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“Motherfucker,” Izzy yelled as she took a step forward.
Shell grabbed her arm and yanked her backward, giving her a hard stare. “Don’t even think about it, mama,” she said.
Izzy’s hand fell to her stomach. “Shit.” She stared helplessly at the men pounding each other.
“Rusty, what the fuck?” Copper cried as he wrapped a thick arm around his brother’s chest.
Rocket appeared behind Jig, capturing him under his arms and pulling him back. At first, Jig struggled, nostrils flaring like a pissed off bull. But Rocket whispered something in his ear that had Jig looking at Izzy and calming. She nodded at him but didn’t step closer.
Rusty still screamed obscenities and lewd comments toward Jig and Izzy. Finally, Copper roared. “That’s enough!” as he shoved the center of Rusty’s chest. Blinking, Rusty staggered into Zach, who was holding his trusty bat, Louie, and looking ready to bust heads.
“Rust, get the fuck in my office. Izzy, take your ol’ man home and calm him the fuck down. Want him here at noon tomorrow.” After looking around at the crowd of onlookers, Copper shouted. “Shows over. Get back to drinking and fucking. Thunder, get this glass cleaned up.”
Rusty stormed off toward Copper’s office with Zach trailing behind.
The tension of the past fifteen minutes began to seep out of Shell as Izzy hugged her and whispered, “Thanks, girl.” They made quick plans to take Beth to the playground after Shell’s Sunday diner shift, then Izzy slipped under her man’s arm, and together they headed toward the exit.
Shell raised a trembling hand to her hair, shoving it behind her ear. Even though she was used to these guys, and that meant the occasional drunken brawl, that had been more intense than usual and rattled her core. She glanced up and found Copper staring down at her.
“You okay?” He asked as he picked up her hand and tugged her close.
“Yeah. Think so. That was just a little unexpected.” She gave him a small smile.
“Fuck, yeah it was.” Copper scratched at his beard.
With a genuine smile this time, Shell reached up and stroked the soft hair. A low rumble reverberated in Copper’s chest. “You start petting me now, babe, and you’ll be bent over that bar before you can blink.” The man had one hell of a dirty mouth. Beneath her lacy bra and tight top, her nipples tightened. Not Copper’s most effective threat. He leaned down and gave her a quick, hard kiss. “Give me ten minutes to deal with Rusty then we’ll get out of here. I need my hands on you.”
Warmth pooled in her belly. Yes, his hands on her sounded like the perfect plan. She wrinkled her nose. But first… “You might want to take a shower. You smell like a distillery.”
“Will you join me?”
Warm water, steam, and a soapy Copper? Count her in. “Yes. Now go. And hurry.”
After another kiss, a little longer this time, Copper squeezed her ass and was on his way to his office.
Shell kept her attention on his retreating back—okay maybe on the tight flex of his retreating ass. There was no doubt in her mind, Rusty would worm his way out of Copper’s ill will. It was just their dynamic. Rusty fucked up, and Copper cleaned the mess, making excuses for his brother.
She sighed.
A wicked storm was on the horizon and Shell feared there was no way for her to find shelter before it made land.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
COPPER EXPECTED A period of adjustment for Rusty after he returned from prison, but disrespecting an ol’ lady and sucker punching another brother? That he hadn’t anticipated.
“The fuck, Rusty?” Copper asked as he closed the door behind him, drowning out at least some of the chaos.
For a moment, defiance flashed in Rusty’s eyes before he shrugged. “That fucker rubs me the wrong way. Always has.” With a snort, he plopped into Copper’s leather chair.
Okay, it looked like he was standing in his own office. He’d be damned if he sat across the desk from Rusty in the number two chair. Crossing his arms, he propped himself against the closed door. “Can’t go around hitting on ol’ ladies.”
Rusty opened a drawer and pulled out the whiskey Copper shared with him a few days ago. For some reason, it rubbed him the wrong way. Back in the day, Rust had at least respected Copper’s role as president. Now, it seemed he felt he was entitled to do whatever the fuck he wanted.
He’s your fucking brother, and he just got out of fucking prison.
“Didn’t know she was an ol’ lady.” He unscrewed the cap and sucked back a long swallow directly from the bottle. “And fuck that shit. Since when have ol’ ladies trumped brothers around here?”
“Brothers still come first, but an ol’ lady has always been a position of respect. They’re a vital part of the family. You ask any one of those guys, and they’d die for their woman same as they’d die for the club.”
