Punc smirked, leaned over the bar, and grabbed the carafe. “I know what Beast puts in the sangria, so yeah, I’m down with that. Let’s go, baby.”
19
Nothing Like Your Sister
Savannah
Iwokeuptothe comforting warmth of Punc’s arm draped around my waist. His room at the clubhouse had no windows, which was great for sleeping, but the pitch blackness didn’t give me any clue as to what time it was.
Even after another glass of sangria last night, I’d been smart enough to put my phone on the nightstand next to me. Gently, so I wouldn’t disturb Punc, I reached for my phone. It lit up and I saw the time was nine-fifteen.
I sat up. “Oh no!”
Punc jolted upright. “What’s the problem?”
“I’m late for work. I never called Rita to tell her—”
Punc pulled me slightly on top of him as he laid back down. “I did, babe. Sent her a text yesterday. Told her you wouldn’t be in because of shit with your dad.”
My mouth fell open and I forced myself not to overreact.
Punc rolled to his side, and I shifted off of him. He turned on a bedside lamp. I squinted and blinked a few times.
He rolled back to me. “It was high-handed of me, and I’d apologize, but I wouldn’t mean it because I’d do it again.”
“What?”
“I told you, Smythe. I’m eliminating as many of your problems as I can, and I didn’t want you struggling with what to tell her or feeling awkward about it. Especially since we didn’t know exactly when Frank was going to show at your house.”
“That may be true, but it wasn’t Dad who—”
“He’s the reason your mom took out the loan, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then, it’s his shit. Bottom line, Rita knows you won’t be in today and made other arrangements. In fact, she texted back that she was glad you had me to lean on now.”
I leaned up and rested my head on my upturned hand. “Okay, but what happened with Frank? Did you all—”
“No. We didn’t kill him. Turk found the family of a woman who was indebted to Frank…and hooked on drugs he sold. They really don’t like what’s happened to their sister because of him, and after we dished out some punishment to him, we took him to their place. That’s really all you need to know, and obviously, you don’t have to pay that bastard any more money.”
I twisted my lips to the side. “I kinda wish I could have smacked Frank around, too, you know.”
Punc rolled toward me, and I fell to my back. “I bet you do, but we made sure he felt your wrath, too, baby.”
As much as I enjoyed the easiness I felt with him right then, I had to say what was on my mind. “I appreciate you taking care of that for me, Punc. I do.”
“But?” he asked.
“I didn’t say there was a but.”
He arched a brow. “Sure sounds like one’s coming.”
“If I run across any other problems, I am capable of handling them and will be sure to tell you if I need your help.”
He leaned down and kissed the apple of my cheek. “In the future, you aren’t gonna have problems like this.”
I nodded. “Yes, but it’s clear that you have a certain need to take care of your woman.”
