The Best Medicine (25 page)

Shock

Lauren shrugged out of her winter jacket and hung it on the back of her chair at one of the two wooden tables Scott and Alex had just pushed together. “Ahh,” she said, looking around the bar and gesturing her arms wide for effect, “I never thought I’d miss the smell of grease and tequila as much as I have the last few months. It’s good to be back,” she added with a clap of her hands as she took a seat next to Scott.

Cass stared blankly at her and shook her head. “You’re ridiculous. I can’t believe you wanted to come to Mickey’s for your birthday. You don’t even like this place that much.”

“It doesn’t matter whether I like it or not. It’s the principle of the thing.”

“I’m surprised Mickey even let you back. Didn’t he ban you for life?” Quinn asked.

“He can’t dictate where I can or can’t go. This is a free country. I paid my debt to society.”

A laugh burst from Simone. “Calm down there, Dr.
King. You’re allowed back in a local bar. You’re not leading the Million Man March.”

The table erupted in laughter, and Scott put an arm around Lo before pressing a kiss to her temple. “If my girlfriend wants a dive bar for her birthday, then a dive bar is what she’ll get.” He smiled but his tone grew more serious. “You’re right though. This place makes me want to go home and scrub myself with Lysol.”

Lauren’s face twisted into amused confusion. “Lysol? Don’t doctors have access to industrial strength body wash or something?”

“All right, all right,” Xavier said, interrupting them. “Less talking, more drinking.” He scooted back his wooden chair and made his way toward the bar, returning a few minutes later with three pitchers of beer. “I started us a tab. I figured we could just settle up later.”

They spent the next half hour talking about Lauren’s upcoming internship and Cass’ latest promotion, which Alex seemed interested in hearing all about.
Very
interested.

Lauren pretty much zoned out on what they were talking about, but she did hear Alex tell Cass about his daughter, Nina, and describe his job at Quantico.

“So you’re like a criminal profiler then?” Cass asked.

Alex chuckled. “Well, kind of. That’s not actually the job title though. That’s just what they call it on TV.”

“So what
are
you then?”

“A special agent for the FBI.”

Cass’ mouth hung open for a few seconds and Lauren wondered if drool might start to drip from it. “Do you wear a uniform?”

“She really has no shame,” Lauren said through a laugh.

Scott’s eyebrow shot up in surprise. “And you do?”

Lauren let her small smile answer for her.

“So when do you want your birthday present?” Scott asked, looking like a kid on Christmas. “I’ll give it to you now if you want.”

Lauren grew serious. “Scott, I don’t think the other patrons in this fine establishment have any interest in seeing you naked right now. Not to mention, I’ve already been banned from here once before.”

Scott coughed out a laugh as he looked around. “I actually think there might be a few who would be up for it.”

Lauren’s chastising expression wiped the smile right off his face, but she was laughing inside. No doubt he was right.

“I’ll give it to you after we leave. I’ve just had it for so long, I can’t wait for you to finally have it.”

Lauren wondered just how long he’d had it. It had only been a few weeks since he’d come to her class to win her back.

“Stop trying to guess what it is. Come on, let’s dance.” Scott took her hand and led her to the dance floor. The music was upbeat, but Scott pulled her close as they moved to a melody all their own. “I love dancing with you,” Scott said in her ear before he gave it a nip.

Lauren tightened her arms around his neck. “I love doing just about everything with you.”

And they stayed that way, swaying together without a single care about the world around them. Until Lauren felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to face its source. “Oh. Hi, Mickey.”

The short, round man eyed her warily. “I just wanted to welcome you back. And to tell you not to start any trouble tonight.”

Lauren put a hand on Mickey’s shoulder. “No worries. I’ve got my babysitter with me tonight,” she said as she jerked her head toward Scott.

Mickey cut his eyes to Scott, then back to Lauren. “Okay then,” he replied gruffly before turning around and disappearing into the crowd.

“He’s pleasant,” Scott joked.

“Oh, yeah, Mr. Congeniality, that one. I’m thirsty. Want to head back to the table?”

Scott nodded as he slid his hand to the small of her back. Lauren wasn’t sure why, but she always got a thrill when he did that.

They returned to find everyone at the table. Surprisingly even Tim had come.

“What are you doing here?” Lauren said excitedly as she hugged him.

“I’m here to see the birthday girl. I can’t stay long, but I wanted to at least stop by.”

Lauren wasn’t sure if it was a good idea for Tim to be in a bar, but she appreciated the gesture.

As though sensing her concern, Tim leaned in and whispered, “It’s okay. I have better self-control now.” Then he pulled back and shot her a quick wink.

“Hey, stop trying to put the moves on my girlfriend,” Scott said playfully as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Tim laughed. “I’m not so desperate that I need to steal girls from my baby brother.”

Lauren couldn’t help but notice the way Tim’s eyes cut to Quinn as he spoke.

“Anyway, like I said, I’m only stopping by to say hi to the birthday girl.” Tim wrapped Lauren in a big hug.
“Happy birthday, Lauren.” He released her and looked at both her and Scott. “See you guys soon?” he asked Scott and Lauren.

“Definitely,” Lauren replied.

Tim smiled, said his good-byes, and left.

Lauren glanced around the table and noticed the empty pitchers. “I’ll go get these refilled. I want to say hi to Sam anyway.”

Scott nodded and took a seat next to Alex and joined in on his and Cass’ conversation. Lauren had told Scott that Sam worked here, so she wasn’t surprised that he understood her desire to talk to him. She leaned down to give Scott a quick kiss and then headed to the bar. She squeezed in between two women and waited until Sam came over.

Her eyes ran down the length of the bar in search of him, finally landing on him at the far end. He was talking to another man who was sitting alone.

Lauren knew she was staring but she didn’t care. She took the stranger in: olive skin, navy blue graphic tee strained across an obviously muscled chest, defined biceps leading down to strong forearms, a Georgetown University cap covering wavy, dark hair.
God, Sam had better jump on that.

Sam took a look around the bar. Despite the smile on the stranger’s face, Sam looked uncomfortable. His eyes caught Lauren’s, and he quickly excused himself, making his way toward her with a look of relief on his face.

“Hey, welcome back. How’re you doing?”

“I’m doing well. The better question is how are
you
doing?” Lauren looked around Sam to the man at the end of the bar, making it clear what she was really asking.

“I’m fine,” Sam replied quickly.

“Mm-hm.” Lauren couldn’t help the smile that slid across her face. “Things definitely look fine.”

“Yup. So what can I get you?”

“We’ll take three refills,” she said as she pushed the pitchers across the bar toward him.

“Got it.” Sam set about getting the beer, while Lauren looked back at the stranger.

He must have seen her staring because he waved at her. She looked at Sam, then back at the stranger and raised her eyebrows. The man smirked. That was all the confirmation she needed.

When Sam returned, Lauren wasted no more time. “So who’s your friend?”

“What friend?”

“Oh, you know what friend. Don’t play coy with me, young man.”

“I’m older than you.”

“Insignificant detail. Let’s focus on important things, like who that hot guy at the end of the bar is. He’s staring at you like he wants to eat you alive.”

Sam sighed, putting his hands on the bar and dropping his head. When he looked back up, he seemed . . . sad. “I’ll add these to your tab.”

Lauren got the message. Got it, but didn’t heed it. “Sam, just . . . he wouldn’t want you to be alone.”

“Yeah, well, if that were true he’d still be here.” Sam’s voice wasn’t angry or harsh, just resigned.

Lauren nodded solemnly and watched Sam walk away. She grabbed hold of the pitchers carefully and turned to make her way back to the table. The bar wasn’t
overly crowded for a Friday night, but she found herself having to squeeze her way through some of the tables.

“Excuse me. Can I just sneak by you?” Lauren had stopped as she waited for the person in front of her to scoot his seat in so she could squeeze between him and the table. When she could tell the man either hadn’t heard her or was just being deliberately rude, she shifted the pitchers carefully so she could get a better look at him. Had she been paying less attention to not spilling the beer and more attention to her surroundings, she probably would have known to take a different route before it was too late. A route that didn’t involve running right into Josh and his group of
Animal House
rejects.

“Ha,” Josh laughed in disgust as he looked up at her without making any effort to move. “You’ve got some nerve showing back up here after you pretty much destroyed the place. I’ll have to talk to Mickey about the type of people he lets in.”

A few of his friends laughed, though Lauren wasn’t sure why because his comment wasn’t the least bit funny. She kept her expression even. She wasn’t going to let this douche bag ruin her night
again
. So as much as she wanted to fire back at him—maybe ask him if he was laughing at the size of his dick—she bit her tongue.

She’d been about to turn around and head back toward the way she’d come when he spoke again. “Although I can’t say I mind the view.” He made no effort to conceal his gaze as it ran the length of her. And she could almost feel the filth seeping from his body onto hers.

“You can’t be serious.” Lauren was almost laughing, although inside she felt a raging fire burning within her.
And Josh was only fueling it. “You must
like
it when women kick the shit out of you.”

Josh’s friends laughed again, and the one across from him pointed at Lauren with his eyes wide. “This one’s feisty,” he said with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

“Yes, she is,” Josh answered before turning his attention back to Lauren and lifting his eyebrows into a silent invitation. “Bet you’re a freak in bed.”

“Too bad you’ll never know,” Lauren responded. But as she turned to leave and make her way back to the table, she felt a hand grip her wrist, causing beer to splash out of the pitcher and onto her.

His gaze flew to her newly soaked shirt. “Guess karma’s a bitch,” Josh said on a laugh.

*   *   *

Scott’s chest tightened when he saw the asshole grab Lauren’s wrist. He wanted to rip his arm off his body. In an instant, Scott was out of his seat, his legs moving with an urgency he hadn’t ever felt before. Seeing another man put his hands on Lauren sparked a rage inside Scott that he didn’t even know he had.

He knew what anger felt like. But this wasn’t it. This was something that made him want to put this prick’s head through a window and then wrap Lo up in a fucking cocoon and never let her go.

As he made his way through the maze of tables to get to her, Lauren spotted him. There was an unmistakable confidence in her eyes. It reminded Scott of what had drawn him to her in the first place. Lo was a self-assured, independent woman. One who could take care of herself.

Only she didn’t have to anymore.

In the few seconds it had taken Scott to move through the bar, Lo had pulled her arm away and was staring at the prick, her eyes wide with fury. Clearly, she wasn’t backing down. “That’s the second time you’ve done that,” she said, placing the pitchers on the table. “You’re not a quick learner, are you, Josh?”

And that’s when it clicked for Scott. Josh was the asshole who’d touched her before. And Scott would be damned if he’d get away with it twice.

Josh stood, obviously attempting to use his size to intimidate her. And as he closed the distance between them, invading Lauren’s space, Scott’s arm slid between her and Josh. Scott moved Lo backward gently, creating a wall between her and Josh with his own body. “I think you’d better sit back down,” Scott warned, using every ounce of willpower to restrain himself. “And if I ever see you put your hands on a
woman
 . . . on
my
woman again, I’ll break every fucking bone in them.”

By now, Scott and Josh were the center of attention, the rest of the people in the bar watching them intently.

Lauren put her hand around Scott, her palm resting on his solid chest as she moved to his side. “I got this. It’s okay.”

Josh crossed his arms and chuckled.

Scott turned to Lauren, hoping she saw the sincerity in his eyes as he spoke. “Lo, don’t ever ask me not to fight for you.”

“Lo,” Josh said mockingly. “That’s cute.”

Hearing that douche bag use her nickname flipped a switch Scott couldn’t turn off. Somehow he had been able to control himself until then, but that name held
significance—had emotion tied to it. Josh didn’t deserve to be a part of that. And he most certainly wasn’t allowed to mock it. As soon as the words left Josh’s mouth, Scott’s arm drew back and his fist connected squarely with Josh’s jaw. Caught off guard, the man fell back, holding Josh’s mouth, from which his blood was already flowing freely.

Scott towered over him, silently challenging Josh to stand up, and it didn’t take him long to respond. He rose clumsily, obviously still recovering from Scott’s punch, and tried to return one of his own. But Scott was much too quick for him. He easily dodged Josh’s fist, deflecting it before hitting him once more in the nose.

Though Scott had his eyes fixed on Josh, Krav Maga had taught him to rely on instinct rather than what he saw in front of him. So when Scott sensed Josh’s friends moving in on him, he was easily able to fend them off without much trouble.