Watch Me

Dannie had only been working for Mike for a few weeks but her arrival had caused quite the stir. The first time she’d inadvertently interrupted a training session by merely doing her job, she’d been terrified she’d be fired, especially considering how I’d torn into each and every guy who’d focused on her instead of me. I’d found her sobbing in her office and while comforting strange women, or anyone for that matter, wasn’t really my forte, I’d handed the sweet young woman one tissue after another as I’d explained that it’d been a perfect teaching moment and had told her to throw her distraction bombs into the mix whenever she saw an opportunity. I had absolutely no shame about setting my guys up to fail because better they do it in the ring than when they were out on the job.

“We still on for tonight?” I asked.

Dannie blushed and nodded. “Yeah, can’t wait.”

She hurried from the office leaving me with Mike.

“I’m so glad I don’t need to worry about that,” Mike muttered as he flipped through the papers Dannie had given him.

“That?” I asked as I dropped down into one of the chairs opposite his desk.

“You and her,” Mike said as he motioned with his head in the direction of the doorway. “If I have to warn one more guy away from her…” He shook his head. “She’s a kid, for Christ’s sake.”

“She’s twenty-three, Mike.”

Mike stopped what he was doing and pinned me with a hard look. “Mimi’s only a couple years younger than her, Nik,” he responded. “Are you saying I should just invite all those wolves over to meet my baby girl?”

The jump in topic had me hiding my smile. Mike was the ultimate Mama Bear when it came to his kids.

All five of them.

All five daughters.

“No,” I simply said because I was a reasonably smart man.

Mike’s eyes glittered as he tried to figure out if I was messing with him. “That girl is half your age,” he said as he stabbed his finger in her direction.

Since I figured it wasn’t the best time to point out his deplorable math skills, I simply nodded in agreement. “I hear ya.”

Mike paused and looked at me again. Then he muttered “asshole” under his breath. But the sigh that followed along with the loosening of his body was confirmation that my ploy had worked. Mike was and had been my best friend for a long time. We’d entered the military at the same time and been deployed together, so we’d been through shit from the get-go.

“Dannie asked me to show her a few self-defense moves,” I said.

Mike stopped what he was doing altogether. “Is someone bothering her?” he asked. He actually rose to his feet and said, “Are the guys getting too fresh with her? Because I warned them—”

“Settle down, Grandpa,” I cut in. “Despite the little show out there, none of the guys are bothering her. If anything, she’s gained herself a dozen big brothers.”

Mike harumphed. I couldn’t really say anything to that because I’d stretched the truth a bit. Every guy downstairs would protect Dannie with their lives, but I was sure more than a few wouldn’t have minded catching the eye of their new “sister.”

“She just wanted to know some of the basics,” I continued.

Mike settled back down.

“She’s a good kid,” he murmured, going all sullen again.

The fact that he was all over the place wasn’t a good sign. While Mike had a fiery temper when truly roused, he was as steady as they came.

“How are the kids?” Mike asked. Before I could even answer, he said, “Do you remember that time when you called in a panic because Nattie had written all over Maks’s face because their clueless babysitter had thought it was a good idea to hand a five-year-old a package of markers and no paper… markers with permanent ink…”

“Unlike you, old man, I do remember things… especially when they only happened a few months ago. And give me a break, it was my first time handling both of them by myself.”

Mike waved his hand. “Wasn’t… wasn’t that night a special occasion?” The man tapped a pen against the desk like he really was trying to remember.

“Bite me,” I said.

He continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “That’s right, it was Valentine’s Day, wasn’t it? Which means that it was also my wedding anniversary.” Mike paused for effect. “Amelia’s and my twenty-fifth wedding—”

“Does this story have a point?” I asked.

“As I recall, I had to leave my very unhappy wife alone in the five hundred dollar a night hotel room we’d spent months saving up for—”

Understanding dawned. “No,” I said as I quickly sat forward.

“And I believe you told me that you owed me—”

“I’m not doing it,” I said. I shook my head defiantly. “I’m not taking a contract,” I added firmly. “We had a deal.”