Page 5 of Bounty Hunter's Obsession

I grab him by the shoulders and slam him against the booth.

“Hey, dude. What the fuck?” he snarls and tries to shimmy out of my grasp to no avail.

“Now that I have your attention. Did you tell this young woman that you’d knock 50% off her fees if she slept with you?” I ask him, daring him to lie to me.

“Um, uh,” he stutters and stammers. “It wasn’t like that. She looked like she liked me and I liked her. She’s hot, man. I mean, look at her.”

“That’s not what I asked you, dipshit. Was that the offer or not?” I ask him again.

“I may have said something like that,” he relents.

“Apologize.” I pull him off the booth and kick him behind the legs, forcing him to land on his knees.

“What?” He looks between me and Halo.

“You heard me.” This time, I grip him by the back of his neck. “If you don’t, I’m gonna shake you like a pitbull with lockjaw.”

“You can’t-” he begins to protest. I grip him harder to show him this isn’t a negotiation. “Um, Miss. I am sorry that I made that inappropriate remark to you, and I take it back. I didn’t mean to offend you or your boyfriend here. I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted, babe?” I ask Halo with a smile. “I can make him sing and dance it out for you if you want.”

“Apology accepted,” Halo says, blushing with a smile threatening to stretch ear to ear. She covers it with a timid hand, and I release my grip on the lot attendant.

“Don’t let this moment go to waste,” I tell him. “If I hear about you propositioning other young women in trouble, you’re going to have a meeting with my fists. Am I understood?”

“Uh…um… Yes, sir.” The attendant is practically shaking. At the same size as me, he’s no match for a man with principles. He shouldn’t have tried to take advantage of her. It’s revolting when I think about how many women didn’t have someone like me to deal with this guy. I have to let it go.

When I hold my hand out to her, Halo takes it without another look behind us as we leave the impound lot. By the time we reach my car, her hand is still engulfed by mine. I can tell she’s not ready for me to let it go and neither am I.

“Where are you sleeping tonight?” I ask her.

“With you?” She poses the question with a shyness that’s another jolt to my senses.

“Baby girl, you are not ready for that. I meant because your house is covered in crime scene tape. Where are you staying?”

“Oh,” she deflates but only takes a second to rebound. “I’m still staying there. I put up the crime scene tape because I didn’t want Tony to come by.”

“He’s been coming by since the raid?”

She nods slowly. “Yeah. The first time, I hid in the closet. He started trying to kick the door down, but we got reinforced doors. Nan told me because of the guys my mom used to run with, she had to keep the place locked up tight. She didn’t trust those types, thinking they’d circle back around to break in or something. I figured the easiest way to scare Tony from coming back was to make it look like it’s being searched as part of the arrest.”

“Smart girl. But, you can’t stay there,” I tell her. There’s no way I’m going to allow her to continue to sleep there, knowing this guy, Tony, can come back at any time to intimidate her or worse.

“Where am I supposed to go, Hayden?” Her raspy voice cracks and I pull her into my arms.

“You have two options. I can put you up in a motel or you can stay with me at my place. It’s about 15 minutes from here, but there’s plenty of room.”

“What about your family? You don’t have a girlfriend or anything like that?”

“No. No woman’s come close to making me feel the way I’ve felt for you in the hours since we’ve met. Logic will catch up to my gut later. So right now, Halo, you have to tell me where you want me to take you.”

“Take me home with you, Hayden.”

4

HALO

What can I say?

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