“Yeah? Well, so can I. And if you try to take me off that table, you’re going to find out exactly how dangerous.”
“Fuck me,” he muttered under his breath.
“That’s not happening,” I scoffed.
He closed his eyes, and I knew the big dummy was counting to ten. I let him get to six before stepping around him.
My hand had just closed around the doorknob when he caught me, trapping me between the door and his body. His breath was hot on the back of my neck. I could feel my heart beat in my head.
“Daze,” he said.
Goose bumps prickled on my arms. Warner’s only pet name for me had been “babe.” And for a moment, I was paralyzed with a desire so intense I didn’t recognize it as my own.
“What?” I whispered.
“They’re not your kind of people. If that dickhead Tanner gets too much over-priced scotch in him, he starts hittin’ on anything with a rack and losing hands. That skirt you’re barely wearing is already a distraction. He loses too much, he starts talkin’ shit and startin’ fights. Grim? He runs his own motorcycle club in D.C. Mostly personal protection now, but he still dabbles in less legal ventures. Trouble follows him.”
Knox was close enough to me that his chest brushed lightly against my back.
“Ian’s made and lost more millions than anyone else at that table. He’s got enough enemies out there that you don’t wanna be standing next to him when one of them shows up. And Winona carries a grudge. She feels she’s been done wrong, she’ll burn down your world with a smile on her face.”
“What about Lucian?”
For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of our breathing to cover the silence between us.
“Luce is a whole other kind of dangerous,” he said finally.
Carefully, I turned to face him. Not quite managing to cover the flinch when my breasts brushed his chest. His nostrils flared, and my heart rate picked up.
“I’ve had no problems at that table. And I’m willing to bet if it were Fi or Silver or Max on that party, you wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“They know how to handle trouble.”
“And I don’t?”
“Baby, you showed up in town in a fucking wedding dress with flowers in your hair. You scream into pillows when you get stressed out.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t handle myself!”
He put a hand on the door behind me and leaned into the last bit of my space. “You need a goddamn keeper.”
“I’m not some helpless damsel in distress, Knox.”
“Really? Where would you be if it wasn’t me who found you in the cafe? Staying in Tina’s shithole trailer with Way? No job. No car. No phone.”
I was getting very close to whacking him over the head with my tray. “You caught me on a bad day.”
“Bad day? Fuck me, Naomi. If I didn’t drive your ass to the goddamn mall, you still wouldn’t have a cell phone. Like it or not, you need someone watching out for you because you’re too damn stubborn to do it yourself. You’re too busy trying to take care of everyone else to bother with yourself.”
His chest was pressing against mine, and I was having trouble focusing on the fury that rose in my throat. Hot, hard muscle against soft flesh. His proximity made me feel drunk.
“You’re not kissing me,” I insisted. In hindsight, the warning was a tad presumptuous since he’d never kissed me before. But to be fair, he really looked like he wanted to kiss me.
“I’d rather wring your pretty little neck right now,” he said, eyes narrowing on my mouth.
I licked my lips, preparing to definitely not kiss him.
The low rumble in his chest vibrated through my body as he dipped his head toward mine.
A new vibration interrupted us.
“Fuck,” he hissed, yanking his phone out of his pocket. “What?” He listened, then let out a string of colorful curses. “Don’t let him past the bar. I’ll be out in a second.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“See? That right there is your problem,” he said, pointing a finger in my face as he yanked the door open.
“What?”
“You’re suddenly too worried about me to watch your own ass while you’re serving a table of criminals.”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re ridiculously dramatic?” I asked as he hauled me out. He was texting with his free hand.
“No one who didn’t have a death wish. Let’s go, Daze. This time I’ll let you make my problem yours.”
A WINNING HAND
Knox
My problem—besides the length of Naomi’s skirt—was leaning against the bar in full uniform, making small talk with a handful of regulars.
I dragged Naomi with me into the alcove of the kitchen doors. “My brother doesn’t get near that room. Got it?”
Her eyes widened. “Why are you telling me?”
“Because you’re going to distract him and get him the hell out of here.”
She dug in her heels and crossed her arms. “I don’t recall the section on my job application that required me to lie to law enforcement.”
“I’m not telling you to lie. I’m telling you to get those good girl eyes and that cleavage over there and flirt with him until he forgets all about busting that game.”
“That doesn’t sound any better than lying. It sounds like prostitution, and I’m pretty sure any family court judge would frown upon that during a custody hearing!”
I blew out a breath through my nostrils, then dug out my wallet. “Fine. I’ll give you a hundred bucks.”
“Deal.”
I was still blinking when she snapped the bill out of my hand and headed in my brother’s direction. It was an asshole move on my part, using her need for cash and putting her in a sketchy position. But I knew my brother, and Nash wouldn’t do anything to hurt Naomi’s chances at becoming Waylay’s guardian. Hell, any idiot with one good eye could tell the woman was several classes above her sister.
“Fuck,” I muttered to no one.
“Interesting.”
I found Fi leaning against the wall, smugly enjoying one of the lollipops that served as a cigarette surrogate.
“What?”
Her eyebrows wiggled. “You never freaked when Max or me served that party.”
“You and Max know how to handle yourselves,” I argued.
“Looks like Naomi was handling herself just fine in there. Maybe the problem isn’t her?”
“You wanna be my new problem, Fiasco?” I snarled.
She was not remotely intimidated. Which was exactly why a boss shouldn’t be friends with their employees.
“I think Knox Morgan is Knox Morgan’s biggest problem. But, hey, what do I know?” she said with an annoying little shrug.
“Don’t you have work to do?”
“And miss the show?” Fi nodded over my shoulder.
I turned and spied Naomi putting a flirtatious hand on my brother’s arm.
When she laughed and tossed her hair, my brilliant plan didn’t seem so brilliant.
“Goddammit.”
I left Fi and maneuvered my way through the crowd, getting close enough to hear Nash say, “Let me guess. Illegal poker game in the back room, and you were sent to distract me.”
Fuck me.
Naomi’s eyes went wide, and I realized the woman had no poker face whatsoever.
“Uhhh… Are you always this handsome and intelligent?” she asked.
“I am,” Nash said with a stupid wink that made me want to punch him in his stupid face. “But it also helps that this town doesn’t know how to keep its mouth shut. I’m not here for the game.”
“Well, you’re not here for my waitstaff. So what the hell are you doing here?” I said, interjecting myself into their cozy little conversation like a jealous idiot.
Nash shot me a smug look as if he knew exactly how annoying I found him. “Heard an old friend was in town.”
“The rumors are true.”
We all turned and found Lucian standing just outside our circle.
My brother grinned and shoved me out of the way. He welcomed Lucian with a hard hug and a slap on the back. “Good to have you back, brother.”
“It’s good to be back,” Lucian agreed, returning the hug. “Especially since the waitstaff got even more interesting.” He gave Naomi a wink.
Why the fuck the entire town suddenly decided winking at Naomi was a good idea was beyond me, and I was going to put a stop to it as soon as possible.
“Yeah, yeah. Everything’s great,” I said. “Don’t you have drinks to serve?”
Naomi rolled her eyes. “I didn’t get rid of your brother yet.”
“You can keep the hundred if you go away,” I said, needing to get her out from between my brother and my best friend.
“Deal. Lucian, I’ll see you back in there with a fresh drink,” she promised. “Nash, it was fun flirting with you.”
“The pleasure was all mine, darlin’,” my brother drawled, tossing her a little salute.
We all watched her sashay to the bar.
My head hurt from not yelling. My jaw was so tight I worried I’d crack a tooth. I didn’t know what it was about that woman, but Naomi Witt had me tied up in fucking knots. I didn’t like it one bit.
“What are you doing back in town?” Nash asked Lucian.
“You sound like a cop,” Lucian complained.
“I am a cop.”
Chief Nash rankled me.
The three of us had grown up raising hell and bending laws until they broke. Nash growing up to be a cop felt like some kind of betrayal. The straight and narrow was too confining for me. I didn’t stray too far from the line these days, but I made sure to step into the gray every now and again for old time’s sake.
Lucian was another story. Trouble didn’t follow him. He had a tendency to make it wherever he went. If he was back in Knockemout, it sure as hell wasn’t for a stroll down memory lane.
“A man can’t feel nostalgic for his childhood?” Lucian mused, expertly avoiding the question.
“Your childhood sucked,” Nash pointed out. “You haven’t been back in years. Something brought you back, and it better not be trouble.”
“Maybe I got tired of hearing how the Morgan brothers are too stubborn to remove their heads from their asses. Maybe I came back to help you bury the hatchet.”
Naomi breezed by with a tray full of drinks and an easy smile for Lucian and Nash. The smile changed to a scowl when she looked at me.
“No one needs any help with any hatchet,” I insisted, stepping in front of him to cut off his view of Naomi’s curvy, retreating ass.
“That hatchet that you two have been wrestling over for two years is stupid. Get over it and move the fuck on,” Lucian said.
“Don’t use that Beltway Bullshit tone with us,” Nash said.