“Actually?” Flynn turned to sweep his gaze over the buzzing bar. Almost absently, he tucked Sierra under his arm. “I thinkthis place is just what I needed.”
“You were incredible, Flynn.” Heroic, really. The way he didn’t wait for reinforcements. He just saw a wrong and stepped into fix it. Flynn took charge. And it was unbelievably sexy. “The way you stood up for Rosalie was amazing.”
“Thank you.” He dropped a soft kiss on her crown. “But helping out one woman isn’t enough. We get new strangers—strangerswho drink too much—every week in season.”
Carlos nodded enthusiastically. “If you’re going where I think you’re going with this, I like it.”
“Well, I’d like to teach a self-defense class. I’m qualified in several martial arts.”
“Your ability isn’t in question. That’s a lot to take on by yourself, though.”
“You just don’t want me sloughing off any of my shifts here.” Flynn grinned. Sierra had never heard him tease Carlos before.From the astonishment blanking their boss’s face, he hadn’t, either.
“True . . .” his voice trailed off, eyes still pinched together a little.
Flynn let go of Sierra to tick off two fingers. “Rafe and Kellan aren’t up to my speed, but they know their stuff. They couldhelp out.”
One of Sierra’s tables, a big one full of couples, paused on their way out the door. “We left your tip on the table, but wewant to give you something, too.” A middle-aged woman with white-blonde hair tucked a folded bill into Flynn’s palm.
“I can’t accept payment for doing the right thing.” Flynn tried to pass it back, but the woman closed his hand around it.
Her husband said, “Consider it blood money. We feel guilty as hell that we sat there, frozen in shock. Guilty that we didn’tdo anything to help. Thanks for being the good guy.”
They filed out the door. Flynn unfolded the bill and his eyes bugged wide to see it was a hundred. “Those people need theirheads examined,” he muttered.
“You did a good thing, Flynn. Why won’t you take the reward you deserve?” Sierra asked.
The hollowness of his laugh shocked her. “I don’t deserve any reward. Trust me. I just want the opportunity to try to helpmore people. To make Bandon safer, so something like this doesn’t happen again. Yeah—I need to do the class.”
“I can help with logistics. Finding a place, getting the word out. I’ll draw you one heck of a flyer.”
“I’ll bet you will. Just don’t put me on it. No men at all. More like a Wonder Woman approach. How kick-ass a woman will feelafter learning to defend herself.”
That sounded about right. The less time and attention Sierra was giving to her fears, the better she was feeling.
Carlos cleared his throat. “Madalena would offer you a space at her school. Probably for free. Lemme talk to her.”
Flynn pushed back from the offer with half-outstretched arms. “It doesn’t have to be free—”
A sharply jabbed finger cut him off. “Yes, it does. Because the class itself should be free, so you can’t have overhead toworry about.”
“Okay. No overhead sounds good, especially if this is just a pipe dream that doesn’t play out.” Bending down a little, loweringhis voice, Flynn asked, “Do you really think anyone would want to come?”
“I do.” The forcefulness of Sierra’s answer surprised her. “Can I be in it?”
“Of course. You’re my number one priority to keep safe.”
Sirens whooped outside. Red and blue lights arced through the window, painting colored shadows on Carlos’s face. “We shouldgo talk to them. Shouldn’t take long. Fifty witnesses saw him manhandle Rosalie, even if she won’t talk. You’ll be in theclear, Flynn. I’ll make sure of it.”
“I’ll be right back.” One hand on her neck—the one with knuckles still oozing blood—Flynn pulled her close for a kiss. Thenimmediately arched back. “You okay? Your pulse is beating crazy fast.”
Adrenaline from fear, shock, and then relief still coursed through her. Along with a little bit of excitement from the wayFlynn used his body. It just gave Sierra chills. “I’m fine. Truly. I can’t think of anyplace I’d feel safer.”
On her way back to hold down the bar, Sierra mulled her oddly intense reaction to Flynn’s idea. It had resonated down to herbones, like the vibrations when a giant church bell rang. A self-defense class sounded perfect. It’d be a perfect piece inher take back her life initiative.
She’d run from Rick because she’d had no idea how to defend herself. In hindsight, that was still probably the smartest courseof action. But Sierra didn’t like how it’d been her only option at the time. It wasn’t just Rick, either. She’d been rolledmore than a few times at foster homes, even in high school.
No more.
Sierra slapped her palm against the side of the cash register, just to hear the thump of affirmation. Okay, it was more ofa sting than a sound, but it felt right.
No more caving to bullies. Watching Rosalie tonight try to dismiss what Leather Guy had done, how badly he’d treated her?That, she decided, was her tipping point. She’d let Rick make her a victim. Her fear kept her one. Her lies and secrecy hadturned into their own weird little prison. Taking back her life meant breaking out.
That was it. Sierra wouldn’t, couldn’t keep the truth, her truth, from Flynn anymore. It’d be a big leap of faith. Especially since her last boyfriend hadn’t turnedout to be who she’d thought at all.
It wouldn’t be that way with Flynn.
Trusting Flynn meant literally trusting him with her life. It was time. She hated lying to him, hated not revealing her trueself. And if she couldn’t do that, what good was it all? What point was there in running away?
It wasn’t just about escaping a bad life.
It was about starting a good one.
Chapter Eleven
Flynn had thought that going into WITSEC would keep him out of jail. But he’d logged more hours over the last
