Page 93 of Secondhand Smoke

Ava lifted the thermal tote she’d brought. “How about red beans and rice with a whole lotta andouille in it?”

He grinned.

They set up at the picnic table beside the shop, napkins threatening to flit away in the breeze. Ava unpacked the food: the promised red beans and rice with sausage, cornbread, steamed broccoli for a little something green. She’d already fed the boys, but Remy wanted to sit in Daddy’s lap and pick things off his paper plate.

Mercy forked up a bite of rice and then sent her a level look over it. “So what’s going on?”

Busted.

She sliced a small bite of andouille and shrugged. “Nothing. I wanted us to have lunch.”

“Right.”

No secrets. Deception just wasn’t a possibility.

“Your brother’s here today,” she said.

“Half-brother.”

“Yes, well, he’s here, and he’s technically your brother, at least partway,” she added when he frowned, “and youdidtry to kill him the last time he was here.”

“I don’ttryto kill people, baby,” he said in a perfectly normal voice. He grinned. “But sometimes pretty girls get in the way and distract me.”

“Things ended on a good note, though,” she continued, “before he left for New Orleans. So things should be okay now, right?”

He made a face.

“Merc.”

“I haven’t killed the guy yet,” he said, exasperated.

Ava mopped at her beans with a bite of bread and switched tactics. “Imagine if you united and used your combined powers for good.”

That surprised him so much that he forgot to be ticked off. “What?” he asked, grin touching the corners of his lips.

“Take the Avengers,” she continued. “They’ve all got their special skillsets. The team needs each one of them. But think about it. When heavy lifting needs to be done, it’s Captain America and Thor, every time. They’re the heavy hitters. That could be you and Colin,” she said, aiming her fork at him. “With your superhuman strength, you could be an unstoppable force for good. Good for the club, obviously. No offense but I don’t see you saving the world anytime soon, baby.”

His brows lifted. “Quite the analogy.”

“Isn’t it though?”

“So who am I? Cap or Thor?”

She pretended to consider. “Well, neither of them tortures people for a living, so…”

He laughed. “Yeah.”

“Try to get along with your brother, for you own sake,” she urged. “You’ll be happier for it.”

He nodded and returned his attention to his food, one strong hand holding Remy firmly in place.

~*~

“It’s too crowded,” Michael said, arms folded as he stared through the window toward the clubhouse. If he hadn’t been Michael, and hadn’t looked as surly and scary as ever, Holly would have said he was pouting.

It was lunchtime, and though Holly had packed him a sandwich and chips to eat at the clubhouse with the guys when he was on break, he’d come here, to her office instead, out of sorts thanks to the additional members in town.

“It’s only four extra guys,” Holly said innocently, careful to keep her face neutral.

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