Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
“You mean it’s not? I’m offended. That’s my life.” She clasps a hand to her chest in mock dismay.
“I’m in competition with a computer? I’m the one who's offended.” I grab her hand and pull her flush against me. “I guess I’ll have to prove that I’ve got better equipment.”
She turns pink but still sasses me. “I’m going to be a tough grader. I’m not giving you any extra points because we’ve known each other for a long time.”
“Would not expect any. Let’s motor.” I spin her around and direct her toward the door, making sure to walk behind her so my hard-on isn’t evident to everyone in the café. Once free of the exit, I grab her hand and pull her toward the car. She laughs out loud, and I’ve never felt so much joy in my heart. I’m about to plant another kiss on her smiling mouth when I notice three guys leaning against my wheels.
The three straighten as we grow closer. I gently slide Josie behind my back. “Got the wrong car. Those wheels are mine.”
“Oh, I think we’ve got the right one,” says the blond guy with a scar running across his cheek. His two friends stack themselves beside him like their sides are magnetized. “Your girl looks tasty, and we’re hungry. Why don’t you let us borrow her for an hour or so? We’ll give her back. Maybe not in exactly the same condition but close enough.” The three snicker like they’ve told the greatest joke in the world.
“Let’s just go, Mick,” Josie whispers behind me.
“Right.” Because getting into a fight with these fools would only result in trouble. “Obviously the answer is no.” Gripping Josie’s hand, I move toward the car. The three yahoos step in my path. I try again. No luck. I drag a knuckle down the center of my face. “Guys, you don’t want to do this.”
“Because you’re a professional boxer?” The leader snorts. “This isn’t a ring with a referee that can blow a whistle to save you from a hit. This is the street.”
He sounds so fucking pretentious that I nearly bust out laughing. I guess I don’t hide my contempt well because the leader’s eyes narrow.
“You think I’m joking?”
The next thing I know, a fist is flying toward me. I see the one straight on and the one coming from the guy on my left. I twist out of the way and push Josie toward the car. “Here, get in and lock the doors. Now!” I shout when she hesitates. I avoid another punch but walk right into the third guy’s boot. My knee buckles, and I go down. I hear the car door open and then slam shut followed by Josie’s scream. One of the guys has abandoned the fight to trap her in his arms. These fuckers are going to die. I scoop up a handful of gravel and rise up, tossing it into the kicker’s eyes. While he claws at his face, I take on the leader. He lunges for me. I bounce out of the way, and when he flies past me, I kick the back of his leg. Hard. There’s a loud, sickening sound as his patellar fractures. I swing around and drive my fist into the second guy’s jaw. He goes down, too. I reach down and slam the leader’s head into the gravel twice and then stand to face the third. He pushes Josie toward me and sprints in the opposite direction.
I grab Josie close. “You okay, darling?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Are you?” She pushes my face from one side to the other. “Did they hurt you?”
“Not a scratch. My pretty face is untouched.”
“Good. Let’s get out of here.”
“Agreed.” I take her hand again, but another voice stops us.
“Not so fast, son.”
We pivot as one. My heart sinks low when I see two uniformed cops in front of us. One of them takes out a notebook. “Gonna need to see some ID,” he says.
Chapter Eighteen
JOSIE
“He saved me.” I repeat those words for the millionth time. They ring true now more than ever. He has really saved me in so many ways. I’d been on a cloud until those three jerks went and ruined it. Now I’m sitting in a metal chair that is killing my ass.
I have never been more scared in my life. Which is laughable now after seeing Mick take on those three men like they were nothing more than annoying mosquitoes. If I hadn’t been so freaked out, I would have been turned on.
“It’s different when one of those individuals is a professionally trained fighter.” I stare at the cop across the worn, scuffed-up table between us. It’s probably been here since before I was born. The old sheriff's station needs an update. That includes the sheriff I’m staring at, a bit dumbstruck.