Whatever It Takes by Marie Scott Page B

but he couldn’t let it go. The idea of anyone touching her made him feel crazy jealous but he just had to know who the lucky
bastard was, so he pressed further. “Who was it? High school sweetheart?
Favorite professor?”
    She looked up sharply and studied him. For a moment, he was
sure she was going to tell him to mind his own fucking business but she cracked
a small, rueful smile.
    “Brady Johannes, my boyfriend during my junior year in high
school. First time was after prom and of course, the cops caught us. It was so
fucked up. They dragged us to the police station and called our parents. My
grandmother was so embarrassed she threatened to disown me. As punishment, I
had to spend the summer at a boot camp for at-risk teens. I learned to grow
weed and make a shank out of a toothbrush. Spent the whole summer fighting
fuckin’ assholes who were even bigger goddamn troublemakers than I was.” She
stopped abruptly and blushed as she bit her lip. “Sorry, I picked up the habit
of cursing a lot back then and sometimes, it still slips out. So, that should
give you just a little insight into the life and times of Laurie Donovan. You
should probably throw me the hell out of your house in case it’s contagious.”
    “I’ll take my chances, Angel.” He couldn’t help but laugh,
unsure of which tickled him more—her story or the unexpected curse words that had
spilled out of her pretty mouth. “Did you ever see the guy again?”
    “Yeah, we dated for about a year. Of course, we were much
more careful after that. Then his dad’s company transferred him to Taiwan.
Neither of us wanted a long-distance relationship so we said goodbye. We
exchange Christmas cards every year though. He’s still over there, working for
the same company as his dad. He’s married with two little girls.”
    The way she smiled at the last part convinced Mason she was
happy for her first love and for some reason, he found the fact endearing. He
smiled at her then dared to step close to her again and kissed her forehead.
She blushed and smiled then stiffened at the sound of voices outside the door
and turned as it opened.
    Her anxiety noticeably ramped back up as Joe and Dewayne
came in. Behind them was a guy named Chris who had been hanging around for a
few weeks. The last one in was Brook, his girlfriend—at least, that’s what she
called herself when she wasn’t fucking any guy who looked at her. Dewayne gave
Laurie a nod, and the other two men ignored her as they stumbled toward the
couches. Mason tensed when Brook headed straight for her, looking ready for a
fight.
    “Who the fuck are you?” she demanded.
    “Leave her alone, Brook,” Mason warned her.
    Brook shot him a dirty look and extinguished her cigarette
in what was left of Laurie’s coffee.
    “Oh, you must be a customer. What are you buying? Diet
pills? Yeah, I bet it’s diet pills. Skinny bitch like you, what else could it be?”
    Laurie slid off the stool and looked at Mason, rather than
responding to the question. “I better get going.”
    She turned toward the door but Brook stepped in her path.
She moved closer to Laurie, towering several inches over her.
    “You don’t ignore me, skinny bitch. I asked you a question.”
    “I don’t want to fight with you, so please get out of my way,”
Laurie said, hefting the backpack farther onto her shoulder.
    “Or what?” Brook demanded, giving her a shove.
    Mason made a move to restrain Brook but froze in surprise
when Laurie shoved Brook back. Brook stumbled backward, a shocked look on her
face, and then lunged forward and took a clumsy swing. Laurie dodged Brook’s
fist and landed a single blow to her jaw. Mason couldn’t help but be impressed;
Laurie held herself as if she knew a thing or two about fighting. Brook fell to
the floor, holding her face and wailing. Everyone stared for a moment and then
Dewayne laughed so hard he almost fell off the couch. Laurie glanced back at
Mason.
    “Sorry about your girlfriend,”