Page 27 of Twisted Hearts

“I’ll consider it.” I turned and headed toward the front door. He’d be out soon and would lock up behind me, so I didn’t bother doing so.

Malcolm now owned three different bars and clubs in the area, but he was always at Dreammaker’s before opening and well past closed. It made me wonder when he slept and handled his other responsibilities.

It also made me wonder how he had a life.

It all made me admire him.

I was stuck on that thought when movement caught my attention as I closed the door behind me. I gasped as a man pushed off the wall, one booted foot clomping onto the sidewalk.

“Jesus,” I gasped, and then I realized who it was. “You scared the shit out of me.”

Shawn, looking no less sexy than he had earlier—and also no less dangerous—threw his hands up and took a step away from me. “Sorry. I stood under the light so you could see.”

I gave my surroundings a quick scan, trying to get my heart to settle down, and readjusted the strap on my shoulder. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to apologize.”

“Apologize?” What in the hell for? He hadn’t done anything wrong except ask for my name. I couldn’t help taking a more serious look at him, that body…that chest of his. He looked just as good now as he had earlier in the night. I hadn’t even seen him leave, and I’d spent way too much time stealing glances toward where he sat with his boss and a few others I assumed were his co-workers based on their serious stances and physiques, along with a petite blonde. “How long have you been out here?”

I swore a blush hit his cheeks, but it was dark despite the street lights. “A while.”

“To apologize?”

“Yeah. I don’t usually come on so strong, to be honest, but now it also kind of pisses me off that you’re surprised someone would want to apologize for being a dick to you.”

His tone carried a rumble of anger that stunned me. Why did hecare? And worse…he’d seemed to care that very moment he first saw me in the alley.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. His words and his care affected me more than they probably should have. Shawn had protector stamped all over him from backing up to show he wasn’t a threat to his tone, and even this—apologizing for coming on too strong? What guydid that?Certainly not one I’d ever known. Definitely not Daniel, who had treated me as a possession before we ever had a date.

Shannon and Jillian both told me I could trust him, could ask him for help if I needed it.

I was too tired and worn out from the long night and early morning to do much of anything except take a step toward him.

“Would you do me a favor?”

“Depends.” He shrugged, and I swore I saw a hint of a playful smirk before it vanished. “What is it?”

“It depends? On what?”

“Well, I’m not going to go shoot someone for you if I don’t know what they did to deserve it, but if you need a few dollars for an Uber ride, then sure.”

I laughed, shaking my head, and then I realized what he’d said. “What if they did deserve it?”

Were we really talking about this? Him shooting someone for me? And that it’d be a favor?

“Then yes.” All humor was wiped from his expression.

A whisper of cold air brushed across the back of my neck, making me shiver.

He meant it. We weren’t in great lighting, but there were hard lines accentuating his cheekbones and jaw. There was steel in those beach blue eyes.

“That’s…”

“Spent a lot of years as a cop, not always able to help those who really needed it, especially when the justice system failed the victims. I took this job with Jaxon in part to get out from under the weight of not being able to do enough if someone needed it. So yeah, if it was deserved…I’d do that.”

He shrugged, like confessing to being willing tokillsomeone was totally normal conversation. As shocking as it was that this guy stood in front of me, essentially saying he was okay with murdering someone for me—in theory, anyway—it actually made me feel safe.

He was a cop. No wonder he seemed like such a protector. It was hisjob, or at least used to me. That was good, right?

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