I’ve finished.’’ She jerked free and jumped out. If it hadn’t been for the blasted heels, she might have made it. But he was out the opposite door and blocking her way before she’d taken three strides. ‘‘I have nothing more to say.’’ Her voice was cold and dismissive. Her chin was high.

‘‘Good. You can just listen. If you won’t quit at the pub—which is just what you should do—you’re going to take some basic precautions. Reliable transportation comes first.’’

‘‘Don’t you tell me what I have to do.’’

‘‘Shut up.’’

She did, but only because she was stunned speechless. She’d never, in all the years she’d known him, seen Ethan like this. In the moonlight she could see that the fury in his eyes hadn’t dimmed a bit. His face was like stone, the shadows flittering over it making it seem harsh, even dangerous.

‘‘We’ll see that you get a car you can trust,’’ he continued, in that same edgy tone. ‘‘And you won’t be closing on your own again. When you finish your shift, I want somebody walking you out to your car and waiting until you lock it and drive off.’’

‘‘That’s just ridiculous.’’

He stepped forward. Though he didn’t touch her, didn’t lift a hand, she backed up a pace. Her heart began to pound too fast and too loud in her head.

‘‘What’s ridiculous is you thinking you can handle every damn thing by yourself. And I’m tired of it.’’

She sputtered, hating herself. ‘‘ You’re tired of it?’’

‘‘Yeah, and it’s going to stop. I can’t do much about your working yourself half to death, but I can do something about the rest. You don’t make arrangements at the pub to see you’re safe, I will. You’re going to stop asking for trouble.’’

‘‘Asking for it?’’ Outrage gushed through her in such a boiling wave, she was surprised that the top of her head didn’t simply blow off. ‘‘I wasn’t asking for anything. That bastard wouldn’t take no for an answer, no matter how many times I said it.’’

‘‘That’s just what I’m talking about.’’

‘‘You don’t know what you’re talking about,’’ she said in a furious whisper. ‘‘I handled him, and I would have kept handling him if—’’

‘‘How?’’ There was red around the edges of his vision. He could still see the way she’d been pressed up against the bar, her eyes wide and frightened. Her face had been ghost-pale, her eyes huge and sheened like glass. If he hadn’t come in . . .

And because the thought of what could have been scraped raw at the center of his brain, his already slippery control shattered.

‘‘Just how?’’ he demanded, in one quick move yanking her hard against him. ‘‘Go ahead, show me.’’