“Why you blowing me off? You think you’re better than me?” The man’s face reddened.
“You seem to be taking offense when none is intended,” Dixie said. “I’m just here with my friends, trying to relax after a hard day at work.”
“I can help,” he said. “I know a great way to let off some steam.” The lecherous smile made his meaning obvious.
“Hey, buddy,” Alex jumped in. “Maybe you’ve had one too many to notice, but she’s said no at least four times. This is a dead end. Time to call it a night, eh?”
“You just want in her pants,” the man said, narrowing bloodshot, watery eyes at Alex.
“Nope. Just looking out for a friend.”
“She’s been eying me all night. Now she’s turning me down? She’s just playing hard to get.” He pawed at her ass, and she slapped him so fast Alex didn’t see it coming. Neither had the man. And not being steady on his feet in the first place, he staggered backward, bumping into a barstool.
“Listen here, bitch,” he snarled. “I don’t care how hot you are. Nobody slaps me.” He grabbed Dixie’s arm, and she winced.
Alex pinched the guy’s elbow in a spot that forced him to let go. It was a police tactic his brother Mitch had taught him. “I’m done fucking around,” Alex growled into the man’s ear. “You’ve got two seconds to pay your bill and get the hell out of here.”
The man lobbed a slow, drunken punch that Alex easily anticipated. With his left hand, he swatted the man’s arm, and with his right, threw a punch of his own. It landed squarely, and the guy went down hard. Alex turned to Dixie to ask if she was all right.
“Yes,” she said, rubbing her arm. “You didn’t have to do that. But thank you.”
Garrett helped the man up and told him to get lost. Having his bell rung must have knocked some sense into him. This time, he took the advice and returned to his friends in the corner.
Alex made sure Dixie got into a cab safely, then walked home alone. Alone was how he did a lot of things. It didn’t really bother him. After Amber, he’d given up on serious relationships. His new MO was to date for a few months and then bail. Have some fun and get out before the hassles started.
He let himself into his condo and thought of the woman across the hall. The hot mom he’d met the other day. While he wouldn’t touch that—between being a mom, married, and a neighbor, she was off limits—maybe it was time he found a new woman to spend exactly two months with.
After icing his knuckles, he slid into bed and into a deep sleep.
CHAPTER FOUR
The next morning, “Sweet Child O’ Mine” blaring from his phone yanked Alex from a REM cycle. Through tired slits, he checked the time. Ten o’clock? Damn, he’d slept in. Caller ID showed it was the firehouse. Still groggy, it took him a second to realize he was on days off. Maybe it was about the LT’s exam.
“Hello?” he said, clearing his voice.
“MacDonald? It’s Captain Reeves.”
“Hey, Cap. What’s up?” Alex threw his legs over the side of the bed and sat up.
“What the hell happened last night?”
“You mean at the fire?”
“No,” Reeves said. “At the bar. Got a complaint this morning that you KOed some guy. Says he’s going to press charges with the police, but apparently also wanted you in trouble at work.”
Alex snapped awake at that news. “What? I barely touched him. He was harassing Dixie, and when he laid hands on her, and threw a punch at me, I punched him back. Once.”
“Well, once was enough. The PD called this morning to figure out which of my guys it was. They asked for your contact info.”
“How’d you know it was me?”
“Are you kidding?” Cap said with a grunt. “You know how rumors fly around here. I heard the story three times before I got to the coffeepot this morning.”
Alex groaned. That sounded about right.
“I gave ’em your number. That’s not the worst of it though.”
Alex figured once he explained his version of what happened, and Dixie and his crew backed him up, he’d be fine. But nowadays, who knew? The guy could sue him civilly for emotional distress or some other bullshit thing.
