Chapter 23 #4
Maddox scoffs. “Where’s the fire, he says.
” I can easily picture him shaking his head while he shoots Dee a can-you-believe-that-guy look.
“Dee and I were at the bar ordering another round of shots when I overheard some old guy scolding the owner. Something along the lines of how he’s been telling him to hire a bouncer or two for years, and had he listened, it may have prevented a sweet girl from getting harassed in the hallway.
Said not everyone is lucky enough to have an FBI agent as a personal protection detail.
Of course, I knew right away who he was talking about, so we came looking.
When we couldn’t find either of you in the bathrooms, I’ll admit, I panicked a little.
Figured maybe the asshole had returned with reinforcements and somehow got the jump on you.
” A snort bursts from my nostrils. Honestly, I’m offended he’d even entertain such a preposterous thought.
Maddox chooses to ignore my theatrics. “I was just about to check out back when the staff room caught my attention. Let me tell you, of all the things I’d prepared myself for, you being balls-deep in your lady friend was not what I’d expected to find.
Poor Dee could’ve been blinded staring directly at your pale Irish ass.
Thank God I was there to prevent the worst.”
I roll my eyes, giving Tink a final once-over to make sure she’s decent.
“I’m half Puerto Rican, and we both know I inherited my mother’s coloring,” I grumble and don’t miss the way Charlie’s mouth twitches. Her amusement sets off my own, and Maddox cranes his neck around the door jamb at the sound of our joined laughter.
“Oh, good. Dee, you can look now. Cole’s put his junk away.”
“You’re such a dick,” I say around a wide grin, shaking my head at my best friend. Dee steps into the room and her questioning gaze instantly lands on Charlie, who only looks slightly embarrassed now.
“I take it you’re alright?”
“Yeah. One of my ex’s lackeys stopped me when I was coming out of the ladies’ room. He was the last person I expected to see, and it shook me up a bit. But Cole put him in his place, and he left quickly.”
“Well, you sure know how to show your appreciation, because it seems to me you went above and beyond to thank my boy for coming to your rescue,” Maddox drawls in a teasing tone, and Dee gives his shoulder a playful shove, moving him all but a quarter of an inch.
“What? We all know what went down in here, and honestly, if Charlie isn’t embarrassed by her choice in sexual partners, I doubt there’s anything I can say to rattle her. ”
“You fucker,” I laugh. Linking my fingers with Charlie’s, I make sure to bump into the cocky asshole on my way past. “I hope those shots are still waiting for us, because I think we could all use one.”
“I may just toss mine into my face. Might burn that image out of my retinas,” Maddox mutters under his breath, and I resist the urge to slap him upside the head.
I may act like he annoys me, but I missed that big idiot more than I’d like to admit, and now that he’s here to bust my balls, I’m almost sad he has to leave so soon.
I’m enjoying the dynamics of our group a lot and wouldn’t have minded him hanging around a few more days.
I have a feeling Dee wouldn’t have minded either, but whatever’s going on between those two is something I won’t stick my nose into.
Once at the bar, we catch our friends up on the events leading up to our little storage room encounter, and Mad’s jaw ticks so hard at the mention of Charlie being threatened, I’m afraid he’ll chip a tooth.
My buddy is a man of action, and I know leaving me to deal with the current situation on my own bothers him.
But this is the nature of his job, and I know his rigid schedule doesn’t permit him to stay.
I’m handing the bartender my credit card to pay for our tab when he turns to Dee with a regretful smile.
“I know we’d talked about me coming back to your place after this, but I don’t feel right sending them back to the resort on their own.
Not until we know this Razor asshole isn’t going to pay Charlie another surprise visit tonight.
Unfortunately, I’ll have to be on the first flight out tomorrow if I want to make it back to base on time, so I’m afraid I’ll have to take a rain check on that night cap, love. ”
Charlie and I exchange a look that suggests we saw this shit coming from a mile away, and the sheer disappointment on Dee’s face is hard to stomach.
Charlie seems to find the sight equally heartbreaking, for she slings an arm around her friend’s shoulder and pulls her into her side before saying, “Why don’t we all head back to my place?
I don’t want to be the reason you guys cut your night short, but I won’t lie, I’d feel a lot safer having Maddox around, just in case.
You guys can stay in one of the empty cabins. Just take your pick.”
My buddy quirks a questioning eyebrow at Dee, whose entire face lights up like a kid on Christmas morning.
That slick motherfucker always had that effect on women.
Never had to put much effort into charming the ladies.
Most of them fell all over each other in an effort to bed the mysterious soldier.
And he didn’t even have to feed them some bullshit line about how every day could be his last. All he has to do is flash that dimpled smile, and the ladies are putty in his hands.
“It’s not like I have anyone waiting for me at home, and I’d sleep easier knowing Charlie and Cole aren’t out there on their own.”
“Well, that’s settled then,” Maddox exclaims with a shit-eating grin. “Let’s give Joey a buzz and let him know we’re ready to head back. We already survived a biker sneak attack and an amateur porno, so I’m fairly confident the kamikaze driver won’t be the one to end us.”
Charlie busies herself digging her phone out of her purse to hide the heat in her cheeks, and I finally give in to my urges and deliver a slap to the back of his head.
What, he mouths, tossing back another shot. Dee seems utterly mesmerized by the way his Adam’s apple bobs, and the sight of her star-struck expression makes me pinch the bridge of my nose. Suddenly, I’m glad I already got laid, because I can feel a bitch of a headache coming on.