He yanked her into his arms. Hauled her up against him. Took her mouth. The kiss was angry and rough and she had not expected him to be kissing her in this place. Not when it looked like he was so angry he wanted to thunder and rage.
But he was kissing her with a frantic need, a need that she couldn’t deny, and Maisey found her nails sinking into his powerful arms as she arched ever closer. Every time they kissed, she could swear the passion just got hotter and hotter and…oh, wow, his tongue…
Stop. Not the place. Tell him this is—
“Jeez, man,” Jinx’s wry voice announced. “This is not the place for that shit. Half the bar wants to kick your ass. The other half wants you to become their new gang leader or something. Save the make-out session for later.”
Odin’s body stiffened. His hold on her tightened, but he lifted his head.
“Don’t shoot the messenger,” Jinx drawled as he stood in the open doorway. “Not like I said don’t ever have fun. Just don’t do it here. We need to clear our asses out of this place, stat. As soon as Ramsey marched out, he immediately called a meeting with all his top people. That’s bad news, in case you didn’t know.”
Ramsey was calling a meeting—because he wanted to hunt Whitney’s killer. Hunt him. Torture him. Kill him. “This was not part of the plan,” Maisey whispered.
Odin’s eyes glittered down at her.
“Whatever the plan was,” Jinx said, “it’s gone to shit. And I say again—we need to clear out. Now. I rather like my face—the ladies do, too—so I am not in the mood to have it hammered in tonight.”
Odin’s head moved in a jerky nod. His eyes never left Maisey. “Don’t talk to anyone. Don’t look at them.”
What in the world was he going on about now—
“The situation is gonna be delicate as fuck. We’ll handle it with kid gloves.”
Still in the doorway, Jinx cleared his throat. “Hate to break it to you, O, but you are so not the delicate type. You’re more of a sledgehammer.”
A growl was Odin’s response.
“Right.” Jinx coughed. “So I’ll go first. We’ll put the lovely lady in the middle…”
Another growl.
“And you’ll be the caboose on this party train,” Jinx finished. “That way, if things go to hell faster than I think, I can get your girl out, you can kick some ass, then I’ll come back in to help. Plan?”
“I don’t like that plan,” Maisey said immediately. “Leaving Odin behind is not an option for me.” Why would they run to safety and leave Odin behind?
“OhmyGod. Did you really say that?” Jinx snagged her hand. Curled his fingers with hers. “That is some precious shit right there. Like, precious. But we’re moving now.” With that, he hauled her out of the door.
She dug in her heels. Because, seriously, what part of leaving Odin behind is not an option for me had he not understood? But then she felt Odin’s massive hands clamp around her hips as he urged her forward.
As soon as they stepped out…
Silence. A silence that was the total opposite of the way the bar had been moments before. A silence that almost matched the sound-proof room.
The band wasn’t playing any longer. All eyes were immediately on them. She stumbled, but Odin’s grip made sure she didn’t fall. Maisey kept going forward, and her eyes darted toward the pool table. Sure enough, Ramsey was huddled tight with a group of grizzled guys and the two ladies who’d been with them earlier. One of the women casually twirled a knife in her hand.
Ramsey looked up. Nodded to Maisey.
She nodded back. Was that even the right response? She wasn’t sure. But the exit was close. The bouncer even had it open for them. The same bouncer who’d given her and Odin the hard time when they first went in. Now, his eyes were huge, and he seemed pale.
Jinx hauled her over the threshold. “Great service,” he said loudly, seemingly directing his words at the blond bouncer. “Fabulous band. I will leave a five-star review online for you, and I will definitely be back to—”
“You won’t be back.” Ramsey’s hard voice boomed out.
“I will not be back,” Jinx immediately said. “And I will not tell my friends to visit. Horrible, disgusting hole in the wall. Why would anyone ever want to come here?”
The bouncer glared. But he also still looked afraid.
Jinx finally let go of Maisey’s hand—so he could slap the bouncer on the shoulder. “No offense,” he told the bouncer. “As far as holes-in-the-wall go, it’s a grand one.”
Odin hadn’t let her go. He hadn’t—
“Not done with the big one,” someone snarled from behind them. “Bastard broke my nose—”
Odin heaved her forward. “Get her to safety,” he barked at Jinx.
All the humor had fled Jinx’s face. He suddenly looked almost as intense and deadly as Odin. “Roger that.” He grabbed for Maisey.
But she wasn’t in the mood to be grabbed again, thank you very much. She whirled back for Odin and yanked out her mace to—
Odin downed his lunging attacker with one blow. A fast snap that sent the man slamming into the dirty floor. A few others began to rise from their chairs.
“No!” Maisey leapt in front of Odin. “We’re leaving.” As fast as we can. “Ramsey!” She focused on him. “We are leaving.” Which was code for—tell these people to stop!
“What. The. Fuck?” Odin rumbled behind her.
“Back up,” she told Odin.
Ramsey had waved his hand toward her. “No one touches the woman.”
Okay. That was something. If no one was touching her, then they couldn’t get to Odin since she was currently in front of them. Maisey thought there were far too many bleeding, bruised people in the bar who seemed eager for another shot at Odin. Honestly, she was surprised they hadn’t learned their lesson the first time they’d tangled with him.
She inched back. She’d get Odin through the door. They’d jump in the Jeep. Get the heck out of Dodge. Good plan. Winning plan. It was—
Odin lifted her up. Just scooped her right into those massive arms of his. Then he stalked out of the club. The bouncer slammed the door closed behind them.
Odin didn’t speak. He didn’t let her go. Just kept angry stomping with her toward their ride. She realized that Jinx was shadowing their movements. Maisey strained to see if anyone was following their little group out of the club.
Luckily, the door to Ramsey’s stayed closed. She could hear the shriek of music again. The band had resumed playing.
Odin plunked her down in the passenger seat of the Jeep. Even though it was dark, she could feel the heat of what she knew was his glare. “What the fuck was that?” Odin snarled.
“It was sweetness,” Jinx replied. “Pure, perfect sweetness. I swear, if you aren’t dating her, I will volunteer to do the deed. I will—”
In a flash, Odin had whirled and grabbed Jinx. Shoved the other man against the Jeep.
But Jinx simply held up his hands. “That was a test. Happy to say you passed with flying colors, you high achiever you.”
“Not the time,” Odin gritted out.