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guarantee if you try to
    find out, you won't like the results you get."
    By this time, I was off my stool and attempting to wedge a hand in between the two Goliaths. Across the room, the three guys who'd accompanied Charles into
    the bar were on their feet and moving toward us. Each had one hand concealed, presumably wrapped around a pistol grip, or a knife, or a blackjack. Though I
    didn't relish the idea of facing any of the weapons, I preferred a man with a knife in this situation. Meant he'd have to get close to do any damage.
    Charles lips parted and spread, a strand of saliva trapped between. He lifted both arms, took a step back. He never diverted his stare from Bear.
    "Easy, everyone. Easy."
    On their boss's order, the men stopped halfway between their table and the bar. Hands remained inside jackets. I kept mine visible. No need to give anyone
    a reason to act due to panic or uncertainty.
    Yet.
    Charles, still staring at Bear, said, "Jack, I just came over to introduce myself. I thought maybe you and I could help each other out. You know, a
    business opportunity."
    "What would I need your help for?"
    He smiled and shrugged. "I heard you ran into some trouble this morning."
    "Is that right? Where'd you hear this?"
    "I hear things, Jack. I dunno. Hell, what do I know? Maybe something that helps you."
    "In what way would you be able to assist with any trouble I might have had this morning?"
    For the first time, Charles looked directly at me. "I know things. I know people. We might even know some of the same people, and the identities of those
    individuals would probably surprise you."
    "Nothing surprises me."
    "Then accept my offer to help you."
    "Why would you offer that help to us?"
    He glanced at Bear, then back to me. "I help you, then maybe you do a favor for me."
    "Maybe, huh?"
    Charles shrugged again, said nothing.
    "I'm afraid I don't delve into your line of business, Charles," I said. "We tend to stick to things on the up and up."
    "There's not much difference between what you do and what I do, Noble. But I didn't come here to argue that. I really do want to help you out, and so does
    my boss. And, if it makes a difference, he can sweeten the offer by tossing in a hundred grand. You two can split that up any way you want."
    "Won't be nothing to split up," Bear said. "My partner told you to piss off, so why don't you and your band of merry hooligans over there get lost?"
    Most men backed off when a guy the size of Bear told them to get lost. Charles didn't, though. A smile crossed the criminal's face.
    "I know you think you're a bad dude," Charles said to Bear. "But you don't know me. And you better pray to God you never get to know me in an intimate
    manner, because I will use your nuts as bobbers and your dick as bait."
    Bear took a step forward. He'd rolled his sleeves up after shedding his coat earlier. His forearm muscles rippled as he clenched his fists.
    The tension rose like heat from fresh lava. The guys midway across the room sensed it, too. They grew edgy, shifting from foot-to-foot, waiting for the
    inevitable fight to break out. Only they wouldn't jump in with fists and boots. They'd bust out their weapons and put a quick end to the ordeal.
    And to me and Bear.

     

Chapter 9

    WITH THE DIVIDE between Charles and Bear shrinking, a familiar voice drove a wedge between the two large men.
    "I thought I told you to stay out of here, Charles." The kitchen door swung out and banged against the wall as Clarissa stepped through. "And your boss
    knows why, and he agrees with me."
    I leaned forward, whispered, "Big guy like you lets a little thing like her push you around?"
    "You can shut up, Jack," she said. "I don't know what the hell you're doing in here either. I'm liable to let old Chucky-boy carry you out with him."
    "That won't be necessary." Charles took a few steps back, held his hands up. "We're taking off." He motioned his guys toward the door, then added, "Think
    about what I said, Jack. We could