Page 48 of Butcher

“Clearly.”

“Can I get some ice?” Warrant muttered. “If you keep me from having babies, I’m going to-”

“Like any woman is going to let you close enough to impregnate her,” Toxic cut in, chuckling at his own joke.

I doubted either man had trouble in the dating area. What was it with these guys? They were all gorgeous, stacked with muscles, and tattooed from head to toe.

Butcher let my arms drop, then snagged my knife before I could decide whether I should go after Warrant and Scythe again. “What’s your problem?” Butcher growled, glaring at him.

“My problem?” Warrant barked. “Ask her, she fucking attacked me first.”

They all looked at me. By this point, more of the men had come into the clubhouse, only there were more I didn’t recognize. I was starting to get the feeling I may have fucked up. “He snuck up on me.”

“I announced myself,” he muttered, getting to his feet. “And I’m wearing a fucking cut.”

“So would anyone who was smart enough to be an assassin,” I pointed out. Then, because despite how bad this was, I couldn’t help myself, “Besides, you hit on me.”

“You what?” A dark cloud came over Butcher, and for just a second all eyes were off of me.

“Easy, Big Guy,” Toxic was in front of Butcher, hands held up in a calming manner.

Warrant looked from Butcher to me. “I told you I was a friend.” Back to Butcher “I didn’t hit on her much.”

I didn’t respond, but gave him a look that said that my earlier answer about assassins still applied. I looked over my shoulder at Butcher, but he was still glaring at Warrant.

All eyes were on Butcher now, the tension was thick as molasses. As though he might explode into a murderball at any second. I might have pushed this too far. I reached out gently and touched his arm. Instantly, and thankfully, he relaxed. “I’d say I’d kick your ass for touching my woman, but it looks like she already did that,” Butcher said with a feral grin.

“Fuck you!”

He moved around me, advancing toward Warrant, but before he had the chance to do...whatever he was about to do, Lock’s voice cut through the room. “Enough. Isla, this is Cynic, Rotor,” he said, glancing over at the still angry man “and you already met Scythe and Warrant. They’re our friends from Wyoming.”

Oops.Yeah, I’d messed up. “No Cypher?” That was the only name I’d kept hearing the whole time. Cypher and the guys. How was I supposed to know these were some of the ‘guys’? I mean, I guess I could have taken Warrant at his word when he said he was a friend, but that wasn’t my style. I was more of a knock them out and tie them up, then question them, kind of girl. It was safer that way.

Lockout didn’t seem too upset. I didn’t need a crash course on MC culture to know that what he said went in this place. He could toss me out on my ass in a hot second. “There’s a lot of shit going down right now,” Lock told the newcomers. “I’d rather that she was…cautious…than complacent.”

I shot him a grateful smile. The last thing I wanted to do was piss these men off. With each day that went by I respected them more and more.

Toxic put a hand on Butcher’s shoulder because he was still tense as hell and glaring at Warrant. “Come on, man, he didn’t know Isla was yours.”

His? I looked at Butcher, but the only emotion I could read on his face was contained fury. Toxic seemed to be the only other one to recognize it. Butcher wasn’t the type to keep that bottled up for the guys, was he controlling himself for me? I didn’t want to examine the way hearing I was Butcher’s made my heart race, so I stepped forward toward Warrant as Toxic tried to convince Butcher not to pound theman’s face in. “Sorry.” I wondered if Warrant realized I didn’t utter that word very often. Then I turned to Scythe to include him in my apology.

He glanced over at me, and he nodded in acceptance, though his face was still grim. It seemed to be his default. “No worries. I have to admit, I’m impressed.”

“That’s because you didn’t take a hit to the balls.” Warrant complained, but then he broke into a grin and I knew I was forgiven.

“She’s the assassin the others are after,” Toxic told them.

Warrant focused on Butcher. “Didn’t mean to touch your girl, Bro. Was just fighting for my life, ya know?” he chuckled. He held his hand out and after a tense moment, Butcher shook it. The trouble seemed to be over. “Not surprised that you chose her though.”

“Isla.”

I turned and sent Lockout a questioning look. I was grateful for the interruption because I wasn’t sure what he meant by ‘chose’.

“Now that we’re all here, why don’t you run through that plan you mentioned.”

I’d told him a few days ago that I had the perfect plan to take out the assassins once and for all. Then we could focus solely on Randal. Nodding, I followed the others back into the meeting room. Once they were all seated, I started in. “I have a cabin in the White Mountains. It’s about five hours north, and very remote.”

“A much better place for a showdown than in the city,” Hush remarked.

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