No one else at the tables paid attention to the argument, and a group further along the bar just appeared impatient to get their round in. The jackass had his back to them, so they probably couldn’t see what he’d done.
Swallowing fear, I closed the distance to thump on his shoulder. “Leave her alone.”
He swung around to face me, his movements jerky and his forehead dotted with sweat. “What the fuck did you say?”
“She told ye to leave her alone,” another voice repeated from over my shoulder.
My jaw dropped. I peeked around.
Kane stood directly behind me, his body almost touching mine but his furious gaze locked on the customer. My guardian psychopath was back.
How? How did he find me? And why was I so glad to see him?
Kane dropped his chin and linked his gaze to mine. “Get behind me, Lovelyn.”
I slid away and moved to the bar, dragging my focus off Kane for a moment to speak to the woman I’d come to see.
“Molly?”
“Oh my God, you’re Lovelyn?”
I nodded then glanced back to where the customer slurred something at Kane then shoved him. His mistake. In a heartbeat, Kane bounced the guy’s head off the bar then wrenched his arm behind his back. Blood oozed from the man’s nose, and to his squeals of protest, Kane dragged him through the tables, knocking over an empty chair, then marched him across the room and half threw him down the steps, my own pet predator pursuing him out.
I was not attracted to violence. I wasnotattracted to violence.
Coming back to Molly, I tried to settle my face into a calm expression. “What did he say to you?”
“The usual. That he liked my tits and wanted a go on them. Men see bar staff as easy lays. Aren’t you a sweetheart for stepping in? I like how your boyfriend broke his nose. He won’t forget that in a hurry.”
I opened my mouth to reply that Kane wasn’t my boyfriend, more of a recurring problem than a relationship, but that beggedan explanation I couldn’t give. Instead, I perched onto a tall stool. “Do you have a second? It looks like you’re busy.”
Molly glowered at the people further down the bar who cringed back at her fierce expression. “They can wait. Do you have the tablet?”
I handed it over. She frowned at the screen then drew a squiggle across the number pad.
It unlocked. Molly’s eyes brightened.
“I can’t believe that worked. Wait, I’ll do it again but slower so I can tell you the number.”
She did, and this time, I noted the code of three-eight-four-three.
“Thank you.” At last, I could get into Dixie’s systems. Except with Kane here, I couldn’t do it unwatched.
Molly shrugged. “Can I ask what it’s for? Is this to do with Dixie disappearing? Everyone’s been talking about it.”
“I can’t say too much.”
“I get it. I’ll mind my own.” She wrinkled her nose. “Is she okay?”
“I hope so.”
Molly took a deep breath. “Same. She’s the best. When I had ex-boyfriend problems, she gave me the most outrageous ideas for revenge. If it wasn’t for her, I would never have scared him quite so much as I did.”
A presence loomed next to me. Without even peering around, I knew Kane had returned. My whole body tingled with awareness of him.
I wanted to ask Molly all about that story. But more, I needed to know what was on the tablet. Standing, I returned it to my bag and settled the strap over my shoulder. “Next time I see you in the warehouse, I want the details of that revenge.”
She fist-bumped me. “I’ve got you, girl. It’s a promise.”
