“Nothing,” Jerry said. “Now, go have fun.” He turned and hurried off.
Chapter Two
Gavin curled his arm around her waist to steady her more. She couldn’t have been cuter taking slow unsteady steps onto the stage. She very much looked like a little girl dressed in her mother’s clothing, but she definitely had a woman’s body. “Let’s go, little one.”
She snorted out a laugh. “I’m not little. Most people think I’m chunky.”
“Well, they’re wrong. I like everything I see.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
He grinned. “Yes, really. Now, show me where we need to go.”
Once she turned her head away from him, his smile slipped. The other bidder, Branden Weber, was slime, and the thought of her with him made him sick. There was no telling what the man would have done to her. He and Chase had investigated the man for years when they were cops, but they hadn’t been able to find anything to arrest him for.
Gavin was glad he got there in time. He’d just sat down at a table with Chase when she wobbled out onto the stage and instantly grabbed his attention. Every man in the room had stopped talking and stared at her with lust in their eyes, and it had made him want to howl. He’d chuckled a few times because of her actions. She was too innocent to be up on that stage, and every man in the room knew it.
He didn’t think twice when he upped the bid from the thousand dollars on her to fifteen hundred, and he would have gone much higher if he’d had to. There was no way he was letting Weber get his hands on her.
“Here we are,” she said and walked into an office. “My bag is over here.”
Gavin pointed down at her feet. “Are these your shoes?”
She laughed. “No. I wouldn’t spend money on them, and I’d likely fall, break my neck, and kill myself.”
He chuckled and silently agreed. She slipped on some small white tennis shoes with rainbow-colored laces before she came to stand in front of him and look up. “I’m ready,” she said with a smile.
He snorted. “Do you have a purse?”
“No, I tend to misplace things, so I’ve got money stuck in my pocket.”
“Do you have a phone?”
She shook her head.
“Where do you live?”
“Over my uncle’s garage. Why?”
“I’m just wondering who takes care of you.”
“I do. I’m a big girl and can do it all by myself.”
He tried to keep the scowl off his face. She was so much like the other littles he’d met lately, and the thought of her being on her own worried him.
For the moment, he’d put it out of his mind. He needed to pay and then get her out of there.
He lifted her onto an empty stool at the very end of the bar and away from the crowd. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” Then he walked to the middle of the bar where the cash register was and handed Thomas his card.
“Hey, congratulations,” Chase said and slapped him on the back.
Gavin laughed. “Thanks. I’m surprised you didn’t go for her.” Chase had been his partner on the police force before they both took an offer they couldn’t refuse.
“I saw the look on your face when you saw her, so I wasn’t going to mess with that. I would have jumped in if you hadn’t bid on her, but otherwise, I already considered her yours.”
“Here you go, Mr. Barcina.” Thomas handed back his card. Gavin was sliding it into his wallet when Chase nudged him and pointed at the end of the bar.
He growled. His protective instincts when it came to that woman were crazy, and right now, that fucker, Branden Weber, was crowding her against the bar. He could see the fear in her eyes.