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“I’ll tell him that he better get his head out of his ass and look in his trunk.”
“That’s it?” asked Max.
Sam shrugged. “What else am I supposed to do?”
Rafe scowled. “Ban him from the bar. The man is trouble.”
Sam waved a hand dismissively. “He’ll cool down and accept what happened. He’s a serious, full-time loser, that man. Losers learn to get over coming out second best.”
“I don’t think he’s exactly a loser.” Max scowled.
“Right.” Rafe nodded. “Sure, he has no obvious interpersonal skills, but apparently he knows computers and does okay doing something with them. Even if he is, losers react in different ways. Sometimes they go ballistic. Can’t you just ban him?”
“Thing is, even if I keep him out of the bar, even if you’re right and he’s a vindictive, bad-ass sonofabitch, that would force him to take the battle elsewhere. After what happened, when he realizes everyone knows that he fucked up big time, that he tried to get macho and a petite waitress took him out… well, Simone’s popular, and he’ll get no sympathy from anyone around here. Maybe he’ll find himself another bar all on his own.”
“I’m guessing that when he finds out that he’s made such a public ass of himself, he’ll have it in for Simone big time.” As Rafe shared that, Max nodded along, looking equally concerned.
Sam frowned again and shook his head. “Not likely. He’s too embarrassed. See, he got outdone by a woman twice now. The first time he tried to be clever and she outsmarted him—in front of everyone. This time he tried to be all big macho man on her, and she handed him his ass. With his attitude… well, he was trying to feed his ego and she shit on it—twice. You think he’ll risk that again?”
“He risked it a second time. What’s one more? And what’s he got to lose now?”
Max grunted. “You can’t trust him to be logical about his pride and such.”
Sam started to look concerned. “You might be right. I’ve known fighters like him, guys who get beat fair and get enraged and can’t admit the other fighter was better. It would crush them. But even so, I kind of think it’s better to have him here where it’s in public. He’ll know I’m watching him now.”
Rafe stared at him. “I think you’re wrong, Sam.”
Max nodded.
“I’m telling you that if you’re right about him, tossing him out of the bar will make him even madder and push the fight into alleys. He’ll go after her other ways.”
“Then we’ll have to stop him,” said Max.
Sam stared at them, and Rafe knew the man was sizing them up. “That’s a big commitment for a person to make to someone he barely knows. Are you two really ready to go to war for this lady? Is she that special to you?”
Rafe had been wondering that himself. It was one thing to go to someone’s rescue when you stumbled across an unfair fight. He hated bullies and could always summon the interest to help an underdog, but there was something to Sam’s question. If Brad were really worked up, this could turn into more than a fight. It could be an all-out war. It took a huge effort to sustain a campaign. It meant making room for it in his life.
He shared a look with Max, who nodded decisively. Clearly, his buddy had already decided. He nodded in return. “She’s getting to be special to me. I have no idea if she’s interested in me at all, so the situation is tricky. She tells us we don’t know each other yet.”
“Well, there isn’t a lot of time for a courtship, dude, especially with two of you trying to get her attention. You need to decide and not try to get her to choose. If you go into this halfway, and she gets hurt—I’ll kick your ass, and you will know it has been seriously kicked.”
Rafe had no doubt who’d win that battle. He’d been in his fair share of brawls and knew how to fight, but Sam was a pro. Max was bigger than Sam, marginally, but he seemed intimidated as well.
Besides, the man was right. In for a penny, in for a pound, as the old saying went.
Rafe had already sensed that his life was at a watershed. He had the club, but he wanted a relationship. In the best of worlds, he’d sit down and talk it through with Simone, but this was a battlefield decision. Whether or not he ever had a relationship with this woman, he was contemplating going into battle for her. To avoid tearing himself apart, he had to accept that he could win that war and never gain the lady. Hell, she might end up with his best friend, or she might walk away from both of them.
A picture of Simone fighting back against Brad popped into his head. Rafe knew other women—some of them were prettier than Simone, but this woman had the kind of spunk that made him feel alive. There was a special quality that he couldn’t put his finger on. Being with her, if she decided she could deal with two biker dudes who wanted her, with no need to choose, well… he could see a future there. It was a big gamble. But what worthwhile thing wasn’t a gamble? He cared about her no matter how she felt about him, and there was only one way to make sure they had the time to find out how she felt.
“I’m in, Sam.”
“Same,” said Max.
Rafe grinned. “Hell yeah, I’m ready to go to war for her. That might give me a fighting chance.” He nodded his head toward Simone, sitting alone at a table. “Not a word to her about this chat.”
Max nodded emphatically.
“You want to be secret guardian angels?”
