“I’ll lock the door, Mo,” I assured.
He scowled some more before he dipped his chin.
I turned my attention to the screen, thus Carla, and called.“Mom and Tex are heading over to your place as soon as they get dressed.Youmight want to call your sitter.”I paused, “And warn her about Tex.”
“I’ll do it in the car.Thanks, Lottie,” Carla called back.
“Don’t mention it.Do you need help back there?”
“Uh…kinda,” she answered.
Yeah, she needed to hit the hospital.
I gave Mo then Smithie a look and headed behind the screen.
We got Carla dressed, I went, grabbed her purse and gave itto her before giving her a kiss on the cheek and a wish of good luck, and thenMo picked her up to take her out to the car.
I trailed them close at Mo’s heels so he’d know I was doingas ordered.
I started to lock the door practically before it was fullyclosed.
When I turned back to the room, I realized it was weird tobe alone.The only time I’d been alone for days was in the shower.
I barely got Carla’s address texted to Mom and my falseeyelashes off to do a full makeup cleanup in order to do a full makeup put onwhen there was a pounding at the door and a shout of, “Mo!”
Well, he didn’t jack around.
I felt my mouth turn up as I hustled to the door to let himin.
He crowded my space to get back in, which meant back toguarding me, and I realized with him, falling in love would probably beincremental.
He’d do things like that, every day.Little ones, maybe somebig ones, but things like that every day that would make me fall more in lovewith him.
Which, taken to its natural conclusion, meant, if we worked,I’d be falling in love with him, little by little, more and more every dayuntil the day I died.
And thatsooooooworkedfor me.
I hid my smile at this thought and quickly backed out of hisspace so I didn’t have the urge to pounce on him (or didn’t give in to the urgeI already had) and didn’t make things harder for him to fight his urge topounce on me.
I moved back to my station.
“I’m surprised you didn’t make Smithie call a bouncer totake Carla out.”
“They have four persons of interest out there.They needeyes on the crowd.”
My head whipped around to him.“Really?”
He dipped his chin.
“New guys?”
“All of them regulars who haven’t been back in a while.Allof them guys who creep the waitresses out.All of them guys who bouncers havered flagged since they started coming.None of them guys who’ve been here sincethe letter was sent.”
I felt a tickle at the back of my neck.
“You think one of them—?”
“I think they’ll have tails tonight and Hawk will have menin all of their houses the minute they leave for work tomorrow morning andwe’ll know.”
