“You can’t let her—”
“Absolutely not.” Pushing the sunglasses to the top of his head, Reese rubbed his unshaven jaw. “Alice asked if she could make it tomorrow instead of tonight, and Cheryl said she’d call back.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes.” Reese saw a small group of women eyeing them. Two of the women had kids with them. The other three were whispering and laughing about...something.
“They’re just flirting,” Rowdy said. “Ignore them.”
So, even though he hadn’t looked, Rowdy knew they were there? Talk about situational awareness....
“Alice is probably going nuts worrying about Cheryl right now. Damn, man, I’m sorry I pulled you away.”
Alice had promised to let him know immediately if she got another call, and other than taking Cash out, she wouldn’t budge from the apartment. “You did the right thing.”
“I don’t know about that. Holding back was not my first choice.”
Reese turned to him with a frown.
Holding up a hand, Rowdy stalled his objections. “You said you wanted it by the book, so I’m trying.” Bracing that hand on the dash, Rowdy turned to fully face him. Tensed muscles showed along his arm, his shoulder. “But now you have to do the right thing, too.”
Reese narrowed his eyes.
“You have to let me check out Killer Designz.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
NEEDING SOME AIR, Reese got out of the car and walked toward Rowdy’s beat-up truck. Was it stolen? No, he didn’t think so. Put to the test, Rowdy was certainly capable of boosting a ride, but he’d only do so if necessary to keep his sister—or probably any innocent—safe.
This wasn’t one of those times.
When Rowdy joined him, Reese said, “How many vehicles do you have?”
“Five. I told Pepper to pick one to drive.” Hands in his back pockets, he gave a small grin. “Logan looked ready to blow a gasket.”
“You weren’t offended?”
“That he loves my sister enough to feel territorial? No.”
Good attitude. “He doesn’t want to change the dynamics of your relationship. He just wants Pepper to have a better life.”
Rowdy laughed. “Save the pep talk, Reese. Logan doesn’t need your help, and I don’t need you to explain things to me.”
Two women walked by, cutting close to them, full of sly looks, their hips rolling in an attention-grabbing sway.
Rowdy smiled at them, said, “Ladies,” and then dismissed them. “So, tell me, Reese. You going to make the smart move here?”
Before he could answer, a dark-haired woman lifted her cell phone and took a pic of them. Rowdy looked her way, and she blew him a kiss. Her girlfriend giggled behind her.
Rowdy just winked.
“Un-fucking-believable.”
With a lift of his shoulder, Rowdy discounted the attention. “Focus, Reese. You need to let me hit up that tattoo place. The ass**les inside have already seen me in the area, so they won’t think I made a special trip to check them out. And even if they’re suspicious, they won’t be after I meet with the chick tonight—”
“Not happening.”
“—at my own damn bar.”
After soaking that in, Reese strolled over to stand in the shade. Cash would probably like this place. He saw other people with dogs, some of them chasing Frisbees. “So you bought it?”
“Yup.” Rowdy sat on the front bumper of the truck and continued to check out the flirting women. “There are drugs at the bar already.”
“Most bars.” Did he dare let Rowdy walk into danger?
“Yeah,” Rowdy agreed, “but Avery says it’s a big problem there.”
“Avery?” That got Reese’s attention.
Rowdy turned away. “She’ll be the new bartender.”
Since when did Rowdy Yates avoid eye contact? “A woman as bartender?”
“Your sexism is showing.”
That was so ludicrous that Reese laughed. “Who is she?”
“I told you. She’s a waitress who will replace the bartender.” Suddenly Rowdy looked struck. “Son of a bitch.”
That whispered curse alarmed Reese. “What is it?”
“I just realized...” He turned to face Reese. “Avery was telling me the women she wouldn’t date.”
“What?”
He waved that off. “Inside joke. She’s not g*y, thank God.”
“Okay.” Where was Rowdy going with this?
“The thing is, she pointed out the smokers and the complainers—and a woman with unusual tats. I didn’t see the tats because, at the time, it didn’t matter to me. But Avery described them as ‘not pretty.’ She said the woman had her calf and her shoulder inked.”
This was getting too close for comfort. “At the bar you just bought?”
“Yeah, and Avery said the drug use there was an issue.” He shook his head, saying in an aside, “I promised her I’d clean that up, but I never imagined....”
“Your bar could be an exchange point.”
Quick to change the subject, Rowdy pushed off from the truck. “The thing is, I’m to meet DeeDee there tonight, and I officially own the place. So this is on me, whether you like it or not.”
Damn it, he hated feeling like things were out of his control. “You know, DeeDee is setting you up.”