She hissed at him.

He understood instantly, and that would give her some food for thought later. His hand hesitated, then dropped away.

"Tapped out again?" she said, a sneer in her voice. "Isn't that just swell?" With obvious reluctance, she dug into her bag and unearthed two ragged dollar bills. "You're such a loser, Harry."

Harry? Sebastian's frown was entirely authentic. "I'll have some coming in. I got ten on the game."

"Oh, sure, sure. You'll be rolling in it." She gave him her back and, sipping at the mug of beer, scanned the room.

She had Rico's description. It took her less than two minutes to zero in on the man Rico's pal had called Eddie. Eddie was a real fun guy, according to Rico's drinking partner. He was the day man, the one who doled the merchandise out for transport and sale. And, according to Rico, he had a real soft spot for the ladies.

Mel swung her leg in time with the music and made sure she caught Eddie's eye. She smiled, fluttered, and sent out conflicting signals.

To Eddie her smile said: Hey there, big guy. I've been looking for someone just like you all my life.

To Sebastian, who had tuned in to her just enough to keep her from surprising him, it was: Fat, hairless jerk.

He turned and took a look for himself. Hairless, true, Sebastian thought. But it wasn't all fat stuffed into that sleeveless T-shirt. There was plenty of muscle mixed in.

"Listen, honey." Sebastian put a hand on Mel's shoulder and had it shrugged off.

"I'm tired of excuses, Harry. Sick and damn tired. They're all just a crock. You got no money. You lose all of mine. You can't even put fifty together to get the TV fixed. And you know how much I like my shows."

"You watch the tube too much, anyway."

"Oh, fine." She was fired up now, and she swung around to face him. "I work my butt off waiting tables half the night, and you give me grief because I like to sit down, put my feet up and watch a little TV. It don't cost nothing to watch."

"It's going to cost fifty bucks."

She shoved him, sliding off the stool as she did. "You just lost twice that in a damn card game, and some of it was mine."

"I said get off my back." He was getting into it now, almost enjoying it. Maybe it was because he remembered he'd been instructed to push her around a little. "Whine and bitch, that's all you do." He grabbed her, trying to make a good show of it.

Her head fell back and her eyes were bright with defiance.

That…sexy? Oh, yes, very sexy—mouth moved into a pout, and he had to struggle to stay in character.

She saw something in his eyes, very briefly, very powerfully. Mel's heart tripped right up to her throat and beat there like a big brass drum.

"I don't have to take this crap from you." He gave her a good shake, as much to settle himself as for effect. "If you don't like the way things are, you can try the door."

"You better take your hands off me." She made her voice tremble. It was embarrassing, but necessary. "I told you what would happen if you ever hit me again."

Hit her? Good Lord! "Just get your butt outside, Crystal." He started to push her toward the door and found his face pressed against a beefy chest covered in a sweaty T-shirt that announced that its owner was A Hard Driving Man.

"The little lady wants hands off, jerkface."

Sebastian looked up into Eddie's wide smile. Mel was sniffling beside him, really laying it on. Hoping for more even ground, Sebastian rose from the stool so that he and the knight errant were eye-to-eye.

"Mind your own business."

Eddie knocked him back on the stool with one blow. Sebastian was certain he was going to feel the imprint of the heel of that sledgehammer hand on his chest for years to come.

"You want I should take him out and mess him up, sweetheart?"

Mel dried her lashes and seemed to consider it. She hesitated just long enough to make Sebastian sweat. "No." She laid a trembling hand on Eddie's arm. "He ain't worth it." Fluttering, she turned her admiring face up to his. "You're awfully nice. There's hardly any gentlemen left in this world a girl can count on."

"Why don't you come on and sit down at my table?" He put a tree-trunk arm around her waist. "I'll buy you a drink and you can take a load off."

"That's real sweet."

She sauntered off with him. Wanting to put on a good show, Sebastian made as if to follow them. One of the contestants at the pool table grinned and slapped a cue on his palm. Suitably warned, Sebastian skulked down to the end of the bar and nursed his beer.

She made him wait an hour and a half. He couldn't even order a second beer without breaking his cover and was enduring nasty looks from the bartender as he nibbled on peanuts and made the last half inch of his drink last forever.

He'd just about had it. His idea of a good time was not sitting in a smelly bar watching some sumo wrestler paw the woman he'd come with. Even if he didn't have any emotional investment. And even, he thought darkly, if that woman giggled with every appearance of enjoyment every time one of those ham-sized hands rubbed her leg.

It would serve her right if he just strolled out, caught himself a cab and left her to it.

In Mel's opinion, everything was going just fine. Fine and dandy. Sir Eddie, as she called him—much to his delight—was getting slowly and steadily drunk. Not pie-eyed, just nice and vulnerable. And he was doing plenty of talking. Men just loved to brag to an eager woman—especially when they were juiced.

He'd just come into a nice chunk of change, so Eddie said. And maybe she'd like to help him spend a little of it.

She'd love to. Of course, she had to get to work in a couple of hours, and she didn't finish her shift until one, but after that…

When she had him softened up, she gave him a sob story. How she and Harry had been together for almost six whole months. How he ran through money like water and kept her from having a good time. She didn't ask for much. Just some pretty clothes and a few laughs. And now it was really bad, just plain awful, because her TV had broken down. Here she'd been saving up for a VCR so she could tape shows while she worked, and now the TV was on the fritz. Worse, Harry had blown his money and hers on cards, so now she didn't even have the fifty to fix the set.

"I really like to watch, you know?" She toyed with her second beer. Eddie was working on number seven. "In the afternoon they got these shows, and all the women have these pretty clothes. Then they switch me to the day shift and I miss out. I can never catch up with what's happening. And you know…" She leaned forward, confidentially, so that her br**sts rubbed against his forearm. "They got these love scenes on them. Watching them just gets me so… hot."