by Lori Foster
Michael patted her back. “Sublime will be fine, I promise.”
Barber pulled Dakota from Michael and into his arms. “We’ll be careful, so don’t worry.” He turned to Harley. “Don’t take any chances.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
A few seconds later, Dakota watched their taillights disappear down the road. As she stepped past Harley, she said, “I appreciate your help.”
“Not a problem.” He kept pace with her toward the motel. Though he, too, only wore a T-shirt, he didn’t look the least bit cold.
He reached the door before her and pulled it open. Just as Dakota started in, running footsteps sounded behind them and someone kicked the door. It shut hard and fast, yanking Harley forward and causing Dakota to stumble back. Harley let out a curse, but he turned so fast he was a blur.
Three men had their faces hidden behind ski masks. Dakota knew one of them was Marvin, and her heart dropped to her knees. As Harley attacked, she backed up a step, so scared that her vision blurred. Pandemonium exploded.
One man stood to the side while the other two fought. Harley threw kicks and took some punches. Dakota noticed that his right arm hung funny and that he wasn’t using it for much. Dear God, had he gotten hurt when the door slammed?
She couldn’t tell by Harley’s manner because he smiled as he kicked out, catching one of the men in the chin and sending him flat to his back. With a fast left jab, he staggered the other man.
And suddenly, Gregor stepped out of the shadows. “Howdy, folks.”
The two men tried to scatter, but they didn’t get far. One fell beneath Gregor’s enormous fist, and the other took Harley’s knee to his solar plexus. Slumped on the ground, neither of them looked capable of much movement.
The third man looked back and forth between them before staring at Dakota with palpable rage. Gregor pointed a finger at him. “Don’t even think about movin’. I’ll be pissed if I have to chase you down.” He bent to the first man and yanked off his mask. “That him, Dakota?”
Shocked, Dakota stared at the man. She’d never seen him before.
“Dakota,” Gregor said again. “Is that him?”
Marvin? She shook her head.
“Huh.” Gregor reached for the other man’s mask and dragged it off, too. “This one?”
“No.” Both men were scruffy, already bruised up, and unrecognizable to her. “I don’t know them.”
Gregor straightened to his full impressive height and crossed his arms over his chest.
“You know what that means, darlin’?” Gregor nodded his head toward the last man. “This one here has to be the burr in your backside. Now, if it was up to me, I’d let Harley hold him while I broke all his joints. But Simon has other ideas.”
“Simon?” She had no idea what Gregor meant. In fact, she had no idea why Gregor was here. “What—”
Knowing he didn’t stand a chance against Harley and Gregor, the last man let out a roar and surged toward Dakota. Taken off guard, she tried to stumble back, but fell.
He wrapped an arm around her neck and yanked her back to her feet. Fear immobilized her. It was Marvin. She felt it.
Harley moved to the side. Gregor did the same. What were they doing? She clutched at the arm restraining her, gasping for breath, until she heard someone say, “Easy now.”
That voice sank through her fear and she whispered, “Simon?”
“Right here, honey.” Simon stepped forward. “Marvin’s not going to hurt you. You won’t let him.”
With his free arm, Marvin jerked off his mask. “The hell I’m not. Back off, all of you.”
“Ain’t happenin’,” Gregor said.
“Not on your life,” Harley agreed.
And then Barber and Michael were there, too, all of them surrounding Marvin and ensuring her safety.
Marvin brought up his arm, and Dakota saw the flash of his knife. “You think I’m afraid to cut her?” He laughed. “Keep pushing me and you’ll be sorry.”
He began dragging Dakota backward, and though the men all kept pace, she knew she had to do something.
They all expected her to.
Besides, with Simon close, the fear wasn’t as bad as she had imagined it might be. Seeing Marvin again, comparing him to the men all standing in front of her, made him seem small and weak, not quite a man, much less a monster.
“Dakota,” Simon said, “listen to me. He’s nothing. You can kick his ass, baby. I know it. I’ve seen you in action.”
That really got Marvin chuckling—and just that easy, the moves she’d learned came to her. For courage, Dakota looked at Simon, then acted.
Instead of struggling, she dropped her weight, throwing Marvin off balance. That was all the advantage she needed. With every ounce of strength she had, she brought her elbow back for a liver shot and at the same time, ducked away from the knife. She didn’t have the power that the fighters had, but she had enough for Marvin.
Now that she was free of his hold, she faced him. “Did you hear him, Marvin? Simon says I can take you.”
Marvin caught his breath and straightened, the knife clutched in his hand. “You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?”
“No. You took me by surprise, but not again.”
She heard Simon say, “That’s my girl.”
Marvin laughed. “This has to be a joke.”
Dakota circled him, and when he started to laugh again, she kicked away his knife. Marvin grabbed his wrist in pain. The knife flew to the side and Barber picked it up.
“I’m actually dead serious, Marvin.” She kicked again, landing her foot on his temple.
He fell on his ass with a grunt. Glaring at her with hatred, he said, “You’re going to regret that.”
“Stand up, Marvin.”
“Bitch.” He shot to his feet, lunging for her. Using his momentum against him, Dakota drove her knee into his groin. When he doubled over in pain, she caught the back of his head and brought her knee up again, this time into his chin, once, twice, a third time. When she released him, he fell to the side.
She could hear the smile in Simon’s tone when he asked, “Dakota, you done, honey?”
“No.”
“Take your time.”
Since Marvin wasn’t moving much, she spared a glance at Simon and saw his small, proud smile. For some reason, tears suddenly burned her eyes. “Thank you, Simon.”
“Anytime, sweetheart.”
Dakota walked a circle around Marvin. “You think you’re so big and bad. Get up and prove it.”
He curled into a ball and groaned.
“Get up, or I’ll kick in your ribs with you lying there.”
Slowly, Marvin struggled to his feet. Blood trickled from his grotesquely swollen nose and the side of his mouth. He bent forward like an old man, one hand still cupped over his jewels. “You’re insane.”
“No, I’m mad. There’s a difference.” For the first time in years, she felt truly free. As independent as she’d always tried to be. “Can you defend yourself at all, Marvin?”
“If I had my knife—”
“I’d take it from you and break it off in your kneecap.”
Simon winced.
Mallet laughed. “Jesus, I love it.”
Barber said, “I’ve got your knife, Marv. Want me to give it to her?”
Dropping back to his knees, Marvin said, “No,” and everyone laughed.
It struck her; to them, Marvin was a joke. A coward and a wimp and now, to her, he was the same. More tears burned her eyes as she stared at him, slumped on the ground in the dirt, sniveling and afraid. He was so much less than a man that he was nothing at all.
Not to her. Not anymore.
She didn’t realize she was truly crying until Simon tucked her hair behind her ear and used gentle fingertips to wipe her cheeks. “You are remarkable.”
Sniffing, Dakota turned to him. “I thought you were at the gym.”
“Marvin thought so, too. But remember, I asked if you’d
be okay with someone watching your back?”
“While you were in Vegas.”
He shrugged, still tenderly wiping her cheeks. “I figured a few more days couldn’t hurt. Especially after meeting Barnaby.”
“So when you left—”
“I knew Gregor was here, keeping an eye on things. He called me as soon as the three stooges showed up.”
Dakota tipped back her head and stared up at him. “I thought you were too mad to care.”
“Never that.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I was pissed, but I think it’s because I was hurt—though I won’t admit that to anyone else.”
Laughing, Dakota hugged him. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”
Gregor cast a big shadow over them when he approached, and they both fell silent.
“For a badass Amazon lady, you sure are a wuss ’bout the cold.” Gregor laid an enormous jacket around her shoulders, and it was only then that Dakota realized how badly she trembled.
“Thank you.”
Gregor thwacked her on the shoulder, almost knocking her over. “I owe ya for the great show.”
Harley was the next to approach. “For a woman, you do good work.”
His arm still hung at his side, filling Dakota with dread. “Harley, I’m so sorry.”
“For what?”
Simon nodded at his arm. “Is it broke?”
Brows drawn, Harley looked down at his arm. As if just noticing the injury, disgust twisted his mouth. “Well, hell.”
Simon released Dakota to check on him. After gingerly testing his elbow, he sighed. “I hate to tell you, but your elbow is dislocated.”
“Damn. Must’ve happened when I was holding on to the door and that bastard kicked it shut.” He glared at Marvin. “Guess I should have let go sooner.”
Covering her mouth, Dakota said, “How could you not have known it was dislocated?”
He winced. “I don’t know. It’s suddenly hurting like a son of a bitch.”
Barber and Mallet watched over the men, making sure they didn’t try to get away, until the police arrived with earsplitting sirens full blast. Simon called Gregor over, and he took Harley to the side. As soon as the police finished talking to him, Gregor would drive Harley to the emergency room.
Simon put his arm around Dakota. “Come on. You need to put on warmer clothes and some shoes before the cops start grilling you, too.”
On the way inside, they passed Marvin and the other two men. Dakota stopped to look at them.
“What do you want?” Marvin snarled.
“I was just thinking how long you’ll be in jail. Everyone here heard you say that you planned to cut me. You wore the same masks that you wore when you jumped Barber and Bonnie in the parking lot. The same night that I was shoved down the stairs.” She tipped her head. “You really aren’t very bright, are you?”
He started to stand and Mallet planted a boot in his chest, shoving him back to his butt.
Shaking her head, Dakota said, “You are a very pathetic…thing.”
With a hand to the small of her back, Simon started her walking again. “Let’s go. You’ve wasted enough time on him.”
They’d almost reached the door when Dakota said, “Simon?”
“Yeah, honey?”
“You lied about going to the gym.”
“I was going.”
“But to meet Marvin, right?”
“If he showed up, which I doubted.”
“So it was sort of a lie of omission.” She slipped her hand in his. “Same as my lie of omission about Barnaby being my stepfather.”
His hand tightened on hers. “No, Dakota. This was different.”
“Maybe. But the fact is, we’re both human and both bound to make mistakes. Right?”
He pulled the door open for her. “We can talk about all that later.”
“I was going to tell you about Barnaby. Today in fact. It’s been pretty crazy, that’s all. Everything has happened fast.”
“Shhh.” Simon led her down the hall to her room. “Do you have your room key?”
It was still in the pocket of her flannel lounge pants. She handed it to him. “I know I made mistakes. I know I’ll make more. But the important thing is that I love you.”
Simon paused with the key card stuck in the door. “What did you say?”
Dakota stared up into his eyes. “I love you.” The admission had her shrugging with helplessness. “I know it hasn’t been that long. And with you making your comeback and the fight we just had and everything, the timing is off. You’re still ticked at me, and I’ve sort of got this rush of adrenaline going that makes me want to molest you, but—”
“You love me?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Sucks, huh?”
Simon grabbed her close and kissed her hard. He kept trying to stop, but couldn’t seem to manage it. They stood in the hall outside her room and he had her backed up to the wall, his mouth devouring hers.
Dakota pushed him back. Seeing the heat in his eyes, she took a breath. “Maybe it doesn’t suck?”
He cupped her face and smiled. “No, it doesn’t.”
“So…” She suddenly felt shy, when she didn’t have a shy bone in her body. “Does that mean you care a little, too?”
Slowly, Simon’s smile turned into a laugh. “Yeah. I guess it does.”
Dakota slugged him. “How little?”
He laughed harder, put his forehead to hers and said, “I love you, too.” Then, teasing, he added, “If your sexual energy didn’t do it, the way you fight would have tipped the scales. You really are one impressive lady.”
With that resolved, Dakota wrapped her arms around him. New worry settled on her and she wanted Simon’s support. “I haven’t read the letters yet.”
“Afraid to?”
She nodded. “Dumb, huh?”
“Not dumb at all.” He turned her face up to his. “Would you like me to look at them for you?”
Dakota bit her lip, but in the end, she gave up some of that hard-won independence. “I’d appreciate it if you did. Just in case it’s bad.”
“Come on.” He led her inside the room and shut the door. “Get dressed, okay?”
While she did that, he picked up the envelopes and pulled out the letters. Dakota could barely change her clothes with the way her heart thundered and her hands shook—until she saw Simon smile.
He laid down one letter and went on to the next. Then the next. Finally he sat in a chair and said, “Come here, Dakota.”
She went to him, and he pulled her onto his lap. “Your mother loved you a lot, honey. You have no reason to fear reading these.”
“If you say so.”
“I say so. Trust me.”
“Of course.” So with Dakota held in Simon’s arms, she read her mother’s last words to her, words of forgiveness and remorse and understanding.
Words of love.
DAKOTA twisted out of a move, but not fast enough. Barber ended atop her in the mounted position. “Tap,” he said.
“No.”
Leaning closer, he pinned down her arms. He could feel her straining, and said again, “You’re beat, woman. Admit it.”
Trying not to laugh, Dakota shook her head. “Never.”
She looked adorable sweaty. Why had he never realized that before? Barber stared at her, she stared back.
And out of the blue, without really thinking it through, he kissed her right on the mouth.
The kiss was a revelation for him; short and light, but definitely not of the friendly sort. As he lifted his head, he knew he’d made a terrible mistake. Good God, he loved her. He wanted her happy, and she was.
With Simon.
If he’d just caused a rift in their friendship, he’d kick his own ass.
“Dakota…” He loosened his hold, saw the spark in her eyes, and suddenly she punched him.
“Damn.” Barber flinched in pain before laughing. Leave it to Dakota to react so strongly. “Well, that’s answer enough.”
/>
Shoving him away, she sat up. Seeing his bloody mouth only made her angrier. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
He fingered his lip, licked at it, and shrugged. “I just wanted to be sure, that’s all.”
“Sure of what?”
“That I don’t have a chance.”
Her face fell. “Oh, Barber. Simon said…that is…”
Sitting up beside her, Barber patted her knee. “Simon told you I was interested.”
“I didn’t believe him.”
Playfully, hoping to lighten her mood, Barber mussed her hair. “Hey, don’t look so glum. I’m a big boy. I can handle rejection.”
“I would never reject you, Barber. I love you.”
“Like a brother.” He grinned to ease the sarcastic bite. “I know.”
“Barber…”
“It’s okay, doll. I swear. I love you, too, and nothing’s going to change that. Not even a fat lip.”
“Or a wedding?”
Barber eyed her. “So he finally proposed?”
“There’s no finally to it. Shoot, I’m the one who wants to wait until after the fight. Harley’s out of it. Simon says he’ll be rehabbing that elbow for six weeks. I feel so wretched for him. If it wasn’t for me—”
“Hey, Harley and I have become friends, and I can promise he doesn’t blame you. He just has bad luck when it comes to title fights. Although this time, I think luck was on his side, because I have a feeling Simon would have creamed him.”
“Yeah,” Dakota agreed, having complete faith in Simon. “This other guy, the one Simon will fight now…I don’t know much about him.”
“My money’s on Sublime.”
“Mine, too, but I don’t want a wedding to distract him.” She shouldered Barber. “I know you’re leaving tonight for your next gig, but you will be at the wedding, right?”
He slanted her a jesting look. “I don’t know. That depends. As your best friend, do I have to be your maid of honor?”
They both laughed. “No. Dean’s wife will take the honors for that. She’s pretty nice. I like her.” Dakota leaned on him. “But I still want you there.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
Suddenly Simon spoke. “Someone want to tell me what’s going on?”
Though he hadn’t heard him approach, Barber had no doubt Simon had seen everything. He kept such an eagle eye on Dakota that it almost seemed he had a sixth sense where she was concerned.