CHAPTER THREE
Anton~
She ought to come out that side door. This back lot was set aside for deliveries and employees. Anton still hadn’t made up his mind whether or not he would speak to Miss Serena. Probably scare her half to death if she realized some big stranger was lurking outside in the dark just to get a glimpse of her.
The lot was reasonably well lit. Periodically, the inn’s security guard trotted through it waving his flashlight between the cars. Probably that was okay security for a place like Mystic Bay. Anton was too accustomed to being hyper-vigilant about security. Too used to assessing danger. Of course that wasn’t a bad thing when you worked for a security company. Might be overkill in a tiny town like Mystic Bay.
But even he couldn’t pretend he thought Serena Merryman was in any real danger tonight. That wasn’t why he was out here in the cold. Nope. He just wanted to see her again. Shades of fricking middle school. Anton propped his shoulders against the brick wall, well back in the shadows and hoped the security guard did not spot him. He didn’t want to have to explain to that little bunny shifter what the hell he was doing skulking in the dark.
There were three cars left in the employee lot. Which was hers? He guessed the little blue compact. But there was no way to know. A bit after 2200 hours an SUV pulled into the lot and parked broadside by the door. The driver got out and left the car running. Inconsiderate. He opened the side passenger door before positioning himself by the back door. He waited, legs slightly spread, hands in back pockets, muscles tensed.
Anton assessed him automatically. Slight, kind of ferrety. Was this the little dude he was going to have to go through to get to the mermaid? There he went again. Hadn’t his father and his Uncle Pierre told him that kind of primitive thinking put women off? But the thought of ferret boy holding hands with Serena made him feel primitive. Poor SOB probably wasn’t even connected to Serena.
When it happened, it happened fast. The door opened. Ferret boy reached for whoever was coming out. Serena stumbled forward. Before Anton could get between them, she pivoted on her left leg and drove the heel of her right foot straight into ferret boy’s crotch. Hard. Ferret boy let go of her and fell to the ground clutching his groin.
“Bitch,” he muttered.
The security guard came round the side of the building, and moving faster than Anton would have thought he could, interposed himself between ferret boy and the mermaid. He shone his flashlight right in the ferret’s eyes. Ferret boy groaned and clutched his privates. The guard had a deputy’s badge hanging off his belt along with a small forest of gadgets.
“What’s going on?” the guard squeaked. Anton took a good look. The bunny had been a guest at the reception. Interesting.
“Why don’t you mind your own business, Bunnikins?” Ferret boy rolled away from the light.
The guard moved his arm and kept the flashlight beam right in the ferret’s eyes. “You stay put. You all right, Serena?”
“No thanks to Jerome,” snapped Serena. She was breathing hard and now that the danger had passed she was shaking.
The bunny turned to Anton, who had stepped forward. Bunnikins was a twitchy little fellow with watery blue eyes but he had positioned himself exactly right to control the situation. “You this guy’s backup or what?”
Anton shook his head and took a slow, respectful step away with his empty hands held to the sides. “No, sir. I never saw him before. He was waiting for Miss Serena. Grabbed her as soon as she opened the door.”
Ferret boy rolled onto all fours and tried to get up. The flashlight was nearly as big as the bunny. He stuck it in ferret boy’s back. “You stay put, Bock,” he growled.
Ferret boy collapsed and froze. Probably thought it was a gun. “My name is Jerome Brooks.”
The rabbit snorted. “That’s not what your prints say.”
There was silence for a couple of heartbeats. Serena caught her breath. “What do you mean, Wally?”
“I ran this guy’s fingerprints through the system. Came up with a Dyson Bock wanted for sexual assault in Massachusetts.” While Serena was talking, Wally knelt on ferret boy’s back and secured his wrists behind him with plastic handcuffs. He turned back to Serena. “How would he know you were working late?”
“This is all a misunderstanding,” said Bock smoothly. “I came to pick you up, Serena. Your dad and I flipped for it.”
The light over the door showed Serena’s pretty lips drawn tight. “Well, Dad didn’t tell me. What the heck did you grab me for?” Her voice shook.
Wally turned his head. “You got a reason to be out here, Sergeant?”
So the bunny knew who he was, even in civvies. That didn’t surprise Anton. It was obvious the rabbit was a cool-headed lawman. “I was just getting a little fresh air, sir.”
“Hmph. You see what happened?”
“Pretty much. Bock here grabbed Miss Serena when she came through the door. She kicked him where it would do the most good. His car’s right there, ready for a snatch. He didn’t say squat.” Anton made his report. “Miss Serena, if you need a ride home, I’d be happy to provide one. Minus the grabbing.”
“You want to press charges, Serena?” asked the guard.
“You bet, Wally.” She looked at Anton. Those green eyes made his heart skip. “I’d appreciate a ride, if it’s no trouble.”
The security guard held out his hand to Anton. “Walter Babcock,” he said.
He had to stoop a little to take Babcock’s but he managed. “Anton Benoit.” He gave his full name even though he suspected Babcock knew precisely who he was. “It’s a pleasure, sir.”
“You’re one of Rutherford’s Marine buddies, aren’t you?”
“You might say so. Although we didn’t meet until we were both discharged from the service.”
“Well, Benoit, I don’t see as Miss Serena would be any better off going home with some strange hunter rather than this Bock.”
This was the first time he had been treated to that particular West Haven insult. Not that calling a bear a hunter wasn’t right on the mark. “You’re right.” Anton fished his car keys out of his pocket and held them out to Serena. “You take my pickup and I’ll pick it up in the morning, or you drive it back if you still don’t have a vehicle.”
“You’d let a stranger drive your truck?” Serena asked wide-eyed.
“We aren’t fated to be strangers,” he said.
Coming soon!