Page 2 of Hitting the Gap

One guy pushed off the car and sauntered toward them. His New York ball cap tilted sideways on his head. The guy couldn’t even cheer for a good team. New York. Come on. As the guy scanned Bailey appreciatively, Gonzo stepped in front of her to block the other man’s view.

“You moving in?” the guy asked Bailey.

Bailey nodded. “Trying to.”

Just as Gonzo said, “No.”

“Super’s in 101. If you need anything once you’re moved in gorgeous, you come find me.”

“Thanks,” Bailey said.

The guy licked his lips, and his gaze trailed slowly down her body. The leer was so disgusting Gonzo needed a shower and it wasn’t even directed at him.

“She won’t,” Gonzo growled.

The guy eyed Gonzo, then nodded to his friends, and the other four guys started walking toward them. “You look like you got somethin’ to say.” The guy stepped toward Gonzo.

Fuck. He flexed his hands. The last thing he wanted was to get into it with these assholes. He liked his odds one-on-one. Hell, even two-or-three-on-one. But five-on-one? Those weren’t great odds. Factor that at least one of these guys probably had a piece and he was fucked.

“Holy shit, you’re Ramon Gonzalez,” one of the newcomers said.

“Yeah.”

The guy lifted his sweatshirt to show off the Hawks T-shirt he was wearing underneath. Thankfully, the other men stopped posturing and Gonzo breathed a sigh of relief. Looked like he might get out of here unscathed yet.

“What the fuck are you doing in this neighborhood?” the guy asked.

“Just need to talk to the super for a minute.”

The guy tilted his head as he assessed him, looked at his boys, then back at Gonzo. “She your girl?”

“Yeah.” He felt Bailey tense behind him. What was he supposed to say? If the guys were fans, Bailey was as a hell of a lot safer if they thought she belonged to him.

The newcomer eyed Bailey speculatively and nodded his head. “If she moves in, we’ll keep an eye on her.”

“Thanks,” Gonzo mumbled. There was no way Bailey was moving in here. When he felt her fingers wrap into the waistband of his jeans as she pressed closer to him, he was pretty sure they were on the same page.

“So how’s the team looking this year?” the guy asked.

“Pretty good.”

A scrawny guy walked around the side of the building and pulled up short when he saw them. The Hawks fan glanced over, then said, “That’s the super.”

“Cool thanks,” Gonzo said. He reached around and grabbed Bailey’s hand and pulled her to his side so he could protect her if needed. Once they got a few steps from the group, he whispered, “Bay, seriously, you didn’t move to some Podunk town where you sit and have lemonade on the porch with the neighbors. People here have guns.”

“I know,” she whispered back. “That’s why I was being nice. If anyone was going to get us in trouble, it was you.”

Unfortunately, she probably wasn’t wrong about that assessment. “You can’t seriously be thinking of moving in here.” He pointed to a hole in the wall by the staircase. “That’s a fucking bullet hole, Bailey.”

Her eyes widened and she cringed. “Really?”

“Yes, really. Now, can we please get out of here?”

“I can’t. I put down a deposit to hold the place.”

Gonzo pinched the bridge of his nose. “Guess we’re talking to the super.” He cupped her elbow and propelled her toward the super.

“You Bailey Reynolds?” the man asked.

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