Page 35 of Brandt's Rule

“I’m going home, eating dinner and going to bed. Girl, you worked me under the damn table today!” Maverik said.

Tempest smiled. “Nothing like a good day’s work to clear your head.”

“Clear your head?! I’m about to fall over,” Barron exclaimed.

“And here I was about to invite you all out. First round is on me, but I guess I’ll go by myself and treat you all another time.”

“Hold on, you buying?” Barron asked.

“I am,” Tempest answered.

“I’ll be there,” Barron said.

Brandt’s chest rumbled. No way in hell he was allowing Barron to go out drinking with Tempest without him being there. “Am I invited?”

Tempest turned to Brandt and bestowed the most gentle, sincere smile on him. “Of course, you are. Everybody is. Even Ronan. You all treat him like a child, but he’s 19 years old.”

“Ronan can go. I trust you to make sure my boy gets home in one piece,” Maverik said.

“Daddy, I’m not a kid.”

“You’re the youngest of my kids, that makes you a kid. You coming home to clean up first? If so, come on,” Maverik said.

“Yes, sir. I’m coming,” Ronan answered.

“I gotta get home, but I appreciate the invitation,” Jobe said.

“Another time,” Tempest said.

“I’m coming,” Remi said.

“An hour?” she asked.

“Give or take,” Remi said.

“See y’all there, and anybody else that might want to come,” Tempest said.

“Most of our clan, our age anyway, don’t live here. They’re off following their dreams. But you never know. We’ll see,” Barron said.

Tempest smiled and pulled on her helmet, cranked her bike and drove away leaving them all watching her go.

Brandt huffed out a deep relaxing breath.

“You are the dumbest fucker that ever fucked,” Barron said.

“Excuse me?” Brandt demanded.

“That female is fucking magnificent and if she’s yours and you don’t make every effort to claim her, you are stupider than I ever thought you were.”

“It’s more stupid, not stupider,” Brandt snapped.

“Go ahead, deflect. Then when you don’t claim the female that should stand at your side and make you all kinds of fucking incomparable, don’t be pissed off when somebody else does.”

“You try to claim her you die,” Brandt said plainly.

“You threatening me?” Barron asked jovially. He was pushing Brandt on purpose.

“No. I love you. You’re my brother, couldn’t be closer if we were actually blood. But if you touch her, try to claim her, if anyone does, I’m not sure what I’ll do. I’m not threatening you. I’m warning you.”

---