Page 38 of Her Intense Protector

David turned on his wife. He opened his mouth. Then shut it. Then opened it again. “Toni, you don’t want to get involved at this point. I don’t care about the money you gave Sam, that’s yours to do what you will with, but putting your friend in danger?”

Samantha jerked up from the couch and pushed her way between Toni and David before Ezio could stop her. “It’s not her fault. I volunteered to do this. As soon as she told me about the situation, I wanted to help. I’m a big girl. I sure as heck can make my own dang decisions.”

Again, David’s mouth opened and then shut. Then his lips twitched.

“What?” Samantha demanded.

“Well hell, you can’t even swear. How can I take you seriously?”

“Darn it, David,” she swung to Ezio and pointed a finger at him as well. “And you, too.” Then she looked at Asher. “All of you. I’m more than capable of making my own decisions and taking care of myself. I would like to point out that the boys and I were out of the wig shop with the money by the time you found us. We would have been in my car and driving away if the two dufuses hadn’t decided to get into a fistfight.”

“You tell, ‘em,” Eden yelled out.

Toni looked hopeful.

Asher took a step toward David. “Don’t even think about it, Asher Thorne,” Eden said. “Samantha is right. She was taking care of herself, and Phil, and Greg. I don’t know what went down tonight, but she was handling it.”

Ezio set down the coffee mug and slowly stood up from the couch.

“Ladies,” he said quietly. “We’ll have to agree to disagree. There were guns involved. Tell me, Phil, was a gun pointed at you?”

He shook his head.

“Greg,” Ezio turned to that man. “Was a gun pointed at you?”

That man shook his head.

“Samantha, was there a gun in your vicinity?”

She bit her bottom lip and nodded her head.

“How close?”

“Close,” she admitted.

Fuck!

“Was it pointed at you?” Ezio asked softly.

She nodded her head. “But it’s okay. I had my mace and I got away. With the money! Everything turned out all right.”

David and Asher started shouting at her, but Ezio had had enough. He put a firm hand around her waist.

“We’re out of here.”

“Wait, I have to give them their money,” Samantha cried.

Ezio carefully disentangled her purse strap from her hair and off her shoulder. He shoved it at David’s chest. David rolled his eyes.

“Wait, I need my keys.” When she went to grab her purse with her right hand and gasped with pain, David’s eyes darkened, and he handed the purse back to Ezio. Ezio pulled the keys out of the purse and pocketed them.

“I think she should stay here tonight,” Eden suggested.

“Leave them be,” Asher told his fiancée. Ezio appreciated Asher having his back. He looked at Samantha. She needed out of here, she was done in.

“Come on, honey.” He kept his touch light but firm as he guided her out the door and to his Jeep.

“I can’t leave my car,” she protested.