Page 44 of A Lot Like Love
The guy laughed, folding his arms across his chest. He leaned forward and Ryder stood up straighter.
“Not how I remember it, sweetheart,” he said. “How about we have a drink and talk about what he owes me, shall we? I’m sure I could find a few more of the old crew who’d like to know you’re here, too. There’s been a lot of guys keeping an eye out for him.”
When he came closer again Ryder moved to stand in front of Chloe. “Back the fuck up,” he seethed, blood pumping like liquid fire through his body. “You heard what she said, now you can leave her alone.”
“Settle down, boyfriend. Chloe knows how things work here.”
Ryder laughed, a deep kind of laugh that sounded more like a roar. “No, I know how things work, asshole. Get out of my face and don’t come looking for Chloe again. You hear me?”
Chloe moved to stand in front of him, keeping a hand on Ryder. “You heard him, Jim. I don’t want to see you or anyone else my dad owes money to. He’s dead to me, okay? I haven’t seen him in a long time.”
Jim sniggered and held up his hands. “Oh, I’ll come looking for you, sweetheart. You bailed him out last time and you’ll do it again if you know what’s good for you.And for him.”
Ryder lunged forward, ready to deck the guy and to hell with the consequences, but Chloe’s hand closed over his.
“Don’t,” she whispered. “You’re better than him.”
He clenched her hand and ground his teeth. “No one threatens you and gets away with it,” he muttered. “No one.”
She shook her head. “Can we just go, Ryder?”
“What about playing the other table?” he asked. “Don’t let that idiot scare you, Chloe. He’s not going to touch you, no one is. Not while I’m here.”
She tucked her body up against his, holding on to him tight. “I just want to go, okay? That was enough of a blast from the past for me. We can go somewhere else tomorrow or later tonight.”
Ryder downed the rest of his beer and held her close. “I’ll walk you to the restroom, then cash in our chips,” he said. “Then I’m taking you out for an early dinner.”
The flicker of excitement came back into her eyes, a light there that had so quickly been extinguished only a moment earlier. “That’d be great. I want to forget all about what just happened.” She sighed. “But thank you. I’m not used to having someone in my corner like that.”
He squeezed her hand, fingers interlinked. “You don’t have to thank me. I like you Chloe, a lot, and I look after people I like. Even after all this is over I’ll still be in your corner if you ever need me.”
The look on her face surprised him, because she looked genuinely dumbfounded. “My instincts are screaming at me right now not to let you come riding in like a knight in shining armor, even though I know it’s stupid.”
He cleared his throat, giving her fingers another squeeze against his. He didn’t know what to say. He did like Chloe a lot, more than just wanting to get her into bed, and it pissed him off to know that she’d never had anyone look after her before.
Ryder waited until she’d disappeared into the restroom and then headed for the cashier. He changed the chips and turned around to find the same guy lined up behind him.
“I thought I told you to fuck off,” Ryder snarled.
“Chloe knows how things work when it comes to her old man,” the guy said. “Her daddy’s debts are her debts. She knew it back then and she knows it now.”
Ryder shook his head, glancing over to see Chloe waiting for him outside the restrooms. He turned his attention back to the man standing in front of him.
“It was Jim, right?” he asked.
Jim nodded. “Yeah. You ready to tell her what her old man owes?”
“No,” Ryder said, stepping up into the guy’s face and fighting the urge to growl at him. “I’m just making sure I have my facts straight. Because if anyone so much as comes near Chloe while we’re here and tries to settle your bogus debt, I want to make sure I know who to blame for it. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you even think about her again. You got me? No one fucks with a King, and that means no one fucks withme.”
Jim stared back at him, clearly not intimidated by threats.
“You so much as mention her old man again and I’ll personally make sure you can’t make the same mistake twice,” Ryder threatened. “I don’t want to see your face again,Jim, and I don’t make idle threats when it comes to my girl.”
He didn’t wait for him to respond, just marched over to Chloe and held her tight to his body as they made for the exit.
“We’re out of here,” he told her.
“What did he say?” Chloe asked, hurrying to keep up with his longer stride.
