Page 3 of Hard Rain Coming

Dallas’s eyes narrowed, moving from Vivian to Gary, and white teeth flashed when he smiled. “Leave the lady alone.”

The look on his face, the words that he said, lit a spark inside Vivian. Leave the lady alone? Since when did he care about her welfare? That spark grew into a fire, and all that pent-up stuff she’d been hiding for weeks now erupted. There was no way to stop it.

“What are you doing here?” she snapped.

“Collecting you.”

“I don’t need collecting.”

Dallas slowly straightened his body, and though he smiled, his eyes were wintry and cold.

“Seems to me you do.”

“Listen, bud.” Gary, too stupid to know the danger he was in, puffed up his chest. “The lady doesn’t need you.” He turned back to Vivian, his brain thinking he’d won, and reached for her.

She was done. Over this idiot. Over this night.

She kneed Gary in the groin, hard, then jabbed her hand into the base of his neck. The surprise on his face was comical, and he went down, roaring like an animal, grabbing hold of his family jewels along the way.

She sidestepped the cursing, groaning Gary and walked to the bar, glaring at every single male turned her way. Itching for one of them to start something. She smiled at Jenny, who was obviously shocked at the turn of events, and handed over the two twenties in her hand.

“Thanks. This should cover my bill.”

Vivian headed for the exit, and the men parted like the Red Sea. By this time, her knees were shaking as her adrenaline waned, and it took some effort to keep her body upright. She almost made it out when she felt him at her back. She didn’t turn around, just angled her head to the side to speak. “I’ve got a room. I’ll stay the night and get the truck fixed in the morning.”

“Sounds good.”

She made a face, took a step, and then that little demon inside her couldn’t help but stir things up. She whirled around—wrong thing to do. He was so close, she could count his lashes if she wanted to. So close, his woodsy smell filled her nostrils.

So close, the heat of his body crept over hers.

“Why are you here?” The words fell like jabs.

“I thought we just had this conversation.”

“I called Benton.”

“Benton was busy.”

“Doing what?” she scoffed.

A hint of a smile lit up his face. “Busy doing what men do at this time of night.”

The meaning didn’t hit at first, and when it did, Vivian’s cheeks heated uncomfortably. “That, I didn’t need to know.”

“You asked,” he pointed out.

“Look, it’s late, I’m tired and pissed off, and you’re literally the last man on the planet I want to be around. I have a room, and I’ll get the truck looked after in the morning.”

“So you said.”

She narrowed her eyes and watched him closely. Dallas Henhawk never gave in. She started forward, focused on the motel. “I’d say safe travels, but I don’t give a crap.”

Stones crunched under her feet, and it took less than a minute to cross the parking lot. She headed for room number four and grabbed the key from her coat pocket. It was about that time she realized Dallas was still behind her. She swore under her breath and turned around, but before she had a chance to say anything he spoke.

“I’m not leaving you alone in a place like this out in the middle of nowhere.”

“I didn’t think you cared,” she retorted, voice dripping sugar along with a generous helping of sarcasm.