Page 37 of Old Flame

Pepper’s eyes flickered with fury. Was she insane? They had guns. Why was she so, so calm? And who was the Mafia? The Judgment was an MC. Did Florida have a Mafia?

“That ain’t gonna work for me,” she replied.

The man holding me laughed, as did a couple of the others.

“Like I said, you are the only one off-limits.” He licked his lips. “Because of The Judgment. If not, you’d be going with me too.”

Pepper rolled her eyes. I stared at her in shock, horror, and a touch of awe. I wanted to be Pepper Abe in my next life.

“With or without Micah, I wouldn’t be going with you. And neither is she. Now, you can let her go, or I can make you,” Pepper warned him.

All the men began to laugh as if this were a stand-up comedy club and some comedian was onstage.

Then…Pepper smirked.

“I’ve always thought Pep was witty as fuck,” a deep voice drawled from behind us.

The man’s arm around my neck tightened until I couldn’tbreathe as he swung me around with him to see who had spoken. My feet slid, and one of my heels came off in my struggle to touch the ground and breathe.

A man stood with his arms crossed over his chest, and his stance relaxed as a wicked grin played across his face. His hair was as black as mine and hung just below his ears. The deep olive complexion and his pale blue eyes were a startling mixture. He didn’t look my way, but winked in Pepper’s direction.

It was then I recognized his leather vest. It was like Rome’s. He was one of the MC members. But he wasn’t holding a gun, and he was alone. This couldn’t be the calvary.

“Now, how is it that you showed up here?” the man I thought was called Lord asked.

The other man shifted his gaze from Pepper to him rather slowly. “We stop in. Check on Pep. Listen to her jokes.”

“I don’t want issues with The Judgment. I want the candy that the man at the bar stole from me. That’s it,” he said with a small shrug.

The other man snickered as he looked from him to me. “What about her? You gonna let her go?”

I could feel the others’ eyes on me. I held my breath, waiting and praying silently that he said yes.

“She’s my insurance, collateral, payment for the hassle.”

The man with the leather vest shook his head slowly, as if he hated to share the bad news with him. “That wasn’t the right answer, I’m afraid.”

All at once, men in black leather vests began to enter the bar from every available door. Unlike the blue-eyed man, they had guns aimed in this direction. It continued until we were surrounded.

“Seems you pissed off The Judgment after all,” the blue-eyed man said.

Lord glanced around and smirked. “This doesn’t have to getmessy. Just give me Kendrix Jett, and we will leave.”

The blue-eyed man cut his eyes to me. “And her.”

The other guy sighed. “She was with Jett. She goes with me. What does it matter to you if we take her?”

“Clear out,” a man said.

I watched as Micah Abe came walking between two men near the back door.

“Everyone not involved in this, head out the entrance. Sorry for the disruption. Won’t happen again. Come on back tomorrow for free drinks and fried pickles,” Micah informed the customers, who began to scuffle, then dart for the door, coming out from under tables and other hiding places.

“Micah Abe,” Lord said without turning around to look at him. He kept his focus on the blue-eyed man who had no weapon, as if he was more worried about him than all the others holding guns. “I was just telling your men here that I just want Kendrix Jett and the woman he came in here with. He stole from me. You know how that works. If someone takes from you, then you go get it.”

Micah truly did look like a movie star as he walked with a swagger into the bar. He reminded me of Brad Pitt in his younger years. He seemed out of place and not at all formidable, yet so calm. Much like his sister.

“You can have Kendrix, but I believe Lick was clear—the woman stays here.”

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