Page 28 of Casey's Hero

By the time she got back around to the street Jimenez’s house was on, Casey was in a full lather of worry.

She turned onto the street and crept along as slowly as she could go without actually stopping.

Four men stood beside an older model car that had been converted into a lowrider and painted a dark purple with orange and black flames running the length of the sides.

Casey was so intent on finding Jacob that she didn’t notice one of the guys step out in front of her.

She turned in time to slam on her brakes and come to a complete stop, inches away from hitting the guy. “What the hell?” she said out loud, her heart slamming into the wall of her chest.

“Hey, pretty lady.” Another one of the men stepped up to her window. “What’s achicalike you doing in thebarrio?” He sneered. “Get lost?” He switched to Spanish and turned to the others. “Look what I caught. It must be my lucky day.”

Casey let the man think she couldn’t understand him, but she was fluent in Spanish since her babysitter had spoken Spanish to her for the first twelve years of her life. She understood every word and innuendo. Her belly clenched, but she put on a blank face and forced a smile to her face. “I’m not lost.”

“Didn’t you drive through here a few minutes ago?” One of the other men stepped up to her window. “And a man got out.” He looked around her SUV. “Where’d he go?”

Casey shrugged. “I don’t know. My boyfriend got out because he was mad at me. You haven’t seen him, have you?”

“You don’t need him when you can have me,chica,” the first man said. He had a tattoo of a buxom woman on his right shoulder, a black hand tattooed to his neck and he wore a wife-beater shirt. The waistband of his pants hung low enough that Casey could see his black, gray and red boxer shorts.

She wanted to tell him to pull up his pants before they fell off. Clamping her teeth shut, she resisted and shook her head. “Trust me, I don’t want him back until he apologizes to me. It’s just that he left his cell phone in my car. I wanted to return it to him.” She gave them a faint smile. “I’d better get back to work before my boss misses me.” Casey eased her foot onto the accelerator and let the vehicle roll forward a little at a time, not wanting to hurt the men. The one who’d stepped out in front of her to begin with was still there and not moving.

Casey jammed her foot on the brake again, stopping before hitting the guy. If push came to shove, she’d run the bastard over. She hoped it didn’t come to that, but she wasn’t stupid enough to stick around when she was outnumbered. And she wasn’t dumb enough to get out of the vehicle.

“Don’t leave now,chica.” The guy at her window reached in to touch her hair. “Things are just starting to get interesting.”

Casey jerked back, glad her doors locked automatically. “Gotta go.” She started to roll up the window when the man standing at the rear of the others came at her car with a wooden baseball bat in his hand. He cocked his arm and started to swing when a shout sounded behind them.

The four men all looked behind her vehicle, their brows dipping.

Casey’s gaze shot to the rearview mirror.

Jacob jogged toward her, his biceps flexing, his thick and powerful thighs encased in denim. He appeared to be someone who was fit and capable of defending himself against his foe. But four against one would be impossible odds.

Casey glanced down at the locking mechanism on the door handle. She could unlock the SUV long enough to let him in on the passenger side, but to do that, her side would be unlocked for the second it would take for him to get in.

Instead of coming up on the passenger side of the vehicle, Jacob charged right into the thick of the men gathered around her.

She rolled her window down again and thought fast. “Have you come to apologize to me?” she demanded.

His brow furrowed as he stared into her eyes. Hesitating for only a moment, he nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” He dipped his head, appearing contrite. “I’m sorry.”

“Is that all I get? A simpleI’m sorry?”

He smiled. “I’m sorry, darlin’. How can I make it up to you?”

She narrowed her eyes, wanting to get him into the car and drive away as fast as she could. “These nice men were more than willing to be with me without being rude to me about my mother.”

He turned to the men. “Clearly, their mothers all taught them how to treat a lady.” He dipped his head toward them. “Thank you for looking out for my woman. I promise to be a better man for her.” When he started to go around the men and the car, the man with the baggy pants stepped in front of him.

“What were you doing in the barrio, white man?” He stood so close to Jacob there was no going forward.

Jacob took one step backward. “I considered walking home, and I’d started that way when my girlfriend came back. Iassumed it was to give me another chance to do right by her.” He shot a glance her way. “Is that right, hun?”

“If you’re big enough to admit you were wrong,” she said, “I can be big enough to forgive you.” She tipped her head toward the passenger seat. “Get in.”

Jacob cocked an eyebrow at the man with the saggy pants blocking his path. “Excuse me,” he said.

“You got someplace you wanna be?” the man asked.

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