Page 26 of A Protector For Phoebe (Love will OUT 2)

Andy places his elbows on the bar and leans toward me. “How have you been, sweet thing?”

Sweet thing? I am not here to flirt with Andy. It’s bad enough I have to flirt with some guy I’ve never met before. Don’t get me wrong, I am an expert at flirting. If you could get a degree in it, I’d have a doctorate by now. But it’s not like I enjoy it. No, flirting was a survival skill in my previous life.

I hear laughter right before a group of men enter the bar. Andy straightens and walks to the other side of the bar to do his job. Good. One less uncomfortable conversation I need to have.

I swivel on my barstool to ensure the group of men get a good look at my cleavage. Yes, I realize I’m a hypocrite. I was ready to tear Andy’s head off for looking and now I’m practically daring men to look. Total hypocrite.

I search the crowd of men and recognize Albert at the back of the group. He’s laughing with the other men and not paying one bit of attention to me. Time to dial up the heat. I lean forward slightly and cross my legs. Several of the men in the group come to a stop as their eyes zero in on my legs. Gotcha!

I flutter my lashes and sway my foot. While some of the men walk to the bar to order, another group splits off and heads in my direction. Damn it. Albert is not among the group approaching.

“Buy you a drink?”

I glance at the man from under my lashes and bite my lip. I don’t want him buying me a drink. Albert needs to buy me a drink. Otherwise, this night is a waste.

“Um… what about him?” I point to Albert. “He’s yummy.”

The man chuckles. “Good luck there. Al is devoted to his wife.”

Well, shit. Is he serious? My phone beeps and by the sound, I know it’s Hailey. “Excuse me.”

Wrong guy. Get rid of him.

Duh. I’m not blind. I know it’s the wrong guy.

He says Albert is faithful

While I’m typing, the man saunters off and joins his group. Once everyone in the group has a drink, they move to a table in the back of the bar. Huh. This has never happened before. I stand, intent on approaching Hailey and asking her what I should do, but I run smackdab into a brick wall.

“Excuse me,” I say without looking up. The brick wall doesn’t move, forcing me to look at who it is. “Ryker? What are you doing here?”

“Stopping you from making a fool of yourself.”

“A fool of myself?” I try to walk around him, but he moves to block me. “I’m working.”

“And you’re going to crash and burn. Your target is not a cheater.”

“How do you know?” I hold up my hand to stop his reply. I don’t want to hear it. “How did you know I’d be here?”

“Babe,” he grunts.

“Ugh! Babe is not an answer.” I have the strangest inclination to stomp my foot. I’ve never stomped my foot in my life. I’ve stomped around, sure. But stomped my foot like a commoner? Never.

“Did you forget I’m a bounty hunter?”

No, I didn’t, but I have done some research in the meantime. “Bounty hunters are illegal in Wisconsin.”

“Never said I was from Wisconsin.”

I don’t have time for this. “I need to get back to work.” Wally may have given me some money to tide me over yesterday, but I’m counting on the cash from tonight’s work to help me through the next month. Christmas is not cheap.

“There’s nothing for you to do. He’s not going to fall for your trap. No matter how gorgeous the trap is.”

He looks me up and down and his eyes heat. My belly warms and my body tingles at the look. I take a step back. Tingles are bad. I don’t need any distractions right now.

“Regardless, I have a job to do.” I am not going to be pushed around by a man – or anyone – ever again. My body may want to melt into his arms, but it’s not happening. Nope. No melting will be occurring.

Ryker leans over and gets all in my face. “I don’t think so.”

I raise an eyebrow and straighten my backbone. “You don’t think so? I hate to break it to you, but your opinion does not matter in this instance.”

“You good, Phoebe?” Hailey asks from next to Ryker.

“Ryker was just leaving.”

“I am not leaving.”

“Yeah, bud, you are,” Andy says. He’s several inches shorter than Ryker, but he isn’t backing down. “Do you want me to call security?”

Ryker glares at Andy for a long moment and I hold my breath. I do not want men fighting over me. I am not that woman. I’m about to pass out from lack of air when Ryker grunts and strolls off without another word. I watch him leave, but he doesn’t look back. Is he gone for good? My heart squeezes at the thought.

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