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  “Proper?”

  “Yes, proper. I’m old-fashioned, I know, but I mean it.” She stood by the door and pointed to the hall.

  He approached her and stood too close. She figured from his grin that he had to know he was crowding her and just didn’t care, maybe even liked her discomfiture.

  “I really think you do mean it. But think about it. You’ve got nothing to be afraid of with me. If I were the type of guy to hurt a woman, you’d have no chance of stopping me, anyway. It would already be way too late. Fact is, I would never hurt you or anybody who didn’t deserve it.”

  “I never said you would. I’m not scared. I just don’t want any misunderstandings. I’m not a tease.”

  She didn’t know him well enough to interpret the look he gave her, but his words made her forget her curiosity. “All right. Let me be clear. You should be scared, but not of me. Of Chalk. You need to be careful. Vary your routine. Change up your routes. Stay out of strategic weak points. Watch for ambush points. Guard your flank. Things like that.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “See? That’s why we need to talk. I need to explain to you—”

  “Can’t I just take a class or something?” I can see it now. A class at the local community college: ‘How to avoid your local gangster,’ or ‘Thugs 101.’

  He just laughed. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Now, bolt the door and…” He crossed to the window. “Was that a…No, he’s gone.”

  “What?”

  “It may have been nothing.”

  “You’re just trying to scare me.”

  He stepped up to her again, this time even closer. “No, little one. If I wanted to scare you, you’d know it. And you’d be scared.”

  He was gone before she saw him leave. And while she didn’t understand it, she had to admit that, breathless as she was, scared she was not.

  “It was a tail, but not Chalk himself.” Jeep could tell his report disturbed Tobin more than he’d thought it would, and wondered what he had already heard from other sources. This early morning briefing wasn’t his usual way to start the day, but Tobin seemed to be relying on him more and more for advice as well as muscle. Out in public, Jeep was all short answers, and “Yes, Mr. Tobin.” In the office, it was much more relaxed.

  “Haskell made a tail on the cleaning lady, too.”

  “Mrs. Dodge? And I thought putting Haskell on her to watch her was over the top.”

  “She was in a photo.”

  Jeep nodded. He remembered those pictures only too well. When he had seen Jenny’s face there again, the thrill he had felt, followed by the fear, stuck in his memory like a nail in a two-by-four.

  “So, Chalk is going for the soft targets. We can pull Vinny off the lawyer,” Jeep suggested, referring to another of Sentry’s guards.

  “The lawyer isn’t going to like that. He knows Chalk remembers him from the trial. I don’t blame him for wanting protection.”

  “We going to watch every Tobin employee?”

  “If we have to.”

  Jeep nodded. This was why he continued to work for Tobin. The man might have his faults, but he wasn’t the total jerk some guys might turn into after years of fighting the worst this world had to offer.

  “What I want to know is, how did Chalk rebuild his organization so fast? He just got out. I thought Torino had a good hold on his territory.”

  Tobin grimaced at the mention of yet another of the area’s most dangerous criminals. “The cops found Torino in the county land fill yesterday.”

  “Oh, they did?”

  “Anonymous tip. You were right about Foster being able to find Torino, by the way. Good call. Foster is one of my best investigators but even he couldn’t find any evidence to tie Chalk to it, of course.”

  “But there’s no doubt, is there? There are other criminal operations hereabouts. The Shin family could possibly…”

  “Not in this,” Tobin informed him. “Shin called yesterday and made that clear. We don’t have to worry about them, at least. It’s Chalk all the way. So do you want Foster on the Nearfin girl?” Tobin gave him an odd look. “Or do you want to handle her personally?”

  “Foster is good, but I think I’d better…Why would you put Foster on Jenny?”

  “Foster’s married. She might feel more comfortable with a family man. Less threatened, you know. She’s a very traditional girl.”

  “Nothing wrong with that.”

  “I didn’t say there was. I admire that, in fact. And I don’t want her offended. Or pressured.” Again, Tobin cocked an eyebrow at Jeep. “Or even tempted. You won’t get anywhere with her.”

  “Wanna bet?”

  “If I couldn’t, what makes you think…?”

  “You rushed her. And she knows you aren’t the marrying kind.”

  “And you are?”

  “Why not?” Serious. Considered. Decided.

  Jeep could tell Tobin was appraising him like a pawnbroker looking at a used stereo. “No reason why not, if you really mean it. For some reason, I like that little Jenny. I don’t want her manhandled, or manipulated or hurt.”

  Jeep understood his boss’s comments for what they were: a warning for him to be sure he was willing to not only protect her person, but her heart as well. “Nobody’s going to hurt Jenny in any way. Not Chalk, not me. I know what I’m getting myself into.”

  Another crisp autumn evening and Jenny was walking home again, this time with yet another man. She was as tired of this date as she had been of the last one, just for different reasons. Why, as she walked home by this longer route, could she not clear from her mind the image of the tall bodyguard she had met just three weeks earlier?

  Her date led the way to her door and turned, his hand outstretched, palm up.

  “What do you want, Vincent?” she queried.

  “Your keys. So I can let us in.”

  “You’re not coming in,” she informed him. “You know that from my profile…and your profile said you felt the same way.”

  “I’m not planning to spend the night,” he answered, his tone almost offended. “But you didn’t have your front door locked when I picked you up. That’s dangerous and you need to learn a lesson in safety. I’m going to see to that right now.”

  “Wait just a minute. This is only the first date.” She drew back, rolling her eyes. This wasn’t the first time she had met up with a jerk in that discipline social club. Most of the guys were nice, but some were over the top. “Not on the first date. I hardly know you. I believe in traditional marriage, yes, but not the right of every man to punish every woman he comes across. There has to be trust and love and…”

  “You’re just trying to get out of a well-deserved bottom warming, young woman. Give me your keys and get inside, now.”

  “No! You get out of here, now!”

  “You heard the lady.” The shadow was that of a small mountain, the hand on her shoulder felt like the average elephant trunk, pulling her back away from Vincent…and the voice was Jeep’s.

  Vincent was standing on the first step of her apartment building and still had to look up to look Jeep (who stood on the sidewalk) in the eye. “Thi…thi…I…uh…”

  “I didn’t hear him right, did I?” Jeep had dismissed Vincent from his mind, she guessed as she realized he was addressing her now. “Your door wasn’t unlocked, was it?”

  This wasn’t happening. Couldn’t be happening. Just not possible. “I don’t see how that’s…”

  Jeep looked from Vincent to Jenny, then to the door to the apartment building. “Inside. Everybody.”

  She couldn’t figure out why she didn’t demand they both leave. She ought to. She knew that. But somehow, she couldn’t disobey him. Maybe it was his voice. Or his height. Or the gun in the shoulder holster, almost hidden by his flannel overshirt.

  Once she had unlocked the door, he quickly pushed past her and took his usual tour of the room, then motioned them both in. He pointed to the bathroom door an
d shoved a stuttering Vincent inside it, shutting him in.

  “You’ve got a choice to make, girlie, so make it fast. You’re going to get a spanking tonight. Him or me?”

  “What?”

  “I know all about that club you visit and the dating service you use. I know it’s for people who believe in spanking and I have to say at this moment, I finally understand the draw. There’s nothing I want to do right now in this world more than I want to tan your—”

  She couldn’t help interrupting. “You what? How did you find out?”

  “We’ve been monitoring all your communications, Jenny. Mail, phone, everything. What did you think, that I was going to leave you out here all alone? Without protection? If I had done that, you’d be over this creep’s knee by now, wouldn’t you?”

  “You haven’t been watching me!” Incredulous.

  “Wanna bet?” Smug.

  “You have to be the most—”

  “Make up your mind, girlie. I’m not going to force you, but here’s the deal. Either you agree to take what I give you, or, by gum, I’ll walk out of here right now and leave you to Vincent. Now, what’s it going to be?”

  Her mind was in a whirl. He knew about the spanking social club. He knew about the newsletter and the dating service where she had been trying to meet like-minded men who believed in traditional marriage. Not even her family knew about this side of her life.

  Logic had left the building, but bluster was a faithful friend.

  “You have no right! Don’t you know it’s a crime to read other people’s mail?”

  “You want to talk to me about crime? Chalk will make you think ‘crime!’ Didn’t I tell you to keep your door bolted at all times?” Looking around, he continued, “And where’s the blocking prop I brought you? You should leave it in place whenever you’re home. I don’t even see it.”

  “That was you? You left that thing? I didn’t even know what it was.” Truth be told, it made a great prop for the window when I scorched the green beans yesterday.

  Vincent peeked his head out of the bathroom door, but one look from Jeep had him slamming it again with a yelp. “He’s waiting, Jenny, and so am I. What’s it going to be?”

  “Neither of you.”

  “Wanna bet?”

  “Vincent,” she called. When he came out, she continued, “Both of you! Out! Now!”

  Vincent looked at Jeep but Jeep only had eyes for Jenny. He gave a dramatic shrug of his ox-like shoulders and turned away. “Okay. If that’s the way you want it…” Jenny didn’t like the way she felt as she watched him lumber out the door and close it firmly behind him.

  Uh-oh. Vincent isn’t leaving. I forgot what brought Jeep out of the shadows in the first place. With Jeep gone…“You stay away from me!” Then it struck her, more forcefully than any potential spank from this joker ever could: she had made the wrong choice. The thought of being spanked by Vincent left her cold. He didn’t care about her or her safety. He hadn’t taken the time to monitor her or give her things to keep her secure. Then again, to be fair, it was part of Jeep’s job to watch out for her, she reasoned. Still, she knew for a certainty that a spanking from Vincent would reach her heart about as much as a peanut butter sandwich. Less, in fact. Of all the dates she had gone on from the dating service, there were surprisingly few jerks, but this was definitely one of them.

  Vincent had her by the arm. He made quick work of dragging her over to the couch. “Wait! Wait!” she tried to argue.

  “No arguments. I don’t want to hear it. I’ll decide when you get punished and how. You women need to learn obedience.” His words were so right, but from this man and in this way, they sounded so wrong.

  The door burst open and Jeep filled what had once seemed to her like a rather normal-sized opening. He stood there staring at her and she knew it would be drunken sailor stupidity to send him away again. “You! I choose you! Please help me.”

  She was sure that Jeep didn’t really reach his arm all the way across the apartment to grab Vincent’s collar. As small as the space was, even the super-sized Jeep couldn’t manage that, but darned if she had any other explanation. One glance, Vincent was there, the next glance, a shaky, Vincent-shaped blur was almost detectable exiting stage left.

  Jeep sat down on the couch with her in a disarmingly normal manner, which, of course, made her warier than ever, but despite her misgivings, she found herself relaxing after her moment of revulsion over Vincent. “What are you doing?” she finally asked.

  “I’m getting comfortable.”

  “Why?”

  “To wait.”

  “For what?”

  “For you to get comfortable.”

  “Why?”

  “Are you always this full of questions?”

  “Are you always this evasive with your answers?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never given a spanking before, so I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say. I think I’m safe in saying that whatever it was that numbskull was saying isn’t the right thing, though. It just sounded wrong. Why do you go out with jerks like that, anyway?”

  This can’t be happening. “You want me to explain traditional marriage to you? Now? It’s kind of complex. I don’t even really understand it all myself.”

  “No, no, I don’t want explanations about the lifestyle or anything. I mean why date those jerks? It’s been like a parade of idiots, watching them come and go.”

  “That’s not fair. Tonight was the first one who gave me any trouble. If you’ve seen them all, you have to admit that.”

  “You still haven’t answered my question. Why?”

  She sighed. “I’m ready to meet someone and settle down. I know that what I want may not be for everybody, but it’s right for me. Why date guys who won’t want the kind of life I want?”

  “Any guy would be crazy not to want you.”

  “Some people think this is pretty quirky,” she protested.

  “Quirks and all, I still say any guy would be lucky to get to be with you.”

  “Thanks.” Lame, she knew, but what did you say when someone said something like that to you? Tomorrow she’d think of a hundred responses, but tonight all she could do was let him kiss her.

  He pulled back and cleared his throat noisily. Shaking his head, he scowled at her. “If you’re trying to distract me, you’re doing a good job, but kissing will have to wait.”

  “No, I think we’ve done all the kissing we’re going to do,” she countered.

  “Okay, fine. I guess it’s time to get on to the spanking.”

  “What?”

  “Unlocked door? Security prop?”

  “I know where that is.” She pointed in the general direction of the kitchen window and his scowl grew deeper.

  “Knowing where it is won’t save you. Nothing’s going to save you.”

  What’s he waiting for, she wondered. Finally, she couldn’t just sit there any longer playing this bizarre game of chicken. She blinked first. “Then what are you waiting for?”

  “I’m not Vincent. I’m not going to grab you and put you over my lap. Not tonight. It’s too soon for that. But you did agree to me spanking you…”

  “Oh, now wait just a minute…”

  “You knew my terms. Are you trying to go back on your agreement?”

  She took a moment to consider. “So, you’re waiting for me to…”

  He nodded, so she shrugged. How bad could it be? He was right. She had kind of agreed. She stood and laid herself over his lap, which was something akin to lying over a concrete patio.

  As he raised her skirt, she raised her objection. “Hey! Hold on there!”

  “Your newsletter says that spankings on the bare are best.” He sounded as if he was quoting the latest item on the news.

  “That newsletter is mostly for married couples. On the bare wouldn’t be proper for us,” she countered.

  “At least, not yet,” he agreed hesitantly. And cryptically. What did he mean by…

  “
Youch!” she squeaked as she pitched forward on his lap. “You’re not playing baseball, here!”

  “A little too hard, huh?”

  “I nearly landed on the coffee table.”

  “Sorry about that. The newsletter did say something about longer instead of harder.” He tried again.

  “Hey, keep your hands to yourself,” she chided. “I’ll submit to a spanking, not a groping.”

  “That was a swat.”

  “Could have fooled me.” She could just picture that smug grin on his face.

  “So you want me to spank you harder?”

  At this, she tried to push off his lap. “I want you to let me up. This is ridiculous. I don’t take kindly to being laughed at.”

  He held her tight with his left arm. “I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at myself not knowing how to do this. You have to admit, it’s a new skill. In a fight, I don’t generally have to hold back. It may take a while to learn some control.”

  “Well, you can start by controlling your hand,” she scolded. She could feel how reluctantly he allowed her to push his palm from where it had been resting on her backside a little too long. Skirt or no skirt, it had no business there for more than the second it took to apply the next spank. Which he did. Several times.

  “That any better?” he asked after two dozen hefty swats.

  “Well, that depends on your goal,” she ground out. Her teeth were clenched against the desire to yelp again.

  “My goal is to remind you that you need to lock your door, each and every time you open it. And use that prop. And vary your route to school. And the store. And use different stores. And…”

  “I get the picture! Ouch!” Every item added to his list he emphasized with another set of swats. The sting building in her nether cheeks was becoming intolerable, but on he spanked, even without more items on his list.

  “How am I supposed to know when to stop?” he asked several minutes later.

  “Oh, any time now, I’m sure would be fine,” she panted.

  “No, I mean, I can’t see how red you’re getting. I think I need to at least sneak a peek back there.” He slid his hand up under her skirt but gave her little resistance when she caught at his wrist. She knew if he had wanted to, he could have done anything he liked.