The Enforcer

by Teresa Gabelman

  Nodding, Becky got busy cleaning the dinner mess and once again forgot about the car that sat alone in the parking lot.

  “Hey, I gotta go. My stuff is done,” Sandra said, heading toward the back parking lot. “I’ll see ya tomorrow.”

  “Sounds good.” Becky waved, wiping down one of the tables. “Be careful.”

  “You need help out there, Becky?” Earl asked from the kitchen.

  “Nope, I’m good.” She smiled with a nod. “Have a good night, Earl. See you tomorrow.”

  Becky started on the last table and was glad the day was done. She’d had a total of two hours sleep in the last twenty-four hours; she was dead tired.

  “Kitchen’s closed,” she called out when the door opened. Looking up, she knocked the salt shaker off the table, and it rolled across the floor, stopping at the tip of Maverick Wilder’s boots.

  She watched in surprise as he bent over and picked it up, then walked toward her, setting it back on the table.

  “What are you doing here?” Becky finally found her voice. The last time she had seen him here, he had given her a sweet kiss, promised to pick her up after her shift, but never showed. The memory hurt.

  “We need to talk.” Maverick stared down at her. “Now.”

  ******

  Maverick had sat in his car watching every move Becky made. He couldn’t believe she still worked at the restaurant. The whole time he sat outside, he observed the men she served watching her walk away. They focused on her longer than Maverick was comfortable with. Too many times to count he had to talk himself down before he walked in there and tossed every fucker with a dick out the window.

  Finally, the place had cleared and Sandra had driven away. He knew the other car wasn’t Becky’s since she lived right across the street in the small apartment complex, so he had waited for that car to leave also. He had parked away from the restaurant to do a run-through and had seen the cars in the back. He had also checked out her apartment from the outside and wasn’t happy about that setup for safety. After he had finished his recon, he had gone back to his car and drove to the restaurant, parking in front to keep an eye on Becky.

  When Becky didn’t reply to his request, he walked over to a booth in the back, away from the window, facing the door and sat down. He cocked his eyebrow at her when she just stood and stared.

  Finally with a sigh, she slapped the rag she was using to clean tables with on the counter, grabbed two cups and poured coffee. He watched as she fixed hers with tons of sugar and cream, then added one spoonful of sugar and no cream to his. He was pleased she remembered how he took his coffee.

  “What wasn’t said last night that you had to come all the way out here to tell me?” Becky set the coffee on the table before sitting down across from him.

  He watched as she rolled her neck, then reached up and massaged it, closing her eyes for a second.

  “I can’t believe you still work here.” And he couldn’t believe he just fucking said that. This was to be straight business and he was really fucking that up by wanting to throw men out windows, being pleased that she remembered his coffee, and now wanting to massage her neck with his mouth.

  “Yeah, well, not many places to work around this small town and I have all I need.” Becky eyed him. “What do you want, Maverick?”

  And wasn’t that a loaded question? “You may be in danger.” He frowned, taking a long drink of his coffee. She still made it with a kick, just the way he liked it.

  “From who?” Becky’s eyes widened in confusion. “And why?”

  “We don’t know exactly who was at the club last night, and there are a lot of people who have been looking for James. We think he was trying to make a connection, but things got out of control before we could find out for sure.” Maverick watched her reaction, which appeared thoughtful and cool. “There’s talk that people have been asking about you.”

  “People?” Becky frowned, her hands fidgeting. It was something he remembered her always doing when she was nervous. “What people?”

  “People you don’t want asking about you,” Maverick responded. “This is serious, Becky. Until we know for sure, you need to have around-the-clock protection.”

  “This is absurd.” Becky shook her head. “I have nothing to do with that man. What in the hell would people be asking about me for? I don’t understand any of this.”

  Maverick sighed, knowing this was exactly why he had cut ties with her. Even thinking she was in danger was driving him fucking insane.

  “He owed people money, people you don’t want to owe anything to. Seeing you dancing with him is where the connection is coming from.” Maverick didn’t want to scare her, but he wanted her to know how serious this was.

  “But—”

  “It doesn’t matter, Becky.” Maverick shook his head then finished off his coffee. “The connection was made.”

  Maverick let her soak that in for a few minutes before breaking the news that her life was about to be turned upside down.

  “So what am I going to do?” Becky actually glanced out the window, her eyes searching as if someone was going to pop out of the shadows.

  “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you,” Maverick promised, his voice deep and hard. “But you are going to have to cooperate and listen to me.”

  The narrowed eyes and frown clued him in that this may be a fight. “To you?” Becky bit her bottom lip, another nervous habit he remembered. “Why you?”

  Because he didn’t trust anyone else to keep her safe, but he kept that to himself. “Because we have a past, and it will be easier to explain why I’m with you twenty-four seven.” Maverick waited for the slap, but it didn’t come… yet. “The story would be I was attacked, changed, had amnesia, regained my memory and came back to you.”

  Becky stared at him wide-eyed. “That is seriously what you came up with?” She snorted. “Sounds like a bad Lifetime movie. No way will that work.”

  “It will work.” Maverick gave her a nod. “Just follow my lead.”

  “It's not going to work. And how are you going to explain the sweet text you sent me?” Becky frowned without meeting his eyes. That text still stung. “Sandra will see through it.”

  “Sandra isn’t who I’m worried about, but I will handle Sandra.” Maverick stood, reached over and pulled her to him. “And it starts now.”

  Chapter 7

  Becky wanted this—no, she didn’t—but really she did. “No.” She came to her senses pushing against him, but he didn’t budge. “Maverick, stop.”

  He held her still, clipping her chin with his hand, lifting her face to his. “This needs to be as real as possible, Becky.”

  It was too real for her; that was the damn problem. “I can’t do this.” She glared up at him. “I really can’t. I’ll take my chances.”

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about because you have no clue who may be coming for you.” Maverick moved away. “Trust me, as soon as we know you are safe, I’m gone.”

  Those words hit Becky like a brick to the chest, finally and clearly penetrating her dazed brain. He was gone, kept repeating in her mind. She wasn’t a stupid person. Obviously, he would know if she were in danger and yeah, she was afraid. So she would have to bite the bullet, let him do whatever he did to keep her safe, but guard herself. It wasn’t a matter of falling in love with him because she’d never stopped. Instead, it was a matter of losing herself again when he disappeared, and she knew that was exactly what was going to happen. He’d said as much.

  “Are you done here?” His voice brought her out of her soul-searching moment.

  She nodded as she walked away to the kitchen to check that everything was off and locked. Heading back to the front, she grabbed her bag and keys. Maverick opened the door, stepping out first. She noticed him searching the area before letting her out the door. She turned and locked it, then took off across the parking lot, but he grabbed her arm leading her to the passenger side of his car.

  “But my apar
tment is just over there.” Becky pointed before being nudged into the seat. The door closed quickly behind her, and then he was sitting in the driver seat, revving the engine. He backed out, put it in Drive and drove across the street and parked. “Okay, well that was strange, but whatever.” When she went to get out of the car, he stopped her.

  “Wait until I open the door,” he ordered, then slid out of the car, walked around the front and opened her door. She slowly pulled herself out and was surprised when he wrapped his arm around her and led her to her apartment. She lifted her key to unlock the door, but he took it from her, unlocked it and cautiously went inside.

  She hated to admit it, but it was pretty fascinating watching him work, and she knew that was exactly what he was doing. He pulled her inside shutting the door, his eyes searching her apartment in one sweep. “Wait here.”

  Becky did as he told her, her eyes wide and heart pumping. She didn’t know if her racing heart was because she was afraid someone was in her apartment or because Maverick Wilder was in her apartment. He walked around, checking her bathroom and then her bedroom. When he walked out of the room, she tossed her purse on the counter.

  “All clear?” She cocked her eyebrow. Even though she thought he was damn impressive, she wasn’t about to let him know that.

  “You have one entrance?” He frowned down at her. When she nodded, he cursed. “A death trap.”

  “Oh, well great.” Becky kicked off her shoes. “I’ll sleep so much better with those comforting words.”

  “One entrance and ground floors are the worse safety measures, especially for a woman living alone.” Maverick filled her small apartment to the point she felt claustrophobic.

  “Yeah, not much to pick from in this town and I like it,” she replied, heading toward her bedroom. After grabbing some sweats and a T-shirt, she headed toward the bathroom. “There’s soda and beer in the fridge,” she offered before disappearing inside the bathroom. Even as upset as she was with him, she couldn’t help being a decent hostess, and it pissed her off. She was mad as hell, and yet still worried about his stupid comfort.

  Slamming the door, she leaned against it, holding her clothes close to her chest. Leaning her head back with eyes squeezed shut, Becky prayed. She may be safe from whoever may be looking for her, but she definitely wasn’t safe from Maverick Wilder.

  ******

  Maverick heard the shower and groaned. Jesus, this was going to be harder than he thought. Her smell was unique and with his more powerful senses, her special scent surrounded him. He breathed in deeply, then cursed. Heading to the fridge, he grabbed a beer wishing it were a shot of whiskey. Walking to one of the only two windows in the small apartment, he glanced out to see if anything seemed out of place, but all looked clear.

  The shower continued, and so did his memories. He knew every single beautiful crease, bump, and curve of her sweet body. The way the water ran down her luscious body was burned in his memory. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” he cursed, but it didn’t help. The beer didn’t help, nothing short of… hell, he couldn’t even think of anything that would take his memories of her away.

  He finally forced himself and his hard-on under control by the time she came out of the bathroom. Her hair was wet; she liked to let it dry naturally. Turning his head toward the window again, he rolled his eyes at himself. Damn, he was fucking pathetic.

  “I have some leftover lasagna,” she said, making him turn toward her. His eyes went directly to her ass that was pointed straight at him in those tight sweatpants as she reached in the refrigerator. “You want some?”

  Maverick groaned, swallowing hard. Not having sex for a year, and having the woman he craved more than anything bent over asking if he wanted some was almost too much for his self-control. Finally she stood. Turning, she put the pan of lasagna on the counter. He took a drink of beer as his eyes went straight to her nipples that reached toward him as if begging for his touch and began choking and sputtering beer everywhere. Son of a bitch, she was going to kill him.

  “Ah, you okay?” Becky stared at him while plating some lasagna.

  His phone rang at that moment. Thank God. He nodded as he walked away, clearing his throat before he answered the phone. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat again.

  “You okay, man?” Dusty asked after a second.

  “Yeah, good,” Maverick said finally with a normal voice. His eyes caught Becky pointing to the lasagna. Shaking his head, he watched as she turned, bent over and put it away. She was definitely wearing a thong or nothing at all. He groaned again.

  “Dude, what the fuck is going on?” Dusty’s voice in his ear almost made him drop the phone he forgot he was holding. “You need back up?”

  “What the fuck do you want?” Maverick growled, gaining a wide-eyed look from Becky, who turned to the microwave.

  “Sexy Becky is getting to ya, isn’t she?” Dusty chuckled on the other end of the phone and then made wolf calls.

  “I swear if you don’t tell me something productive in the next second, I will hunt you down and tear your throat out,” Maverick threatened, and anyone who knew Maverick didn’t take his threats lightly.

  “Okay, chill out.” Dusty chuckled. “We got a hit on a Devin DeMarco. He’s real curious about Becky. Seems old worm-food James owed him the most, over five hundred thousand. Yeah, you heard me right. Big chunk of moolah. I just emailed you a pic of him and his thugs.”

  “Anything else?” Maverick’s anger heightened, knowing now that Becky was at risk.

  “Yeah, give Becky a smooch for me and—”

  Maverick hung up on him. With a shake of his head, he checked his e-mail on his phone. Hitting the attached pictures, they uploaded. He memorized the face of the man who was most likely going to die by his hand because no one was going to harm one hair on Becky’s head. Not while he was alive.

  ******

  Becky sat on the couch, with her plate of lasagna watching The Bachelorette. Okay, she was sitting on the couch picking at her food staring blindly at the television. Every fiber of her being was focused on the man, who she never thought she’d ever see again, sitting on the other side of her small couch.

  “Are you sure you’re not hungry?” Becky asked, stabbing at her food.

  “I’m good, but thanks.” Maverick’s deep voice filled her tiny apartment, everything about him filled her tiny apartment. A thought occurred to her. “Do you even eat food?” She slid a glance toward him.

  “I do. I only need blood occasionally now that I’m a mature vampire,” he replied, then his eyes narrowed. “What in the hell is this?”

  Becky glanced at the television, seeing the bachelorette kissing one of the guys. “It’s The Bachelorette.”

  “Since I’ve sat down, I’ve seen her kiss five different guys.” Maverick frowned.

  “Well, all those guys are trying to win her over, and she’s trying to find love.” Becky grinned, figuring television wasn’t a big part of his life. Though, she shouldn’t be surprised. Maverick had never really been a big television person.

  “How in the hell can you find love when you have five different tongues down your throat?” Maverick glared at her. “You seriously watch this shit?”

  “Yeah, and I think she should pick Luke.” Becky pointed at the handsome cowboy, who was now about ready to kiss her. “He’s—”

  “A fucking pussy for letting four other guys kiss her.” Maverick shook his head in disgust. “If that was the woman I wanted, no man would be putting his hands on her.”

  His words hit her hard. She used to be that woman, but not anymore. The knowledge was more than she could take. Standing, she took her plate across the room to her kitchen, dropped it in the sink without even scraping the uneaten food off and headed to her bedroom, shutting the door. Knowing she couldn’t be that rude, she sighed, wishing she were more of a bitch. Grabbing a pillow off her bed and a blanket out of her closet, she opened her door and walked out. Without saying a word or looking at Maverick, she put the pill
ow and blanket next to him. Turning, she went back to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

  Switching off her light, she crawled into bed, put her face in the pillow and let the tears flow. Him talking about what he would or would not allow with the woman he loved tore at her. No, that wasn’t even close to what she was feeling. Her whole body hurt, not just her heart. Her throat felt tight with a scream of pain that she fought to keep quiet. Her mind raced with what ifs and she couldn’t stop it. She was stuck in a nightmare that just kept playing over and over. How could she hate someone she loved more than anything in the world? She would survive this, again. She unfortunately had no choice.

  Chapter 8

  “Oh, my God!” Sandra hugged Maverick then Becky, and clapped her hands with an excited scream before she hugged Maverick again. “I can’t believe this. And you’re a vampire.” She reached up toward his mouth, but Maverick caught her hand with a chuckle.

  “Calm down, Sandra.” Becky rolled her sleep-deprived eyes.

  “I knew something like this had to have happened.” Sandra squealed. “You two were too much in love for you to just up and leave her.”

  “That’s right.” Maverick pulled Becky close, giving her a hug, his eyes telling her that he had been right. Sandra believed every word and hadn’t even questioned the text.

  Becky plastered a fake smile on her face, pinching Maverick’s stomach before pushing away. “Come on, we have hungry people who are going to be showing up. We have a lot to do.”

  “Okay. Okay.” Sandra grinned, practically skipping to the back of the restaurant. “Don’t leave!” she yelled back at Maverick.

  Once she was in the back, Maverick chuckled. “Told you she’d believe it.”

  Becky smacked him on the arm. “Don’t look so smug.”

  Maverick smirked, heading to the back booth where he could see everything in the restaurant, plus the parking lot as well as a clear shot to the door. Sitting down, he watched Becky go about her routine; it was as if he’d never left. How many damn times had he sat while she prepped for the morning rush? He was surprised when she brought him coffee.