vehicle. His hands stayed firmly stuffed in his pockets, still giving off that don’t-care-about-a-thing aura. “Good to know; I don’t like to share.”

“You can’t share something that isn’t yours, Andino.”

“We’ll see about that,” he murmured.

She pretended like she didn’t hear that comment, and that she liked it. “You know, we have security for men like you—anyone waiting outside after closing gets the cops called on them.”

Andino shrugged. “Cops won’t even touch me. And very little scares me, ragazza.”

“And just what does that mean, now?”

Because he was full of those vague statements.

“I waited hours just to ask you to do something with me tonight, Haven, so are we going to sit here and have a conversation in an empty parking lot, or do you want to do something?”

She pretended like she was considering his offer. “It’s three in the morning. What could we possibly do at this time?”

“I know places that are open all night.”