Avery wished for a dark hole to crawl into. She’d made a colossal fool of herself in front of the paragon who had connected so strongly with Marcus. She winced. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Alice said. “I understand. Rowdy is so special that he can have that disorienting effect on people.”

Proving he couldn’t take a compliment, Rowdy said, “I am not—”

Alice didn’t give him an opportunity to interrupt her praise. “I think he likes to cultivate the whole bad boy image. But at heart, he’s a really good guy.”

Rowdy stepped in front of Alice. “She really is just a friend.”

Alice leaned around him. “More than a friend,” she protested. “But we have never—” she looked around and bobbed her eyebrows “—gotten busy.”

Because Alice appeared to want a reply, Avery said, “Okay.”

“I have my own hunky guy,” Alice bragged. “He’s a police detective.”

Suddenly Reese loomed behind them. “If you want to hang on to someone, honey, my arm is available.”

Rowdy slowly closed his eyes—then pried Alice loose.

She immediately turned to Reese. “And here he is!” Hugging up to Reese—who truly was a hunk—Alice said, “Reese, have you met Rowdy’s special lady?”

Special lady? Avery sputtered, “I’m just the bartender.”

Saying nothing, Rowdy crossed his arms and looked put out by it all.

“Yes, we’ve met,” Reese said to Alice. “Remember when I helped Rowdy work on the bar? Avery was here sometimes, pitching in where she could. Last night she rode with Logan to take Rowdy to the hospital. That’s why she wasn’t here when you came to see Marcus.”

Alice took that as confirmation. “There, you see? She’s very special, just as I said.”

* * *

OH, HOW HE would have loved to see Avery’s face when he fired the gun. Though he’d never wanted her to hear him for fear she’d recognize his voice, he couldn’t stifle the laugh as he’d imagined her shock, her probable fear.

Fear was good; it’d make her more amicable to his plans.

If she didn’t feel safe at the bar, in the company of hoodlums, then getting her back where she belonged would be oh-so-much easier.

Already he’d wasted too much energy on this little endeavor. Time to bring the brat back home, where she belonged.

Once there, he’d see to it that she never ventured off again.

CHAPTER TWELVE

ROWDY WASN’T MOVED by Alice’s statement. Avery was special. Did Alice think that was news to him? Not being obtuse, he’d already come to that realization all on his own. He didn’t know what to do about it, or what it meant to him, but he’d known enough women to see that Avery was very unique.

Not knowing what else to say, he asked, “Where is Marcus?”

Alice’s smile fell. “He’s at home, in bed. Pepper and Logan are with him.”

Rowdy liked how she stressed the word home. It gave him a warm feeling inside, especially since he’d never really had a home of his own. “Everything okay?”

With his thick arm around Alice’s shoulders, Reese said, “She needed to get out, and she won’t leave Marcus when he’s awake, so we waited for him to go to sleep.”

“He sleeps through the night?” Following Reese’s lead, Rowdy went to Avery and put his arm around her. She stiffened up from head to toe, but she didn’t move away.

Probably because she didn’t want to cause a scene.

Course, that hadn’t stopped her from zinging the dirty bar cloth at him.

Reese lifted a brow over Rowdy’s possessive hold, but didn’t comment on it. “We worried about that, but Marcus pretty much just conks out.”

“Maybe he finally feels safe,” Avery offered.

Cold alcohol kept Rowdy’s shirt sticking to his chest. He’d find a creative way to get even...but not tonight.

Tonight he intended only for Avery to sleep.

“Could be.” He knew well how difficult it was to catch any real rest when you couldn’t let down your guard. For him it had become a lifetime habit.

Except when he’d slept with Avery.

“Kids are resilient,” Alice said softly. “He’ll be okay.”

Reese gave her a squeeze. “We’ll see to it.”

Customers came to the bar, so Avery excused herself to pour drinks. Alice put a hand on Rowdy, whispered, “Nice catch,” and then went around and found a seat so she could talk more with Avery.

Now that he and Reese were alone, Rowdy asked, “What’s going on?” He knew it took more than Alice needing a break to have the two of them out so late.

Reese ran a hand over his tired face. “The kid’s mother passed away.”

If Reese wanted him to feel sorry about that, he’d be disappointed. “One less obstacle.”

“Yeah, I know.” Reese looked over to his wife. “I’ve never seen Alice so torn. It’s not in her nature to wish anyone ill, but she was relieved. The shit that kid lived through...”

“I know.” Rowdy’s guts burned every time he thought about it. “What’s that have to do with this late-night visit?”

Reese found a wall to lean on. He looked emotionally spent. “We got the call that she’d died.” He flexed his big fists. “Alice insisted on going to the hospital to see her.”