He wipes blood from his lip and stares at me. We both know it’s the truth. There’s nothing he can do to touch me. And after me comes others in my club. He’ll be in a goddamn wheelchair before half of us end up in jail.
“Fine.”
“Fine, what?”
“I’ll tell Sierra to stay away from the—Bernie.”
“Do it now.”
Frowning, he stands. “Excuse me?”
“Call her out here and tell her. We want to hear you tell her,” Pacino says. “Considering you’re a sleazy used car salesman, we don’t really trust you.”
“I sell pre-owned luxury—”
“Yeah, yeah, I don’t care. But I bet your wife will care to learn about your second family fifty miles east of Reno.”
His eyes widen, and I have to hold back my laugh. “Must be tough paying for two houses and two families when your sales are going down thanks to the internet.”
Squaring his shoulders, he stands and walks to the door. “Sierra! Come out here!”
The brat from the salon walks out onto the porch, hip cocked and arms crossed. She’s going to make some guy miserable as hell one day.
“Yeah?”
“You stay the hell away from Bernie Reynolds,” Troy says.
“But, Dad—”
“I mean it.”
Frowning, she sticks her nose up in the air defiantly. “I don’t wanna. It’s fun making fun of her. And it’s really easy, too.”
“Do you know Samantha Trevors?” I ask her.
Her defiance slips for the briefest of moments. “Yeah. So?”
“She’ll be keeping an eye on Bernie for us. If she hears you doing anything, she’ll handle it in school. And I’ll handle it with your father.”
“I-I’m not scared of Sam.”
“You should be,” Rooster says. “I’ve seen her make grown men cry.”
GrabbingTroy’s shoulder again, I squeeze until he yelps in pain. “And when Sam is done with you, she’s going to tell me. And I’ll be back here to talk to your dad.”
“So?”
“You’re pretty slow, aren’t you?” Pacino asks with a chuckle. “Kid, if you hope to ever dance with your dad at your wedding, it’s best to stay away from Bernie.”
“And God help whoever decides to marry her,” Rooster mutters.
Troy glares at his daughter as he tries to get out of my grip but fails. “Stay the hell away from Bernie. You hear me?”
“You think you’re tough, but you’re not,” she says.
“Well, there’s another way to punish her,” Capone says. “Your mom owns the salon here, right, Zep? If she allows Sierra to come back—which it sounds like she won’t—her hair may end up blue or shaved next time.”
“And we can make sure no one buys another car at Daddy’s car dealership,” Rooster says. “Do you think she’ll like shopping at secondhand stores for her clothes? She seems like the type who wants brand-new name-brand threads.”
