Page 35 of Lawless in Leather

He walked back around to the front entrance.

Luis was at the door. “Hey, man, congratulations on the game.” He waved Mal through with a grin.

“Thanks.” Mal nodded and slipped into the tiny foyer. He paid the cover charge and ascended the stairs. The sound of music and voices was much louder than it had been the other night. Figured. Saturday night was the busiest night for just about anywhere that served booze. Add in pretty women doing interesting things in the sort of dress Raina had been wearing the other night and the patrons would be rolling in. As he pushed through the curtain at the top of the stairs, he stopped, getting his bearings. The small stage was empty and it seemed the band was taking a break but there was music blasting from the sound system, someone singing about just one last kiss.

He didn’t want to think about last kisses.

He was much more focused on that first kiss. And the one after that. The next kiss.

But that meant convincing Raina that the next one had to happen.

Despite the noise, the crowd seemed tame enough. There wasn’t the sort of vibe to the room that he associated with trouble. Between the army, security work, and traipsing around various dives after Ally, he had a pretty good radar for trouble when it was brewing.

But nothing was spiking his senses right now, so he relaxed a little and changed his surveillance of the room to something more targeted. Seeking out one bright-red head in the sea of heads.

It took longer than he’d thought. Raina wasn’t exactly tall, not even if she strapped on four-inch heels. Hell, next to the girls from the Angels she was positively tiny, so she didn’t stand out from the crowd. But eventually he caught a glimpse of red and started to work his way through the crowd toward it. As he got closer, he heard her laugh ring out.

The shock of it—of that moment of instant gut-tightening recognition—made his head feel light for a moment as his body tightened. God, that was a sexy laugh. No wonder he couldn’t see her. She was ringed by a group of men, all of them likely—unless they were complete morons—trying to make her laugh again.

One of them must have succeeded because her laugh came again. He closed the last few feet then hesitated. He was trying to convince Raina to give him a shot. She was obviously nervous about him. Thought he was a bad boy. Charging in on her conversation like a caveman staking his claim wasn’t going to improve that impression of him. The grouped men were standing near the bar. So maybe it was time for a bit of strategy while he scoped out the situation more thoroughly. He turned toward the bar and found a gap in the row of people trying to buy drinks. He slid into the space, just a foot or so from Raina and her admirers.

One of the bartenders leaned forward to hear Mal’s order over the noise. He’d limited himself to a single glass of champagne at the Saints party for the toast that Alex had made but hadn’t felt like anything more. Maybe in the back of his mind he’d been planning to come to Raina all along. Whatever the reason, he was in Brooklyn now, just a short cab ride home, so he could have another drink. “Scotch,” he said. “Rocks.”

He generally stuck to beer these days but standing here and listening to Raina laugh, he needed something stronger. Something that might have enough burn to dull the irresistible pull Raina seemed to exert on him.

Because, despite all the explanations and rationales he’d been giving himself for why exactly he was here again and why exactly he’d offered Tucker a hefty bonus to replace Raina’s tires after hours on a Saturday, the driving force was the need to see her again. Of course, the fact that Tucker was an ex-cop who could check the tires and Raina’s car for prints was also handy.

His desire to see her again was, to be fair, tempered with a healthy dose of concern after her tires had been slashed. That had set all his instincts to high alert. Still, even if that hadn’t happened, if Raina had just jumped in her hot-pink truck and driven off after the press conference, he was pretty sure he would have found himself back here anyway. Wanting to see that face. Wanting to see the green eyes light up when she thought she was putting him in his place. Wanting to hear that little rasp in her voice and taste that goddamn mouth.

And now here he was with no idea how to bring that about.

He turned, scotch in hand, but didn’t give up his spot at the bar. Keeping half an ear on Raina and her group of admirers, he settled in to wait for the herd to thin a little. To occupy the time, he scanned the room and the crowd, seeing if anyone stood out. Someone was targeting Raina. Question was, Why? And were they ballsy enough to try to get close to her?

But he didn’t spot anyone who made him pause. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, in small groups and couples. Laughter and the clink of glasses filled the room. He didn’t see anyone sitting by themselves. No men—or women—who seemed out of place.

Another mouthful of scotch, the peat-tinged burn of it warming his stomach. She served good liquor. He hadn’t specified a brand yet what he was drinking was a decent single-malt. Not the blended cheap stuff that so many bars would try to fob off on the customers.

She’d want people to enjoy themselves. And that included drinks that were as good as the entertainment.

He heard Raina laugh again and turned toward the group. Just in time to see two of the men move away. Which left a gap in the throng surrounding her. He could see the moment she spotted him. Her smile went a little stiff and then he saw her force herself to relax. To look like she didn’t care.

It didn’t work. He could also see the flush in her cheek and the sudden deepening of her eye color.

He waited.

She stayed where she was. Neither of them looked away.

One heartbeat. Two. Three. Four.

Then, to his relief, she gave the tiniest shake of her head, flashed a brilliant, apologetic smile at the men around her, and came toward him.

It didn’t take many steps. Just barely long enough for Mal to register the looks of annoyance on the faces of the guys she was abandoning. And for him to enjoy the hit of satisfaction that hummed through his veins as they shot him looks that should have set his hair on fire.

He refrained from the smile he wanted to send back at them. The smug I-win smile. Because, while it would be undeniably satisfying, it might just send Raina turning on her heel and heading back to them.

So. Dismiss the other men from his mind. Focus on the woman. The one who had an equal chance of setting him on fire. Only in all the good ways.

“Ms. Easton,” he said when she tilted her head to one side, put her hand on her hip, and looked up at him with challenge clear in her eyes.

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