Page 79 of The Bad Girl and the Baby

Regan preened. “Believe me, I’m worth it!”

Darcy huffed out a laugh. She didn’t want someone giving up everything for her. She didn’t want that responsibility. Maybe she was a coward, after all.

At that moment, her cell phone rang and she pulled it out of her bag. Caller ID said it was Matt, and her heart rate increased. She’d been ignoring his calls, but maybe that was just another sign of her cowardice. It was time she grew some balls. Stopped hiding from herself.

“What?”

But it wasn’t Matt who replied. “Darcy?”

“Yes.”

“This is Angie, Matt’s friend. We have a problem.”

“We do?”

“Matt is just about to get into a fight with three of the biggest fucking bikers I have ever seen.”

“Why?”

“Who the fuck knows? Actually, that’s not true, but there’s no time to go into it right now. You’ve got to get over here.”

“I do?”

“He’s not listening to us. But he might listen to you…though maybe not with the amount of scotch he’s had. But I can’t think of anything else right now.”

Shock punched her straight in the gut. “Matt’s drunk?” Somehow, she couldn’t imagine that.

“As a skunk.”

“Where are you?”

“Just around the corner from your place. The Red Lion.”

“I’m on my way.”

“What’s happening?” Regan asked as she got to her feet.

“We need to go rescue Matt.”

“Six-foot-three, SAS-trained, lethal-weapon, Matt?”

“Yeah, come on.” She waved at the waiter as she passed. “I’ll pay my bill tomorrow.” Then she was dragging Regan along the pavement. The pub was only a few streets down. She knew it well; it was all old-world charm and horse brasses, and usually catered to affluent city types. She bypassed the door, because there was a small crowd at the entrance to an alley that ran alongside the pub. She spotted Angie and pushed through the people, then patted her on the shoulder. Angie whirled around then pulled up as she recognized Darcy.

“Your boyfriend is an asshole,” she muttered.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” She tried to make sense of the situation. It wasn’t a fight so much as a scrap. And Matt was right in the middle. Surrounded.

“The police will be here soon. He will get into so much shit for this.”

“Hmm. Not exactly behavior befitting an officer and a gentleman.”

“Actually, it was, really. The biker guy was beating up on his girlfriend. The little blonde over there.” She nodded to where a woman stood, cradling her wrist against her chest, chewing on her lower lip.

Sirens sounded in the background.

“We have to get him away from here,” Angie said. “Gary has gone to get the car, but Matt’s totally ignoring me. Asshole.”

There were three on one. Matt was swinging wildly, but not managing to hit anything. Someone got a punch in on his shoulder, and he was knocked around and straight into one of the others. They grappled. It was messy. Time to put a stop to it.