Close Cover (Masters and Mercenaries #16)(18)

She was so cute he could almost eat her up. He wanted to cuddle her and promise her that everything was going to be all right. He wanted to tell her he’d been an ass and she needed help and he was very, very interested in being helpful to her. Shit, it was right on the tip of his tongue to whisper to her that she could count on him.

Then she blinked and he caught sight of the hollow look in her eyes. “I forgot my purse. I have to have my purse.”

Shane jogged up, carrying what looked like an expensive handbag. “Got it. Wow, that dude will be lucky to use his arm after what you did to him. That’ll teach him to touch you again, hot shot.”

Her bottom lip quivered, but she took the purse. “Yeah. I can stand now. I’m good.”

He wasn’t sure she should. Despite the fact that she glittered like a disco ball, he could see that her skin was on the pale side. She felt fragile in his arms. Still, she seemed determined, so he eased her down. It was time to get her home and cleaned up and figure out what the hell was going on because it obviously wasn’t what he’d thought. He’d watched her for hours, and no woman worked that hard without a reason. Hell, no human being worked that hard if they didn’t have to.

He turned to his group. “Can y’all fit in Shane’s truck? I think I should take her back to her place right away.”

“Definitely,” Riley agreed. “She’s in shock.”

“I asked the cocktail waitress about her. Said this was her first night and she’d never seen her around before,” Wade said. “According to her, Lisa walked in late this afternoon and was working the bar fifteen minutes later. Said the manager likes to throw newbies into the fray to see what they can handle before he hires them.”

“She did a good job.” Remy wanted her to hear it. “It was that asshole’s fault. He wouldn’t leave her alone. I should have gotten there faster.”

The minute he’d realized that big guy was harassing her, he’d nearly jumped out of his own skin to get to her. He should have been watching, but he’d been waiting, wanting to hide out so she didn’t catch on to the game.

Meanwhile, she hadn’t been playing a damn game at all.

“I got the info on that asshole who wouldn’t let her through,” Dec said. “I wrote it all in a text that I sent to you. He is the youngest son of the owner of the LLC that runs fifteen strip clubs in the area, including this one. Also, I might have explained to him that I would come see him if he decided to sue. After hours and off the clock, of course. I think he realizes the error of his ways. But I would still like to get hold of the security footage. I don’t want them dumping it.”

Wade nodded. “I can get it. My old CO is actually the cook here. It’s why I come in. We’ll go back in and see what we can find to protect her.”

It likely meant she wouldn’t get sued, but they wouldn’t be able to get her job back. Job. She’d come for a job and she’d clutched those wadded up bills like she’d needed them. Desperately. She’d worked that bar like she knew what she was doing. Where the hell had that poor rich girl learned how to work a bar?

“Do you think she’s trying to make it to the train?” Riley asked.

Remy turned and Lisa wasn’t where he’d left her. She was slowly making her way across the parking lot. Every now and then she would roll an ankle because those heels hadn’t been meant for city street walking, but she would straighten up like a trooper and keep her long march going.

“Damn it. Why is she walking?”

Shane nodded Lisa’s way. “You know exactly why she’s walking away. That girl’s got pride. I believe you told her you weren’t interested and she took you seriously. Time to turn that around, man.”

“Women don’t like to hear they aren’t interesting,” Riley said with a sigh.

“All of you suck.” Remy jogged to catch up with her, hearing his friends chuckling as they turned to head back into the club. “Lisa? Lisa, honey, where are you going?”

“Home.” She didn’t look back.

It didn’t take him long to catch her since she kept stumbling in those shoes. He would have too if he’d spent hours and hours in uncomfortably high heels. She’d likely thought she was coming in for an interview, not for a full shift. “Chère, you can barely walk.”

Now she turned to him, planting those heels on the concrete with one finger pointing his way. In the moonlight she looked a little crazy. “Don’t you call me that. Don’t you use that Cajun accent on me.”

He held his hands up, surprised at how intimidating a petite woman could be. “In my defense, I use it on everyone. It’s my accent.”

“Pick another one. Everyone at McKay-Taggart knows different accents. I’ve heard Taggart use a Russian one during scenes, and the Irishman can sound awfully American when he wants to.”

Oh, he needed to soothe her savage beast. She’d obviously had a hell of a night and needed somewhere to put all that anger. She could take it out on him or he could show her he wasn’t the bad guy here and she could count on him to make things easier. He made his tone as soothing as possible and gently plucked the napkin from her hair. It seemed to have been held there by some kind of sauce. “That’s because they used to be spies. Apparently different accents and languages are a plus for spies. I was nothing but a dumb grunt. Having a different accent wouldn’t stop me from taking a bullet, and that’s what I was there for. This is the only accent I have. Well, I used to do a good Elmer Fudd.”