Page 5 of Snagged By Hook

When Nova looked up, she found herself staring at a beautiful woman tucked under the arm of a man who was equal parts intimidating and welcoming. He inclined his head but didn’t speak.

“Um, yeah.” She shook the woman’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“This is my ol’ man, Zombie.” Heidi smacked his chest with the back of her hand, and he turned a megawatt smile on her. A smile that toned down his earlier intimidation factor tenfold.

“Hi, Nova, how’re you getting along here? All good?” He spoke to her but shifted his gaze to Croon, who still hadn’t acknowledged her.

“It’s great. I really appreciate the opportunity, and everyone has been just great.”

God, Nova, could you maybe use another word?

He smirked at her. “That’s…great. Ain’t it great, Croon?”

Croon finally looked up at her and smiled. “Nova, how the hell are you? Dale giving you the shit or what?” he asked jokingly.

“Not at all, Dale is just?—”

“Let me guess, great?” Zombie quipped, and Heidi shushed him.

“Ignore him, he’s feeling a little snalty today.”

“Snalty?”

“Yeah. Snarky and salty, snalty.” Nova lost her battle not to laugh out loud, and thankfully, so did Zombie. Nova wasn’t in the culture, but she was pretty sure laughing at an MC president was bad form.

Zombie’s hand disappeared under the table, and Heidi jumped. “I’ll show you snalty, Rabbit.”

Nova turned to go, but Croon gently grabbed her wrist. “Do me a favor. When that ass weasel orders a drink.” He nodded in the direction he’d been staring earlier. “Spit in it for me?”

“No can do, sir, against the bartender’s code of conduct,” she answered before looking at who he’d indicated. Once she did, she almost wished she’d agreed.

It was the ladies’ man from outside. The one who dared flirt with her with his girlfriend right there. If he flirted when his woman was on his arm, what the hell did he do when she wasn’t around?

Brent had done that, and Nova had brushed it off as just his personality. Harmless flirting, everyone did it in degrees, right? But it wasn’t. Nine times out of ten, the women he cheated with, he’d met with Nova right there too. Just like Tattooed Ass Weasel.

She liked that. From now on, he’d be TAW to her.

With a smile on her face, she headed back to the bar. Dale had just cut the music since the band was getting ready to start, and for a moment, the bar was quiet. A shrill whistle cut through the air. She dropped her head and silently reminded herself that dick punching the customers was frowned upon.

Turning toward where the sound originated, she realized that she held the attention of the customers in her immediate vicinity. She saw the table where the whistle had come from. It was the dude-bro-man table that had been relentless earlier.

The one who was snapping in the air, whom she assumed was the whistler, was also the one who wanted her number. Dale had to step in to get him to back off. He was going to send him and his buddies packing, but Nova said they could stay. She quickly realized that was a mistake.

Before she even got to the table, TAW was there and lifting the guy physically out of his chair as if he were a stuffed toy. TAW was growling in his face. The closer she got, the more she heard—it wasn’t actual growls, it was words. They were just snarled menacingly as if a freaking grizzly bear had learned English.

“How dare you come here and disrespect women, especially one under our protection. Do you have a death wish, or are you just that fucking stupid?” TAW gave him a shake. “Don’t bother answering. I know it’s the latter.”

TAW was giving the whistler a lesson on respecting women?

Pot meet kettle.

He physically drag-carried the guy toward the door. When his friends jumped up in protest, Croon appeared. “Don’t do something I won’t regret. It’s time to go. You can follow your friend there, or I can give you the same escort service he has. Your choice.”

Whistler’s friends seemed to be smarter than him as they shuffled silently toward the door.

“Holy shit, you Bastards throw one hell of a party up here in Utah.” A smoky female voice echoed through the mic.

Nova turned and saw a gorgeous red-headed woman dressed head to toe in leather standing on stage. She was over six feet in those heels if she was an inch.

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