Armie spotted him, looked him over with concern and said quietly, "I got the ball rolling."

"Thanks." Torn between where he wanted to be and what he wanted to do, he clenched and unclenched his fists. "I can't go anywhere tonight-"

"d.a.m.n right," Stack agreed, his gaze remarkably steady for someone who'd been drinking. "Stay with her. We'll canva.s.s the usual places."

"And ask the usual questions," Denver added. "Anything concrete turns up, we'll let you know."

"Otherwise, you'll hear from me in the morning." Armie flexed his bare shoulders. "If he's anywhere around here, we'll know."

"I want a second pair of eyes on her." Cannon knew his own considerable ability. He could handle just about any physical confrontation. But if Heath decided to start shooting, well, who the h.e.l.l knew what could happen? No way did he want her left alone with the b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

In this neighborhood there were plenty of young guys looking for a fast buck. He'd invested a lot of time and energy into steering them away from drugs and gangs. The rec center helped a lot with that. Some of them had even gotten legitimate jobs-but not all.

When it suited his purposes, Cannon didn't mind using them. He paid, and it kept them from doing something illegal. He would never hand over front-line protection for Yvette, but as backup? As an extra observer?

A win-win for them both.

"So." Armie shoved his hands into his pockets. "You're still red eyed and looking fierce."

Hands on his hips, head down, Cannon admitted the obvious. "I've never been this..."

"Out of control?"

Cannon closed his eyes, dragged in a deep breath of the thick evening air. "I wanted to kill him."

"Yeah, I was there. Saw it." He nudged Cannon with his shoulder. "But won't it be more fun to have the f.u.c.k rot in jail?"

"No."

"Look at it this way," Armie said, never one to quit. "Did you really want Yvette to witness you disemboweling him?"

A reluctant sound, half laugh, half groan, escaped him. "She'd probably act like that was nothing, too."

"Ho. What's this? You wanted her to start bawling and go all hysterical? Because I have to say, I hate that s.h.i.t."

"Ditto," Stack said.

"Same here," Denver agreed.

He cast his frown around at each of them and realized their evenings had been blown, as well. "Sorry."

"For?" Armie asked.

"You all had hookups and now-"

"Not me," Stack said. "I struck out."

They all looked at Denver, but he shook his head. "No."

"What about Cherry?" Cannon had seen her in his lap and just a.s.sumed...

"She flirted with a dozen different guys." Denver looked at Stack. "Including you."

"She was just joking around."

Denver shook his head again and turned to Armie. "I saw you with a top-heavy blonde."

He shrugged. "Either she'll wait or she won't. No biggie." He pointed at Cannon. "But you already got the prize, so why dawdle out here with us? We've got it under wraps."

Cannon locked his hands behind his head and paced in agitation. What did he want?

Yvette, yes. But for how long? Forever?

Probably.

Did he want her to be needy? No. Never that. He loved her strength and independence. But he needed her trust.

He needed her to be herself with him.

"One thing at a time," Armie advised. He leaned in closer so no one else would hear. "And given how you two tongue dueled before the cops showed up, well, I'm thinking she has her own way of coping. Be the hero, man. Get her home and help her cope."

Scrubbing a hand over his face, Cannon laughed again. "Right. Glad I can always count on you to focus on the important things."

"You know it."

Honestly, that was how they dealt, how they kept things in perspective. Regardless of the jokes, he knew Armie would do everything in his power to help, just as Cannon would have done for him. They relied on each other, and had total trust.

Now, if only he could get there with Yvette.

Pulling it together as much as he could, Cannon put in a few calls making arrangements, then asked his own questions of the witnesses. It all came down to the fact that Heath had tried to take her, she'd resisted and the b.a.s.t.a.r.d had gotten away.

Less than ten minutes later Cannon stalked back into the break room. Rowdy was just in the process of giving her a fresh ice pack.

She was in the process of telling him she didn't need it.

"We'll take it with us." Now that he'd done as much as he could, he wanted to get her home.

And then he wanted to clear up a few misunderstandings. The sooner the better.

t he more she thought about it, the more Yvette couldn't believe her own behavior.

Heath had tried to force her into a car.

Cannon had literally mangled him.

And she'd reacted with...l.u.s.t?

The woman who couldn't have a climax. Or rather, couldn't-until Cannon.

But good G.o.d, out in a parking lot with a rapt audience watching, in some cases recording, everything?

Even now, knowing that he only bided his time, that he'd revealed her deepest, darkest hurts to Mindi, she still wanted him.

Desperately.

It made sense. Cannon was a terrific guy, respected by so many. He had a perfect body, honed with strength.

And his face...those electric-blue eyes, thick lashes, sculpted cheekbones and strong jaw.

His s.e.xy smile.

Heat crawled up her neck; she'd totally forgotten herself in that parking lot, all because he'd kissed her without the kid-glove treatment he usually favored.

Thinking about it sent additional warmth throbbing between her legs. And her belly. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Deep in her core.

He'd been consumed with need...for her.

Thank G.o.d no one had asked her to repeat that part of things. She'd gotten by just saying that Cannon was checking on her and that was how Heath had escaped.

It was over and done with now, so she needed to stop thinking about it. Better to sort out the problems.

How had Heath gotten up and left after that beating? Witnesses said he'd driven away. That he'd looked terrible. That his arm was clearly damaged, his nose twisted. One eye swollen shut. Blood everywhere.

And still he'd fled the scene.

She didn't know where Cannon had gone after leaving her in the break room. He didn't say, and he was so distant right now, she didn't ask.

It had been excruciating, leaving the bar. So many people staring. Nearly all of them strangers.

Thank G.o.d Armie had given her his shirt to wear. That at least kept her decently covered, hiding her own ripped shirt. She was also grateful that he'd stopped Cannon from hurting Heath worse. Not that she cared about Heath's injuries, but she didn't want Cannon to have to deal with the aftermath because of her.

She liked everything about Armie-except for his appreciation of Mindi.

She didn't see the attraction. But then, she wasn't male. Men, she found, were difficult to understand.

And thinking of difficult men...she again looked at Cannon. Each lamppost they pa.s.sed briefly illuminated his profile.

Cannon's knuckles were raw, his gaze still deadly.

Driving in utter silence, he repeatedly flexed his hands on the steering wheel. She didn't know if he did that because of anger or because his hands hurt.

He looked...maybe combustible.

Exhaustion, both emotional and physical, left her too numb to calculate the consequences, but at the edges of her mind, she knew it was bad.

All of it.

Too tired to be discreet, she asked, "Are you mad?"

"Yes." No hesitation.

Wow. She'd never seen him in this mood like this. Usually he was even tempered, calm personified, in ultimate control.

Unsure how to deal with him, she bit her lip, then asked, "At me?"

Frown intensifying, he glanced at her, over her, before giving his attention back to the road.

Before he could answer, her nervous chatter erupted. "Because seriously, you know I wasn't leaving, right? I didn't lie about that. I just wanted a breath of air."

"I would have walked out with you."

At that moment, she hadn't wanted him to. When she thought of him talking with Mindi about her, it left her desolate. But going into all that now would only make a bad night worse.

And besides, she had her pride.

If all he wanted was, as Mindi had said, to finish what they'd started, well, she wanted that, too. Somehow she'd make it be enough, and he'd never know that she still carried her schoolgirl infatuation.

Knowing he waited, she came up with the first excuse she could find without opening another vein. "You had fans lined up to see you."

"I get breaks, too." That icy calm tone was worse than a shout. "Or did you think I needed to cater to the fans for four hours straight?"

She winced; the way he said it, it did sound dumb. "I didn't want to be a bother."

He laughed, but it sure as heck wasn't with humor.

"I know." Losing her own grip a little, she levered around in the seat to glare at him. "I ended up being a bigger bother!"

"Don't put words in my mouth."

She ignored that to stress, "I didn't know Heath was still around. I didn't know he was idiot enough to try to drag me off with people all around us. Until tonight, he'd always been a pain, but not a total psycho." He'd escalated into the insanely obsessed role so quickly, she needed time to adjust. "I didn't go off with him willingly, you know!"

Unsmiling, his own temper cracking, Cannon growled, "I thought maybe you went to 'avoid a scene.'"

Until now, until he'd said that, she'd never known him to be a jerk. She couldn't get enough air. Voice strained, she told him, "Yes, I hate scenes, all right? I have good reason and you know it!"

His gaze flickered to her again, maybe with remorse, but she couldn't tell for sure.

"When Heath grabbed me, I wanted to scream." She'd wanted to so badly. She clenched her hands to still the trembling. "But he held me so tight." She saw it all again, felt it again and panic bubbled up. Desperately she fought it back. She would not go hysterical on him. "I could barely even breathe," she whispered. "It felt like he was going to break my ribs-"

Fury bunched Cannon's shoulders, tightened his hands and turned his voice into a snarl. "I should have killed him."

Oh, wow. Speechless, Yvette watched the working of his jaw, the way his right eye twitched. He was even more volatile than she'd realized.

Nervously twining two fingers in the ends of her hair, she considered him, then came to a decision. If it was Heath, or for that matter any other man, she'd be worried at the level of his rage.

But this was Cannon, and no matter what, she always felt safer with him, never threatened.

She understood that his fury was on her behalf. Putting aside any errors in judgment when it came to Mindi, Yvette knew he cared for her-as he cared for everyone. She couldn't bear seeing him like this.