Drake kind of didn't care. He liked Izzy, more than any other woman he'd ever met. She was the first one to make him really think about settling down.
There was a commotion on the dance floor, raised voices and shouts. Drake stilled, trying to decide if it was bad enough that he needed get up and check on things. If he ever did have kids, they would probably be a lot easier to control than the males in his team now. They were overgrown children who lived on adrenalin and had too much disposable income, as well as very few responsibilities.
When the shouts continued, he gently pushed Izzy aside and stood up to look on the patio. There was a cluster of men grouped not too far away, struggling. Two of the men he recognized from his own team. And the third… No way. Shit. Without a second thought, Drake ran to the courtyard, leapt up the shallow steps and across the few feet to the group. For some reason, he wasn't surprised to see Izzy's wayward suitor in the middle of the group.
Brendon looked up at him and snarled. “Where is she? I demand to talk to her.”
With no hesitation Drake drew his arm back and drove a heavy fist into his jaw, knocking him unconscious. The man crumpled to the floor, unmoving. Blood flowed again from the nose he’d broken earlier.
"Damn, Zero. Overreact much?"
"Fuck!"
Drake didn't say anything as security was called to carry the man away. The rest of the guests were already dancing again, the altercation a minor blip on their radar, probably attributed to the champagne and open bar. Izzy held his arm as they followed the security guards from the scene.
Paul Brookheart stood just inside the door of the resort. He caught Drake’s attention as they entered, glancing pointedly at their clasped hands. “Anything I need to know about, Zero?”
Drake shook his head but told Moose what was going on. Some of the tension eased in the other man’s eyes. “Thanks for filling me in. We’ve had some issues with kooks like him around here.”
That’s right. Morgan, his woman, once had a stalker. Moose had taken care of him.
“I’m so sorry,” Izzy said. “This is a blind date I was set up on for this wedding.”
Drake looked at her sharply. That was news to him. Brookheart seemed relieved. “Okay, Zero. If you need anything, most of my team is out there. Just let us know.”
Drake shook the proffered hand. “Will do. Thanks, Moose.”
With a wink the other man returned to the party.
Once they were away from the noise of the gathering, Drake pulled her aside. “This asshole was a blind date? Are you serious? I thought he was just a date you brought.”
Izzy shrugged. “Kiko set us up. She knew him from a friend of a friend and thought we’d click. He picked me up at the airport last night and took me out for Mexican. He seemed like an okay guy. A little self-centered, but no more than most men. I told him I was tired after traveling all day and he dropped me off at the resort. Ginny had come out early for a last-minute dress fitting and she was waiting for me. After that I didn’t see Brendon until he came earlier this morning for the wedding.”
Drake snorted out a laugh. “A fucking blind date,” he murmured.
Izzy grinned at him. “I have to say this guy was pretty shitty.”
Drake chuckled with her, obviously remembering what she’d hit him with in the break room and took her hand to escort her into the resort. He filled the guards in on what had happened earlier. They seemed aggravated at not having been informed of the previous altercation. Drake shrugged in acknowledgement but not apology, and they moved on. Izzy was asked to fill out and sign a report, which she had no problem doing.
"What will you do with him?"
"The sheriff is on another call," the older guard told her, "but he'll be out as soon as he clears from it. Then he can take him in to sober him up. It seems like he's on something because he can’t be reasoned with at all."
Izzy winced, hoping Brendon would find a way to clean up after this. It had been a bad day for him.
Then she realized what she was thinking. Brendon had attacked her, as well as knifed the man she had connected with—her hero. Though he’d brought she and Drake together, he deserved everything he got.
She looked at Drake now, standing against the wall with his massive arms crossed over his chest. He had dark eyebrows and she wondered for the first time what he would look like with hair.
Then she discarded the notion. He was so sexy the way he was…
They left the room and headed back to the party. There were a couple of men waiting for them, because as soon as they stepped out onto the paver stones they were converged upon.
One younger man with dirty blond hair and laughing blue eyes pounded Drake on the back. "You took that fucker out with one hit, Zero. Dayam..."
Drake didn't say anything, but he curled an arm around her shoulders to keep her from being jostled.
Another man, young but heavily bearded, grinned, his white teeth glinting through the hair. "I was trying to be nice to the poor, stupid bastard, then here comes Zero in to save the day, swooping in like Superman or some shit."
