Page 95 of Simon Says

“And you’re Dakota’s friend.”

Barber nodded. “Marvin’s a real pain in the ass. He’s continued to harass her since the divorce. Slashed car tires, rocks through a window, a lot of chicken-shit stuff like that.”

“No way to prove it’s him?”

“Not so far. The thing is, he doesn’t much like for Dakota to have friends, but he knows we’re close. He’s seen her onstage with me.” Barber rubbed at his now bristly chin. “A while back, he was hanging out at this bar where we had a week run. He’d sit in the audience and wait for her.”

Dakota could feel Simon watching her, but she gave her attention to her coffee mug. She didn’t want him to know how Marvin affected her.

“What came of it?” Simon asked.

“He hassled me a few times,” Dakota admitted. “He likes to intimidate people.”

“Especially you?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. He’d wait until I was alone in the hall, or he’d slip into the back room with me. Then he’d try to crowd me. He’d say a few veiled threats, make a few threatening promises. That sort of thing.”

Simon looked at Barber, who said, “I didn’t realize what was going on at first.”

Just remembering it made Dakota’s stomach turn. “He could never follow through because it was a public place. Marvin can punk out some people, but not a packed bar where half the men there would take pleasure in a brawl.”

“So he finally went away?” Simon asked.

Barber nodded. “After I had a talk with him.”

That was news to Dakota. She looked up to find Barber watching her, too. “What did you do?” she asked.

“I told him if he touched you, I’d take him apart.”

She sucked in a breath, then shoved back her chair. “You never told me.”

“No, I didn’t.”

Flattening her hands on the table, Dakota leaned toward him. “You had no business doing that.”

“Bullshit.” Barber looked more tired than riled. “No man would sit by while that jerk bullied you.”

Dakota laughed, because one man had: Barnaby. “You should have stayed out of it.”

Simon asked, “Should I stay out of it, too?”

“Yes.”Appalled at her raised voice, Dakota reined herself in. “For God’s sake, I don’t mean to yell, but this is ridiculous. We don’t even know for sure if it was Marvin. But if it was, I’ll take care of it.”

Simon tipped his head at her. “How?”

She flattened her mouth. “I don’t know yet. But I think maybe talking to the police is a good idea after all.” And talking to Barnaby was an even better idea. It seemed too much of a coincidence that both Barnaby and Marvin would reappear in her life at the same time. She had no idea what the connection might be, but once Barnaby knew she wouldn’t play, no matter what, he’d have no choice but to withdraw.

With both men staring at her, Dakota reseated herself. “Look, I’ll be extra cautious. I won’t take any chances. But there’s no point in either of you getting caught in the middle of the mess.”

Simon said, “I hope you’re joking.”

“She’s not,” Barber told him. “She’s worrying because someone tried to hurt me. She wants toprotectme.”

“Huh.” Simon frowned. “That’s kind of insulting, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Like she thinks she can take better care of this stuff than I can.”

Dakota wanted to kick them both. “It’s not about who’s more macho, damn it. This is my problem, that’s all I’m saying.”

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