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“I’ve got your numbers on speed dial.”
“Good. And Slash’s too?”
“Should I?”
“He’s your next line of defense if you can’t reach us. He’s actually far more formidable than I am and the guy I call when I need help if Max isn’t enough backup.”
“It’s hard to imagine you needing help from anyone.” She smiled at Max. “Especially with Max at your side.
He smiled at her. “There are all kinds of help.”
Rafe nodded. “I’ve needed more than my fair share.”
“And given it.”
Rafe’s boyish grin pleased her. “Nice of you to say so, ma’am. Out here in the West, we aim to take care of our womenfolk.”
Max snorted.
Simone resisted the urge to roll her eyes, recognizing Rafe’s flirtation behind the words. “I’m sure womenfolk everywhere appreciate it. And do remember I have some training in self-defense.”
“And you’ve demonstrated some skill in that area. Still, a person can be outnumbered or outgunned, and I wouldn’t hesitate to call in the cavalry if it seemed the thing to do. Don’t let pride be a problem.” Rafe seemed like he might wag a finger at her.
“Fair enough. Now get out of here. I need to shower.”
“I could help with that,” said Max.
“Or me,” offered Rafe.
She pointed to the door. “Go. Both of you.”
Rafe put on a bogus meek look. “Yes, Miss Durand.”
“You sure?” asked Max, but he was clearly joking.
“Positive.” She let her smile grow despite her stern tone. Watching them walk down her sidewalk to their motorcycles, she hesitated. They wanted her, and their words resonated in her, filling her with a longing to have them touch her. She hadn’t felt this way about a man in a long time, and she’d never felt it for two men at the same time before.
“No, Brad ain’t been around,”Sam told Simone. “I guess he figured that the tire-slashing bit was far enough over the top that someone here might bash his fucking head in.”
“Someone here?”
“I was thinking of Max, or maybe even Rafe, though he’s a bit scrawny compared to Max.”
She frowned. “He’s not scrawny. He’s lean.”
Sam snorted and waved a hand. “Whatever. ‘Course, if he wasn’t around, someone else might have to step up and do it.”
“You aren’t worried about the loss of business?”
“Sure, but Rafe and Max’s pals are almost taking up the slack. They don’t come around often enough, or stay long enough, or drink enough, but they’re trying to take the sting out of it.”
He didn’t say anything about what now seemed like her perpetual armed escort. She couldn’t go anywhere without seeing bikers these days. They lurked at the edge of the parking lot when she went to the grocery store. They sat in the shadows of the alley when she got to work and were there when she left. She saw them in her rearview mirror when she drove home.
They were friends, and they were looking out for her, but it was getting annoying. “Brad stole my private life,” she told Sam.
“You mean putting your details on the Internet?”
“That’s big, of course, but not all of it. I mean it’s like he put a curse on me. With his vague threat hanging over me, I have people watching my every move. They mean well, but it gets to me.”
