Chapter 2

Cord grabbed several fruit and nut chocolate bars off of the shelf then went to the chilled drink case in the rear of the store. If he had to be snowed in for the next few days, he needed to be stocked full of his guilty pleasures.

He picked up a few liter bottles of orange cream soda before he pulled out his earbuds and made his way to the register.

“Are those for you or Onyx?” Remy, the night cashier, glanced down at the items then gave Cord a knowing grin before looking away.

Cord held out his ATM card but Remy occupied with something outside, didn’t take it. “What’s going on?” he asked. Cord leaned back so he could see around a display case that blocked his view. Outside, a cab and a sedan were parked at odd angles.

Cord also noticed the people whose muffled voices he now heard since he removed his ear buds. He first focused on the man who walked toward the driver’s side of a cab, because the person was the one in motion. Next, his attention moved to the other male who stood beside the sedan with the driver’s side and passenger door ajar. The third person looked to be a female of small stature, who held a small child. The back of the woman was all Cord could see but he did see the child’s face clearly.

The child, a little girl with a round cherub face, had sad, fear filled eyes. Both, her and the woman were covered in snow. They had to be wet and cold. Why in the hell were they out in this damn storm? Not your party, not your business, Cord said to himself.

Though, it looked like a bad situation.

“I can’t get involved but I’ve called the police. No telling how long it will take with all the snow,” Remy said, shamefaced.

Cord figured he must have looked a little pissed because Remy felt that he had to explain himself. He didn’t expect Remy to physically help. The angry looking Asshole outside doing all the yelling, it was clear he’d been in a tussle or two before.

No, Remy already did all he could.

But Cord was a different story. He wasn’t on the clock and he was definitely more of a match. He smiled, shaking his head. Well, he was a closer match to the guy.

Cord left his stuff on the counter then headed for the door. By the time, he pushed it open he knew that the lady didn’t want to go wherever the loud guy wanted her and the kid to go. Cord said nothing to Onyx as he went to stand between the woman, as she slowly retreated, and the man he dubbed the ‘Asshole’.

Cord, glanced at the cab as it drove off. Why can’t you mind your own damn business, Cord? Those harsh words in his mother’s angry tone reverberated in his head but Cord ignored them. He planted himself between the woman and the Asshole but stood back enough to see both of them. The woman looked at him with, fear, confusion, then relief. The ‘Asshole’ grimaced.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Cord focused his intimidating gaze on Asshole but ignored the question and asked his own. “You leaving with him?” Cord questioned the woman.

“No.” Her voice was small but surprisingly sweet. Cord frowned because he wanted to look at her face, to see her entirely and not just hear the echo of her enchanting voice, but he had to keep his attention on the threat.

“Then you’re leaving him?” He asked, making sure she understood what he wanted from her. She must have understood because she lifted her shoulders and stood taller.

“Yes,” she answered with conviction.

That was all Cord needed. He continued to watch the Asshole but said, “Go stand by Onyx. Onyx,”—his dog barked, “protect.” Cord pointed at the woman and the child she held. He didn’t have to look back to know that his dog got to her feet and now stood in front of the pair, ready to attack friend or foe to follow his orders.

“You should leave,” he said to Asshole.

“Fuck you,” Asshole sneered, “you leave.” The guy looked past Cord and focused his attention on the woman. “You know this piece of shit, Winter? You’ve been cheating on me…you icy whore?”

Winter? Odd name but he liked it.

Cord glanced over his shoulder and noticed the way she recoiled at the ‘icy’ remark. Before she could answer, Cord closed the distance between him and the Prick—because yeah, his asshole status has been upgraded. “You should leave now. One: because she’s not going with you so you’re wasting my time. Two: if you make a move to force her, it won’t be the last thing you do,” he leaned in closer so only the prick could hear him, “but it will be the last pain-free thing you do for the rest of your life.”

Prick-the-Asshole stared at Cord for several heartbeats as he flexed his fist and rolled his shoulders. Cord wasn’t impressed. Prick-the-Asshole pivoted, kicked one of the suitcases, then gave Cord a scathing look. Cord squared off his shoulders and widened his feet, just in case the prick decided to go against his good advice.

The guy broke eye contact with Cord and pierced the woman with a hard look then slammed the back door of his vehicle shut. He then slowly walked around the front of the sedan, all the while staring her down, and got inside the driver’s seat.

Cord grabbed the luggage before the prick could run it over and laughed to himself as the sedan fishtailed as it sped out of the parking lot. He gathered all three pieces of luggage and carried them over to where the woman stood.

When he saw her, really saw her, Cord almost stopped in his tracks. Winter, he let her name settle in his head, is beautiful. Her coiled curly brown hair with honey blonde tips accentuated her smooth brown complexion. She had an oval face, almond-shaped eyes, her nose was button-cute, and her beautiful kissable lips were shaped like a bow. A beautiful bow on a tiny curvaceous gift who was named Winter.

The desire to unwrap her came sudden and hard as she stared up at him. Again, her name seemed an odd intriguing contradiction because all he felt was the heat from the African-American beauty.

“Are you alright?” The woman nodded but averted her eyes. Brown sultry eyes, he thought as he stared at her. Was she scared of him? “Do you have a place to go?” She shook her head from side to side. Cord figured she wouldn’t. When his mom left his asshole father the first time, they’d left with nothing but the clothes on their backs. “Do you have someone you can call?”

“Andrea has grandparents in Arizona,” she whispered, her teeth chattered.

This was as far fucking east as one could get, so having family in Arizona meant nothing right now. Cord glanced over his shoulder, the snowflakes looked bigger and fell faster than it did just seconds ago. Hell, Cord forgot that it was even snowing because he was so occupied by her beauty.

The little one shivered in the woman’s arms. Cord quelled his leering long enough to mentally curse himself as he joined them under the awning of the store. He motioned for the woman to go inside. She led and he followed.

“Everything alright?” Remy asked. He gave the woman a sympathetic smile.

The little girl, Andrea, lifted her head and reached for the door. “Doggie cold too,” she said.

“It’s ok baby,” Winter said. She sat Andrea on her feet and tried to rub heat into the girl’s face and hands. “Dogs have fur.”

Andrea’s big gray eyes found Cord’s. She gave him a questioning look but said nothing as Winter continued to try and generate heat with her hands.

“Onyx will be fine.” He told the kid.

With his assurance, Andrea smiled then focused on Winter again.

Cord decided to wait it out with them until the police arrived. Just in case Prick-the-Asshole returned.