By the time we finished eating, my ears were ringing. Race and Fran never stopped talking. I was too used to the guys at the office and our limited conversation usually containing some grunts instead of actual words.

But these two—they talked and talked, jumping between topics so quickly that my head spun. The only other time I experienced something like that was being at a Gallo family function.

Race and Fran couldn’t look more opposite. The color of Race’s hair reminded me of sunshine and spring days with its yellow, pin-straight strands. Fran’s sat on her shoulders, a stream of black silk that glistened in the light. Their builds were similar—tiny, not frail. Together they were a matched set of beautiful perfection with foul mouths to rival any biker.

But their talkativeness allowed me time to think about what I found while sweeping Johnny’s office for clues. We did it when he first disappeared, but this time, we had solid proof that he wasn’t working alone.

I found some Post-its that had been tossed to the side with phone numbers scribbled on them but no names. Any of them could be his accomplice. There were a handful of them underneath the desk that had been crumpled into tiny balls. All over his calendar, like mine, were notes I snapped photos of to follow up on later.

But there was one clue that had me worried. The name Ray was written in black ink and traced over numerous times. No phone number, no other information, just the name. I immediately thought of Fran’s ex-husband. My mind reeled at the possibility that the slimy bastard was involved in some way.

Morgan had to know about this sooner rather than later. I slid my phone across the table and discreetly sent him a text.

Me: Gotta talk. Found something interesting.

“Whatcha doing?” Fran asked right after I hit send.

“Just seeing how the guys are.” I turned off my screen, shielding the words from her prying eyes. She should be employed at ALFA, because she could sniff out bullshit like a bloodhound.

“Everything okay?” Her perfectly shaped eyebrow arched when she spoke.

“Great.” I smiled and hoped she bought the bullshit. I placed my hand across the screen as I waited for his reply.

She narrowed her eyes quickly at the gesture. “We’ll talk later.”

Race started laughing, softly at first but grew loud in a hurry. “You two are so damn cute. I can’t get over it. It’s like a match made in heaven. Morgan has to get over his shit ’cause I need you two together.”

“Don’t be silly,” Fran said to her and wrinkled her nose.

“No. No.” Race shook her head, still laughing. “It’s like Beauty and the Beast. I’ve never seen this side of Bear. Usually, he’s stalking around, grunting and broody, but with you, Mom, he’s like a sweet man with a heart of gold and scared as hell of you too.”

“I’m not,” I said quickly.

“He is kind of a beast, isn’t he?” Fran’s eyes moved between Race and me before she smiled. “You should see what’s underneath those clothes.”

“Get out.” Race smacked Fran’s arm. “Is he beastly everywhere?”

Fuckin’ women.

I moved my hand to the side and read Morgan’s message, trying not to listen to what they were about to say next.

Morgan: Meet at the Cowboy at 7.

Me: I’ll be there. What about the women?

Morgan: Fuck. Don’t leave them alone. Sam can stay outside my house, and bring Mom with you to the Cowboy.

I sat there in complete shock. He bitched me out for bringing her there before, and now he wants me to take her with me?

“What did he say?” Fran asked after she finished telling Race that I was pure man with a huge sword.

“He said we should meet him at the Cowboy at seven.”

“Oh, I love it there,” Race said quickly.

“He wants you at home.” I couldn’t look her in the eye.

She slammed her hand down on the table. “Like fuck. That’s not gonna happen.” She plucked her phone from her purse and started to type like a madwoman.

“I’m just following orders.” I cringed when she paused long enough to glare at me.

“I’ll be going. Morgan will just have to get over his macho shit.”

“That’s my girl. We have to stick together,” Fran said as Race hit send.

“What time should I be ready?” Race asked, jamming her phone back into her purse.

“Six thirty,” I told her and looked over at Fran. “And I’ll pick you up at five.”

Fran glanced down at her watch. “It’s almost three now. Why don’t you just come over for a bit? I’ll give you something to eat.” Her smile sparkled, and the wickedness in her eyes was evident.

“I’m sure you will.” I winked at her.

“Well, all righty, then. Since we just had lunch, I know you two aren’t talking about food.” Race nudged Fran. “Lucky woman.”

“You do have a husband,” Fran told her.

“I’m too pissed at him. It’s going to be a long time until he gets a piece of this.” Race motioned up and down her body.

“Oh, Lord.” I peered up at the ceiling and exhaled.

They were so filthy. I didn’t want to think about Race and Morgan, and I sure as fuck didn’t want Race thinking about Fran and me, but the two of them had no problem with it.

“Well, I have to get back to work, and you two have to…” Race’s voice trailed off before she winked at Fran.

I didn’t respond. What could I say to that? I didn’t want to be the creepy old dude. Fran and Race had a relationship more like friends than mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. It was sweet and kind, and way too much information was shared between them. More than I ever wanted to know.

Fran scooted from the booth, letting Race out and coming to stand next to me. She put her arm around my shoulder and stroked my neck with her fingers. “We’ll see you in a few hours.”

Race smiled down at me before kissing Fran on the cheek. “Have fun,” she whispered but not soft enough that I couldn’t hear.

“We will.” Fran grinned and glanced down in my direction. “Right, tiger?”

“Yep,” I said, shifting in my seat and throwing the money for the check on the table.

After Race was far enough away, I pulled Fran into my lap, and she squealed. “You’re trying to get me killed, right?”

“Come on,” she said gleefully and slapped my chest. “Don’t be crazy.”

I nuzzled my face against her neck, kissing a path to her jaw. “Talking about my dick and our sex life with Race is a recipe for my execution at the hands of your son, sweetheart.”

Fran tipped her head back and closed her eyes. “Race won’t say anything.”

“Uh-huh,” I muttered against her skin. “If I die, know that I had fun.”

“Just fun?” she breathed.

“Fuck,” I hissed when my cock swelled in my pants. “Let’s get out of here, or I’m going to have to fuck you in the bathroom.”

“Ooh,” she cooed and moved around just enough to send a jolt through my system. “I’ve never done it in a bathroom.”

Note to self. “Not here.” I stood, taking her with me in my arms and stalked toward the door.

“Bear!” she yelled in protest, but she snaked her arm around my shoulders.

“Let’s go feed that greedy pussy of yours before we’re in public. I need you sated tonight.”

Her eyes grew wide. “You do?”

“Yeah. Remember… I like to live. I don’t need you rubbing all over me with Morgan there. I want no chance of anything going wrong.”

“I’m going to rock your world, baby,” she whispered into my ear.

My eyes rolled back, and my dick threatened to break through the material of my pants. I didn’t even give a fuck who was around, seeing the massive wood I was sporting. “Fuck, woman. I can’t drive like this.”

“I’m sure you’ve been in harder situations.” She giggled.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.” I placed her on the back of the bike before adjusting my cock so it wasn’t so…noticeable.

She plucked at her bottom lip while she pouted. “I’ve been a bad girl. Maybe you should spank me.”

Turning my face up to the clouds, I whispered, “What did I ever do to you?”

“Come on, handsome. Take me home so you can go for a real ride.”

“Seriously,” I said again to the sky and growled loudly. I climbed on my bike with my cock screaming for relief and started the engine.

Fran slid forward, pressing her sweet little pussy against me and squeezing her thighs around me. “I need your cock, Bear. I need all of your cock,” she said into my ear.

The woman didn’t have to tell me twice. When we got back, I was going to fuck her until she could barely walk. She needed to be so sated that she wouldn’t give any lip tonight or cause any problems. I’d fuck her into oblivion and then pull her out just enough to function.

---

Morgan rushed toward Fran as soon as we stepped foot inside the Neon Cowboy. “What’s wrong, Ma?”

Fran grabbed his arms and stopped him before he hugged her. “I’m fine, baby.” She didn’t want him too close because the smell of sex oozed right off her.

Morgan looked at me before staring back at her and narrowing his eyes. “You look…different.”

Race snorted. “She’s fine. Just been a hard day for her.”

I gritted my teeth, almost grimacing. “I need a drink. Anyone else?” I asked, trying to find a reason to make an exit from this situation before it got sticky.

“I’ll take a strawberry daiquiri. I’m parched.” Fran smiled lazily at me.

“I’ll take a Dirty Martini,” Race told me and brushed the hair off her shoulders.

“Coming right up.” I walked away, moving straight to the bar where I saw City standing.

“What’s up, man?” I asked and slapped him on the back as he leaned over the bar and sipped on his beer.

“Bear. I see you brought my aunt.” He tipped his head backward toward the table where they all now sat.

“Yeah. Problem?”

“Nope.”

Sandy, the longtime bartender and a one-time fling, approached. “What’ll it be?” she asked, pretending not to know me. I accepted the fact that she hated my guts after I kicked her out of bed. As long as she didn’t spit in my drinks, I didn’t care what the fuck she did.

“Dirty Martini, strawberry daiquiri, and a tequila with a Miller chaser.”

She snarled, but she stalked away without any bullshit.

City laughed. “Sandy still hates your fucking guts.”

“Such is life.” I shrugged and blew it off.

“Things good with Fran?”

“Couldn’t be better.”

“Good for you,” he said, catching me off guard.

“Twenty bucks,” Sandy said, all the while giving me the stink eye as she set the three drinks down on the bar.

“Twenty?”

“Yeah, you get the douchebag rate.”

I growled, and City laughed at my side. “Just pay the woman.”

“Fine,” I said, slamming a twenty plus three more bucks on the bar.

“Only three?”

I couldn’t believe she had the balls to ask me this after giving me the “douchebag” rate. “It’s the bitch rate from a douchebag,” I shot back quickly.

City laughed harder when she flipped me the bird and stalked to the other side of the bar without another word. “You’re smooth.”

“Fuck her, man.” I grabbed the three drinks, balancing them in between my hands. “She doesn’t deserve more. I shouldn’t have given her the three. She already pocketed five of the twenty. Her pussy wasn’t even worth the hassle.”

“You sure you want to be with Fran?” He followed behind me, still laughing. “’Cause when you fuck that up, you’re going to have bigger problems than the ‘douchebag rate.’”

“I know. I know,” I mumbled, but I cleared my throat when we came within feet of the table. “Ladies.” I set the drinks down and slid Fran’s and Race’s across the table.

Morgan and Race were deep in conversation, talking too low for anyone to hear, but it seemed heated.

“Kids,” Fran whispered and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah.” Under the table, I entwined our fingers before slamming back my shot of tequila. The warmth of the liquid slid down my throat before working its way into my system.

If all the shit with Johnny hadn’t been going on, I’d have said this has been the best damn week I’d had in decades. But the shadow of the theft and Johnny’s death had sucked a bit of the happy out of everything.

“Bear,” Morgan said, breaking my train of thought. “Can I talk to you at the bar?” He stood and leaned over to kiss Race on the cheek, but she ducked out of the way.

“Sure.” I gave Fran’s hand a quick squeeze before standing. Our relationship was already a bit heated, but with him and Race fighting, this couldn’t end well.

As I walked toward the bar, I kept telling myself to stay calm. For Fran’s sake—stay calm. “What’s up?”

He leaned against the bar with his hand hanging over the edge, looking completely relaxed. “What did you find in Johnny’s office?”

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the tiny scrap of paper and tossed it on the bar in front of him.

Morgan glanced down, and his eyes immediately shot to mine. “You think it’s my Ray?”

“I couldn’t say, kid. It’s too coincidental to be anything else, in my opinion.”

“It can’t be. We haven’t heard from my father in over a decade.”

“Maybe he’s been keeping tabs on you.”

He shook his head. “I can’t believe that. It can’t be true.”

“Stranger shit has happened, Morgan. Want me to follow up on it?”

“Nah, I’ll do it. He’s my dad.”

“You got it.” I patted him on the shoulder. “Maybe I’m wrong. It’s a common name.”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “How did it go with the ladies today?”

“Piece of cake,” I replied, but I didn’t elaborate.

He eyed me suspiciously. “And things with my mother?”

“Good there too.”

“Bear, baby,” Fran said, coming up behind me and wrapping her arms around my waist. “Dance with me.”

Morgan’s eyes narrowed, and my stomach tightened. “Anything you want, sweetheart.”

“Go,” Morgan said with a pained look.

“Thanks,” I told him, but I was going to do it even if I didn’t have his permission.

Fran grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers as we walked toward the dance floor. “You looked like you needed saving.”

I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her close. “Actually, Fran, that was the most civil he’s been in a long time.”

“Huh.” She smiled up at me. “Maybe he’s finally realizing he can’t control everything in my life.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that he had bigger things on his mind. Shit that had to do with her alcoholic ex-husband possibly being involved in the theft and Johnny’s death.

It wasn’t my place to tell her, and there was no point in scaring her yet. She had enough shit on her mind for me to clutter it with more bullshit.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s it, sweetheart.” I kissed the top of her head, tucking her closer against me as we spun around the dance floor.

I knew shit was about to get stickier and more complicated before we got to the bottom of everything. Lord help us all if my hunch was right.