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“Now, I’m not a patient man,” I said, raising the gun and sweeping it over the half dozen or so men. “I tend to have a terrible temper when people get in my business, and Miri is my business.”
Beau held his hands up by his shoulders. “Listen…” He licked his lips and fixed his gaze on the dull black metal I clutched in my hands. “She came here cryin’. Said she needed a place to stay, so I gave her the room above the garage.” He used his chin to point at the second floor of the building. “I don’t want no trouble, but I can’t let you hurt the girl, gun or no gun.” Beau’s gaze hardened and shifted from the Sig to my eyes.
I had to admit, I respected the man. He was willing to go up against me to protect Miri, even with a weapon trained on him. Slowly, I lowered the Sig.
“Crying? Over what?”
Beau looked at his men and nodded his okay. They dispersed, going back in the garage, but none of them stopped watching the scene play out.
“Fella, I got no idea. Figure it has somethin’ to do with you.”
“Me?”
What the fuck?
“Anyway. She’s safe. I gave her the key. No one else has one, so nobody can git to her. She starts work on Monday.” Beau paused and gave me a knowing look. “Unless there’s gonna be trouble, then I’m afraid I can’t have her workin’ here.”
Motherfucker. The slick bastard.
He’d fire Miri if I didn’t lay off or made a nuisance of myself. Two months ago, speaking to me like that would have earned him a bullet between the eyes. He was damn lucky some of Miri rubbed off on me.
“Shit.” I shoved the Sig back into the holster and rubbed my forehead, running the myriad of options over in my head. “Fine. Can I borrow a pen and paper?”
Beau’s brows furrowed, but he led me over to a cluttered desk. “Here.” He handed me a scrap of paper and a pen. I scrawled out a quick note.
“Give this to Miri.” My throat tightened as I held the folded paper over the desk. Beau stared at it for a second before hesitantly taking the note from my hand. “I’m not promising I won’t come back.”
He nodded. “I understand.”
Before I turned and left, I gave Beau a warning. “Don’t let anything happen to her. If she gets hurt, I won’t be as nice as I was today.”
Beau’s eyes widened at my threat and he paled. “Buddy, I wouldn’t expect anything else.”
Climbing on my bike and leaving Miri behind was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. My eyes burned and my chest felt as if someone put a tight band around it. Somehow, I would find out what the fuck happened and bring Miri home.
She was mine. She belonged to me, just like I belonged to her.
Goddammit. I was in love with her.
Miri
I watched Jag climb back on the Ninja and fly out of the lot. Dust kicked up behind the bike and left a dense, cloudy trail to th
e main road. At first, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing—Jag, his face twisted and red with anger, holding an enormous gun on my new employer and coworkers. Then I remembered who Jag really was, what he did for a living, and it really wasn’t all that shocking.
After seeing the playful, caring, sweet side of Jag, it was easy to forget he was also a selfish, violent criminal. He was Boss. Jag was merely an illusion I fell for like a stupid, naive kid, swept up into caring for the man who saved me.
A knock on the apartment door pulled me from the window and my heart began to race.
Jag left. No, that wasn’t Jag outside, holding a gun on my employer. Boss is the one who left.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Beau, Miri. Uh, someone… that guy… he uh, he left somethin’ for you.”
Jag left something for me?
I fumbled to unlock the door and yanked it open. Beau stood just outside, looming over me. His shirt was covered in sweat, transparent and sticking to him across his chest. He was flushed and more than a little freaked out.
