Defending Harlow (Mountain Mercenaries #4)(27)

Chapter Eight

“So . . . you and Harlow, huh?” Arrow asked Black as they pulled away from the shelter. They’d gotten the cameras installed with help from both Harlow and Loretta. They now had a clear view of the front and back doors, the sidewalk in front of the shelter, and part of the alley behind the building. Meat had wanted to set up cameras on the front corners of the building, but they had to get permission from the owners before they could install them. At the moment they could only put cameras on the shelter property itself.

A container of brownies drizzled with butterscotch sat on the seat between the two men, the scent of the still-warm treat permeating the air.

“No,” Black said.

“Are you seriously going to sit there and pretend that you aren’t into her?” Arrow asked in disbelief.

“No. I’m into her, all right, but we aren’t dating. And if any of you assholes even hints that we are within earshot of her, I’ll kick your asses,” Black said.

“Okay, what am I missing?” Arrow asked. “You’re into her, she’s obviously into you, but you aren’t dating and don’t want to date?”

“I want to date her,” Black clarified for his friend. “But she has a hang-up with the word. So I’m going to be her friend. Her very good friend.”

Arrow grinned. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Good luck with that.”

Black looked over at him. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing.”

“Spit it out, fucker,” Black said in exasperation.

“She’s different,” Arrow said. “She’s not like a lot of the women we’ve been with during our careers. From what I’ve observed so far, she doesn’t give a shit that you were a big bad SEAL. When she looks at you, she sees Lowell, the boy she knew in high school. Not the hardened asshole you are now.”

“And?” Black asked.

“She seems like a forever kind of chick. The way she talks about those kids at the shelter makes it obvious she wants kids of her own. She’ll make a wonderful mother. And it’s easy to see that she’s got a crush on you. But . . . you could destroy that woman, Black. You might lust after her, and I can’t blame you because she’s got some bangin’ curves. Just tread carefully. You could play her like a fiddle, take her out without calling it a date, fuck her until you’ve got her out of your system, then simply stop calling her. Hell, if you aren’t dating, you don’t even have to break up with her. But it would still fuck her up.”

Black didn’t like what his friend was saying, but it wasn’t anything he didn’t already know.

“I haven’t seen you act like this around a woman since we’ve met. You’re usually more reserved. You let them come to you, and you take what they offer. You’re definitely pursuing Harlow. You’re like a wolf on the prowl. But any woman who cries just thinking about what another has been through, what Morgan went through, isn’t someone you should fuck with. Mentally or physically.”

“I got it, asshole.”

“Do you?”

“Yes,” Black bit out. “I’m not fucking with her.”

“So, you’re okay with seeing where things go, and if they end up with you and her standing in a church saying vows, you’re good? If you knock her up, you won’t freak out?”

“Fuck, Arrow, I’ve only known her again for three days. I’m not like you and the others. I’m not ready to fucking marry her and watch her pop out my kids. Jesus.”

“That’s exactly what I said before I met Morgan,” Arrow replied, not perturbed in the least by his friend’s tone. “And what Gray said. And Ro. When you meet the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with, you just know.”

“Well, I don’t know. I’m just having fun. So is she. You think I don’t realize she has a crush on me? I’m not an idiot. She wants me as much as I want her. I’ll let her pretend we aren’t dating, and things will work out fine in the end. If we get tired of each other, we’ll go our separate ways, and she won’t have anything to worry about.”

Arrow shook his head but didn’t say anything.

Black pressed his lips together in frustration. He was happy for his friends who’d found women, but he wasn’t ready to settle down . . . was he?



Two days later, Black was in his office at the gun range catching up on paperwork when his phone rang.

“Black’s Gun Range,” he answered.

“I just sent you a video,” Meat said instead of greeting him.

Black immediately wiggled his mouse to turn on the screen of his computer and clicked on his email account. He opened the message from Meat and saw the attached video. He clicked on it even as Meat began to speak.

“It looks like the harassment is still going on. This is a compilation of the last two days since we installed the cameras.”

Black watched and listened as voices off camera called out to the women who entered and exited the building. It didn’t matter if the residents were by themselves or in a group. It didn’t matter if they had their children with them. The punks didn’t discriminate, and verbally harassed them all. Saying they looked hot, wanting to know how much they charged. When the women didn’t rise to the bait, they continued their harangue. They stayed on the other side of the street from the shelter, but that obviously didn’t make the women feel any safer.