Defending Harlow (Mountain Mercenaries #4)(40)

Deciding reinforcements were needed, Black smiled. He had just the thing to get on Harlow’s good side again. He wanted to see her smiling and happy, not upset. It might take a few days to coordinate, but he knew his friends would be up for it.





Chapter Twelve

A week had passed since Lowell had taken her for the ride down Pikes Peak, and Harlow had gotten her head back on straight. She and Lowell were friends. That was it. She might wonder what it would be like to kiss him, to have him throw her down on a bed and ravish her, but that was her old high school crush talking.

She was an adult. An adult who was perfectly happy living by herself and being single. She didn’t want Lowell for a boyfriend. He’d eventually let her down, and that would suck. So they were friends. She texted him each day before she left home, and he met her in the parking lot near the shelter. Then he escorted her to her car when she was done working. It was fine. Perfect.

Even the harassment had calmed down. The men were still lurking about, but with the addition of the cameras and the noticeable presence of the Mountain Mercenaries, they’d toned down their antics.

Of course, there was still odd stuff happening now and then. Cars drove by very slowly, the occupants staring at whoever happened to be walking in or out of the shelter. The driver and passenger never said anything, but it was still creepy.

When Lowell’s friend checked out the license plates, they always came back as having been stolen or from cars that hadn’t been licensed in years. He said the plates were probably stolen from a junkyard—the owners just hadn’t thought twice about leaving them on their wrecked or old cars.

Loretta seemed as tired and stressed as ever, but Edward was spending the night at the shelter almost every evening now. It was actually against the rules to have a man sleeping there, but Loretta had asked each of the residents if they minded, and no one did.

This morning, Harlow was going shopping with Zoe to stock up on what they needed for the next month. Zoe was about to leave for a couple of weeks. Her daughter-in-law was scheduled for a C-section tomorrow and there was no way Zoe was going to miss her second grandbaby being born.

Loretta had altered the schedule so Harlow didn’t have to be at the shelter in the mornings. The residents could grab cereal or muffins that Harlow would make the night before. Even so, the schedule would be tough, but she didn’t mind. It would take her thoughts off Lowell.

The two women headed out of the shelter at ten that morning to drive to Costco. They were taking Loretta’s minivan so there’d be room for all the food.

“Hey, girls. Lookin’ good this morning!” a voice called out as soon as they exited the shelter.

Harlow rolled her eyes.

“Why don’t you come over here and get a tattoo?” a second man yelled from across the street.

“No thanks!” Harlow told him and kept walking toward the parking lot.

“Don’t be a bitch!” the first man yelled.

“Why am I a bitch?” Harlow mumbled to Zoe. “I answered him politely.”

The other woman chuckled.

“You think you’re too good for us?” the first man demanded, crossing the street.

Harlow was immediately alarmed; he was coming straight for them. In the past, they’d always kept their distance.

She put her arm up, trying to push Zoe behind her, but ended up tripping over her feet, and her back smacked the brick wall of the vacant building next to the shelter.

The man came right up to her, ignoring Zoe. The second guy did the same, crowding in on Harlow’s side.

“We’re sick of you and your kind being in our hood,” the first man hissed.

Harlow turned her head to try to get some space, but looked right into the eyes of the other man. They were both tan from hanging out in the sun all day, and their teeth were brown from chewing tobacco. They wore dirty T-shirts and long, baggy shorts that rode low on their waists and hit below their knees.

Harlow tried not to be intimidated by anyone, but these two men were definitely scaring the shit out of her.

“The shelter has been here for a long time,” she said quietly, trying to keep the tremor from her voice. She knew better than to show fear to the enemy. They’d use it against her.

“Can’t you bitches see this is our turf now?”

“The city is trying to revitalize the area,” Zoe said from nearby. Harlow could see she was wringing her hands and trying to figure out what to do to help. But the last thing Harlow wanted was for the older woman to be hurt. And she had no doubt these men could hurt both of them. They were bigger, stronger, and definitely meaner.

“What a fucking joke,” the first man spat. “Revitalization don’t mean shit. When the apartments go up here, who do you think is gonna be living in ’em? Me and my friends, that’s who. We’re taking over this area for ourselves.”

Harlow’s mind spun with questions. Apartments? She didn’t know anything about any apartments being built. She hadn’t even known the vacant buildings on either side of the shelter had been sold. The guy was probably just talking out his ass. Trying to be tough.

As if he could read her mind, the second man said, “Low-income housing, bitch. That’s what these buildings are gonna be. And you and the other bitches living all safe and cozy are gonna find yourselves smack dab in the middle of our world. Day in and day out. We’ve seen that fat boy who lives there. He looks lonely. He needs some real men to hang out with, don’t he, Bear?” The man nudged his friend with an elbow.