“What I do think is, they give Mal shit.Mal’s mom and dadhave split.His dad is military, he’s deployed a lot.His mom’s going toschool, online courses she does at night, she works during the day.His grandmais sick, and that puts a strain on things.A lot is going down with him andbullies, they scent blood.But I thinkit’s more.Mal’s parents may have split, but they’re both in his life.Theycare.They’re loving.He goes to visit his dad a lot when he’s not overseas.The twins don’t have that.Nothing near it.I think the twins deal with drugs,alcohol, their parents not keeping good company and just overall neglect.”
“Jealousy.”
“Yeah.”
“And the scene yesterday?”
“I’m not a bully, I don’t know, but I think they wanted tocommunicate that Mal isn’t safe from them anywhere.”
“And they picked you, because they aren’t gonna fuck withhim at home and rub up against his mom.She might get the school and copsinvolved.You’re a soft target because they’ve already tested you and knowyou’ll put up with a lot before you lower the hammer.”
“Yeah.But that was before my future held me being somebiker’s old lady.”
Jagger chuckled.
Archie smiled through her sip of coffee.
Jagger quit chuckling.
“They got the only pass they’re gonna get, Archie,” hewarned.“You need to call the cops on them if they show and start trouble likethey did yesterday.”
She looked massively unhappy when she said, “I know.”
“Or, you call me, and either I’ll come, or if one of mybrothers is closer, they can come and share with those boys that they had theirtime and now’s the time to get their heads out of their asses because that timeis up.They fuck with you or Mal again, there’ll be consequences.”
“How about I share that info with them, and only if thingsget out of hand or I get the vibe they’re not receiving the message, I callbadass biker backup?”
He would prefer to be on the way to her the second shitkicked up.
But he said, “That works.”
“How hard was that?”she asked.
“Sorry?”he asked in return.
“To let the old lady claim her own shit.”
He studied her through swallowing some coffee, wondering ifhe was that easily readable or if she was just that tuned to him.
Then he answered, “Hard.”
She pushed up to a hand, leaned in and touched her mouth tohis.
She didn’t pull back very far when she asked, “What’s fordinner, boyfriend?”
“Smashburgers.”
Her brows went up.
It was then he realized Dutch and Georgie’s baked raviolithat night was veggie.Inadvertently veggie, they were both meat eaters, but itwas veggie.
“You eat meat?”he asked.
“Yep,” she answered.
“So, smashburgers.And don’t get excited.I cook, but I cooksimple.My mom’s a biker babe, but she’s a mom.A mom with three sons.She tookand continues to take care of her boys.We did not have at-home home economicstime at Casa de Keely.”
“Keely is your mom’s name?”
