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composure into a tailspin, but now all the red flags made sense. He was a cop—ex-cop—who’d worked for the Longdale Police Department and hung at Buck’s. The FBI suspected the local cops were in league with Buck. Could Tyler McGee be one of Buck’s protectors?
    Her chest ached at the thought of him involved with a drug ring. He’d been so kind, so caring, but she had to push. “Okay, I’ll bite.” She sat her coffee mug down and shifted to face him. “Exactly what kind of girl do you think I am?”
    “Damn it.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
    Frustrated. Nervous. Angry. It was all there. How the hell had she missed it?
    “The people who hang out and work at Buck’s? Let’s just say it’s a rough crowd.” He stood and started pacing her tiny apartment. “Have you taken a good look around there? The place is nothing but trouble.”
    “Why? Because the women strip? Since I wear a bikini top, I must have asked for what happened tonight?”
    “I’m a man, Jordan. I’ve got no problem seeing a beautiful woman wearing a bikini top and waiting tables. Or dancing, for that matter. But surely you’re not naive enough to think Buck’s control ends when your shift does.”
    What did this guy know? He was trying to warn her about something. His anger was palpable; she could feel it as sharply as the pain radiating through her back.
    “Is that how you want everyone in town to see you? As one of”—he made quote signs in the air—“Buck’s girls?”
    “I haven’t been there long, but most of”—she imitated his finger quotes—“Buck’s girls are pretty nice women. Some maybe have a few problems, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad people.”
    “I’m not saying they’re bad people,” he corrected. “I’m saying Buck has sucked them in. One way or another, he owns them like property. That’s what he does. First, he pretends to be a friend. Gives them money, drugs, anything that will indebt them to him. Then the threats come.”
    She made a conscious effort to play dumb. “Well, I don’t use drugs, and I haven’t borrowed any money from him, so I shouldn’t have a problem. I like it at Buck’s. School can be expensive. I make great tips, especially on weekend nights.”
    “Seriously? You’ve got to be kidding me. The money’s good enough to risk your safety? What do you think would’ve happened if Lewis grabbed you on the way to your car?”
    Jordan stood and faced him. “I’d have protected myself. The way I’ve always done.”
    “Yeah, right,” he said. “Like you did tonight? Naked and bleeding, face down on a strip club floor. Wake up, Jordan. Do you need me to draw you a picture of the danger inside that place?”
    “You know, not everyone gets to quit their job and run home to Mommy and Daddy when things get rough.”
    “Running home would be a lot better choice than the one you’ve made. Do your parents live around here? Do they have any idea what you’re doing to earn money?”
    She drew back at the mention of her family. He’d struck the one nerve, even after all these years, that continued to be raw.
    “My parents are dead. They’ve been dead for twenty years. So guess what? Nobody gets to tell me what I can do or where I can work. Least of all, you.”
    He opened his mouth but obviously struggled with what to say. After a long, awkward moment, he said, “I’m sorry. How did it happen?”
    She beat down the memories and faked composure. “Car crash.” She never wavered on the lie, never even blinked. But their conversation had turned in a direction that had become much too personal.
    He stepped close and reached out his hand.
    She moved back, throwing her own hands up to stop him. “My choices are all mine.” The last thing she needed was to feel the pity roll off of him when he touched her.
    He dropped his arm but spoke softly. “I just want you to realize there are better choices out there.”
    “I just want you to realize not everybody has the