Saint shrugged. “Sorry, brother. I wasn’t on that trip.” Now he wished he had been, but Zach had needed his help back home with some businessman who owed the club a large chunk of money. Gambling debts came calling every time.
“Douchebag, wannabe biker guy? Rode something that looked like a goddamn kiddie bike.” Gator rolled his eyes. “Come on, you two ain’t old enough to have memory loss.”
“Him?” Copper’s eyes bugged as he turned to Shell. “She’s still seeing that shit stain?”
“I…” Shell shook her head, frowning. “She hasn’t mentioned him in ages. I thought they broke up. He was… a bit of a jackass.”
Saint chuckled under his breath. Shell was the best, always ready to call a man a jackass and then make him dinner if he looked hungry. Though from the sound of it, this guy wouldn’t be invited to sit at their table any time soon.
“Nah, pretty sure they’re still a thing,” Gator said.
“Wait…” Copper’s gaze swung back to him. “How the fuck do you know?”
Gator paused with his beer halfway to his mouth. His face lost all its color, and his mouth opened and closed without a sound, like one of the fish he spent much of his free time catching.
Saint couldn’t hold back his laugh. It came out strangled as he failed to hide it behind a cough. Thankfully, Thunder laughed out loud, covering his blunder. Poor Gator would be lucky to come out of this alive and with all his organs intact.
“We’re, uh, friends,” Gator said. “Me and Beth.”
“Friends?”
Oh shit.Gator was seconds from losing another chunk of his body, and Copper’s bite would be a hundred times worse than an alligator’s. Saint bit his lip to hold back another laugh as he imagined Copper chasing Gator around the clubhouse while snapping at the idiot’s heels.
Once again, Thunder didn’t bother to hold back his laughter.
“Uh…” Gator squirmed beneath Copper’s glare.
“Copper, leave the poor guy alone. You put the fear of God into your men. No one will ever look at Beth as more than a friend.” Shell narrowed her eyes at her ol’ man, but the smile gave her away. “Poor girl,” she muttered.
“Excuse me?”
Saint swore Copper’s jaw hit the table as he stared down at Shell.
“You want your daughter with one of these fuckups?”
She shrugged without shame. “What? There are some very nice perks to being with one of you guys.”
“Michelle Gallagher, I am going to pretend you didn’t say that. We’re talking about our innocent child here.”
Shell snorted. “Of course, dear.” She patted Copper’s arm in the most patronizing way possible. “I’ll be sure to send her some Barbie dolls for her next birthday.”
Saint was pretty sure Copper growled as he turned his attention back to Gator. “Not necessary, as long as this one remembers to keep his eyes, hands, and any other body part to himself.”
Gator raised his hands near his ears. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Prez. Got nothing but respect for you and your daughter. And I like my dick attached to my body,” he muttered under his breath, earning himself a nod of approval from Copper. “I don’t do nothing but talk to her every so often.”
“Let’s get back on track,” Shell cut in, the voice of reason as always. Worry still pinched the corners of her eyes despite the back-and-forth teasing. “What should we do about this, Cop? Do you think this guy is keeping her from calling us? Because that is a huge red flag.”
“Simple,” Copper replied. “We take some guys, ride out there, and kill the motherfucker.”
Thunder slapped a hand on the table hard enough to rattle the bottles. “Sounds good to me, brother. I can be ready to roll out tomorrow morning.”
Shell held up a hand as she straightened away from Copper. “Hold up, Rambo. How do you think she’s going to react if ten of you guys show up at her door, guns blazing? You know how stubborn she is about her independence and her reluctance to let the club meddle in her life. She’s likely to dig her heels in and tell us everything is fine. And we don’t even know if there is aproblem with the boyfriend. This could be something completely unrelated.”
Thunder let out a frustrated groan. “Ugh, why you gotta be so reasonable, Shell? Always ruining our fun.”
She smiled at him as she shrugged. “I know my daughter.”
Almost mindlessly, as though touching her was automatic, Copper’s hand slid up to the back of her neck, thumb rubbing slow circles. “So what do you think we should do, babe? We can’t let this go. My gut is screaming just like yours.” He kissed Shell’s temple as she sagged before their eyes, all that strength folding in for a moment.
