He hadn’t been in a barroom brawl in years, but he hadn’t forgotten how to fight. He stepped in front of the big ugly biker and flattened a hand on the man’s massive chest.
“Put her down.”
Jenny was struggling, calling the guy a few choice names. From the corner of his eye, Cain could see the bartender speaking on the phone, talking madly with his hands, but aside from the phone call, he made no move to help. Cain disliked him immediately.
“I said put her down.”
“Stay out of this, mister.” Ryder’s arm tightened around Jenny’s knees. She was pounding on his back, but Ryder was too big and dumb to feel it.
Cain’s hand balled into a fist. “A smart man would let the lady go.”
“She your woman?”
Cain looked at Jenny, whose fury under different circumstances might have amused him.
“I’m thinking about it. Put her down.”
Ryder set Jenny on her feet. Cain caught her fist before she could throw a punch. “It’s all right. Good ol’ Ryder was just about to leave.”
“I oughta kick your ass,” the biker said to him. But his friends had already left, and his kind didn’t like to fight one-on-one.
“You’re welcome to try,” Cain said mildly.
“Next time,” Ryder said. “I got a long memory.”
“So do I,” Cain said, never breaking eye contact.
The biker’s jaw clenched. Turning, he pushed through the swinging doors hard enough to rock them and walked out of the bar. The minute he was gone, the music and conversation started up again.
“I didn’t need your help,” Jenny said, but he noticed she was trembling. “This is my place. I handle things here.”
“My mistake,” Cain said.
Slightly embarrassed, Jenny blew out a slow breath and raked her fingers through her thick brown curls, pushing them back from her face. “Okay, so maybe this time I did need a little help. Thank you.”
He managed to hold back a smile. “My pleasure.”
“Still, I prefer to handle things myself as much as I can.”
“I understand. I feel the same way.”
“You do?”
“Yes. You did a nice job, by the way. It damn near worked.”
She gave him a tentative smile. “It usually does.” She cocked her head to the side, her gaze running over his big frame. “Next time I need a bouncer, I know who to call.”
He did smile then. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve done the job.”
She looked intrigued, but didn’t press for more. They weren’t on that kind of footing.Yet.
“Buy you a beer?” she asked. “It’s the least I can do.”
“Sounds good.”
Jenny tipped her head toward the bar, where Troy was calling off the law, and Cain followed, then settled himself on an empty stool. “You’ve got Sam Adams on tap. I’ll have one of those.”
She rounded the bar and drew him a beer, set it down in front of him, and drew a glass for herself.
