Page 52 of Oh, Hell No

“You don’t. I was just putting Hawks back to bed and saw your door closed. Figured if it wasn’t family business, it was a woman.”

Leave it alone, Bane.

He walked over and leaned back against the counter I was working on, crossing his arms and studying me, so I had no choice but to look at him.

“What?” I asked. The annoyance in my tone wasn’t hidden.

“Nothing.”

I clenched my teeth. Damn him and his nosy shit.

“Please tell me that Wilma made us something for lunch,” Forge said as he walked into the kitchen, dressed in dirt-coated jeans, a shirt that had been white this morning but no longer was, and his boots.

“No,” I replied, looking from Bane to my brother. “You been trying to break that quarter Kash sent to us?” I asked him, putting the two sides of my sub together and picking up my plate.

“Yeah. No wonder he sent it to us. It thinks it’s a fucking bull. I swear to God I haven’t been tossed that many times in my life.”

My baby brother, Kash, had moved to the Alabama branch of the family when he turned twenty-one. Originally, it was for a girl, but that was a story with a tragic ending. However, he had stayed there. Found his place. Dad and Kash had never seen eye to eye. Mom had spoiled him too, which just made it worse.

“I hadn’t gotten on him yet. Planned on it later today. Ransom needed some help at the distillery this morning.”

Bane was still watching me. I could feel his eyes follow me as I took my lunch and went to sit down on a stool at the bar.

Why was what I was doing with Winslet so fucking interesting to him? When he had been sneaking his ass upstairs to sleep with Halo, I hadn’t said one damn word. I’d let him make his own choices. I’d appreciate the same.

Forge went over to the refrigerator and opened it up. “Why was your knife in the passenger seat of my truck?”

Fuck. Because I’d been preoccupied, thinking about how Winslet had looked sleeping. My eyes, of their own accord, went to Bane. He cocked an eyebrow at me.

Dammit, Forge, can you not keep your mouth shut?!

I cut my eyes to my brother as he pulled out leftover pizza. “Iforgot it.”

That wasn’t what he had been asking. He wanted to know why I had been in his truck. It was black and inconspicuous. Easier to be overlooked, parked on the side of the road. My Hummer stood out more.

Taking a bite of my sub, I held my brother’s gaze, daring him to question me. Not that Forge feared me in the least. He was the middle child and had been creating chaos since he’d entered the world. Which meant my reaction had piqued his curiosity.

“All right. What did you do? Who did you slice up?” he asked me.

I chewed, then swallowed before answering, “No one.”

He gave me a smirk that said he didn’t believe me. “Bullshit. You took my truck, so I need to know what crime it’s gonna look like I committed.”

As if he was worried. Had I taken my knife to someone, he knew there would be no traces left behind. I had both sets of eyes on me now. They weren’t going to let me enjoy my fucking lunch.

Setting it down, I sighed. “I slashed the sidewalls of a cocksucker’s tires. Your truck is easier to blend in than my Hummer. Can I eat now?”

Forge let out a laugh. “Who the hell pissed you off?”

“My guess is, it was the Mr. Rogers clone,” Bane drawled.

I shot him a scowl.

“Who?” Forge asked, looking confused.

“Mr. Rogers—that weird guy that did that kids’ show back in the ’80s or whenever,” Bane explained.

“I know who the fuck Mr. Rogers is. I mean, who is his clone?” Forge replied.

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