Page 10 of Securing the Odds

She rested her hand atop her glass. “Thank you, but I’m all set.”

“A purdy woman like you shouldn’t be drinkin’ alone.” He leaned a thigh into the table and reached out a hand, fingering a lock of her hair.

Tammy recoiled, sliding farther down the bench seat and out of range of his grabby fingers.

“Come on now, sugar, don’t be like that.”

“I’m here with someone.”

He made a show of scrutinizing the area. “Don’t see ‘em.”

This guy was too much! She put her resting-bitch face to good use, even channeling her inner Scarlett O’Hara by raising one eyebrow. “Then you’re not looking very hard because he’s coming up right behind you.”

The guy spun around.

Jake, jaw set and eyes hard, said, “What the fuck, man. Get your hands off my girl.”

His girl? A funny tingle slid down her spine and a secret smile tipped her lips.

“Free country,man.” Cowboy dude crossed his arms over his chest and planted his butt on the edge of the table, looking like he planned to hang out awhile.

Jake just looked pissed. In fact, she’d never seen such an angry expression on his face—even when talking about her asshole ex.

He mirrored Cowboy Idiot’s stance, folding his arms across his chest. “May be a free country,friend, but your hand is not free to touch what’s mine.”

Holy cow. Jake in caveman mode was hot.

“Didn’t see a ring on her finger. Where I come from, that means she’s fair game.”

Jake dropped his arms and his casual stance, taking a step forward and invading the guy’s personal space. His voice was menacingly low. “Youreallydon’t want to fuck with me.”

Cowboy stood from his slouch against the table, placed both his palms flat to Jake’s chest, and shoved. Jake stepped back with one foot but otherwise held his ground, scarily composed.

Tammy, on the other hand, was freaking the fuck out. Sliding even farther down the bench away from the action, she swiveled around and got up on her knees to fully face Jake.

She could only see the back of Cowboy’s head, but his next words were clear. “You threatenin’ me, city boy?”

Unfazed by Cowboy’s anger, Jake executed a casual shrug. “If you want to take it as such.”

And that’s when all hell broke loose.

Cowboy took a swing that Jake easily dodged by leaning his head back and to the side while grabbing Cowboy’s wrist mid-swing and yanking, flinging him into a table.

Bottles of beer fell over, spilling their contents onto the tabletop, one bottle rolling off and clattering to the floor. The three men sitting around the table jumped up, shouting various expletives.

Cowboy righted himself, lunging at Jake again. Tammy was rooted in place, shocked by what was playing out before her and at the swiftness at which it was occurring.

Jake dodged again, but Cowboy got in a lucky punch, slamming his fist against the corner of Jake’s mouth. Blood immediately started flowing down his chin.

Jake did a one-two punch to Cowboy’s gut, then an uppercut to his chin, causing the cowboy to fall back again, landing awkwardly on top of a knocked-over chair, his face contorting with pain.

The three guys got into the action, charging after Jake, and that’s when Tammy’s body became unglued. She wasn’t sure what the heck she could do, but she couldn’t just sit around and watch Jake get attacked three-to-one.

Grabbing Jake’s empty beer bottle by its neck, she charged toward the fray, but it turned out Jake didn’t need her help. By the time she got close enough, he’d laid two men out on the floor and had the last one in a neck lock.

Jake’s eyes fell to the bottle she held clutched in her fist, a slow smile creeping across his face.

Folding her arms across her chest, she squinted her eyes, and demanded, “What?”

---