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same thing,” said Brock into a long exhale.
    “Before we do this, I want you to look at me. Look me in the eye.”
    Brock complied.
    “You’ve fallen for this girl, haven’t you?”
    There was a long pause and Brock struggled to maintain eye contact with his mentor, his best friend. “I don’t know how it happened.”
    Will stood and paced across the carpeted apartment floor. “God dammit, I knew it. This chick reminds you so much of Lori, you’ve fallen for her. Do you even know her? Hell, she could be a nut-job.”
    “I know, I know. It just snuck up on me.”
    “In love with a girl you don’t even know. And she’s at least ten years younger than your sorry ass.”
    “I’m not in love with her, alright?”
    Will laughed. “You are such a pussy, you know that? Well, this ups the stakes. The fact that you’ve got the hots for this chick means you’re ability to think critically is compromised.”
    “Oh, come on. I can still think pretty clearly in a combat zone.”
    “Oh really? Like you were thinking clearly when you walked around to those bikers after you’d already taken them out of commission, then snapped four of their necks? Is that the clear thinking you’re talking about?” Will shook his head. “No, you’ve got to get control of that, compadre. If we’re going to do this thing, you’ve got to quit thinking with your dick.”
    “Hey!” barked Brock. “I’m not thinking with my dick! This girl is not just something to have sex with. She deserves better than that. And after what happened to her, it wouldn’t surprise me if she never wanted to have sex with a man again. And I wouldn’t blame her. But, it doesn’t change my feelings for her.”
    Will walked slowly up to Brock and stood six inches from his face. “You’ve changed, man. Maybe you’re finally growing up.”
    “Oh fuck you,” laughed Brock. “Growing up, huh? Alright there, dad . You got any ideas for this grown-up?”
    “Yeah. We bring the girl in. We hide her. We can’t risk her being out in the open like this. And she needs to know how to protect herself.”
    “Train her?”
    “Damn right.”
     
    CHAPTER SIXTEEN
    Visit from a Friend
    Mav daydreamed about one day meeting the man that saved her. He was no fantasy, he was the real thing, and she knew it. Mav could not stop herself from thinking about him.
    “Girl, you better snap out of it before Mr. Lorrance catches you again,” said Kiki. “Besides, you’ve got a customer waiting.”
    The man that stood before her was dressed in rough blue jeans, a sleeveless t-shirt, and leather vest. He looked like he’d just been dropped out of a movie set where they were filming a low budget biker movie. It was Will.
    “Oh, yes sir. How can I help?” Mav cleared her throat and cast a nervous glance at Kiki.
    “Wanted to get some information about a mortgage,” said Will, removing his thick black sunglasses. His salt and pepper hair was in stark contrast to the darkness of his brown eyes.
    “Please, have a seat. We have several thirty year fixed mortgage products, as well as some with variable rates. Do you know what you had in mind?”
    Will looked over at Kiki who was studying him the way a person might study a predator. When Will’s eyes met hers, she looked back to her computer monitor and began typing.
    “You are in danger,” he whispered. The statement startled Mav. Then he continued at normal volume, “The house I’m looking at buying is $145,000. I was thinking about putting 20% down.” He looked at her with cold seriousness in his eyes. But for some reason, his eyes were disarming. Looking at them instilled a kind of trust Mav was not accustomed to.
    “Ahem. Well,” said Mav, “you might consider a 15 year variable. The rates are at their lowest in years.”
    Will slipped a sealed envelope onto her desk and tucked it just underneath some other papers, then said, “And how much can the interest rate change in a given year?”
    “What is this?”