He turned down a road toward the bar.
They only had a few more minutes. “I’m sorry if that was uncomfortable for you.”
He laughed without humor. “Funny, but Fisher said the same thing to me.”
“Fisher is an ass.” What else had he said to Rowdy? Her heart punched hard at the possibilities.
“Hate to point out the obvious, honey, but he shared your sentiments.”
“No. Fisher and I share nothing.” She reached out to touch him, but without moving, Rowdy somehow made it clear that he didn’t want her to. Crestfallen, she withdrew her hand. “I meant that with Fisher being so hostile... I didn’t know he’d be there.”
“He wasn’t hostile at all,” Rowdy denied. “He cares for you.”
She wanted to scream, No, he doesn’t. Instead she tried a deep breath. “We were never together. Fisher likes to remember it otherwise.” Fisher likes to lie. “But I never cared for him that way.” Not how I care for you. “I guess you could tell that Meyer and my mom wish things were different. They like him and approve of him—”
Rowdy gave another grim laugh.
“Stop that!”
He didn’t even glance her way. “Stop what?”
He’d frozen her out and it hurt. So damn much. “Stop being so condescending, so...cold.”
Rowdy pulled onto the street for his apartment. “You used me, Ave.”
God, how she hated that butchering of her name. But she couldn’t deny what he said. She had used him.
To show Fisher that she wasn’t without resources of her own.
She wasn’t alone, vulnerable.
To show him that Rowdy was not a slouch, and wouldn’t be an easy target. He wasn’t a person who would turn tail and flee the danger.
And that’s what scared her so badly. Fisher didn’t lose. If he couldn’t run Rowdy off the easy way, he just might get rid of him for good.
Rowdy pulled into the bar, then around to where her car was parked.
She stared at him, confused. “What are you doing? We don’t open for two more hours.”
“I figured you’d want to run home to shower or change or whatever.”
“But—” She wanted to talk to him, to reach him. To repair whatever damage had been done...
“I need to go see Marcus.” He reached past her and pushed the passenger door open, a blatant order to get out. “Have to hurry it up if I’m going to get back in time.”
Wow, talk about rejection. Hurt had a death grip on her heart right now. “Rowdy, if you’d let me explain...”
His gaze met hers, and the volcanic emotion there stunned her. “Go ahead, babe. Lie to me. Tell me you didn’t use me.”
Words wouldn’t come. She shook her head, feeling so damned helpless. “I don’t lie.” More than anything, she needed Rowdy to believe that—because no one else had, not even her mother.
Rowdy smirked. “Shoving me under their noses really taught Mommy and Stepdaddy something, didn’t it? Too bad you didn’t clue me in beforehand. I could have unearthed some of my best stories. Like the time I stuffed a human trafficker in my trunk, took him to an abandoned warehouse and taught him the error of his ways with my fists.”
Her lungs compressed, leaving her breathless.
“Or the time I dared a mob boss to shoot me so that Logan could sneak up behind him and get the upper hand.”
She covered her mouth, unable to bear the thought of it. “Stop it,” she whispered.
“Why? You wanted your folks to hear the nitty-gritty. I have some real shit stories we could have passed around the table over fancy finger food. Course, that might not have given you enough time to talk to your mother about her cancer.” He put an arm along the back of the seat and toyed with her hair. “Did you manage to squeeze in any concern, honey? Or were you too busy sticking it to them?”
Chased by heartache, hurt and anger, Avery launched out of the car. It crushed her to know he had such a low opinion of her, making her hands shake as she fumbled in her purse for the keys to her own car, then fumbled some more trying to get the damn door unlocked using the clicker. Tears burned her eyes and blurred her vision.
Once inside, she fired up the engine, then, unable to stop herself, she glanced back at Rowdy. He sat in his car, the engine idling, his cell phone to his ear.
And she knew. He was calling someone to keep an eye on her, to ensure she got home safely.
She deflated with that realization. He was hurting, too; that’s why he’d been so cruel.
But that didn’t make it any easier. Somehow she’d have to make him understand her motives without telling him too much. Regardless of the malicious way he’d just used to get her out of his car, she didn’t have a single doubt what Rowdy would do if he knew the truth about Fisher. Right now he was a disgruntled, wounded bear, but deep down, he was still a protector. He’d been born to it, and for every day of his entire life he’d been fulfilling that duty.
She could have been a stranger on the street, and still she knew he would react on her behalf. It was in his nature, the biggest part of his psyche. God love the man, he was a hero, no matter how nasty he acted right now.
Avery kept staring at him until he’d finished the call and tucked the phone away. He put his car in gear and, with sudden determination, she smiled at him.
That threw him. He paused, his gaze narrowing on her.
She wiped her eyes, lifted her chin and pushed back her hair. Then just to let him know he hadn’t chased her off for good, she saluted him.