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Fuck.
He hated this. Hated that she was pushing herself so hard when she had nothing left in her tank.
“Tanner.”
Glancing up, he saw Devon frowning down at him. He didn’t know what his problem was.
Oh. Wait. It might have something to do with what happened last night. Actually, Tanner had his own beef with the owner of Dirty Delights.
“You didn’t protect her.”
Devon gaped at him, looking like Tanner had just socked him in the stomach.
“You’re right.”
Okay, now it was Tanner’s turn to be surprised. He wasn’t expecting Devon to admit that he’d been in the wrong.
“And I feel fucking awful about it. I need another bouncer on during busy nights like last night. But did you seriously have to wreck half my bar?”
“Looks okay to me.” Tanner glanced around. Sure, there were a few missing chairs and tables, but thankfully, it wasn’t as busy tonight.
“Going to cost me money to buy new stuff. Not to mention having to deal with Jake last night.”
“Yeah, he’s a real buzzkill. Can you get me a beer?” he asked.
“Tanner!”
“What?”
“Fuck. I don’t know whether to thank you or strangle you,” Devon said.
“Strangely, I get that reaction a lot.”
“Nothing strange about it,” Devon muttered, pouring him a beer.
Thank God for that. Maybe he’d go away now.
“I don’t want any trouble tonight,” Devon warned.
“There’s not going to be any trouble.”
Devon shot him a skeptical look.
“As long as no one touches her, upsets her, or tries to claim what is mine.” That last part had been aimed at Devon, and he wasn’t even going to pretend that it wasn’t.
“She’s a beautiful girl. Hard-working. Kind. Loyal. But what she needs is someone to take care of her. To ensure she gets what she needs even when she protests. To do what’s best for her. You think you can do that?”
“I know I can.”
“You better.”
“Hey, everything all right?”
Tanner turned to see Lilac standing there, watching them both worriedly. “I’m really sorry about last night, Devon. If you need to take any of the repairs out of my pay, you can.”
“He won’t be doing that, will you, Devon,” Tanner warned.
“Of course I won’t be,” Devon replied. “If I’m going to charge anyone for the damage, it will be him.” He pointed at Tanner.
