Viper stood there longer than he should have, watching her move through the shop, watching the way the other guys gave her space, because they all knew who she was staying with.
He’d told himself it was for her protection.That was still true.
But as he watched her laugh at something one of the mechanics said, her shoulders easing, her eyes lighting up in a way he hadn’t seen before he realized there was more to it.
He’d brought her under his roof because he couldn’t stand the thought of her being hurt again.Now he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to let her go.
****
The afternoon rushhad finally died down.Mara had started to get used to the rhythm of the repair shop.She liked it here.It was loud enough that her thoughts didn’t have too much room to wander.
“Afternoon, beautiful,” a voice drawled from the other side of the counter.
She looked up from the invoices she’d been filing.A man stood there.He was in his mid-thirties, had a scruffy beard, and sun-leathered skin.He also wore a grin that was just a little too confident.
“Hey,” Mara said evenly, keeping her polite smile.“You here for a service?”
“Guess you could say that.”His eyes raked over her, slow enough to make her skin crawl.“Didn’t know Devil’s Crown hired women now.”
“They hire people who can do the job,” she replied, voice calm.
The man chuckled, leaning forward on the counter.“Bet you do a lot more than that, huh?”
Mara stiffened.She’d dealt with men like this before, the kind who mistook her quiet for weakness.
“I’m sure one of the guys can help you,” she said, reaching for the intercom to call one of the mechanics.
But before she could press the button, the man’s hand shot out, wrapping around her wrist.
“Hey, now,” he said, his voice a low purr.“No need to be shy.”
Mara jerked back, but he held fast, fingers tightening.Her pulse spiked, not out of fear, not exactly, but fury, sharp and bright.
“Let go,” she said, her tone cutting.
“C’mon, girl.Don’t be like that.”
“Now.”
Her raised voice caught the attention of a few mechanics nearby.One of them, Jase, started heading over, brow furrowed.Before he could get there, the sound of a door slamming open cracked through the shop like a gunshot.
Viper.
He stalked in from the back, black shirt dusted with road grit, a brown paper bag clutched in one hand.He’d come to bring lunch.She recognized the shop’s logo on the bag.
The second his eyes landed on her, on the man holding her wrist, everything changed.The look that came over his face was pure violence.
“Let.Her.Go.”Viper warned.
The customer froze.Mara felt it, the shift in the air, the way every man in the shop suddenly stopped what they were doing.
The guy tried to play it off with a laugh.“Hey, easy, man.We’re just talking and...”
He didn’t get the chance to finish.
Viper crossed the space between them in three strides, grabbed the man by the collar, and slammed him into the nearest tool chest so hard that wrenches clattered to the floor.
“You put your hands on her again,” Viper growled, voice low and deadly, “and I’ll break every finger you’ve got.”
