Chance didn’t budge.
“She doesn’t know what you’re really doing, does she?” Ethan snapped as his cheeks reddened. “Because if Gwen knew, she wouldn’t be standing with you now, would she? Her father’s fucking guard dog. You think I don’t know? I’ve been watching, I’ve been—”
“Shut up,” Chance gritted out.
She could hear other voices then. Rising and falling from the entrance to Wicked. The cops? Finally.
“And the cops are here,” Lex said, voice mocking. “I’d hoped for a little more one-on-one with this guy first.”
Her heart was racing, her breath heaving, and she was really, really glad the cops had arrived.
Before Chance or Ethan started brawling right in front of me.
She grabbed Chance’s hand. “Come on,” she told him. “Let’s go.” Then she looked at Ethan. “Stay out of my life.” That was the only thing left to say.
She and Chance started walking around the bar. Lex came to her side.
“You can’t trust him!” Ethan yelled. “Do you know why he suddenly looked for you again? Months passed, right, and nothing?”
He’s been watching me…so Ethan knows everything about my life. That terrible twisting in her stomach just got worse. Yes, she’d felt uncomfortable a few times—out in public, not in her apartment. She’d felt as if someone was out there, watching her.
She’d never imagined that the eyes were on her because someone was watching from inside her place. Gwen felt violated. Angry. Scared.
Chance’s fingers tightened around hers.
She kept walking. She wasn’t going to look back at Ethan. She didn’t want to see his lying eyes again. She didn’t want—
“He’s with you because your father paid him to be!”
She shook her head. That was such bull.
Only…
She happened to be looking right at Lex when Ethan threw out that accusation. And Lex…winced.
Why?
Gwen drew up short.
“Gwen, I’m the one who always wanted you…you, just as you are. I didn’t give a shit about your father. He wasn’t going to stop me from being with you, not like he stopped Chance.”
She spun around to fully face Ethan.
“Nothing was going to stop me.” Ethan stood there, glaring at Chance. “So this bastard fed you bull about me. He turned you against me.”
She could hear the thud of approaching footsteps.
“He fed you lies because Chance wanted you, but he couldn’t have you. You were right in front of him, but the guy couldn’t touch you. You got tired of all that looking, but not touching, didn’t you, Chance? You got tired—”
“I touch plenty now,” Chance said, his voice low and cutting.
And Ethan attacked. He snarled and came at Chance with his fists flying.
Chance pushed Gwen back, but Ethan hadn’t been aiming for her. Ethan swung and drove his fist at Chance’s jaw.
Chance didn’t dodge the blow. He could have moved. Could have deflected. Gwen knew what his reflexes were like. Instead, Chance took the hit.
And the cops swarmed. The uniformed men grabbed Ethan and shoved him back.
“That’s the man, officers!” Lex shouted helpfully. “Ethan Barclay! He just assaulted my friend and before you arrived, he confessed to putting cameras in Gwen Hawthorne’s apartment and—”
“Gwen!” Ethan bellowed. He was fighting against the cops. Twisting. Punching. A bad move. A move designed to get him instantly locked up.
She slanted a glance at Chance. His control was back in place and a tight smile curved his lips.
Chance had wanted Ethan to attack. He’d wanted to push the other man over the edge.
“Gwen, I’m the one keeping you safe!” Ethan was yelling even as the cops started hauling him to the door. A bit of assault against an officer—or three—didn’t go over well with them. “You need me! You can’t trust Chance! You can’t!”
But she did.
Or…I had.
Gwen turned and hurried toward the exit. She didn’t want to watch Ethan get dragged away in handcuffs. That scene wouldn’t provide her with any sense of satisfaction. She’d gone to Wicked that day because she’d thought—somehow—the fear would lessen if she faced off against Ethan.
But the fear hadn’t lessened. It had just gotten worse.
She pushed open the door and hurried outside. The cold air actually felt good when it hit her. It was a shock to her system, pushing past her fear and anger.
She stood on the sidewalk a moment. Her hands shaking. Her stomach still knotted.
And she wondered…
Has Chance been playing me?
***
When Gwen ran for the door, Chance immediately started to follow her. Lex grabbed his arm. “No, you see what the cops find in the back. You’re the one with the connection to the lead detective. I’ll take care of Gwen.”
He gave a curt nod and Lex hurried past him.
The cops were there, fighting to subdue Ethan Barclay. It took every bit of Chance’s self-control not to jump into the fray but…
Please, don’t. Gwen’s voice kept replaying through his head. He wasn’t going to break down and let the rage consume him again. He needed to be better, for Gwen. He needed her to see him as more than just some hot-headed SOB.
“Well, well…” A woman’s voice said from behind him and he turned to see Detective Faith Chestang approaching him. “You always do have a knack for finding trouble, don’t you, Chance?”
Faith was in her early thirties, with creamy caramel skin, shrewd eyes, and a killer smile. The woman also had a killer right hook. She’d spent some time on Hawthorne’s security detail, so she and Chance had more than a passing acquaintance—and that was why he’d called her. If anyone would back him up at the PD, it would be Faith.
The fact that the woman owed him a few favors had also been one of the reasons he called her. Chance knew—hoped—she’d give him access to the evidence she collected at Wicked.
“Trouble found me this time,” he murmured and that wasn’t really a lie. “It’s like I said on the phone…” He jerked his hand to a now-still Ethan. “The guy was stalking Hawthorne’s daughter. He had cameras in her house, and I’m betting if you go to his office in the back…” Chance’s gaze slid to the door on the right, the one marked PRIVATE. “I’m betting you’ll find video feeds on his computer.”