Highest Bidder (A Bad Boy Romance)

by Mia Carson

  “It’ll be here in fifteen,” she told him. “What’s with the face?”

  “I just miss them,” he said quietly, but she knew there was more to it than that. “Going to tell me what’s going on between you and Jenson?”

  “I thought you wanted to ask questions about Alec,” she reminded him, grabbing the closet thing she could squeeze to death while imagining Jenson.

  “You’re going to ruin that pillow,” he told her with a crooked smile.

  “Don’t care.”

  “Has he been coming around again?” Sam asked. “Don’t lie to me, sis. Has he?”

  She slouched down on the couch and felt like she was staring at her dad and not her kid brother. “Friday. He came by Friday, and we had an interesting conversation that ended with me threatening him with a wine bottle.”

  “Why the hell didn’t you tell Pueller?”

  “You didn’t notice? Jenson is the new deputy in town,” she spat, tugging at a loose thread on the pillow. “Everyone loves him, and if you recall, no one in this damn town likes your sister. They think I’m a drunk, amongst other things.”

  Sam sighed and walked over to the couch, shoving her feet aside so he could sit with her. “What does Alec think?”

  A grin came unbidden to her face. “He hates Jenson as much as I do—stood up to him Friday night at the bar and got me home in one piece.” She reached out and held Sam’s shoulder. “Get that look off your face. If Jenson comes around again, I’ll deal with it. You’re just supposed to focus on your recovery.”

  “If you say so,” he whispered and rested back against the couch. “Still sucks.”

  “It’s old,” she said, patting the back of the couch. “Give the poor couch a break.”

  “Think we can get a new one soon? I know you’ve been holding onto things for Mom and Dad, but… but I think we can start moving on a little, don’t you?”

  Iris’s chest tightened and she gripped the pillow harder, looking away from her brother. Unshed tears burned her eyes, and she wiped them hastily away, but too late. Sam saw them and tugged her hands away.

  “Iris? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring them up.”

  She sucked in a breath to calm herself and readjusted so she could throw an arm around her brother. He was nearly a head taller than her, but he managed to lay his head on her shoulder. “Oh, kid, we have a lot to talk about. I might as well just tell you all the bad news now.”

  Sitting on the couch, holding her brother close, Iris told Sam everything that had happened since their parents died, every last issue and problem they faced. She didn’t know how he would take it, but she couldn’t handle lying to him anymore, and sooner or later, she knew she’d also have to tell the whole sad story to Alec if she wanted to keep him in her life.

  The gun range would close in an hour, and Alec wiped down the glass counter, watching the front door. There’d been no sign of Jenson so far, and he grinned, assuming the man had chickened out at the last second. He walked around to straighten a few brochures when the doors opened and the damn man strolled in, looking as if he ruled the world.

  “Why, there he is,” Jenson called out loudly. “If it’s not the man who thinks he’s going to own my girl.”

  Alec’s hands tightened into fists, but he forced a smile to his face. “I don’t think Iris would appreciate you saying that about her,” he said sternly. “And I don’t want to own her.”

  Jenson shrugged and rested his hands on his belt. “Whatever you say, doesn’t matter. I’m about to show you up. Where’s the owner? I want to make sure if we do this, we do it right.”

  Alec crossed his arms over his chest and walked forward as August came out of the back room. “You’re looking at him. Welcome to my gun range, Deputy Jenson Drayer, and since you’re such an upstanding citizen of this here town, I’m not even going to charge you. I think the burn from me kicking your ass will be enough payment.”

  Jenson stalked closer, and Alec braced himself in case the man decided to hit him. Since he was a deputy, he wouldn’t hit first, but the second Jenson raised his fist, all bets were off. He had security cameras all over the place.

  “You going to keep talking or are we doing this?” Jenson snarled.

  “August, set up lanes one and two for me. Twenty yards good for you?”

  Jenson raised his lip then leaned back and wiped his nose on his arm. “Make it thirty.”

  “Thirty it is. Care to pick out your weapon of choice? August will make sure they’re set up on the lanes for us,” he added. The idea of Jenson carrying around a loaded gun wasn’t ideal, but he assumed the man wasn’t such an idiot he would turn a loaded weapon on someone. For all Alec knew, he was packing his service weapon, but Alec had his Glock holstered at his lower back, too, tucked in an inside holster and out of sight.

  Jenson peered through the glass at the choice of handguns and nodded in approval. “You have quite a number of choices here.”

  “Anything to keep the customers happy.”

  “That one,” he said, pointing to a Glock 17. “What about you?”

  “I’ll do the same,” Alec said with a forced smile. “Get your gear on, and I’ll take you to the lanes.”

  When they walked to the lanes, August had laid both guns out on the counters, each with a magazine loaded with ten rounds, ready to go. The targets hung between the partitions, waiting to be sent out to the thirty-yard mark. Alec pressed the button as Jenson did so, and both targets zoomed out quickly, fluttering as they went. Once they were steadied, Alec turned to Jenson and smirked. The man’s eyes darted nervously to the target then to the handgun.

  “You have ten shots,” he told Jenson. “Let’s see who the best shooter is.”

  Jenson stepped forward, as did Alec, and both men slid the magazines into their guns. Alec pulled the slide back, raised both hands with the Glock, and aimed down the barrel. He waited to see if Jenson would shoot first, but when he didn’t hear a shot, he pressed his finger against the trigger and pulled. Ten shots later, he lowered his weapon, pulled out the empty magazine, and left the Glock on the counter with the slide open to show the empty chamber. Not all of his shots were dead center, but they all fell within the same spot on his target.

  Beside him, he heard a muttered curse as Jenson pulled the trigger. Ten shots later, Alec heard him set the gun down, and they pressed the button to bring their targets back in to add up the points.

  Alec glanced over at Jenson’s spattered shots and swallowed a cackle. “Not too bad, for a deputy,” he said and pulled his target down.

  He’d barely turned around when the target was ripped from his hands. Jenson grabbed his shirt, pinning him up against the partition. “You think you’re the better man because you shoot better than me? I’m having an off day.”

  “Course you are. You’re sober,” Alec shot back with a glare.

  Jenson’s grip tightened on him, and he spat at Alec’s feet. “You stay the fuck away from Iris, got it? She’s mine.”

  “Does she know that? I'm pretty sure she’s her own woman and she wants nothing to do with you.”

  Jenson raised his fist with a yell. Alec shifted at the last second, and Jenson yelped when his hand hit the hard partition. Alec reached up and gripped Jenson’s hand, still fisted in his shirt, and twisted it until the other man winced and tried to fall back.

  “How about you stay away from Iris?” Alec growled. “She wants nothing to do with you, and if I see you around her again, I’ll take this video to the sheriff and show him just what type of man you are.” His eyes darted to the right, and Jenson’s gaze followed to the small camera and the blinking red light, indicating it was recording. “Go home, Deputy Drayer, and please, feel free to come and practice anytime. I’ll be sure to give you a discount.”

  He shoved Jenson back, and the man stumbled into the wall, holding his hand and glaring fiercely at Alec. “This isn’t over,” he warned and took off out the door to the lanes.

  “Yeah, I figured,
” Alec muttered and shook his head as August walked in.

  “You sure that was a good idea? Roughing him up like that?”

  “Probably not,” Alec said and stared at his target compared to Jenson’s. “At least if he comes after me, I know he can’t shoot straight.” He grinned, but August didn’t join him, and for once, his brother actually looked worried. “I’ll be fine. He’s not going to come after me. He can’t.”

  “Yeah, he can, and you know what’s worse? He can go after Iris,” August said. He picked up the guns to take them to the back room as Alec followed him. Once their head and eye gear were off, August sat down at the table to clean the Glocks. “Listen, I did some asking around while I was out on the town today.”

  “If it’s anything else about Iris, I don’t want to know,” he said, checking over their revenue for the day. “She’ll tell me everything herself when she’s ready.”

  August grabbed a cleaning kit off the shelf and shrugged. “What if it’s not just about her?”

  “Spit it out,” Alec grumbled.

  “Jenson and Iris dated for years—something like three or four, a really long-ass time—and it wasn’t always good,” August said. “A couple of guys used to be friends with Iris and Jenson back in the day.”

  “Yeah, and then her parents died and he poisoned the town against her,” Alec filled in.

  August hesitated and didn’t meet his brother’s eye. “I think it’s worse than that.”

  Alec paused what he was doing and sat down across from August. “Tell me.”

  “Look, all the guys know is a year ago, Jenson tried to get her back. She wasn’t doing well, and I guess he thought she would fall into his arms. He went over to her house one night, and the next day, his friends said his right hand had three broken fingers, all bruised up and smashed. No one saw Iris for a week after that.”

  Alec stood so fast he knocked over his chair and stormed towards the door. August yelled after him and tried to drag him back, but Alec shoved his brother away. He was nearly out the door when August tackled him to the floor to keep him from getting outside.

  “Get off me!” he yelled, but August held on tighter.

  “You can’t go after him, he’s a cop!” his brother argued. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you, but that guy’s dangerous, man, and I really don’t want my brother to get shot.”

  Alec’s body stilled, and after he was sure Alec was calmer, August let him get up. “He hit her,” he growled, his hands fisted so tightly the veins in his arms bulged. “I’m going to repay the favor.”

  “How about you just keep away from them both,” August suggested. “What is it with this girl, anyway? You just met her, and you’re ready to take a bullet for her?”

  “I don’t know,” Alec whispered and stalked around his shop.

  He did know, but his brother would just blame it on Nikki and say he was looking for a rebound, someone to distract him from his broken heart. Since he’d bumped into Iris that first day, though, she’d been the one on his mind. Nikki only crossed it when she called him three times a day, though he never answered. Iris was more messed up than he was, and she needed someone to help her put the pieces back together. Alec didn’t have that when Nikki first ruined his life, which was just a broken relationship.

  What Iris was going through was ten times worse and she had no one, not even the support of the people she grew up with. She needed someone strong to help her, and if he could be that person, then he would do it. Being with her kindled something to life deep within him, a warmth he hadn’t felt in years and wasn’t even sure he’d ever felt with Nikki. There was nothing fake about this woman—not when she was around him—and it was refreshing, for a change, to be with someone who fought so hard to hold onto what was important in her life, even if she faltered now and again.

  But if he messed with Jenson, what was to say he wouldn’t retaliate by taking it out on Iris or even Sam? Alec hung his head as he came to a stop, glaring out the windows of the shop at the empty parking lot. Maybe August was right and he should keep his distance.

  His cell buzzed in his back pocket, and he pulled it out, expecting another pleading message from Nikki, but when he saw Iris’s name, he grinned and his heart lightened. She said she looked forward to seeing him tomorrow after work and thanked him for the lilies. What he wouldn’t give to be with her, kissing her deeply and chasing away her worries about Jenson and the rest of this damn town.

  “Sorry, August,” he said when he faced his brother again. “Guess I’m just attracted to trouble.”

  August’s eyes rolled heavenward, and he muttered under his breath, “Then God help you, you stupid idiot, if Jenson comes after you.”

  “I’ll be ready,” he assured him. “I’m not letting her go. Not this easily.”

  Chapter 8

  The pictures on the wall tilted the second Iris stepped off the ladder, and she grunted, annoyed, as she quickly climbed back up to shift them on their nails again. She swore the walls weren’t square, but Joe assured her that morning it was just her eyes. He’d chuckled and told her he was going out for the day. When she asked to do what, he grinned and held up a tackle box.

  “You’re paying me this much money so you can go fishing?” she’d asked.

  “Fishing is a very important part of my heritage,” he said seriously, but his eyes twinkled and he laughed. “I will return before closing.”

  “I think I can manage,” she’d said, and he left. Six hours had passed since then, and closing time was an hour away.

  Her cell buzzed in her pocket, and she stood at the top of the ladder, glaring at the picture on the right as it tilted slowly again before slipping and falling completely out of place. “Whatever,” she told it darkly. “I’ll fix you, don’t you worry.”

  She checked her cell and grinned at the message from Alec. They had texted back and forth all day, mostly about little things and how Sam was doing. This time, however, he told her what a great view he had at the moment. She frowned and texted back, “What view?” After she hit send, she shoved her cell back in her pocket and leaned forward to adjust the picture when it buzzed again. Giving up on the picture, she checked the message. “It just got better,” she read out loud. “What is he talking about?”

  The bell over the front door chimed, and she glanced up but a large stack of crates on top of the shelves blocked her view. “Be with you in a minute,” she called out as she texted her question to Alec. A few seconds after she hit send, she heard a chime echo somewhere in the shop and her eyes narrowed. “Alec?”

  “Damn it,” she heard him mutter, and his head popped around the shelf. “I meant to turn that on silent.”

  She laughed and tucked her cell in her pocket again, watching him stroll closer from her perch on the ladder. “What are you doing here? Our date isn’t until later.”

  “Ah, so you’re calling it a date now,” he said and leaned back to stare at the pictures behind her. “I think those are crooked.”

  “Thanks, Sherlock. I thought it was the wall.”

  He smiled, and her stomach fluttered at the warmth pooling within her over that damn smile and the light in his rum-colored eyes. “Want some help? Though I must say, I was rather enjoying the view from the front window.”

  “Oh? And what view might that be?” she asked with a raised brow, licking her lips slowly.

  Alec shifted, and his jaw clenched. “Just let me hang the damn pictures for you.”

  “Nope, I got this,” she said and turned back around. She tried readjusting the one on the right again, and when she had it perfect, she leaned back, grinning. “There, see? Just needed a special—damn it! I give up!” she yelled when the picture mocked her by slipping sideways again. Alec chuckled below her, and she stomped angrily down the ladder. “Fine, if you’re so great, you get your ass up there and fix it.”

  He bowed to her and hurried up the ladder. “You just have to give it a little love,” he muttered as he took the picture of
f the nail and rehung it. He let go, and Iris expected it to move, but it remained perfectly straight.

  “I hate you right now,” she grumbled as he climbed down the ladder after fixing the one on the left, too. “Really, passionately hate you. Know how long I’ve been working on those?”

  “Actually…” he said when he reached the floor looking sheepish.

  She smacked his arm, laughing as she did so. “Well, I’m glad you enjoyed staring at my ass for an hour straight.” She walked through the shop, picked up a stack of old books, and moved them to another shelf so they could be seen better.

  “That and your frustrated face—it’s quite attractive how your brow gets all furrowed and your eyes gleam, like you’re going to murder the pictures. I was worried for their lives. Had to step in.”

  Iris hadn’t smiled this much in so long, and she had Alec to thank for it. “Well, I’m sure Joe will appreciate you saving the pictures.”

  “Where is your new boss?”

  “Fishing,” she said, and he laughed with her. “Should be back soon, though, to close up.”

  “Then I guess I’ll just have to keep you company,” he said, and she didn’t have to turn to feel him move closer.

  Iris set the last book down as she sucked in a shaky breath. His presence was comforting and familiar, so familiar after only a few days together that she couldn’t even begin to understand it. She worried she’d fallen for him so quickly simply because it had been so long since someone was this nice to her, or kissed her, but when his arm wrapped solidly around her waist, pulling her back against his hard body, Iris knew the roiling emotions inside her were too complex to be so easily explained. He held her, just held her and breathed her in, and her eyes slid closed. She wanted to stay wrapped up with him forever.

  “How did you manage to come into my life at just the right time?” she mused quietly.

  She felt his shrug as he turned her around so their eyes met. “Been asking myself the same question about you.”