I pressed my lips together.
“Should’ve chucked her over your shoulder, took her to your room, and fucked her big mouth so hard she couldn’t speak for a week,” he muttered. “At least she would’ve enjoyed it.”
“She’s a virgin,” I blurted out without thinking. “Gotta go easy on her—for now at least.”
Bootneck’s mouth fell open with shock just as a familiar voice asked from behind me, “Who’s a fuckin’ virgin? And can I have her number?”
I was off my chair in a flash, grabbing hold of Thug by the scruff of his shirt. I got nose to nose with him and snarled, “Shut your fuckin’ mouth.”
He looked me straight in the eye, chewing his gum on one side of his mouth, and gave me a wide grin. “Mornin’, boss. Castle said you had somethin’ to ask me.”
Most men would’ve soiled their shorts if I got in their face, but Thug was the only man alive who was probably crazier than me. He wasn’t scared of anything, even death, and that madehim dangerous because when you didn’t care if you lived or died, you really had nothing to lose.
I released his tee and stepped back. “Don’t fuckin’ talk about my girl like that.”
“Someone’s testy today,” he shot back, his smile widening. “Anyone would think you had a guilty conscience or somethin’.” He tapped his mouth with his finger. “Oh, wait.”
My chest rumbled with a growl.
Bootneck let out an amused snort.
I threw my SAA a glare before focusing back on Thug and nodding to the empty stool beside me. “Step into my office.”
He slid onto the chair, leaned his elbow on the bar, and stared at me expectantly.
“Need you to step up, brother. Rodeo’s benched, so I need someone to take over as enforcer for a few weeks.”
“What happened to Rode?” Thug inquired.
“He sparred with Prez,” Bootneck declared.
Thug started laughing. “How did you beat him up so bad that you put him outta commission? Rodeo’s a fuckin’ animal.”
“Wrong time of the month,” I muttered.
“More like Pagan here had a spat with his girl who’s now gone AWOL on his ass, and he’s all up in his feelings,” Boot corrected.
Thug cackled.
I tipped my head back and counted to ten. It wouldn’t do the club any good to beat the shit out of all my brothers. One officer down was already gonna be a pain in my ass; I couldn’t deal with replacing Bootneck, too. Plus, if I punched Thug, he’d probably James Bond his ass into my room later and stab me in my sleep.
I waited until their laughter died down and took a breath before I tipped my face back down to address Thug. “It’ll just be for a few weeks. Mostly protection and collection duties. I don’t want you goin’ John Wick on anyone. If you feel you need tokick some ass, you come to me first. We gotta watch our backs right now, especially after what Huntley Junior did. I’ve tried to smooth things over with the girl and her pop, but I don’t want any more controversy.”
Thug’s face hardened. “Heard about that. Amber, who works in the diner, is BFFs with Gracie. She told me that Hank and Peggy Young were impressed with your woman.”
My ears pricked up. “She did?”
“Yeah. Hank knew you were tryin’ to influence him to not go to the cops. At first, he thought it was ’cause you were a selfish fuck, which is understandable. I mean, he’s not wrong, and it’s not exactly a secret that we work with Junior and his pig daddy. Hank was on the verge of sayin’ fuck it all to hell and takin’ Gracie to report the sick fuck over at the next town until your woman offered to ask Abe Decker to help out. It made him think he’d got you wrong and that you may have Gracie’s best interests at heart. They talked, and Gracie said she trusted your woman, so they decided they’d go with what you wanted, initially, as long as Junior stays the fuck away from her. If he tries his bullshit again, they’ll take action.”
My gut, which had been in knots since the moment Aislynn got in her car and sped away from me, suddenly loosened. Then something hit me?—
I’d pushed her away for nothing.
Slowly, I closed my eyes, my stomach roiling with the knowledge that I’d fucked up even more than I realized.
I’d gone nuclear on Aislynn just for being who she was. She was naturally warm with Peggy and Gracie, and I’d punished her for being exactly the type of ol’ lady I’d always wanted for my boys. Now she was ghosting my ass.
Still, it was only a matter of time before I’d track her down.
