“I’m a Rock Chick by default,” Burgundy Rose/Tod said.

“Oh,” I replied, sounding stupid. Well, that explained it.

“I’m Indy’s neighbor,” he went on and stopped swiping my cheek. Thankfully, it was my good cheek, but still.

“Okay.” I still didn’t know what to say.

“What size shoe are you?” he asked, apropos of nothing.

I stared at him then thought it best to answer. “Six and a half.”

“Damn,” he muttered, “I could work those boots.” I kept staring and he kept explaining, giving a flick of his hand to the Rock Chicks. “All the girls share shoes; we’re all the same size.”

“Oh,” I repeated, a little stunned that he might want to borrow my boots. Not that I minded, of course, just that I’d never had a girlfriend (or a g*y boyfriend for that matter) who wanted to borrow my boots.

For some reason, the idea of him wanting to borrow my boots made the weird cold I’d felt since Harvey got hold of me melt clean away.

“Oh well, I can admire them from afar. Not like I haven’t had tons of experience with that,” Tod shared then his head snapped around toward the stage and he muttered, “Shit, gotta go, song’s about over.” He gave me another cheek kiss, another thumb swipe at the lipstick he planted there and then he was off.

I stared at his beaded-gowned back.

Now, seriously, how bizarre was that?

I was still staring when Hector and Lee appeared.

I hadn’t yet recovered from my encounter with the Drag Queen when Hector took my hand in his, firmly in his, and without a word to me or anyone, he walked me out the front door through the parking lot, straight to his Bronco.

I didn’t struggle. My night was way too weird to struggle. I didn’t have it in me. I was just going to let the rest of my night ride out to its conclusion. I figured that was best.

Veronica Mars would have a wisecrack to deliver but I hadn’t yet made it to the Wisecracking Sadie version of my new self. I couldn’t even order shots competently. I was in no position to offer a smart-mouthed remark.

He stopped me at the side of his Bronco with a tug on my hand and then got close. I did a quick scan of the parking lot but there was no sign of Eddie or Harvey.

“Where’s Harvey?” I asked, looking anywhere but at Hector.

“Mamita, look at me.”

I kept avoiding his eyes and started to say, “I should probably –”

When he spoke again, his voice was edging away from gentle. “Sadie, goddamn it, look at me.”

I looked at him. He lifted the hand he still held, got closer and pressed our clasped hands against the heat of his hard chest, mine on the inside.

Oh my.

“You want your friends with you, okay, but right now, we’re goin’ to the Station and you’re gonna press charges against Ricky and Harvey Balducci.”

Oh no I was not.

I tried to step back but Hector’s hand tightened. It didn’t hurt but it sent a message, a message I read and listened to for reasons completely unknown or maybe reasons I didn’t want to know.

“Marty and Donny Balducci won’t get near you, you have my word on that,” Hector went on.

Without a way to retreat, I just shook my head. Hector’s other arm slid along my waist and he brought me closer to his body. So close our bodies were grazing from h*ps to waist to belly.

My entire mind focused on the body grazing.

“Sadie, I’m askin’ you to be smart.”

“I am being smart,” I replied, still thinking about nothing but his body and my body and his body grazing my body.

“Tell me what’s in your head,” he encouraged softly.

What was in my head was that I was still thinking about his body touching my body, how I liked it and I feared it, both of those feelings swirled and agitated and were making me a crazy mixture of scared, confused and excited.

“I need you to let me go,” I whispered, mind getting muddled with panic, my eyes on his throat.

“Sorry?” he asked.

I tilted my head back to look at him. “Please,” I said so softly even I could barely hear it. “Let me go.”

Without hesitation his hand released mine, his arm went from around my waist, I took a step back but he wasn’t ready to let me go completely.

His hand came to the side of my neck to stop further retreat but his body wasn’t close anymore and my fuzzy brain became sharper.

I looked up at him and said in all honesty, “I can’t deal with this now.”

Hector stared at me a second and I had no idea what he saw but thankfully whatever it was made him nod. His hand squeezed me affectionately at my neck.

Yes, that’s right, affectionately.

“We’ll get the other’s statements,” he told me. “Eddie called a squad car, they took Harvey in. You can come in and press charges in the morning.”

I nodded even though I wasn’t going to press charges not in the morning or any time.

Clearly the Balducci brothers weren’t going to leave me alone while they waited for me to play my card but I couldn’t think about what that meant right now. I’d think about it later when Hector’s hand wasn’t at my neck, I hadn’t survived the latest Balducci Brother Attack and I didn’t have five lemon drops and three shots coursing through my system.

I felt his hand loosening like he was going to let go and quickly, before I lost the courage, I asked, “Are you going to get into trouble?” I paused then went on, “For choking him?”

Hector’s head jerked ever so slightly at my question like it surprised him and his eyes narrowed.

He stared at me again for what seemed like a long time then his face cleared and, I could swear, he was fighting back a grin.

“So that’s what’s in your head,” he murmured as if he was talking to himself and as if whatever he thought was in my head pleased him a great deal. I wasn’t going to think about a pleased Hector until later either.

“Well?” I prompted less quickly and a bit more annoyed this time.

I watched him continue to fight the grin as he replied, “I think I might get away with getting physical when I caught Harvey Balducci in the middle of a kidnap attempt.”

I sighed quietly but with relief. Well, at least that was good news.

Then I asked, “Will Daisy get into trouble for attacking him?”

He shook his head. “As far as any of the witnesses were concerned, Daisy Sloan was simply in on the rescue and, maybe, her nails slipped a bit.”