She took the sledgehammer, letting out a little grunt when she felt the full weight, but shifted her position, then lifted it into the air and let it crash down on the bar. A smile slowly spread across her face when it splintered with a satisfying crack, then she looked over at him. Before she could take another swing, he handed her a pair of leather gloves and a pair of goggles, then stood back and watched as she demolished the bar with several well-placed strikes of the heavy tool.
When she finally stepped back, chest heaving, cheeks pink, eyes sparkling with pleasure, it took all his control not to sweep her into his arms and kiss her. But he’d promised to go slow, and he wasn’t going to break that promise. Instead, he grinned at her, took the sledgehammer from her hands, and set it aside.
“Told you that it would be fun,” he said. “I bet you feel way better.”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” she said, the big grin still on her face. “But I have a feeling I’m not going to like the next part.”
“You don’t have to help me, I can do it on my own,” he said. “It shouldn’t take me more than a couple of hours, and then maybe we can go have some fun.”
“I helped make the mess, I’ll help you clean it up,” she said, shaking her head. “Then we’ll talk about fun.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Ms. Timmons. No wonder Roger put you in charge,” he said, pretending to be upset. “But you’ve got a deal, let’s get to work.”
It was late afternoon before they swept up the last of the mess and carted it out to the dumpster behind the building. “Well, it looks like an entirely new place,” he said, walking around the empty room. “It also looks much bigger.”
“I don’t think you’ll have any problem renting it,” Rose said, walking over to the window. “Especially once you open the shutters up. There’s going to be wonderful light in here. I can’t believe they had it all closed up like this.”
“It does seem like a waste, doesn’t it?” he asked, then saw that the sun was almost ready to set. “We’ve been at this all day. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Let’s go get something to eat.”
“I passed starving an hour ago, but I didn’t want to stop,” she said, grinning at him. “I’m thinking another one of those cheeseburgers might just hit the spot, but we’re both filthy; we should go home and change.”
“I think I’ll starve to death before then,” he groaned. “But I guess I can wait that long, and I’m buying. You worked hard today, you deserve it.”
“I won’t argue with you,” she said, grinning at him. “But I’m ordering a chocolate shake too.”
He laughed. “I don’t think that will break the bank,” he said. “Come on, let’s go. If we’re lucky we’ll get there before the dinner rush.”
***Rose***
“That’s it, I’m done,” Rose said, throwing her napkin on top of the last of her fries. “I can’t eat another bite, and don’t you even mention the ice cream place down the street.”
Malcolm laughed. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said. “Tonight, I was thinking about the bakery down by the park. They have the best cream puffs you’ve ever tasted.”
“Uhhh, how can you be thinking about more food after that?” she said, shaking her head. “I shouldn’t have to eat for a week after that.”
“Nah, we worked hard today,” he said, grinning at her. “You’ll be starving by breakfast.”
“I will be if you’re cooking,” she said, then couldn’t help the huge yawn that took over. “I think I’m about ready for bed.”
“It looks like it. I’ll get the check,” Malcolm said, waving at the waitress as she passed by. “Just in case I didn’t say it enough, thank you for your help today. It would have taken me twice as long to clean it up without your help.”
“I had fun,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I’ve never demolished something before. It was good therapy, I should be thanking you.”
“What are you thanking him for, sweetheart?” a voice that made Malcolm go completely tense interrupted. “Is he actually buying you dinner for a change?”
“Go away, Thomas, we’re trying to have a nice dinner,” Malcolm said, not looking at the other man. “You’re not wanted here.”
“What’s the matter? Are you afraid I’ll mess up your pathetic attempt to score by telling the little lady the truth about you?” Thomas asked, looking like he was enjoying himself. “Or maybe you already told her all about it, and she doesn’t care. Maybe she’s one of those kinds of women, maybe she’s so desperate she doesn’t mind sleeping with a murderer.”
She gasped, couldn’t help herself, then glanced over at Malcolm, who had gone completely white and looked like he wanted to kill Thomas and prove him right. “It’s not our fault if your people keep running away; cruelty doesn’t breed loyalty,” he said, his voice so calm it was frightening. “My relationship with Rose is none of your business, now move along before you force me to cause a scene.”
“I might enjoy that,” Thomas spat at him. “I’m tempted to call you on that one, but I have places to be. Just know that we’re not far away, we will find out what happened to Diego and Sebastian, and then the Sigmas will pay and pay dearly.”
Thomas turned and strode off, rejoined his table, then stared at them, his eyes full of mistrust and hatred, and she couldn’t help but shiver as she turned to Malcolm. He was staring right back at Thomas clearly not willing to back down even a little bit, but finally had to look away when the waitress dropped the check on the table. Thomas was still glaring at them as they made their way toward the door, and she knew that this was her chance. The door was open like it would never be again, and she had to take advantage of it now.
“Malcolm, what is he talking about?” she asked when they got outside. “I don’t for a second believe that you’re a murderer, but…”
“It’s complicated, there are things about me that you don’t know,” he said, reaching for her hand. “I didn’t kill anyone. I honestly don’t know what happened to Diego and Sebastian. If you want my guess, they were in the wrong place at the wrongtime. But it doesn’t surprise me that they would blame us, we’ve been at war with them since we were freshmen. They’re not good people, Rose. They’re the kind of people who commit murder. They were running a gambling and prostitution ring up until this year. Don’t listen to a word that Thomas says.”
