There was something completely sadistic about sitting in that restaurant and watching Anabeth work the crowd after what happened between us in the basement. Sadistic and cruel, to be honest. Yet, I couldn’t leave. Couldn’t trade guard positions with one of the men working the party. I couldn’t fucking leave her, and that ate at me more than anything else.

So I sat, my cock hard and my mood foul. I watched as she read tarot cards for people and laughed with old friends of both of ours. And I hated myself a little bit more for opening my heart to the fiery redhead fate had once again thrown at me.

“You look ready to kill someone,” Finn said as he took a seat on the stool next to mine. He sat like I did—back to the counter, legs spread. Ready to hop up if needed. Ready to fight. He may not have been in the military, but he’d picked up our quirks easily enough.

I shrugged and took a sip of my beer, not taking my eyes off Anabeth. “Just doing my job.”

“Guard dog Bishop? Is that what you’re saying?”

Fitting. “Woof.”

Finn watched the crowd for a long moment, fidgeting. Obviously uncomfortable, though why, I had no idea. At least, not until he opened his mouth.

“I’ve always felt responsible for Anabeth le—”

“No.” I slammed my beer down, drawing attention from a couple at the closest table. Not that I gave a shit. “I get that you two were friends or are friends or had some sort of friend thing going on, I do. And I always respected that. But I don’t want you in the middle of my shit, and I certainly don’t want to hear a goddamned word of your opinion on why she left.”

Finn just nodded, his lips pulled into a flat line. “Understood. Not my story to tell anyway.”

We went back to an uncomfortable silence, watching the room again. The rage inside me built with every smile Anabeth gave someone else, every laugh she released that wasn’t directed at me. Entertaining the crowd. Sick, jealous bastard described me well at that moment, but I couldn’t stop myself from feeling so mean. So angry. So motherfucking sick of the leash she’d had on me since the day we met.

Gage appeared in front of me, blocking my view and only pissing me off more. Not that he appeared to give a single fuck.

“What’s wrong with Finn?”

I glanced over, just then noticing how Finn had left the bar. He stood in the corner, watching Anabeth and looking…guilty? But I couldn’t care at that moment, didn’t have it in me to worry about my little brother, along with the girl who’d ripped my heart out with a spoon and a showman’s smile.

“No clue.” Rex bumped into my legs, tongue out and tail wagging. “Don’t you know dogs shouldn’t be in restaurants?”

Gage took the seat beside me, leaning down to pat the mutt’s head. “If you think the health inspector is our biggest worry tonight, you’re not paying attention.”

And I wasn’t—not to the possibility of the Soul Suckers coming to town, at least. My focus stayed on Anabeth, too drawn to her not to look. I’d always said the woman was impossible to miss, impossible to ignore, and she proved it to every fucker in that room. I wanted to hate her for it, for beaming and laughing and being social while I seethed, but I couldn’t hate her. Not when my heart beat faster every time she even glanced my way, my cock hardening with every flip of her hair. And that just soured my mood even more.

Everything was going about as well as could be expected until the door opened, the pealing of the bell bringing everyone’s attention to it. A big, burly man came strolling in with another guy right behind him. Both wearing Soul Suckers vests. They blocked the door, looking intimidating as fuck in their jeans and heavy boots. Intimidating to all the people sitting at the tables, at least. Me? I was ready for them. Let them try to start shit—I was pissed and mean enough to rip them apart with my bare hands. And that bullshit block the door to scare everyone in the place move wasn’t about to fool me. I wasn’t some fucking rookie, and neither were any of the men on my crew.

The two Soul Suckers had just made a huge mistake by walking into Katie’s place.

“At least, you’ve got your boots on tonight.” Gage stood and slipped through the crowd to block the kitchen door with Rex beside him. He’d pulled Shye’s protection detail for the night, which meant she had to be back there. Good—the last thing we needed was for these fuckers to see her. I had no doubt that’s why they’d shown up. Shye’s stepbrother was one of their enforcers, and he had some fucked-up notion that the girl owed a debt to the club. Payment for her meant rape or a beating, and there was no way Alder would allow that. Hell, there was no way any of us would. These fuckers weren’t getting near her.

And yeah, I was real fucking thankful I had my boots on.

As the two meatheads stood and did their best to look scary, I scanned the room, checking on everyone else. Looking for weak spots. Katie stood on the far side of the bar, a surprised and nervous expression on her face, but Deacon had his hand on her arm. Holding her in place. There were enough men at the tables to keep the rest of the women safe as well. The town always had been a bit of a sausage fest, and that would work in our favor tonight. The only glaring crack in our armor was Anabeth herself, who stood directly in front of our new friends. I hated that she was closer to them than to me, right in the path of whatever danger was about to come our way. She didn’t seem to notice, though, or she was used to dealing with a darker sort of crowd. The woman stood unafraid, gorgeous, and looking like a goddamned cherry on a sundae for those fuckers—one they definitely took notice of. The smaller of the two even licked his fucking lips as he stared at her.

I was going to have to kill someone in a minute.

“Looks like quite the party,” the big guy in front said, scanning the crowd. “I don’t see my friends, though. Maybe someone can help me with that. See, a few weeks back, we sent a couple of guys into town to check in on another friend of ours, and they didn’t come back. We’ve come to find out why.”

I rose to my feet, stepping closer, locking eyes with him. He grinned my way. Fucker thought he was the alpha in the room—it would be so much fun to prove him wrong.

“You wasted a trip,” I said. “As you can see, your friends aren’t here. There’s a lost and found at the truck stop over by the county line, though. Little box right by the registers. Maybe you should check there. See if somebody turned them in.”

His gaze went hard, his jaw clenching. He changed his expression quick, though. Smiling again in that arrogant, sarcastic way that meant he thought he had pulled something over on us.

“Or maybe I should start asking around.” He flicked a glance at Anabeth, making my heart skip a beat. “There are an awful lot of pretty ladies in this group, and I can be pretty damn persuasive when I need to be.”

The fuck he could. I caught Anabeth’s eye, nodding toward the back of the restaurant. I wanted her safe and away from them, tucked behind Deacon or Finn or Gage, but she raised her chin and brought out that heart-stopping grin. The showman in her stepping back on stage.

God, I both loved and hated the entertainer side of her.

“I’m reading tarot cards for people tonight,” she said, walking closer to the guy, swinging her hips and giving me a motherfucking heart attack. “Why don’t you pull a card so we can see what they say? Maybe they’ll show you a path to your friends.”

“You got a witch in this town?” He looked her up and down, eyeing every curve like a dog salivating over a steak. “Okay, witchy woman, do your best.”

Anabeth gave him a flirty sort of grin and held up her deck of cards, the fan of them resting on her fingertips. But something wasn’t right. I knew her deck, had seen her with it a million times. That wasn’t her deck.

That was one Miss had used. One she’d refused to let me touch. One she’d joked should only ever be handled by the Hansen women.

If I remembered right, Anabeth had just pulled the deck that hated men.

Okay, so this might be fun.

“Pick one”—Anabeth’s smile grew—“and I’ll tell you your future.”

He huffed a laugh but did as she suggested, pulling a single card from the deck and looking it over. “A man with a hoe…fitting for tonight, don’t you think?” He laughed with his friend, the two eyeing Anabeth even harder. “So what’s it mean, witch?”

Anabeth took the card back, pursing her lips in a concerned expression. “Oh dear, the Seven of Pentacles. That’s probably not the best card to read for you. Maybe pick another one.”

“Fuck that. Tell me what my card means.”

Anabeth shot a glance my way and winked. Motherfucking winked. She was going to get herself killed, and I was still farther away from her than the man at the door.

“The Seven of Pentacles represents the promise of success…” She paused as the guy smiled, and then she went in for the kill. “…unfulfilled. The rosebuds never grow, and the farmer is defeated by mother nature herself. The card is about loss and deception, crushing failure and disappointment. This card calls you out as a loser.”

The guy opened his mouth twice without speaking, looking shocked. Looking pissed. His hesitation gave me just enough time to reach Anabeth. To move in beside her as the guy found his words.

“You fucking cunt.”

Primitive, but if the way Anabeth stiffened was any indication, effective. I slid in front of her as the guy’s face turned red, as he took a single step toward her, looking ready to kill.

Time to play. “You don’t want to do that.”

He practically snarled, looking from Anabeth to me and back before zeroing in on me. “Where the fuck are our brothers? We know you did something to them.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, but like I said—the truck stop at the county line has a lost and found. You should really head there. Now.”

The room, already tense and silent, went deathly still as the kitchen door swooshed open and closed again. I didn’t need to turn to know what I’d see—Alder had just walked in. And if I had to guess, he was looking big, mean, and absolutely ready to kill a fucker. Game on.

“We got a problem here?” He strolled up all casual-like, his arms folded over his chest and a hard stare on his face. “I don’t remember seeing Tweedledee and Tweedledum on the guest list.”

“Ah, the illustrious Alder Kennard.” The Soul Sucker clapped three times as if giving my brother a standing ovation. “I hear you’re good at what you do, which seems to be keeping us from getting what’s ours. But hey, I’m a reasonable man. I can barter. You burned down our kitchen, and I think you owe us a little something. Since we can’t find our brothers, the least we can do is bring back the bitch who owes us money.” The dumbfuck took a step closer to my brother, glaring…up at him. A man wasn’t so intimidating when he was six inches shorter than you, I’d guess. Still, the guy tried. He probably even got under Alder’s skin when he spat out an angry, “Where’s Pistol’s whore?”

Alder held his temper, though his jaw ticked and clenched. Those words definitely pissed him off. “Ain’t got any whores around these parts. I think you should head on out of town if that’s the sort kind of thing you’re looking for.”

Dumb and Dumber focused completely on Alder, looking ready to fight. Not paying any attention to the rest of the room. I took advantage of their distraction to back Anabeth toward the kitchen. She resisted at first, her hands on my shoulders and her steps slow as she watched my brother verbally spar with the Soul Suckers. It wasn’t until I grabbed Katie’s arm from Deacon that Anabeth finally, quietly, surrendered and went with the flow. Gage opened the kitchen door and directed both women through it, following behind them. Their guard on duty. I caught Anabeth’s concerned gaze as she was herded toward the back exit, but I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. I needed her gone—needed her safely tucked away where these fuckers couldn’t get their hands on her—so I could fight beside my brother.

Once Gage shut the door behind him, I headed back up front to do just that. I reached the standoff at the front door in time to hear big, dumb, and mean say, “He will get the little bitch. It’s only a matter of time.”

Alder looked ready to tear the guy’s head off with his bare hands at that point. “You tell Pistol if he even thinks of coming near my girl, he’ll have to deal with me. And I’m not afraid to bury a body or ten.”

“You’re making a mistake.”

Alder smiled, a predatory look on his face. “Son, the only mistake here is you being in Justice. You’ve got two minutes to be on the road before we pull out the explosives and turn your unavoidable retreat into a game of Frogger.”

The guy looked around the restaurant, probably just noticing that almost all the women had been quietly escorted out of the dining area. He stood in a room filled with loggers—tall, brawny men who weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. No matter what that meant. I saw the moment he accepted defeat, caught the flash of fear when he realized how we outnumbered him. Didn’t stop him from opening his stupid fucking mouth when he caught me watching him, though.

“Tell that firecrotch witch of yours she’ll be seeing me soon.”

It took me real effort not to slam my fist into his face. “I don’t fucking think so.”

The guy just grinned, looking way too cocky for my liking, before turning and heading out into the night. Alder stood stock-still, watching. Waiting.

I hated waiting. “Think it was a good idea to let them walk?”

“We had a roomful of witnesses.” A fire filled his eyes when he looked my way, one burning hot with frustration. “I doubt anyone would have talked if we’d taken them out, but I couldn’t risk it. The last thing Shye needs is me in jail, even for one night.”

I could understand that logic. I didn’t like it, but I got it. Without Alder to keep her safe, Shye was easy pickings. Even with the rest of us watching over her. In Alder’s mind, no one could keep her as safe as he could. I understood that too, because while I trusted my brothers to keep an eye on Anabeth, I knew my level of protection would go a step further.

Because I loved her.

Always had.

Always would.

When the roar of motorcycle engines broke the silence, Alder barked, “Deacon.”

The man in question appeared from the bar area with Finn at his side. “On it.”

The two disappeared outside, probably to follow the bikers out of town. Making sure they didn’t set up an ambush somewhere. Alder glared out the door one last time before heading for the kitchen. For Shye.

I followed him, needing to see Anabeth. Wanting to make sure she was safe. Only then would the tightness in my chest disappear. Or so I hoped.

When Alder pushed through the swinging door, he headed straight for his woman, picking her right up off the floor and holding her tight as he whispered in her ear. So open about his affection for her, so protective. And she obviously felt the same because she clung to him, completely oblivious to anything but him.

And like Alder with Shye, I sought out Anabeth, unable not to. Pale but with her chin up, she stood at the back of the kitchen with her arms wrapped tight around her middle. Scared but defiant. I wanted to go to her, to grab her and wrap myself around those curves. To soothe the fear inside of her and promise to take care of her. To keep her safe. I wanted to make her mine and vow to always protect her.

And I would. Fuck the past, fuck the story, fuck all of it. Life was too short not to jump in with both feet. And for her, I would. Just not in a fucking restaurant kitchen.