The buzz had faded some, but Ash’s breath came out in harsh gasps.
And then the Jack stood in front of him, hands on her hips, a bar rag clenched in her fist. Her dark eyes shot fire.
“Damn, you’re like a beautiful avenging angel.” The words tumbled out.
She scowled. “What the hell are you doing?”
Ash stopped struggling. He had to make her understand. “He insulted my sister.”
Her scowl turned into a glare. His chance for help was slipping away. Then he saw a crack in her façade.
A tiny one.
Maybe it would be enough.
She continued to glare at him, giving nothing away. Then she turned to the other hacker.
Blood oozed from the guy’s nose and tears streamed down his face. He wasn’t restrained the way Ash was.
“That true? You insulted his sister?”
The guy gaped like a fish. “What? No. C’mon, I just said she was hot.” Or at least that was what it sounded like.
“Save me from fucking idiots,” the Jack muttered. “Get him cleaned up and out of my bar.” She pointed at Ash’s opponent. “I don’t want to see you in here for two weeks.”
“He started it!”
It sounded more like “He tharted it.” Someone had a broken nose. Good.
“I’m finishing it,” the Jack said.
Ash’s opponent opened his mouth to argue, then snapped it shut when the Jack turned her full attention on him. “Two weeks,” he mumbled in agreement.
“And you.” Ash’s smile faded under her withering gaze. “I don’t fucking care if he grabbed your dick. You don’t fight in my bar.Nobodyfights in my bar!” She spoke loud enough for everyone in the bar to hear.
“Get him cleaned up, then take him to my office,” she directed the man holding Ash. “I’ll deal with him later.”
Was that good or bad? Had he just blown his chance to get the Jack’s help?
“I wouldn’t do that,” the other hacker said through his broken nose. “He’th a hacker. Uthed to be one of the beth.”
The Jack froze. Barely long enough for anyone to notice. But Ash noticed. A side effect of being unable to take his eyes off her. That’s when he knew.
She had secrets.
That familiar tickle of wanting to know them raced through him.
“Fuck.” She cursed under her breath. “Take him to my office and stay with him. Don’t let him go anywhere. Or touch anything.” Her dark eyes gaze met his with that command.
Yeah, she had secrets, all right.
Ash followed the bouncer, the one who’d escorted him out of her office last night, into the Jack’s office. But first they’d stopped at a first-aid room where Ash had cleaned up his hands and realized that he wouldn’t be able to hide the signs of a fight when he returned to Tremaine headquarters.
The pain pills hadn’t kicked in yet and his head throbbed like a sonofabitch.
The Jack stalked into her office, her wrath palpable, and he knew his headache was the least of his worries. She looked like what she was—a dangerous, deadly woman.
“Leave us,” she ordered the bouncer. With a grave nod, the man acknowledged the command and closed the door behind him.
