Kat Martin - Against the Storm

Clyde “The Mountain” Thibodaux hailed from New Orleans. Big, bald and tattooed, he was bare-chested beneath his leather vest. A small black goatee clung to his chin.

Lenny Finks, known to his fans as Lenny the Sphinx, was the nerd of the group. Skinny and homely, with kinky auburn hair, he was the talent behind the act, the guy who wrote the music, though Trace refused to call it that. Lenny was harmless, except for the viperous tongue he used to lash at the group’s critics. He was a necessary component and the reason for the group’s unbelievable success.

Bobby himself was as tall as Trace, about six-two, and as lean and solidly built. Having taken years of martial arts, Bobby thought he was a tough guy. Trace flicked a glance at the bruises on Shawna Jordane’s beautiful face, clamped down on a surge of anger and wished he could show him ex-Ranger tough.

Instead, he tipped back his white straw cowboy hat, shifted in his chair and sipped his coffee, his gaze fixed on Bobby, who swaggered over to Shawna’s table, his friends close behind.

“Hey, babe.”

“Hello, Bobby.” Her voice held the faint edge of fear.

Bobby turned a hard look on the man beside her. “So…Evan…you wanted me to come down here so we could have a little chat. Is that right?”

The lawyer, a slender man with sandy brown hair and intelligent eyes, sat up a little straighter in his chair. “I was hoping we might be able to make some progress in the matter of your divorce,” he said.

Bobby shifted, his legs splayed in a belligerent stance. “You get my wife to file for divorce and you want me to come here so we can talk?” Reaching out, he grabbed Evan by his red-striped power tie and hauled him to his feet. Shawna screamed and Trace went into action.

Tossing Lenny out of the way like the skinny little runt he was, he reached out and grabbed hold of the back of Bobby’s black, silver dragon T-shirt. Trace spun him around, waited an instant for Bobby to throw the first punch, then ducked and nailed him solidly in the jaw. Bobby went down like a sack of wheat, his head hitting the wooden floor with a melonlike thump that had his eyes rolling back in his head.

“You son of a bitch!” Clyde’s blunt, meaty hands balled into fists as he lumbered forward, swinging a roundhouse punch meant to send a man to his knees. Trace ducked, turned a little and threw a straight-from-the-shoulder blow that sank four inches into the big man’s stomach. Clyde grunted, doubled over, and Trace took him out with an uppercut to the chin.

Blood gushed from his nose and Clyde flew backward, knocking over a table and sending the surprised older couple scrambling out of the way. It was exactly the kind of thing Evan Schofield had hoped to prevent when he had hired Trace.

“Sorry, buddy.”

Evan held up a hand. “Not your fault. I should have known this wouldn’t work.” He grinned. “Besides, it was worth it to see Bobby get what he had coming.”

Shaking off the ache in his hand, Trace reached down and picked up his cowboy hat, settled it once more on his head. Lenny stood next to Bobby with his mouth gaping and his eyes wide. “Y-you shouldn’t have done that.”

“You don’t think so?”

“Bobby…Bobby’s gonna be really mad.”

Trace chuckled softly. “If you’re smart, you’ll get him out of here before somebody calls the police. He doesn’t need any more trouble.”

Evan pulled out Shawna’s chair. “Let’s go.”

She rose shakily to her feet and turned to Trace. “Thank you, Mr. Rawlins. You have no idea how good that made me feel.”

A corner of his mouth edged up. “Oh, I think I do.”

Shawna turned and started walking, but before she had reached the door, a camera flashed, capturing her retreat. Then the photographer turned toward the man moaning softly on the floor. The camera flashed again and again, taking photos of Bobby Jordane that would be wildly embarrassing to a guy with an ego as massive as his.

Trace inwardly cursed. The redhead. Just as he’d figured, they were nothing but trouble.

Striding toward her, he reached out and jerked the camera from her hands, turned it around and deleted the last series of digital photos.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing? You can’t do that!”

“Nice camera,” Trace said. Walking over to the lunch counter, he handed it to Betty Sparks, the owner of the café.

The sexy redhead raced along behind him. “Listen, whoever you are—that’s my camera! You can’t just—”

“I just did. And you can have it back as soon as they’re gone.” Trace tipped his hat to the redhead and her friend, a tall, svelte brunette a year or two older. “Have a nice afternoon, ladies.”

Turning, he strolled out of the café.

“Did you see that? Oh, my God!” The brunette’s attention followed the man who strode down the sidewalk outside the window. “Who was that gorgeous hunk?”

Maggie O’Connell’s gaze jerked toward the window just as the tall, lanky cowboy in the white straw hat disappeared from view. “What are you talking about? That bastard just ruined my pictures. Bobby Jordane and his estranged wife? You know how much photos like that are worth?”

Maggie turned at the sound of a groan, saw the guy with the kinky hair—Lenny the Sphinx, his fans called him—help Bobby to his feet. Clyde the Mountain swayed upward until he was standing. Wordlessly, the small group staggered toward the door.

Maggie looked longingly at the lady who held her camera, but the older woman just shook her head.

Maggie sighed. She wouldn’t be getting photos of Bobby Jordane sprawled on the old plank floor, beaten to a pulp. Not today.

“I hate to remind you, but you aren’t the tabloid type,” said her best friend, Roxanne De Mers. “You didn’t come here to take pictures. You came for a late lunch with a friend. It just turned out to be a little more exciting than we planned.”

Roxy swung back to the window, watching the rap stars as they made their way to the long white limo waiting out front. “I wonder who he was.”

Maggie didn’t have to ask who her friend was talking about. The cowboy was, at the very least, impressive. Tall and lean, with wide shoulders and slim hips, he had thick, dark hair neatly trimmed, golden-brown eyes and a set of biceps that were impossible to miss.

Still, she didn’t appreciate his interference in her business. As the limo door closed, shutting the three men inside, she walked over to the counter to collect her camera, which the broad-hipped woman readily handed back to her.

“So who was he?” Maggie asked, nodding toward the window. “The Lone Ranger out there…what was his name?”

“You a reporter?”

“I’m a photographer. Mostly I do outdoor shots. I just saw an opportunity and took it—or tried to.”

“Sorry it didn’t pan out.”

“Me, too. I can always use a little extra money.”

“Name’s Betty Sparks,” the woman said. “Me and my husband, Bill, own this place.”

“Nice to meet you, Betty. I’m Maggie O’Connell. You make a great burger.”

“Thanks.”

The woman, who was in her late fifties, with a cap of short, curly gray hair, tipped her head toward the door. “His name’s Trace Rawlins. Owns Atlas Security. He’s a private investigator.”

Walking up beside Maggie, Roxanne sighed dramatically, a hand over her heart. “I think I’m in love.”

“The redhead’s got a better chance,” Betty said. “Trace has a weakness for ’em.”

“No, thanks. I don’t do cowboys.”

Betty chuckled. “If I was twenty years younger, I’d dye my hair.”

Maggie laughed. “How much do we owe you?” She walked over to the purse hanging on the back of her wooden chair and started digging for her wallet.