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"It isn't. I am going to tell him, though. Not because the guy cornered me, but because he insulted Ricky, who needs to know a potential prospect doesn't respect him."
Wallace grunted. He seemed marginally impressed.
"Beau wasn't really hitting on me," I continued. "He was taking a shot at Ricky. That seems a stupid thing for a potential prospect to do."
Wallace shrugged. "With some of these guys, testosterone runs higher than IQ. I'm just glad I saw that side before we started seriously considering him. Guys like that are not welcome."
"Guys like what?" Ricky rounded the corner and stopped beside me. He slid an arm around my waist. "Something up?"
"Beau," Wallace said, and gave me a look to say he'd handle this.
"Beau?" Ricky said. "Oh, right. New guy."
"He was drunk," Wallace said. "Too damned drunk for ten o'clock on a weeknight. First, there was a dustup with Lily. Olivia handled it. Lily's earned herself a month's suspension. Beau seems to have hooked up with her, and I don't know if that's what made him go after Olivia or--"
"He went after--?" Ricky saw blood on the floor. "Did he hurt--?"
"No," Wallace said. "That's his. Apparently, you gave Liv a knife."
Ricky's arm tightened around me as he leaned in to whisper, "You okay?"
"I am."
Wallace said I'd handled it fine, that it was just one asshole being an asshole and Beau had better never step on the property again, but Ricky strode to the door and opened it with a hard kick. We followed him outside, and he surveyed the lot.
"He's got a Super Glide, right?"
"Yeah." Wallace stepped out behind us. "He's long gone."
Ricky's gaze fixed on the road. My hand tightened on his. He murmured, "I want to go after him."
I agree. I want you to show him why he should respect you. And yet . . .
"And yet . . ." Ricky murmured, the echo sending another shiver through me. "I need to start reining in my temper. It doesn't lead me anywhere good." He raised his voice for Wallace. "We know where he lives, right?"
"Where he's staying, yeah."
"Then I'll pay him a visit tomorrow. Better to do it once I've cooled off and he thinks he's gotten away with it. If he shows up at the clubhouse before then, I want a call. Good?"
Technically, being sergeant-at-arms, Wallace was in charge of enforcement and discipline, so it made sense for Ricky to run this past him. But more than that, he was wisely asking advice of someone older and more experienced. Wallace nodded, and even if he only grunted, "Yeah, that works," there was a glow in his eyes, his star pupil proving, yet again, why he deserved the extra attention.
Ricky rolled his shoulders, his gaze swinging to the forest behind the clubhouse as he leaned toward me. "If I walk it off, will you come with me?"
"Of course."
--
This wasn't an amble through the woods. Ricky was pissed, temper rolling off him. Finally, he stopped and peered into the forest, his shoulders tight, as if expecting attack from all sides. Then he took my other hand and tugged me in front of him. He met my gaze, his dark eyes like a tumultuous night sky, clouds roiling through, no hint of that moonlit glimmer I'd seen before. He blinked and the clouds dissipated, but only for a second before gathering again.
"I'm okay," he said.
"I know."
"It should be easier. Shaking this. I did the right thing, letting him go for now."
"You did."
"So why--" He bit off the word and made a noise in his throat.
