The apartment door opened, and his neighbor peeked through the crack. She was an attractive woman—long blonde hair, high cheekbones, full lips, and curves in all the right places, the type who used to catch his interest before his self-imposed dating moratorium. He’d seen her around the building a few times before but didn’t know her name. What mattered at the moment was the fear in her piercing blue eyes. That concerned him. It also pissed him off.
“Are you okay, ma’am?” Pinto asked the woman.
She said, “No” at the same time the asshole said, “None of your goddamn business.”
Every muscle in Pinto’s body tensed. His eyes narrowed. Back in Jersey, that “no” from the woman would have been enough for him to pound the guy into next week. Fortunately, he’d learned a lot about self-control since then. “It becomes my business when my neighbor is scared out of her wits because some asshole’s trying to beat down her door.”
The asshole scoffed. “I was knocking.”
“I don’t give a shit what you call it. Read the room, pal. She doesn’t want you here. That means it’s time for you to hit the road.”
The guy fully turned toward Pinto, his back straight, shoulders squared, and hands half-curled into fists. It reminded Pinto of a bull about to charge. “I’m not going anywhere without my woman.”
“I’m not your woman,” his neighbor said through gritted teeth.
So much for spending a quiet evening at home. Odds were this was going to end with one of them riding in the back of an ambulance and the other man going to jail. Neither option appealed to Pinto. Losing a fight to this putz would be a major blow to his ego, but if he had to call his buddy Hatch for bail, he’d never hear the end of it. Still, he had no intention of going anywhere until this guy left the building and he knew his neighbor was safe.
“Look, I’m not here to start shit, but it’s more than obvious that she doesn’t want to have anything to do with you.” Pinto made sure his voice wasn’t angry or threatening, but rather matter-of-fact. He shifted his body weight in case he had to dodge a punch—or throw one. At this point, it could go either way. “I’m only going to tell you one more time, and then I’m going to get rude. Leave while you still can on your own two feet.”
The guy’s chin jerked up as he huffed out a breath. “And if I don’t?”
Pinto shrugged, his patience exhausted. Fucker wanted to play, so be it. “You’re a big boy. I’m sure you can put two and two together without me breaking out the finger puppets.”
The vein on the other man’s forehead looked as if it were ready to burst. Horrible as it sounded, Pinto kind of hoped it would so he could go back to the hockey game. Puck drop was happening any minute.
“I don’t think you realize who you’re dealing with.” The guy pulled his jacket aside to reveal a badge clipped to his belt. Just above it, resting in its holster, was what appeared to be a department-issued Glock.
Pinto’s eyes squinted as he stared down at the badge that just made things a lot more complicated. He mentally cracked his knuckles. Over the years, he’d known a lot of good police officers—one of his buddies in Jersey was a cop—but it seemed as if every department had a few who were nothing more than bullies with a badge. “You’re a long way from Avalon Springs, Officer Heckler. I don’t see how that’s supposed to impress me.”
“It means I’m the fucking law.”
“Not in this city. Here in Orlando, you’re just another jerk who gets his rocks off harassing women. Should I call the actual Orlando police and see what they think about you flashing your badge on their turf?”
Pinto and the guy glared at each other like old gunslingers in the Wild West. More likely than not, Officer Dickhead had extensive police training, not to mention he was armed. But Pinto was trained just as well, if not better, and if push came to shove, he could hold his own in this type of situation. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but he wasn’t about to walk away and leave his neighbor to fend for herself.
Seconds that felt more like minutes ticked by, and just when Pinto thought the cop was going to throw a punch or pull his weapon, the guy made a sound of disgust.
“You’re not worth the reports I’d have to file.” The cop turned his gaze to the woman. “We’ll talk later.”
“No, we won’t.” She opened the door a little wider, one hand holding the knob, while the other white-knuckled a phone. “Don’t come back.”
It was a wonder the look he gave didn’t turn the woman into a pillar of salt. As he stormed past, he knocked shoulders with Pinto, and it took every last bit of Pinto’s discipline to keep from taking a swing.
Pinto watched in silence, his senses still on heightened alert, as the guy descended the stairs, got into his car, and drove out of the lot. When the taillights disappeared from view, he turned his attention back to the woman in the open doorway.
Even though tension lined her delicate features and tightened the corners of her mouth, she was still a knockout. She managed a smile, but it didn’t come close to reaching her eyes. “Thanks, but you shouldn’t have done that. I could have handled him.”
“No offense, but it didn’t look that way from where I was standing. Does he pull this shit often?”
“That depends on your definition of often,” she said with a shrug. “Usually, if I see him coming, I turn off the lights and pretend I’m not home.”
“You shouldn’t have to put up with that crap. Have you ever considered slapping him with a restraining order?” It wasn’t a magic bullet against this kind of harassment, but it was better than nothing.
The shift in her expression led him to believe she’d been asked that question too many times before. “I tried that when we first separated, for all the good it did. Judges are reluctant to approve protective orders against members of law enforcement, especially in a he-said/she-said situation.”
“So what, they won’t do anything until he actually hurts you?” That was bullshit, but sadly not surprising. “If you want to try again, I’ll go to court with you and testify to what I just saw.”
Her features softened, and it did things to him that he didn’t want to examine too closely. “I appreciate the offer, but it’s not worth the effort. Dennis knows how to manipulate the system. He’d find a way to come out on top, and then he’d make your life a living hell.”
