Page 63 of Tackle

His eyes grew wide. “Are you fucking kidding me? I don’t give a shit about the customers. I only fucking care about you.”

A few customers turned their heads to look at them and Emerson gave them a weak smile. Maybe she should have taken this conversation to the kitchen. Or better yet, to the alley out back.

She placed a hand on his arm. “I know. I was safe in the kitchen doing inventory with Mack when it happened.”

He sighed, lowering his voice. “What did the police say?”

“They took a bunch of pictures, took the brick for evidence, and said they were going to talk to Holly.”

“Talk?” his voice raised again.

Emerson was quick to appease, “I don’t know, maybe arrest her.” She actually had no idea about that. She hoped they did.

Elbows planted on the table, Oz brought his fists up and leaned his forehead against them. “This is getting out of control.” He raised his head and speared her with his eyes. “And I don’t know what to fucking do about it.”

Emerson scooted closer, resting her head on his shoulder. “We’ve already gotten a restraining order, and the police are on speed dial, so there’s nothing moretodo at the moment but wait it out.”

But she guessed Oz had other ideas because private security was waiting for her when she arrived at the pub the next morning.

Chapter Twenty-one

Practice over, Oz pulled his phone from his locker and discovered he’d missed five texts from Emerson.

He didn’t need to read them to know what they contained. Nor that each one likely escalated in irritation. Ignoring her texts, he opened his phone and hit her speed dial.

It only rang once before she answered. “Was a security guard really necessary?” she asked by way of greeting.

“Yes.”

She huffed, sounding a bit exasperated. “This is my place of business. Having a guard hanging around is something I should have a say in. You should’ve at least run it by me first, so I wouldn’t have been surprised.”

Oz sighed because, yeah, that probably wasn’t his smartest move. “You’re right, I should have. My only excuse is I didn’t want it to become an argument."

"Oz, you can’t do things behind my back just because you don’t want to hear me say no.”

“I needed to do this. I'm worried about you.”

“I know you are. And I love you for that.”

“I want someone there to protect you when I can’t.”

“Fine, then I’ll feel a lot better if you have security too.”

He snorted under his breath. “I think I can take care of myself.”

“Really? Because you said yourself you don’t know what she’s capable of. This isn’t a one-way street. Ifyouget peace of mind thenIget peace of mind.

“You’re the one she threatened.”

“But you’re the one she’s obsessed with.”

He couldn’t see a way around her argument. Sighing, he gave in. “Okay, you win.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you soon?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

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