Doc handed me a piece of toast and a cup of coffee. “Go sit down and eat this first. You need to start small.”
“Thanks, baby.” I took a bite and gave him a quick, closed-mouth kiss, then headed into the great room and sat in the chair closest to the fireplace.
Raquel followed, flopping onto one of the sofas just as Doom walked out of the kitchen, phone to his ear. “Yeah, Rabbit, let him in.”
I didn’t think much of it until Orion walked inside. His father, Sundance, was the president of the Monument Primal Howlers.
“Orion, brother,” Doom said with a grin, giving him a hug. “What the fuck are you doin’ here?”
“Heard you had some trouble with the Spiders. Figured you might need a hand.”
“Appreciate that, brother,” Doom said. “Come on in. You remember Liv? Doc’s woman?”
“Hi,” I said, staying put.
“And that’s Raquel, Doc’s sister.”
I glanced at Raquel who glared briefly at Orion, then smiled and said, “Hi. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too,” Orion said.
The men walked away, and I studied Raquel, who was still staring at Orion.
“Raquel?”
“Hm?”
“Oh my god,” I breathed out, and her eyes flew to me. “He’s not here because of the Spiders, is he? He’s here for you.”
She suddenly got very interested in what was going on in her coffee cup. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Raquel Susan Brooks, you better spill your guts right now, or I’m going straight into that kitchen and I’m going to ask Orion all about it.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” she hissed.
I grinned in triumph.
“I hate you,” she said.
“No, you don’t,” I countered. “You fear me, but you also adore me, so you’re torn.”
She couldn’t stop a snort as she tried to stop a laugh.
“Why is Orion here, Raquel?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure. Entirely.”
“Bullshit.” I leaned forward and tapped her knee. “How long have you two been a ‘thing’?”
She sighed. “Not long. It started as a friends-with-benefits kind of thing and I was good with that. I mean, let’s be honest, if I hooked up with a biker, both DadandTristan would kill me. But now Ori’s changing the rules. I told him I needed a break. Apparently, he didn’t care.”
“People who need a break from just a ‘friends-with-benefits’ type thing don’t typically jump on a plane and go running to their big brothers.”
“Well, you would know,” she quipped.
