Page 14 of Trouble Walked In

Over the next hour, he managed to pay the outstanding invoices, do the payroll, and start on the quarterly sales tax reports. When the alarm on his phone went off, he gave a small start. It was time to go relieve Ty so he could take his dinner break.

When he walked through the swinging door into the bar, he was relieved to see that it wasn't as slammed as last night. He skirted around the end of the bar and said, “Break time, Ty. I'll take over for ya.”

“Thanks, boss,” Ty answered, relief written across his face. “Moira's doing a great job. I gotta say, I was a little shocked when you told me you hired her.”

“Yeah,” Ronan agreed, watching her drop off another round of drinks. “You and me both. It's working out well so far.”

Ty continued to watch her for a moment and then asked, “Is she single, ya think, boss?”

“Not single,” he said shortly.

Ty shrugged and said, “Figures. Might take a shot at it anyway.”

A surge of protectiveness had him snarling out the words before he could stop himself. “She's my mate. Back the fuck off.”

“Holy shit, boss,” Ty said, raising his hands in immediate surrender. “I didn't realize. Have you... Does she know you're... Fuck.”

“That about sums

it up. She knows what I am, but not the other stuff.”

“Good luck with that,” Ty said, laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

“Didn't you have lunch or something to do? I'm not out here for my health,” Ronan groused, rubbing a hand through his shaggy hair in frustration.

“Right,” Ty said, slipping past him with a grin. “See ya in thirty.”

Over the next twenty minutes, he slid into the easy rhythm of pouring beers and listening to the local gossip. As a bartender, he probably heard more than he'd like about pretty much everything. Tonight was no exception. There was talk that Scooter, one of the few human regulars, brought home an STD to his wife and she kicked him out. The way Scooter was tossing back shots, he certainly looked like a man on a mission to forget. Ronan suspected he'd be pouring him into a cab later.

He was half listening to two customers trying to figure out who gave Scooter the clap when he heard Moira's raised voice. His eyes shot across the room in time to watch some guy in a dress shirt and tie pull her toward the door.

“Stop it, Lyle,” she yelled. “I said no. I'm not going with you. Tell my father to go fuck himself!”

In the time that it took her to get those words out of her mouth, Ronan flew across the room and put himself between the man and the door. “Let her go,” Ronan ordered. His wolf paced impatiently, watching the man and assessing the threat.

The man ignored him completely, disgust on his face. “After all that your father has done for you, you're slumming in some hick bar? Let me take you home, Moira.”

Ronan ignored his immediate instinct to deck the guy and said, “The lady told you that she wasn't leaving, so kindly let her go. If you don't, I'm going to call the cops have you arrested.”

The man dropped Moira's arm and smirked. “You've got no idea who you're dealing with, do you?”

Ronan took in the red mark around Moira's forearm and snarled, “I don't give a fuck who you are. You've got ten seconds to get your scrawny ass out of my bar before I beat you bloody. I've got upwards of sixty witnesses who would be happy to say that you fell in your haste to leave. Get the fuck out and don't come back!”

“This isn't over,” the man warned, sneering.

Ronan reached forward, snatching him by the collar. When he saw the man's eyes widen in fear, he leaned in close. His rage barely contained, he said, “Give me a reason, asshole. Give me a fucking reason so I can break you in half.”

When he began to shake silently, Ronan dragged the man to the door and tossed him out onto the sidewalk. “Don't come back.”

The door closed behind him with a thud. Ronan immediately scanned the room until he saw Moira, still rooted to the spot she'd been in. He approached her and asked, “You okay? Is your arm hurt?”

She looked down at it blankly and then nodded. “Hurts a little, but it should be fine in the morning. I'm...I'm sorry about that. It'd be nice if we could have a normal night where you didn't have to protect me from something, huh?”

“Moira,” he murmured as her eyes filled.

She blinked rapidly, then held up a hand when he reached for her. “I don't wanna do this right now. Please just let me go back to work, Ronan.”

He felt a pang in his chest when he noticed her teary eyes, but simply nodded. “Take a few minutes if you need 'em.”

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