Stealing Carmen by Gail Faulkner Page A

who’d dedicated her life to helping others. Her soul was so clean it sometimes hurt him to think about what she would see in him. It hurt, but not enough to keep him from her. Not enough to make him turn away from this.
     
    She needed to believe he wanted her? She would know it for a fact as soon as he got her somewhere he didn’t have to leave or couldn’t be arrested for stripping his woman and fucking her brains out.
     
    Dimly he became aware of hooting and whistling going on around them. Raising his head he happened to be facing the door. There stood Santa dude with his costume in hand. Jack pulled Carmen up with him as he straightened, never taking his eyes off the scowling man.
     
    He knew the other staff were laughing and carrying on about Carmen getting dipped and kissed by Superman. He’d like to enjoy the ribbing but the possible predator in the door was a greater concern.
     
    Letting go of her hair he rubbed her scalp where he’d held her, making sure it was obvious he’d done it and that he’d intended to. His attention remained focused on the door though.
     
    The man matched Jack at six foot three. He was perhaps thirty pounds heavier and most of it wasn’t fat. Jack was lighter than he should be. Lighter didn’t mean weaker, it meant fast in a fight. Both of them were hard men, only one a killer.
     
    Jack had an arm around Carmen. It tightened when she turned to see what he was looking at. The guy at the door smiled but he was looking at Carmen when he did it not Jack. The guy strode toward them.
     
    “Hello.” He nodded at Jack without extending a hand.
     
    “Jack, this is Dr. Harman Berrocko,” Carmen introduced them, but her eyes were swinging back and forth between them as she felt Jack stiffen. “Harman, this is Jack Jones.”
     
    “Are you sure, Carmen?” Berrocko didn’t take his eyes off Jack as he continued. He’d stopped a few feet from them. “Jack Jones is as invisible a name as John Smith. Your new friend is not what he seems, my dear.”
     
    Carmen sucked in a sharp breath at the obvious challenge. Her hand reached for Jack’s other arm, fisting on the suit sleeve as if she could hold him from reaching for a weapon as she stammered at Berrocko, “Oh no, no. I mean… I know but…”
     
    “It’s okay, baby,” Jack assured her in a private tone that Berrocko could hear with no problem. “I’m not spending my first night back home in jail. I promise not to hurt him.” Neither Berrocko nor he had broken eye contact.
     
    “You think you could take me? Seem significantly undernourished, Jones.” Berrocko laughed but it wasn’t a derogatory challenge. “But if she’s that worried, I guess I’d better pay attention. I’ve never known her to be wrong about anything.”
     
    “No, she’s not wrong,” Jack agreed, neither confirming nor denying what she was right about. Seemed Berrocko genuinely respected Carmen’s judgment.
     
    Berrocko turned his attention to Carmen. “Do you need a ride home? I’ve got the Hummer warmed up. We should have no problem with the weather.”
     
    Jack clenched his jaw. The question was directed at Carmen. He wanted to tell the guy where he could stick his Hummer. It certainly took brass balls to offer a ride home to the woman in another man’s arms without including her male companion.
     
    Berrocko was flexing in a civilized way. His challenge wasn’t the macho swords at sunrise. He was much more subtle about it with his urban smile and casual display of tail feathers consisting of expensive toys and implied plush lifestyle.
     
    “Thank you, Harman. I have a ride home,” Carmen assured him smoothly, her hand now resting on Jack’s chest, over his heart. He suspected she was keeping track of his heart rate. That wasn’t the indicator she needed to be concerned about but it was nice to have her hand on him. Jack relaxed, making sure she felt him do it. Her response was the correct one and he appreciated