Buccaneer (Dane Maddock Adventures) Read Free Page B

stake. Time to sell this baby.”
    “ Ave, what are you doing here? ”
    “ Rodney, what a surprise. ” Avery turned to face her ex-boyfriend and his idiot friends. Now, as ever, she wondered why she ’ d ever consented to a single date with the man , much less four months of dating . Actually, she knew why. She was a lonely girl working in a college full of academics with sticks shoved so far up their... Anyway, Rodney had been a distraction. He was handsome and uncomplicated.
    He was also a bully. She hadn ’ t seen it at first but, once she spotted the signs , she put the brakes on the relationship. In her mind, it was over. Rodney, however, didn ’ t see it that way.
    “ You really shouldn ’ t be coming alone to a place like this, ” he said, folding his thick arms across his chest and smirking. “ Drunk guys everywhere. You never know when you might run into someone with bad intentions. ” He grinned with pride, as if he ’ d made a brilliant joke. Behind him, his buddies , Carl , Doug, and Reggie , guffawed.
    Don ’ t encourage the buffoon, she thought.
    “ I ’ m not alone. I ’ m actually meeting someone. Now, if you ’ ll excuse me. ” She tried to move past him , but Rodney blocked her way.
    “ Meeting somebody? ” Rodney ’ s voice rose an octave as the idiot chorus behind him began to ooh like a bunch of twelve year-olds. “ One of those Einsteins from your work? You ’ d be safer going in there alone. ”
    “ It ’ s none of your business who I ’ m meeting. Now, get out of the way. I ’ ve got an appointment and you ’ re going to make me late. ”
    “ Cancel it. ” Rodney ’ s voice was suddenly cold. “ Me and you should go somewhere and talk. ”
    “ We have nothing to talk about. Now get out of my way. ” She tried to keep her voice calm, but she frustration welled inside of her . She hated this feeling of helplessness. She couldn ’ t make Rodney move and she wasn ’ t about to leave. She couldn ’ t. This meeting was too important.
    “ Watch out Rod. She ’ ll call the cops on you, man, ” Reggie crowed.
    Avery hoped she wasn ’ t blushing. Rodney ’ s father was the sheriff of Bridge County, and his son used that relationship as a shield. Rodney worked as a bouncer at a local club and had abused his position too many times to count. He took pleasure in humiliating, and sometimes seriously injuring, bar patrons. Any other employee would have been terminated, even prosecuted, several times over for such conduct, but everyone tiptoed around Rodney.
    Sick of standing there, s he tried to brush past him , but he grabbed her by the arm and held her tight.
    “ Sorry we ’ re late. ” The strong voice cut across the chatter, and everyone turned to look at the speaker. It was Dane Maddock, followed by Bones and Angel. He clearly understood what was happening. “ Are we interrupting something? ”
    “ Yeah, you are, ” Rodney said, releasing his grip on Avery. He turned and looked down at Maddock, who stood a few inches shorter, and smirked. “ Why don ’ t you step off? ”
    “ I never miss an appointment, ” Maddock said, stepping closer. “ Give her your number. Maybe she ’ ll call you, but I doubt it. ”
    Avery tensed. She ’ d felt a momentary relief at Maddock and Bones ’ arrival, but Rodney and his friends outnumbered her would-be rescuers, and they all loved to brawl.
    “ I ’ m not gonna tell you again. ” Rodney thrust out his chest and took a step toward Maddock.
    “ Good. I ’ m getting tired of the sound of your voice. ” If Maddock was at all fazed by Rodney, it didn ’ t show.
    “ Your breath is pretty stank, too, ” Bones interjected. “ I can smell you from over here. ”
    Tension crackled in the air. A few patrons had come out front to watch the inevitable fight. Avery ’ s eyes flitted from one man to the next, wondering who would throw the first punch.
    Surprisingly, it was Angel.
    Bones ’ sister pushed her way past Reggie