“Back off, Meyer.” She understood his ploy. Her mother would do a comparison to Fisher, and while Avery knew Fisher could never measure up, her stepfather thought Rowdy would be lacking.

Bastard.

“Why don’t you want to bring him?” Meyer asked.

The choking stopped, and instead she felt Rowdy’s gaze boring into the back of her head.

Screw it. She’d just have to pray that Fisher wasn’t around, and if he was, well... She glanced back at Rowdy. Fisher wasn’t an idiot. He wouldn’t openly provoke a man like Rowdy Yates, a man who could easily take him apart despite all his bravado and bullying. She’d be safe with Rowdy along, and Rowdy would be safe—if she handled this correctly.

“I’d love to bring him. Thank you.”

“Does tomorrow morning work for you?”

Wow, so soon. Meyer left her little time to sort things out in her mind, little time to find a good explanation for wanting to bring Rowdy along.

With no choice, she turned to face him.

Something...volcanic showed in Rowdy’s light brown eyes. “It works for me if it works for Avery.”

Wow, he said that like a challenge. Did he believe Meyer’s nonsense, that she was somehow ashamed of him? She turned back to Meyer. “Is eleven too early?”

“That’d be fine.”

Rowdy pushed away from the desk, and more than ever, he looked big, hard and imposing. “I need to know something first.”

Avery all but cringed. She didn’t want Rowdy to start digging into her past, asking questions about the situation that had sent her running. She didn’t want to be exposed for a coward, and she didn’t want to take advantage of Rowdy’s natural tendency to protect.

Those worries were put to rest when Rowdy voiced a whole new set of concerns. “Why didn’t you just call?”

“I didn’t have a number, for one thing.” Meyer cut his gaze over her. “When she ran off, she also switched phones.”

“Not to avoid you or Mom.” She again glanced at Rowdy. “I was part of their family phone plan then, but changed to get my own basic plan with calling only.”

“She’s called her mother, but never me,” Meyer said. “And since Sonya didn’t want to bother Avery with this, I couldn’t very well ask for contact information.”

Rowdy crossed his arms over his chest. “So how did you find her here?”

Oh, my God, Avery hadn’t even thought of that. Rising anger had her facing off with her stepfather. “It was you on the bar phone?”

“What?” Meyer looked between them. “What are you talking about?”

“Did you give me breather phone calls?” Did you shoot a damn gun just to scare me? Avery didn’t get far from Rowdy before he drew her back. She was too suspicious to think before speaking, and she asked with accusation, “Have you been watching me?”

Meyer drew up in affront. “Don’t be absurd.”

Far more relaxed that she was, Rowdy asked, “What type of car do you have?”

“I don’t see why that matters, but I drive a BMW.”

Avery didn’t know why it mattered, either, but she appreciated Rowdy’s line of questioning. “So how’d you find me?”

“Oh, please, do you honestly believe your mother would let you leave without knowing where you were? She immediately requested that I hire a private service to track you down.”

“No shit?” Rowdy eyed him up and down. “That sounds costly.”

“Very.”

Avery’s temples started to pound. “Would the private service have called me?”

“I have no idea how they discovered your whereabouts, but I can ask if it’s important.”

Was it? It seemed like a mighty big coincidence for her to get weird calls, and then out of the blue, her stepfather showed up. But she honestly couldn’t see Meyer, or a reputable service, making the weird calls she’d received.

Meyer adjusted his glasses. “Look, all I know is that the people I hired contacted me with this address some months ago. I knew it was a bar, but the name changed or something—”

“That happened when I bought it,” Rowdy told him.

“It’s now named after you?”

Rowdy shrugged. “The name of the place was Avery’s idea.”

“Yes, well, I was dubious about actually finding her here, so I came myself to have it verified.”

“And here I am,” Avery confirmed. “Mission accomplished.”

Fed up and not bothering to hide his irritation, Meyer said, “It’s late and I have a thirty-minute drive to get back home. Why don’t we finish this conversation tomorrow after you’ve reunited with your mother?”

And hopefully there’d be an opportunity for her to get Meyer alone and talk to him without Rowdy listening in. “All right.”

Meyer gave Rowdy a curt glance. “Tomorrow, then.” He headed for the door. “I’ll see myself out.”

The second Meyer was out of sight, Rowdy pinned her with his darkest look.

She started to explain—how, she didn’t know—but Rowdy shook his head. “Let’s lock up here. We can talk at my place.”

And maybe, Avery thought, by then she’d be able to figure out what to tell him.

An hour later, as they prepared for bed, Avery had the fleeting hope that Rowdy had decided not to question her after all.