Oli shot to his feet and sidled up beside me, so close that he was clearly seeking reassurance.
Barber eyed us carefully, lips pressed in a thin line. “What areyoudoing here? I came to see who stole Oli. Are you telling me he stole you, too?” He threw his hands up dramatically in a way only Barber could. If he wasn’t a biker and barber, I imagined he’d have made an awesome Broadway actor. “Oh fuck, is this your new boyfriend?”
He ate up the distance between us and peered over my shoulder, which wasn’t easy because he was shorter than me. Ren shifted, moving to my other side to give Barber the perfect view.
Barber paused, eyebrows furrowing. He studied Ren carefully, his gaze trailing down Ren’s body and up again as though trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle with a missing piece.
I didn’t give him a chance to overanalyze Ren. I grasped both Ren’s and Oli’s hands. “We’re together. The three of us.”
Barber didn’t acknowledge me. It was almost as if he didn’t hear me at all. Finally, his eyes widened and mouth dropped open. “Renshaw?”
I blinked, bouncing my attention between Ren and Barber and back again.Renshaw? What kind of name was that and why was Barber calling him by it? “Uh, this is Ren.”
“Ren?” Barber’s voice warped to uncertainty as he stepped closer. His leather jacket sat heavily on his shoulders, the Kings of Men insignia vibrant on his patch. He’d come here to threaten, that much was obvious, especially with how he’d stormed in. This was a version of Barber I’d never met. I couldn’t remember a time when he’d ever been this quiet. “But you’re Renshaw.”
Oli made a confused sound, and I squeezed his hand in agreement.
Ren didn’t argue with Barber, didn’t tell him he was wrong, and I realized Ren couldn’t be his full first name. Or, maybe it could be, but I’d never asked him if it was. Hell, I didn’t know Ren’s last name. I’d never asked and he’d never given it to me.
Normally, I would Google someone until my fingers bled when I first met them, but Ren had told me he didn’t do social media except for work. It hit me all at once that Ren was a real mystery. Totally getting to know someone from scratch was exciting, but in the face of this development, it was beginning to feel disconcerting.
Ren raised his chin, defiance bleeding into his expression. “Luke.”
“Fuck, it is you!” Barber laughed and clapped his hands. “I didn’t know. I haven’t seen you since you were little. Holy fuck. Look at you!” He gave Ren a once-over again, his grin growing wider. “Fuckinglookat you, man. You’re not a kid anymore. You’ve got tattoos.” His attention flipped to us. “My little brother has a body full of tats!”
I gaped. “Brother?”
“Little?” Oli said at the same time.
“And you’re big. Holy fuck, you’re big.” Barber practically bounced over to Ren with the enthusiasm of a three-year-old. He slapped Ren’s arms, then his shoulders. “Those muscles. You’re built like the Terminator. Hell, you’re the Terminknator. Fuck, you’d fit right in with the Kings. You know how to ride a bike, right? Fuck it, I’ll teach you. Holy shit, my little bro is here in New Gothenburg. Wait till I tell Uncle Errol! He’ll be fucking psyched.”
“Wait, stop. What?” I turned and looked between them again, not sure if my brain was processing everything that was happening. Did I hear Barber right? Was Ren his brother? Why didn’t Ren say something? “I thought you came here to get angry at Oli.”
“I did.” Barber hooted out another laugh, bouncing on his motorcycle boots. “But fuck, I didn’t know it was Renshaw who stole him. He can have whatever or whoever he wants.”
“Excuse me?” Oli squawked.
Barber waved him off. “He’s mybrother! The only one I like. I give you permission.”
A tic began in Oli’s jaw. “I’m not a toy, Barber. You can’t justpass me around.”
“You’re like a son. So’s KC.” That stopped him. He gave Ren a wide-eyed stare. “Shit, KC is like a son. Quain. He’s my partner. He’s gonna be soooo pissed my brother is dating KC. And Oli. Holy shit. You’re both dating KC?”
The entire time, Ren stayed quiet, and I wasn’t sure what to make of his silence. His face was fierce, a storm cloud intensifying behind his pupils. There was an underlying danger, and it was as if my nose could smell the impending rain. The pelting kind that didn’t let up until the world drowned. The clench of his jaw was the earthquake, and I had to do something. And soon.
I didn’t get a chance.
“Fuck you, Luke.”
Barber’s excited babble fell into silence and he blinked rapidly at Ren, confused. “What?”
“Fuck. You.” Ren’s face transformed into a scary mask, eyes darkening and lip curling into a snarl. “You are a waste of oxygen. A fucking disappointment.” He snorted and gave Barber his own once-over. “I thought this would be delicious, to see you again. Make you hurt. But you’re pathetic. A fucking clown.”
Oli gasped loudly. “Ren?—”
“It wouldn’t be hard to decimate your life. You are the worst biker, the worst fucking Booth to ever exist.” Ren paced forward, his strides long and packed with anger, until he was staring down into Barber’s face, a breath between them. “It is so easy to destroy you. I don’t have to try.”
My heart rattled, squeezing until it hurt. I didn’t know what was happening, but the scene in front of me was fast becoming a car crash I couldn’t avoid. I couldn’t look away, either, because two people I cared about were in the front seat, about to be hurt. Yet, my feet were rooted to the floor and my muscles froze. I was stuck. Immobilized as I watched my life crumble around me.
