Page 17 of Havoc

Mace finally spoke up for himself and his unruly dog. “Yeah, it’s legal, and lots of folks around here do it. The problem is Nine likes women a lot more than they like him.”

I reached over to give Nine a little scratch behind the ear. “I think it hurts his feelings when they scream and run from him.”

Mace’s response made me chuckle. “If those women knew how strong his hunting instincts were, they wouldn’t act like prey around him.”

Even Riley thought that was funny. She hid a big grin behind her hand, but I could tell by the way her eyes danced with amusement that she appreciated his kind of humor.

Mace caught sight of his old lady coming out of the restroom and jerked his chin at her. “I gotta go. I promised Alicia some one-on-one time in the basement.”

“Catch you later, brother.”

“You too,” he replied.

I threw my hand up at Alicia and yelled, “Hola, Alicia.”

She responded in kind, all smiles.

Riley spoke. “So, you speak Spanish?”

“Yeah, I speak about twenty words. All taught to me by guess who?”

She laughed, “Alicia.”

“Correctamundo. And Nine got to gnaw on my leg every time I mispronounced a word.”

She shot me a doubtful look. “I think you’re pulling my leg about that one.”

“Correctamundo again,” I teased her. “That was me, just trying to keep the conversation interesting.” It was nice to finally be able to let go of some of the stress of this situation and relax.

Her expression turned admiring. “You have a good sense of humor. I can see why you like being here. You seem like you’re very much in your element here at the clubhouse with the other brothers.”

Feeling like she might understand, I disclosed more of my motivation to join the club. “For me, it’s more than just fuckin’ fitting in. It’s being with men you can trust to have your back. People who don’t judge you, act like assholes constantly, or compete over women and every damn thing else in life—and that’s damn hard to find in this world.”

Damn, I realized my voice had gone gruff again, and I sounded like I was getting wound up again. I wasn’t. My club was just something I was passionate about.

I drained my beer and thumped my glass back down on the table. When I chanced a look at Riley, I saw something akin to understanding flicker in her eyes.

“I thought I got it before. Now I realize how far from getting it I was. Thank you for the honesty. I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. Don’t get used to me talkin’ about my feelings all the damn time. This was a one-off thing.”

Leaning forward, she said conspiratorially, “I’m hoping you slip up again because that was good information.”

I snorted a laugh. “Don’t count on it. I don’t plan to make it easy for you to pick my brain.”

Her voice took on a serious tone. “Well, I’m not interested in picking your brain. And being stubborn about sharing information only hurts you because it’s harder for us to work together.”

I motioned for the prospect tending bar to bring me another beer and told Riley, “Simmer the fuck down. I was just fuckin’ teasing with ya.”

She looked me dead in the eyes and called out my shitty behavior. “I know you didn’t ask, but actual apologies are much more effective at getting women to simmer the fuck down.”

Tapping the side of my head, I said, “Don’t worry, I’ll file that handy piece of fuckin’ information away in a safe place.”

“You do that. But in the meantime, I have a question.”

Sigh. “Of course, you do. Ask away.”

“Why were Mace and his girlfriend going down to the basement? Do they have something interesting going on down there?”

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