Page 53 of Locke

Delilah tutted, wrapping her arm around mine. “I don’t see how it’s complicated when he ate you out on the bar, just fine, and led you to his room. The guys here are great, Emmie. You need to give the guy a chance. He might be a little crazy around the edges, but the men around here take care of their own. Especially Locke.”

A knot formed in my throat when she led me inside. “How do you know that? That all these guys are good? A background check can only go so far. I’m sure they have some pasts that aren’t on record.” I kept my voice calm and as I spoke, made sure it didn’t waver. I didn’t even look Delilah in the eye, to show my reluctance as I said it because part of me knew that wasn’t the case.

Delilah sighed, understanding the weight of my words. “Emmie, you’re right. But these guys are different. They fight to survive, not to hurt. We’ve all been through hell and back, and each of us has our own story. I can tell you that Locke is a good person. He’s got the scars to prove it, but they’re battle scars earned for the sake of our community. He’s a fighter, just like you.”

I tilted my lip into a smile.

Delilah squeezed my shoulder, her voice lowered. “Emmie, I know you’re worried, but I’ve been around these guys long enough to trust them. They’re good, I promise. Besides, Locke has been looking out for us since we got here. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him. He took me in and gave me a home when Ihad nowhere else to go. I trust him with my life.” Delilah’s eyes watered.

Damn it, I was fighting it. I was fighting it; hard.

But why wouldn’t Locke tell me his name, last night? Was it really because he was trying to be mysterious? The entire night was a whirlwind full of booze, music and let’s face it, me being horny.

Maybe I was being a little—rough?

But still, I had my family to think about, and if I did not pursue Locke I needed to find another job.

“You ready for this? Ready for some sparring?” Delilah waved me closer to the ring. Two men were already in position. Their knees were bent and their arms out in front of them, until one of them leaped and attacked the other.

It was brutal. Sweat was already covering their bodies, blood was coming out of one man’s nose. Grunts, growls and even scratches marred one person’s back.

This wasn’t the typical sparring I usually saw in a gym.

“Damn,” I muttered under my breath.

“Yeah, pretty cool, huh?” Delilah puffed out her chest. “I love seeing them rip each other apart. You should see my man. He really likes to make noises and dig into them.” She rubbed her hands together.

Jesus.

“Hey! It’s my favorite RV tires customer!” Hammer shouted from the other side of the gym. He waved and ran toward us.

I think I am his only RV tires customer.

“Damn, you really do look just like—” Delilah swatted him in the back of the head before he could finish saying anything, and I gaped at her violence. For a thin blonde girl she had quite an arm.

“Look like who?” I asked.

Delilah glared at him and Hammer stuttered, rubbing his head. “Ah, uh, well, you really look like Sofía Vergara, the actress, you know, when she was in her 30’s.”

I gaped at him.

I looked nothing like her.

“You know you are right.” Delilah bobbed her head. “She really does.”

“I do not,” I argued back. “Nothing like her, at all.”

“Maybe it’s her skin. They have the same glowing skin.” Hammer patted his cheeks.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, listening to two men grunt in the background until a body slam knocked one out. “Just forget it.”

When I turned around to see who’d won the fight, I found myself not seeing a bloody mess but a male with no shirt, glistening muscles and a smirk that really looked good between my thighs.

Locke—staring down at me.

“Well, hello there, Princess.”

Chapter Twenty-One