“You fucking piece of shit!”

A huge blow from a fist like a rock came flying at me. I didn’t bother to try and move. I figured I had it coming.

I hit the ground and sat there for a minute, shaking my head to clear as Mac paced around in front of me. “Get up, you bastard!” he snarled.

I could’ve done it.

I had anger burning inside me like an army of angry hornets, but what good would it do?

Eying Mac, I ran my tongue across my teeth. All were accounted for—bonus points to me. There wasn’t any blood in my mouth either. Sweet. I shook my head and said, “I think I’ll stay here for now.”

“Coward,” he sneered at me.

“Watch it,” I advised. “Or I’ll take your legs out from under you.”

His lip peeled back from his teeth in a sneer. “Do it. I can’t wait to kick your ass for this, Sly. Any fucking woman and you had to go after her! Are you so determined to get a piece of ass, you’ll go after anyone?”

“She’s not just any fucking woman!” Coming to my feet, I stood in front of him, arms spread out. “And watch how you talk about her, you prick. She’s sure as hell not a piece of ass.”

“Hey, hey…”

LeVan tried to calm things down.

We both turned on him.

“Shove it!” Mac snarled.

“Back off, Lev,” I warned him. Then I took a step toward Mac. “She might be your wife’s cousin, but she’s more than that to me, so back the hell down.”

Mac’s face, already set in a cynical sneer, had my hand clenching into a fist.

But as he opened his mouth to reply, a funny thing happened.

He stopped.

He just…stopped.

Staring at me with that sneer and his mouth hanging open, he sort of…gaped at me.

The sneer fell away.

Slowly, he closed his mouth.

Uneasy, I tensed, ready for whatever he was up to as he prowled a few steps closer. I’d taken the one hit because I figured I was owed that one, but I wasn’t taking anymore.

But although he got in my face, head bent low to accommodate the fact that he was practically a fucking giant and I was average height, he stared into my eyes.

He turned away after a few seconds, a disbelieving laugh escaping him. “What the fuck is this shit, Sly?” He didn’t even wait for an answer as he spun around and focused on LeVan. “Do you believe this shit, man?”

LeVan shrugged. “I’ve seen it coming for a few weeks. But you’ve been…preoccupied.”

“I got married. I didn’t go blind.” Mac’s focus shifted with laser-like accuracy back to me. “What did you do, fall and hit your head or something? This isn’t you.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Mac’s pale eyes practically cut a hole in me as he stared at me. Finally, he said, “Do you even have any clue?”

“Would you stop being so cryptic?” I shouted.

“You’re in love with her!”

Now it was my turn to gape at him. I started to deny it. Then I stopped myself before the words could even form. Then I opened my mouth again, but whatever it was I wanted to say just wouldn’t come out. Snapping my jaw shut, I glared at him. “You’re full of shit, you know that?”

“Yeah?” Mac crossed his arms high on his chest, standing in front of me like some carved Roman statue come to life, all muscle and arrogance. Brow cocked, he asked, “When did the two of you first hook up?”

A blush crawled up the back of my neck. When was the last time I had blushed? I had done so many depraved, twisted things and I liked them but here I was blushing?

“That’s none of your damn business,” I spat out.

“It’s been…oh, hell…I’m thinking more than a few days. Am I right?”

“They hooked up at the wedding,” LeVan offered helpfully.

Some fucking friend. I was so tempted to strangle him. “Shut up, Lev.”

He grinned at me. It was pretty damn clear he was enjoying himself.

Mac squeezed his eyes shut and I could tell he wasn’t entirely okay with Emmy and me. A moment later, he shoved the heel of one hand against his right eye socket like he was dealing with a migraine.

I understood the feeling. I felt like I had one coming on myself.

“You hooked up at our wedding—no. I’m going to stay on target here.” He looked back at me, jaw tight. “Have you…hooked up with anyone since then?”

I should’ve just lied to him.

But in the end, I couldn’t. “No.” Turning my back on him, I paced over to one of the tables we kept on hand and I bent over it, hands spread wide. “Look, she…matters. I’ll give you that. I ain’t about to get down on bended knee or anything. That’s not for jackasses like me and she deserves better. But she matters, okay?”

After a moment of pulsing silence, I turned back to him. Desperate to move their attention from me, I said, “Anyway, my love life shouldn’t be the big concern here.” Mouth going tight, I shifted my gaze from Mac over to LeVan before looking back at the bigger guy. “That fucker who stalked her in Branson somehow managed to track her down. She saw him. She came looking for me—she was upset. That’s what we were talking about when you saw us in the elevator.”