Page 34 of Lawless in Leather

“You have a driver?”

“Yes. Sometimes I need to work, not drive.”

She wasn’t going to argue. But it was another reminder that he wasn’t a good proposition. He was a bad boy, despite his manners, but he was a wealthy bad boy. Which meant that he probably wouldn’t clear out her bank account, but he was likely to do some serious damage to her heart when he moved on to someone far more suitable to date the owner of the New York Saints than a thirty-year-old burlesque club owner.

“Okay,” she said. “Call him.”

“We’re not done discussing who did this,” Mal said.

“I didn’t for a moment expect that we were,” she said. “But Luis has fixed all the things you suggested at the club and Saturday’s the night we have the most security staff, so I’m perfectly safe at Madame R’s.”

He looked as though he was going to argue but then he just pulled out his cell and made the call. When he’d hung up, he said, “Five minutes.”

“You keep a driver on call here on Staten Island?”

“I’m going to a party,” Mal said. “I’m not going to ride home after that, so yes, Ned’s on call tonight. He came to the game. This will give him something to do while I’m schmoozing.”

“He doesn’t get to come to the party?”

“He was invited. He declined. He likes to watch movies on his laptop while he waits for me. Said he’s got a new one he’s been looking forward to. He’s not much into socializing, Ned.”

“Let me guess, he’s ex-army, too?” Malachi seemed the type to employ one of his old army buddies.

“Yes,” Mal said. He looked up as the doors slid open and a man wearing a neat dark-gray suit, his sandy-brown hair military-short, walked through carrying a briefcase in one hand and a set of keys in the other.

Mal extracted Raina’s case from Rose, waited while she locked the truck, and then held out his hand. “Leave your keys with me.”

“Why?”

“Because I know a guy with a garage near here. He’ll come and fix your tires.”

“Does everyone just jump when you snap your fingers?” she murmured. Still, she needed Rose, and if Mal’s way meant getting her back faster, then so be it.

“Everyone but you,” Mal said as she tugged her car key off her fob and handed it to him.

She wasn’t sure if he was joking or not so she just kept quiet while she followed him across the lot to where the guy in the gray suit—Ned presumably—was standing beside a black Mercedes.

“Ned, this is Raina,” Mal said. “She needs to go to Brooklyn.” He reeled off the club’s address. “See that she gets inside safely. I’m going to be at this party until about midnight, I’d say. So you don’t need to be back until eleven at the earliest. Grab some dinner or something.”

Raina had thought that the Saints had a game in Baltimore the next day, but maybe the team would go home early and the party would continue without them. Or maybe they were used to burning the candle at both ends. Not that she thought the terrible trio were likely to put up with any of their players doing the sorts of things that seemed to land pro athletes on the wrong side of the law and the media.

“Sure,” Ned said. His voice was soft but deep. “Just call if you need me sooner.”

“I will,” Mal said. He turned his attention back to Raina. “I’m going to call the security team now, get them to look at the tapes. So we’ll be talking about this.”

“So you said.” She still wasn’t sure why he seemed to be taking this so personally. Was he upset because someone had gotten past his security system? Or because it was her who’d been targeted? The second possibility made no sense. They hardly knew each other. One kiss wasn’t enough to make him bent out of shape about a flat tire or two, was it?

She didn’t really want to know. There was a fine line between concern and control. She’d let a man drag her across that line once. Never again.

It was easier to think of Mal as pure chemistry. Heat that could flare up like rocket and fade just as quickly. Then he’d be easier to resist. And resisting him wasn’t making her day any easier. So, time to hit the road. She held out her hand to Ned. “Hi, I’m Raina Easton. You must be Ned.”

Ned nodded and took her case from Mal. “Yes, ma’am.” He clicked something and the lights on the Merc came on as the lid of the trunk slowly eased upward.

“Raina,” she said firmly. “Mr. Coulter, thank you for the help. I’m glad you liked the routine today.” And then she fled into the safety of the backseat of the Mercedes and let Ned drive her away.

Chapter Eight

Mal arrived at Madame R just before midnight. He parked Raina’s pickup—his excuse for coming to see her—in the street behind the club. If someone was harassing Raina, there was no point providing them with such a tempting target right out in the open.

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