Victor (Chicago Blaze 3)

Mia rolls her eyes. “Hey, you guys want to come to Lucky’s with us?”

“Sure,” I say.

“Actually, I can’t,” Lindy says. “I wish I could, though.”

“Oh, you’ve got plans?” I ask her.

She nods silently. It’s unusual for her not to share what her plans are.

“That’s okay, but we’ll miss you, Lindy,” Mia says. “Vic, come by if you want to, okay?”

“Yeah, I will.”

“What are you doing tonight?” I ask Lindy.

“Oh, it’s not a big deal, just…a date.”

A date? I feel…blindsided, like where the hell did this guy come from and why haven’t I heard anything about him? A sudden surge of protectiveness overcomes me, but I resist the urge to question her about him.

People start leaving out the front doors then, and I look around and see that Jonah is leaving with Lily’s family. Lindy and I are following the crowd out and she lets go of my hand.

“Sorry I’m so sweaty,” she says with a small smile, looking up at me.

“I’m sweatier than you are, so don’t worry about it.”

As soon as we get outside, the late October wind starts whipping at our faces. I take off my black wool coat and drape it over Lindy’s shoulders, but she looks down at the ground, back up at me and then laughs.

“I’m so short it almost touches the ground.”

“It’s okay, it’s cold out here.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Make sure you wear a coat tonight.”

She nods. “I usually do in this weather.”

“Well, you’re not wearing one today. And your date may not be enough of a gentleman to give you his.” I can’t keep the jealous edge from my tone.

“I don’t have any coats that I can wear to a funeral.”

I look down at her, a little confused by her statement. “You don’t need to worry about that. Just wear a coat; it doesn’t matter what it looks like.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You have a coat that probably cost more than I make in a month.”

“If I’d known you needed a coat, I’d have been glad to buy you one.”

Lindy laughs again. “Victor, I’d never ask you to do that.”

“I know.”

We arrive at my car, and Lindy takes off my coat as passes it back to me.

“I can’t believe how heavy it is,” she says.

As she gets in the car, I’m thinking about how much I’d enjoy buying her a nice coat. Something warm and tailored for her size. Chicago winters are brutal, and I know she walks to the El Train. Bet that guy she’s going out with tonight won’t give her his coat, and now I don’t know if she even owns a warm one.

I get into the car and look over at her. “So who’s this guy you’re going out with tonight?”

She waves a hand as I start the car and turn on the seat warmers. “It’s not a big deal. His name’s Ryan, and he asked me out when I was working during a concert over the weekend. We’ve been texting.”

I look over my shoulder to check traffic before pulling my car out. “So he’s just a random guy? You don’t even know him?”

“Well, I don’t know him well or anything…”

I cringe. “Lindy, he could be an ax murderer.”

She laughs. “You sound like me.”

“No, I don’t.” I give her a pointed look. “Because you’re going out with him, which you wouldn’t do if you were thinking like me.”

“But what if he’s not an ax murderer? He seems really nice.”

“Ted Bundy seemed nice. Look how that turned out.”

She rolls her eyes dramatically. “Yeah, but look how many guys aren’t Ted Bundy.”

“You can’t be too careful.”

I grip the steering wheel harder, frustrated. This hit me out of left field. Lindy’s so sweet and fun to be around, and with her beautiful smile and eyes, I’m not surprised some random asshole asked her out while she was working. But why did she accept?

“I’ll be texting Ari where we’re going,” Lindy assures me. “She’ll definitely murder this guy back if he hacks me into pieces.”

I let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s not a joke, Lindy. Women get raped, robbed and assaulted every day.”

“I know that,” she says in a sober tone. “I’ll be careful.”

“How can you be careful when you don’t know who this guy is?”

“How does anyone know who anyone is until they give them a chance? Haven’t you ever asked out a woman you didn’t know well?”

I shake my head. “That’s completely different.”

“How?”

“Because those women wouldn’t have been able to stab me and dump my body in a dark alley.”

“I think you’re severely underestimating some women,” she says with a small laugh. “But don’t worry, I’m bringing my pepper spray.”

My blood pressure has completely skyrocketed. I’m picturing sweet Lindy out with some jackass who has his hands all over her. Who drives her back to his place and pressures her into sex. It makes me want to punch my fist through the fucking windshield.