Page 44 of Necessary Evil

“Why aren’t you just Josh?”

“Only my lovers call me Josh.” He winked at her.

“And his mom,” Ryder piped in.

“Are we doing mother jokes now?” Sentinel turned to her. “Your mama’s so nasty she—”

“My mother’s dead,” Ryder cut in, deadpan, with just enough grief to make it believable.

Evil smirked. The line stopped Sentinel in his tracks for a moment, until he remembered Ryder’s mother was alive and well and living in Boca Raton.

Warden shook his head. “Anyway, if you go to the charity rides with us, you’re going to be asked your name.”

“I can’t use Lucy?” she asked.

“You can, but I still think you need a good road name.” Warden tapped a finger to his lip in thought. “Shyster?”

“Mouthpiece,” Sentinel added.

“How about Loophole?” Ryder put in, and grinned.

“Lay off, you assholes,” Evil said.

“It’s okay,” Lucy said. “Loophole is fine. Why do they call you Ryder? Is that your first name or is that what you do?”

Sentinel hooted a shocked laugh. If Lucy kept putting Ryder in her place, there was going to be blood before the burgers came out. Still, Evil knew he’d chosen the right chick. Lucy wouldn’t back down from the hazing.

They did it to all of the babes who wanted to hang with them. Warden had his eye on the new bartender at The Blue Line. Sentinel had a different girl each month. Ryder never had anyone, but someday she would want to introduce a significant other to them, and that unlucky son of a bitch was going to get pulverized by the same bullshit she threw at all their significant others.

“ ‘Killer’ was taken,” Ryder said.

That hit a little too close to home. “I said knock it off,” Evil said.

Ryder might have come back with another volley regardless, but just then the food arrived. And even though the place was rough, the food was good.

They had just finished when the first asshole showed up.

“Hey, good-looking,” the sergeant-at-arms from the Daemon Fyre Motorcycle Club said.

“Hi there,” Warden said, stretching up to his full height in front of him, blocking the table with his bulk.

“Hello, Chris,” Lucy said, surprising them all. “You aren’t involved in anything that will violate the hard-won parole we worked out for you, are you?”

“No, ma’am.” Chris grinned. “I just want to make sure you’re all right. This is not the place for decent folk.” He gave her a wink.

“It’s not your concern,” Evil said, slinging an arm around Lucy’s shoulder. No poaching, motherfucker. This one’s mine. Mine to protect. Mine to fuck.

Chris’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Lucy nodded. “I’m with him.”

Pride flared up in his chest. She’d claimed him.

Chris put up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t know. I’ll see you around.”

“You better not,” she said.

They all stood up as Ryder went to pay the check. A few scumbags looked like they wanted to start something as she waited by the register.

---