Chapter 2
Willa watched in horror as Robert threw another punch. The last thing she wanted was her ex to hurt this man. She also didn’t want to get fired from this job. But no matter how good she was at her job, or how much she liked it, they wouldn’t keep her around if she caused trouble with patrons.
“Stop it, Robert. Just stop!” The last word had been a little too loud. She would attract unwanted attention if she didn’t calm down. She had to keep her cool.
But Robert wasn’t listening. He threw another punch, but it didn’t land. The man who’d come to potentially save her was just too fast on his feet.
She focused on him, noticing the nearly bored look on his face. Surely he wasn’t underestimating Robert. She needed to warn this guy that Robert was a boxer. He wasn’t a great one, but he’d spent time in the ring and had even made some money.
The words were on the tip of her tongue when Robert threw another punch, and the guy caught his arm and twisted it behind Robert’s back before shoving him against the wall.
“You need to stop throwing your hands unless you want to get hurt.”
Willa saw the shock on Robert’s face. He wasn’t used to losing fights. Then again, she’d only seen one or two of his boxing matches. It had been obvious from the start that he would win those matches.
Since she’d experienced his fists firsthand, she knew he hit hard. Every time he hit her, she had gone down fast. His punches had hurt her very badly, so she knew he was strong.
Watching this guy act like Robert was nothing to worry about, she wondered if she was just a baby and Robert wasn’t that strong. But the bruises on her face and body told a different story, one filled with abuse and tragedy.
Cy didn’t want to hurt the guy. There were cameras watching everything in this part of the bar, and if he actually hurt the guy, there would be hell to pay.
“Stand down,” Cy ground out through his teeth. The guy bucked against his hold, and Cy applied more pressure. “Just give it up. Seriously, you need to stop.”
“Back off,” the dude said.
Cy thought he’d caught the guy’s name, Robert, maybe Roger. He wasn’t sure, and it didn’t matter. What he really wanted was for this guy just to back off and walk away.
“Robert, leave. Just go away and stop bugging me,” the woman begged.
“You heard the woman. Leave her alone.”
Cy stepped back and let go of the man, moving far enough away that he wouldn’t get hit immediately. Not that the guy was punching hard, but he was out with friends, not doing work stuff, and didn’t want to get into an all-out fight here.
“Hey, are you okay back here?”
Relief flowed through Cy at the sound of Wave’s voice. His buddy backing him up should stop this idiot from attacking again, and it might actually get the guy to leave the bar.
But what about the woman? Would she be safe after this jerk left? He had no clue what would happen to her. He just hoped she had resources to help.
Cy watched as realization dawned on Robert’s face that he was outmanned. He may not have realized that Cy was giving about twenty percent effort, but he did realize there was no way he could win against two of them.
The jerk ran his hands over his pants and sneered, as if he were wiping away something dirty. Cy wanted to tell him he was the rotten one, but he kept his mouth shut. There was no reason to engage, not when they wanted the man gone.
“Piece of shit, bitch. Fine, they can keep you.”
Cy pressed his lips together. It was bold of the man to call this woman a piece of shit. She hadn’t caused the problem as far as he could tell. Maybe she had some issues, but who was he to judge?
Robert, the jerk, stomped away, looking like a petulant child. But Cy hazarded a guess that a man like him would be dangerous to women. This guy had to be the one who’d put the bruises on this woman’s face.
He turned to her, trying for a pleasant look on his face, but he might have scowled at her. He didn’t want to scowl, didn’t want to chase her away.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded and glanced at Wave before turning back to him. “Thank you. I’m sorry he hit you.”
“Barely registered it. Does he do that often?”
The skin around her eyes tightened, making her look like exhaustion ran her through. He could guess that she dealt with this kind of thing more than once.
“I moved, I changed everything, even my phone number. I don’t know what else to do.”
“Have you contacted the police about him?”
She snorted, then rolled her eyes. “They weren’t any help.”
“Does he know where you live?”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t think he does.”
“I’m Cy, this is my friend Wave.”
“Interesting names.”
Wave chuckled. “Comes with the territory.”
He wasn’t interested in telling her that he was a SEAL, though it was probably obvious to anyone paying attention. The guys had said it enough times tonight, and he knew this woman had been their server for hours.
“I’m Willa, short for Wilhelmina.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Willa. I’m going to give you my number. If that jerk finds you, call. If I’m out of town, I’ll set my phone up to ring through to one of the guys I trust.”
She shook her head. “That’s not necessary.”
“I won’t feel good if he comes back to hurt you after I embarrassed him.”
Her lips thinned, and he thought she would tell him no again. He wouldn’t blame her. He was a stranger, and she probably had people willing to help her who were close to her.
Here he was again, sticking his nose in where it didn’t belong. He needed to get his head on straight and stop trying to be more than he was.
He was a damn good SEAL, but his ex from the situationship had assured him that whatever excellence he had in his job didn’t transfer over to his personal life.
The last thing he wanted to do was give this woman a false sense of expectation.
He should say something to her, give her some clue that he couldn’t be more than a friend.
She took the small piece of paper he’d written his number on, and her lips tipped up just a little before they set in a thin line. “Thanks, but I can deal with him. I’ll just run again if I have to.”
Before he could say more, she turned and walked away. It was for the best. He didn’t need her thinking he could offer more because he couldn’t. At best, he was good for a one-night stand, but Willa didn’t seem like she was in the mood to fool around with some random guy.