Page 161 of Simon Says

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.

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