I pulled in my lips. I was not talking about this with Luke Stark. Ralphie, yes. Daisy, yes. Any Rock Chick, yes. Luke Stark, absolutely not.

I took another sip from my beer and looked anywhere but at Luke.

“Hector didn’t share what happened when he was workin’ with your Dad. We all figure, with the way things are now, you two had a thing. Whatever that thing was, the way you were in the offices that day, it wasn’t on which means it wasn’t on when he was with Natalie.”

I nodded to Luke, knowing, for whatever reason, this didn’t make me feel even a little bit better but, unfortunately, he wasn’t done.

“You know I was there that night,” he told me softly.

My heart tripped, I swallowed then said, “Please, Luke –”

“Never seen a man like that. Felt like it, with Ava, never seen it. He was not happy when you went unconscious and he was less happy when they wouldn’t allow him to stay in your exam bay until you regained consciousness. That’s all he asked, they refused. He lost it, got physical and me and a security guard had to take him out. I figure, after seein’ that, whatever he had with Natalie is shit compared to what he feels for you.”

Somehow, I didn’t know why and I didn’t want to process it at that very moment (especially not with Luke), what he said made my heart hurt more.

“I think I was wrong about finishing the beer. I’m really tired. I’m going to ask Hector to take me home,” I told Luke.

“Sadie –” he started but I slid off the barstool and walked to Hector.

He had his back to me and he was talking to someone I couldn’t see. I got close, lifted my hand to touch his shoulder but I stilled when I heard what the man was saying.

“… a f**kin’ certificate for nailin’ Townsend’s piece.”

Somewhere at the edges of my mind I realized belatedly Hector wasn’t just standing at the bar. He was standing straight, his body rock solid, at the bar.

The man I couldn’t see went on and it also hit the edges of my mind he sounded more than a little inebriated.

The man hooted and practically shouted, “You’re tappin’ Ice Princess ass! Shit! Any time surveillance photos came in of her, we’d fight at the chance to make copies. She was the most jacked off on piece in history. And you’re nailin’ her. Chavez, that makes you a legend.”

Both my hands went to my forehead, my fingers sliding into my hair but I’d barely finished this maneuver when Hector’s fist flashed out, connected and the man went down at Hector’s feet.

Hector didn’t like him down. He bent over, picked him up by his shirt and hustled him backwards until the man slammed against the doorframe to the other room. Hector pulled him away from the frame only to slam him brutally into it again, so brutally, his head cracked against the frame.

“What the f**k!” the man shouted, I came unstuck and ran forward to Hector’s left side. I saw Luke materialize on his right and a man wearing a black, Lincoln’s long-sleeved tee was behind Luke.

Hector didn’t notice us and put his face close to the man’s.

“That’s my f**kin’ woman you’re talkin’ about,” he growled and then stepped back, taking the man with him and slammed him into the doorframe again.

“Hector,” I whispered, putting a hand to his forearm but he didn’t even look at me.

The man put his hands on Hector’s forearms too. “Christ, man, I was givin’ you a f**kin’ compliment!”

Hector did the slamming then getting into his face business again and snarled, “By tellin’ me you jacked off to her picture? What the f**k’s the matter with you?”

“Hector, stand down,” Luke said in a low voice.

“Take it outside,” the Lincoln’s guy put in.

“What’s going on?” Ava asked from behind me.

“Hector let him go,” I ignored Ava and got closer to Hector.

Hector didn’t let him go and the man’s face started getting red or more red.

“Fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d have a shit fit. Christ. I’m sorry, okay?”

Hector gave him a good, old, scorching glare and then stepped back with another solid push while letting go.

Then he turned The Scorch to me and ordered, “Get our shit. We’re gone.”

I thought my best move at this juncture was to “get my shit” and pronto. Which I did.

I grabbed my purse and waved good-bye to Ava and, a bit more hesitantly, Luke. Hector was bent over, nabbing the helmets out from under the table as I saw Natalie walk by, her face pale, her eyes on me. I could swear she mouthed the words, with the barest whisper of sound, “I’m sorry, I was wrong,” and then she hurried away when Hector straightened.

I didn’t have a chance to process this. Hector tossed me my helmet, I caught it, he moved in, his arm curled around my neck and he guided me firmly out to the bike.

“Maybe you should calm down before we get on the bike,” I suggested when we stopped by his motorcycle and he took his arm away.

Hector’s eyes sliced to me. “Next time we go out, I’m not bein’ the nice guy and backin’ down. You’re gonna put on the f**kin’ tank.”

My eyes bugged out.

How did this get to be about me?

“Now this is about me?” I asked.

“You came up behind me, I smelled your perfume. You heard him talkin’ about you. So yeah, it’s about you. This whole f**kin’ thing proves my f**kin’ point,” he shot back.

“That’s very bizarre logic, Hector Chavez.”

“It makes perfect sense to me.”

“Well, perhaps you shouldn’t be seeing me then,” I returned. “Perhaps you should be seeing someone else that people won’t talk about. How about Natalie? I met her tonight at the bar. She seems like a nice girl. No, wait, you’ve already f**ked her!” I yelled.

Hector got close, I could feel his fury, I didn’t have to see it and I retreated until I felt bike.

“Dios mio,” he hissed. “Natalie. That’s why you looked like someone ran over your puppy when you came back to the table.”

“Heck yes!”

“What the f**k did she say?”

“To be careful of you, you were a dawg and that your dawg-ness was not ancient history, like I tried to tell her it was, since you nailed her six weeks ago.”

His hand went up, he tore his fingers through his hair then his hand dropped again to his side.