Hugh raised his whiskey to her. “You wanna play darts, me love, we’re gonna play darts.”

Not only had his accent thickened, it had gotten less sophisticated. She threw her hands up into the air, spilling a little of her wine. “Yay!”

“I’ll be right back.” He left his drink with her and went to see about getting darts as planned, while she leaned against the back wall and used one of the bar mirrors to check on her new friends in the booth.

They were definitely Little Tony’s sort of crew. She could practically smell the garlic on them. And judging by the direction of their gazes, they were sizing her up as well. It kind of terrified her to think that these men might be here to kidnap her and take her back to Rastinelli.

Or worse.

She covered her shudder by having a sip of wine and remembering she was supposed to be tipsy. Then Hugh returned to her, darts in hand, and her thoughts shifted back to the fact that she now had a very dangerous boyfriend. Who was a mother-freakin’ vampire. Let the bad guys come after them.

“Hello, lover,” she purred at him.

“’Ello, angel.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to nuzzle her neck. “They’re watching us,” he whispered into her ear.

She laughed like he’d just said something very naughty. “Mm-hmm.”

“Let’s drop the hint about the parade, then see if we can get them to follow us out.” He leaned away and leered at her before announcing, “And that’s not all I’m going to do to you.”

“You’re a bad man.” She swatted at him playfully, missing on purpose.

Leaving their drinks behind, he walked them toward the dart board and closer to the trio of thugs. “I might be bad, but you’d better be a good girl or I won’t take you to the parade tomorrow.”

She stuck her lip out in a pout. “You promised. I want cotton candy.”

He tossed the darts onto a table, the glow in his eyes positively devilish. “I’ve got something for you that’s even sweeter.”

She bit her lip and did her best to look overcome with desire. Not that hard to do considering she knew exactly what he had for her. “I don’t want to play darts anymore.”

“Brilliant.” He grabbed her hand. “Neither do I, love.”

She bumped the back door open with her hip, and with their hands and arms entangled, she and Hugh spilled into the dark parking lot like a pair of crazed lovers oblivious to the world.

Hugh gestured with a nod. “Over there where the light’s burned out. Against that wall.”

She did a quick scan of the parking lot. “Okay, but I don’t see the sheriff.”

“He’s close. I can smell wolf.”

That was slightly reassuring. She let Hugh guide her to the spot he’d indicated, and then he pushed her against the wall and started kissing her. His hands roamed her body with reckless abandon. The brick was rough on her back, but the soft heat of his mouth made up for it. She gasped at the urgency of his affection. He might be acting, but her moans and writhing were one hundred percent genuine. The man had no idea what he did to her.

His mouth strayed to her ear. “Back door just opened. They’re coming.”

She tensed, her breath coming in gulps. She hadn’t heard a thing.

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered.

Then she caught the sounds of shoes scuffling on pavement, but it was dark and Hugh blocked most of her field of vision. A dark shape moved behind him.

A bottle crashed down on his head a second later, showering them both with shards of glass and drops of stale beer. Before she could scream, Hugh jerked his elbow back and caught one of the thugs square across the nose. He went down with a grunt.

Hugh twisted to slug the second one and Delaney ran, a gut reaction. But not a good one. A hand grabbed her from behind and another hand clamped down on her mouth.

“You’re going with me,” the thug holding her said. “Sorry your boyfriend can’t come with us, but—”

A loud crash was followed by a car alarm going off, and then somehow Hugh was standing in front of her. “You’re not taking her anywhere.”

The thug pulled her to his left, then threw a right hook at Hugh.

Hugh caught the man’s fist and squeezed until bone crunched. The man howled in pain and let go of Delaney, curling his uninjured hand into a fist.

Before he could swing, Hugh shoved the heel of his hand into the man’s solar plexus with such force that the thug went flying into the wall. He collapsed onto the pavement.

“You didn’t leave much for me.” Sheriff Merrow walked toward them.

“Thought you’d be here sooner,” Hugh answered.

“You had it handled.”

“Yes, I did.” Hugh smiled at Delaney, turning her insides to warm, gooey appreciation. “Are you all right, my darling?”

She nodded, not quite capable of speech.

The sheriff walked over and clamped handcuffs onto the unconscious thug who’d accosted her, then he squeezed the walkie-talkie at his shoulder. “I need another squad car at Howler’s.”

Hugh took Delaney’s face gently between his hands. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look pale. I’m sorry he put his hands on you.”

She tried to smile. “I’m fine. A little shaken up, but that went way faster than I expected.”

“Better that way. Less time for something genuinely awful to happen.”