Shell burst through the kitchen door, eyes wild, and Gator hot on her heels. Within thirty seconds, the clubhouse had cleared out, leaving only five of them remaining.
“Gator!” Copper roared.
“Yep, on my way out, Prez.” He hustled toward the door. Beth could hear him patting Saint on the shoulder as he left.
“Shell,” Copper said in a quieter yet no less serious tone.
“Don’t even think about it, big guy,” she said, folding her arms across her chest. She didn’t go to her husband but leaned against the bar, watching.
Any other time, Beth would have laughed. No one, no one told Copper what to do. Except for Shell. She had that man wrapped around her pinky finger for so long that he wouldn’t know how to breathe without her. But tonight was no time for laughter.
“Beth, you need to move out of the way,” Copper said. “This is club business.”
She snorted. “The fuck it is.”
Shell snickered as Copper’s eyes widened. But Beth wasn’t done.
“Baby, it’s okay,” Saint said. “I—”
“The fuck did you just call her?” Copper thundered.
For fuck’s sake.
“Dad!” she snapped, bringing Copper’s attention back to her. “I will drop my arms and move, but only if you promise you will not hurt him.”
He narrowed his eyes. “He doesn’t need your protection, Beth. He’s a goddamn enforcer.”
Two could play the narrowed eye game. “I’m aware of that. But I know him, and he won’t fight back. He’ll let you beat the shit out of him because of some misplaced sense of guilt. So until you promise me, your daughter, that you will not hurt him, I willnotmove.”
Copper rolled his shoulders. He blew out a breath, shaking his head as he seemed to think. Beth risked a glance at her mom, who gave her a sad smile. She had to be as shocked as Copper, but she’d always had a more reasonable head on her shoulders.
“Fine,” Copper said. “I won’t fucking touch him.”
A massive amount of pressure eased from her chest. “Thank you.” She dropped her arms, then turned and walked to Saint. Copper growled like a damn lion ready to pounce. Beth took Saint’s hand. Maybe the move was akin to throwing gasoline on a fire, but she had to make her father understand how important Saint was to her.
Saint stood steady. Only the tight grip on her hand betrayed his confidence.
“I trusted you,” Copper said, jabbing a finger at Saint. “I sent you across the country to bring my daughter home because I trusted she’d be safe with you.”
She opened her mouth to blast her father, but Saint gave her hand a quick squeeze. It was important to him to have this conversation with Copper.
“You did, Prez. And I kept her safe. She’s always safe with me.”
“But not from you.”
She clenched her teeth to keep from shouting.
“I sent you to help her, and you took advantage of her. I trusted you to help her, and you fucked her.”
“Dad! Jesus.”
“Copper!” Shell snapped.
Beth’s face heated to a million degrees.
“That isn’t what happened,” Saint said. How he managed to keep his cool while Copper spewed such hatred at him, Beth would never know. But she appreciated it more than she could say. Saint losing his mind right now and attacking back would make everything worse.
“There is one rule regarding Beth.”
