The Beautiful Thief (Stolen Hearts #2)(21)

That probably meant it was time to go. She opened the door to see the two guys at the bar both staring toward the kitchen. There were a few shouts from back there and Melody tried to slip out before anyone noticed her.

“Hey!” shouted someone.

She glanced over her shoulder. A guy limped out of the kitchen and pointed at her.

“I’m just leaving.” She took another step back.

“Are you with him?” The man wore an apron and had a bloody nose. The bright-red droplets on the white apron stood out and were the only thing she could look at.

Melody looked each way. “I’m not here with anyone.”

He started to advance on her. “No. He shows up in here and you’re using the bathroom. Stupid move.”

If one more person called her stupid.... “Listen, I don’t know you but—”

It was too late. The guy reached out for her arm. His fingers were just biting down with bruising force when her instincts kicked in, literally, as her foot shot out right to his groin. Then, as he winced, his grip loosened and she was able to grab his wrist and twisted it back in one jerking move. This time the guy screamed in pain as he collapsed onto his knees.

A loud whistle sounded from behind her as Adam walked into view. “Should’ve just handed the bastard to you.”

Melody’s eyes darted to the man, who stared up at her with a mixture of pain and humiliation on his face, and the other patrons, who looked at her as if she’d just burst into flames or something. She backed away slowly and then picked up her pace as she made her way to the door. “I’m ready to leave now,” she said right as Adam pushed the door open for her and followed her into the bright sunlight.

Whatever pride he had in her ability to defend herself quickly fled as he reached the car first and set a hand on the door before she could open it. “I thought I told you to stay in the car.”

“I thought I told you I wanted to change clothes.” She turned to face him and once again he was much too close. She’d think that now that he saw that she wasn’t as defenseless as she looked that he’d keep his distance, but apparently her tricks hadn’t impressed him that much.

With good reason. She could handle a few feels from the random guy, but Adam wasn’t random. He might live in the swamp, but the way he’d moved in the basement, the way he moved now, was an indication of the training he’d received.

“Next time you need to change clothes, wait until I give you the go ahead.”

“Next time you assault someone, clue me in ahead of time. I had to live with my husband bossing me around for years—I’m not going to take it from you unless you give me a damn good reason.”

He tilted his head in that annoying Adam way. “You were married?”

She rolled her eyes. “Neither one of us is drunk enough for this conversation. Are you going to keep trying to intimidate me with your body until that Neanderthal decides to come back and take another swing at us or are we going to hit the road?”

He glanced down at the thin space separating them. “Usually my intimidation works better than this.”

“I think every time you try it, it loses impact.”

He bent down until the scruff of his goatee brushed her neck, sending goose bumps down her arm. “Then maybe I should try harder.”

He pushed away and started for the driver’s side while Melody took a few breaths. No, maybe he still did have an intimidation factor. She finally pulled herself together and they both got in at the same time.

Just as they were backing out, the door opened and the guy she’d kicked ran out with a shotgun pointed right at them. “Umm....” She glanced over to Adam but he was completely relaxed as he went in reverse and started to turn the car.

“Ahh, Jimmy,” he said as he hit the gas.

Melody twisted to look out the back window right as Jimmy took the shot. As she caught her breath, she realized nothing happened. “The gun isn’t loaded....”

“Of course it isn’t loaded,” said Adam as the bar fell out of sight. “Carlo would never be stupid enough to keep a loaded weapon around drunks while he isn’t around.”

“You didn’t know that!”

“I was pretty sure.”

She glared at him as she sat back and pulled her seat belt on for good measure.

“Well, next time, don’t risk my life on ‘pretty sure.’ Be damn sure.” She settled into her seat, but the adrenaline still coursed through her. After the past few weeks she’d had, she thought that chemical would be a constant in her body, but she still felt jittery and caged in the car. “What was that all about anyway? What did that guy do?”

“Doesn’t matter,” said Adam, without glancing her way.

“It seemed like it kind of mattered,” she muttered. But he had no obligation to go telling her his inner thoughts. She tried to think of the reasons to randomly attack a guy before leaving town. It hadn’t seemed to be motivated by passion. Adam hadn’t seemed angry or upset. She hadn’t sensed anything was wrong at all when they’d stopped.

Maybe that was just who he was. The type who could go from joking over bottle of whiskey to stabbing a man in the gut. She glanced over at him out of the corner of her eyes. His arm was locked on the steering wheel, making his bicep push against the thin fabric of his t-shirt. It was strange that the very muscles that made him so sexy also made him so dangerous.