Page 61 of Nikolai (Kansas City Reapers)

“You can call me Paige,” Maddy answered, holding her hand out to greet Seth. I kept my face stoic, though my mind absorbed the shock, wondering how she came up with an alias so smoothly, without batting an eyelash.

“Good to meet you, Paige! These chuckle-fucks didn’t mention they’d be bringing a guest, but hey, the more the merrier! You want to hang out inside with the missus while us boys go play with guns?” Seth asked, genuinely offering Maddy a safe place to hang out.

Before I could open my mouth to protest — and I was about to — Maddy beat me to the punch.

“No way! I’m not missing out on all the fun.”

“Heck yeah! A girl after my own heart. Well then boys, let’s get a move on then! One of you go grab the Harbinger of Disruptive Reboots so we can get going.”

“He’s in there with your wife, Seth. You go grab him,” Sully guffawed loudly. I turned to see him bent over, petting a large white dog that looked almost more cow than canine. The mutt was huge! “Who’s a good puppy? Who’s a good little puppers? You are! Yes, you are!” he cooed in a baby voice.

“No way. Y’all can fetch him. I know better than to try to break up the computer nerds.”

“Come off it, dude. You’re just afraid of your wife,” I teased him, rolling my eyes for good measure.

“Damn right, I am. I may be an ass, but I’m asmartass. I know when to push my wife and when to steer clear,” Seth cackled, crossing his arms.

Sully shook his head and made his way inside the house to grab Jax. Deacon, ever the man of few words, had already made his way down to the garage.

As Jax finally came out of the house, a pout on his face, we made our way down to the garage as well.

“The shooting range is in a garage? That hardly seems safe,” Maddy sassed.

“Nope, but the garage is where the four-wheelers are. And that’s how wegetto the shooting range, my dear,” Seth answered with his usual jovial sarcasm.

“I’m not your dear,” Maddy shot back without thinking.

“Aw, why not? I’m a fun fella.” Seth pouted, enjoying some harmless flirting, as was his nature. Just as in drinking, he was as Irish as they came.

“You may be a fun fella,” Maddy pandered, patting him on the cheek as though she’d known him for years. “Just not a handsome one.” She walked off towards Deacon, leaving Seth standing there, mouth agape.

“Oh. Oh, I like her,” Seth muttered to me with a grin, looking over to see Maddy looking over one of the four-wheelers curiously.

“Did I just hear you boys are heading out to the range,” a feminine voice called from inside the garage as I slipped into the driver’s seat of the four-wheeler Maddy had been examining, instructing her to climb up behind me and get situated.

“That must be Angela,” she whispered to me. I looked over to see Angela, the buxom, black-haired beauty, in all her strong-willed glory.

“The one and only.”

“My beautiful wife!” Seth called to her with open arms.

“Don’t even start with me, Seth Michael. You were absolutely about to go to the range without me. Don’t think you won’t be hearing about this later tonight,” she scolded the man, wagging her finger in his face with a stern look in her eye.

Seth had the decency to look sheepish as he made quick work of covering his ass — badly.

“I think I like her,” Maddy whispered with a grin.

“Me, too,” I admitted just as quietly.

“Alright boys, let’s head out!” Seth called, slippinginto another one of the four-wheelers with his wife. Deacon, Sully, and Jax each had their own as well.

With that, we were off, racing across Seth’s large property until we arrived at a large building.

“This place is huge,” Maddy whispered in awe as she gripped my waist from behind.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” I agreed wholeheartedly.

“Why do they have this place?” she asked.

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