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“All right. It’s set up for next Friday. You keep doin’ what you do down here like nothing’s changed. If anybody asks what we were talking about in here, tell them we’re not taking you back to Vegas and how pissed off you are—really sell it, so nobody picks up on the setup.”
“Sure, that should be easy.” Mamba threw them his trademark smirk, but he couldn’t shake the unsettled feeling in his gut.
They all tapped fists, and as the others filed out, Cobra held Mamba back.
“I know it’s been hard for you.”
“Fuckin’ sucks.” Mamba wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.
“I knew years ago when I saw you fighting in that North Vegas shithole you had talent.” Cobra shook his head. “Just don’t always know how to use it.”
“I’m trying to get it together.” Mamba shifted his feet. “I admit I was pissed as shit before. I wanted to put my fist through the wall, but I didn’t.”
“There is that.” Cobra huffed out a laugh. “This Mandy chick, she means something to you?”
“Yeah, she does.”
“Just make sure, and don’t forget that sometimes blood is thicker than water.”
“Right.”
“You pissed me off two months ago, and you cost the club a lot of money, but I gotta say I miss your wiseass attitude around the clubhouse. After the fight next Friday, you stay in Vegas.”
“I’m back in?”
“Yeah, gotta have somebody fuckin’ things up every once in a while.”
Mamba exhaled a long-held breath. The boulder resting on his shoulders for the last two months lifted, and he felt lighter. He blinked back the emotion buried deep within, then did the male-hug backslap.
“Good to have you back, brother.”
“Good to be back.”
Maybe for once in his fucked-up life, things were finally coming together. He’d go ahead with this fight, proving himself to his club and wiping out the Marauders while freeing Mandy all in one sweep.
Ajax would be so busy covering his ass and trying to make up his losses that he wouldn’t have time to worry about screwing up Mandy’s life.
Mamba would be back in Vegas, and they could stop sneaking around and move forward in a normal relationship. Those were two words that never applied to him, but maybe it was finally time to get his life in order once and for all.
He knew Mandy was good for him. Her calming influence would help him to think before he reacted, stop being so impulsive, and get on the right track. A slight pang of guilt slithered through him, keeping the fight’s actual reason from her, but she’d understand in the long run—he was sure of it.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
Returning to his room, Mamba fished his phone from his pocket and noticed missed call and text from Mandy.
Her phone rang a few times and went to voicemail. He left a message and checked the time. She’d still be at the salon, maybe with a client, which was why she didn’t pick up.
Patience eluded Mamba, especially since her text sounded urgent, but he distracted himself with a long, hot shower. As the water sluiced off his body, he imagined Mandy in there with him. Her body all slick, like when they went swimming off the boat. As good as it’d be to be back in Vegas with the Serpents, he’d miss their weekly trips to the marina. Mamba had just shut off the water and was wrapping a towel around his waist when the phone buzzed.
He swiped at it and put it to his ear. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Ajax knows about us.” Her words tumbled over each other.
“Are you all right?” If that bastard touched her, all bets were off, and they’d be fighting much sooner than Friday.
“I’m fine, but he was acting strange this morning, like very calm about the whole thing—too calm. Then he said he’d handle the situation his way.”
“Everything’s all right. He had a sit down with Cobra, and it’s all gonna be sorted next Friday.”
