Page 20 of The Edge of Intensity

I process the weird information and all I can come up with is, “So you do eat strawberries?”

Kathleen looks horrified. “Hell no. But I do sometimes use the two-second rule if I drop something delicious.”

“Two-second rule?” I muse and then it hits me. “Oh, yuck. Everything that lands on the floor needs to be thrown away.”

Kathleen snaps her fingers. “Not everything. Besides, we all need some germs every now and then. It’s the whole balance of good and bad.”

I wrinkle my nose and hear Rourke rumble, “That’s enough. Not everyone needs the germs reminder. The balance of good and bad, though? That’s what we’ll be discussing.”

“Oh,” I quip. “That reminds me. Would it be okay if we take Buckey to my place? I’d rather have him there to work with him.”

“I don’t think that’s a smart idea,” Kathleen states.

Rourke sighs but doesn’t get a chance to answer because Parker rumbles, “Incoming. I think reinforcements are here. Well, it’s just one guy.”

We glance at the monitor and watch a large man swing his leg off his bike. He’s wearing a Stetson with a leather chin strap instead of a helmet and the cowboy boots, along with the leather vest, shows he’s like all the others around here. The patches on his leather vest, though? They’re different than the Iron Hot Blood ones.

The guy steps inside the clubhouse and it’s Kathleen who states, “You’re not Atticus Wolffield.”

The guy chuckles. “Nice of you to notice, sweet thing.”

He dismisses her and steps closer to Rourke who guides me to the side to put some space between me and the stranger. I don’t know if he’s doing it out of protection or for my warry brain, but I do appreciate it.

The guy holds out his hand. “Rourke, I presume. I’m Marvin. My father told me you guys unwittingly crossed the fuckers I’ve been building a case against.”

“You’re building a case against Erwin Desmond?” Kathleen questions and then snaps, “I call bullshit. Cowboy Bikers MC Lawmen are an official division of the government. Being above the law, but upholding it to bring down criminals in your own way. It doesn’t mean you work offline. So, why aren’t you guys linked to any of the active cases involving Erwin Desmond? No one has been able to bring him and his men down due to lack of evidence.”

Marvin’s head slowly turns to Kathleen. He lets his gaze glide over her body from her lips down to her cowboy boots. Her dog is leaning against her leg and bares his teeth. The corner of his mouth twitches.

Kathleen is visibly fuming and I can tell she’s a breath away from snapping at him some more when Marvin completely dismisses her and tells Rourke, “Prez? Mind if we have a word?”

“I’m the one who called you here,” Kathleen snaps.

Rourke holds up his hand. “Enough. Kathleen, mind keeping my old lady company? And for the love of everything that’s holy…please don’t bring up stuff you did before this fucker stepped into the clubhouse.”

It’s a good thing Rourke and Marvin both turn their backs on us and head for church because the look Kathleen is stabbing in their direction? It’s clear she wants to throttle both of them.

CHAPTER TEN

– ROURKE –

I shut the door behind us and the first thing Marvin states is, “Quite the mouth on that woman.”

Crossing my arms in front of my chest, I lift one of my eyebrows and keep my voice even when I fire back, “The woman in question is the sheriff. Not to mention, she was born into this MC and while she might not be a member, she’s just as respected.”

Marvin holds his hands palms up. “I meant no disrespect.”

“You’d better not,” I grumble and pull out my chair to take a seat.

The fucker grabs one of the other chairs. “You said she’s not a member, does she have an old man? Boyfriend? Husband?”

“Keep your cock in your pants. You’re here for a case. If not? There’s the fucking door, let it hit you on the back of your head on the way out,” I snarl and get to my feet.

Marvin leans back in his chair. “The reason I ask is because a sheriff that hot? She shouldn’t be alone at night.”

Anger hits me hard. Who does this asshole think he is, coming to my clubhouse acting like a fucking horndog?

“Erwin Desmond and his gang use women as punching bags.” Marvin surges forward and places his forearms on the table in front of him. “They don’t shy away from violence and the abusing and killing horses part? It’s only the tip of the iceberg because their main business is dogfights. The horses that don’t stay on their hooves? They get fed to the dogs. They also use injured horses to get the dogs excited before a fight.”

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