“It’s that scent in the room.” He breathed deep. “Can’t you smell it?”
His men frowned. “I don’t smell nothing,” the first enforcer said. “What do you smell?”
“Holier-than-thou cologne.”
His men roared with laughter.
Elias’ face burned. Nope, nothing had changed. Doug still had to make him look stupid. “What are you doing here, Dutch? We didn’t invite you to our party.”
He snorted. “What party? I see nothing but a bunch of wusses taking orders from women. Isn’t that right, Elias?”
“I see men who know how to take care of the women in their lives.”
His cousin tilted his head back and roared with laughter. His men followed suit. “You just proved my point, E. I don’t spoil my Old Lady. She’s supposed to take care of me, and I like it that way.”
Noah and Seth stepped up on either side of Elias. “Does your Old Lady know about your outdated philosophy about women?” Seth asked.
Dutch’s face flamed. “Of course she does. We talk like other couples.”
Iona shook her head, pity in her eyes. “I’m surprised she stays with you. I wouldn’t stay with a man who treated me like a slave or his possession.”
“You need someone to teach you manners, Iona. Since Elias isn’t man enough to do it, offering my services would be a pure pleasure.”
And that was enough. Elias wouldn’t let this devolve into a contest with Iona caught in the middle. Besides, no one was touching Iona. Yeah, he recognized that look in his cousin’s eyes. Although facial surgery might change the outward appearance, it couldn’t touch the inside of a man. Men only changed when changing meant an enormous benefit to them. To Elias’ view, Dutch had threatened Iona.
“Enough.” Seth stepped closer to Dutch and stared the man down. “We have several things to do tonight, and you’re a distraction, Dutch. Can’t have that when things could go south with law enforcement any moment.”
Dutch stiffened. “What are you talking about? Why would the cops be sniffing around here?”
“Because Merriweather is dead, and we’re the obvious choice for the role of bad guys. Blaming strangers in town is easier than blaming people you pass on the street and go to church with on Sundays.”
“Have the cops been hassling you?”
“They’re very interested in our whereabouts. But that’s not the point. We have things to do.”
A frown. “What things?”
Seth scowled. “We’d wanted this to be a surprise, but I suppose that’s impossible now.”
Dutch’s frown morphed into a glare. “What are you talking about?”
“We went to the grocery store so we could prepare lunch for the Blackthorn Riders tomorrow.”
The MC members stared. “You already took care of breakfast for us,” Enforcer One said. “What’s up with feeding us again?”
“We’re putting you to a lot of trouble, especially considering the cousins didn’t recognize each other.” Seth paused. “Why is that, Dutch? Did you have a facelift?”
“I was in an accident, a bad one. After I healed up, I asked a plastic surgeon to work on my face. He told me he couldn’t put my ugly mug back the way it was before the accident. I told him to do whatever was necessary so I wouldn’t scare little kids.” He pointed to his face. “This is what I got.”
“It’s not a terrible face,” Enforcer Two said.
Dutch chuckled. “My Old Lady agrees with you.” That brought more laughter from his cronies.
“Why do you have a new name?” Elias asked.
“It seemed wise since one of my enemies caused the accident that gave me a new face.” He scratched his jaw. “A new name to go along with a new face.”
Elias stared. “If you wanted a new life, why didn’t you get out of the MC world?”
