“Ah shit,” Gage mumbled, looking down at his clasped hands on the table in an attempt to hide his grin.
“Bitch! Who you callin’ pathetic?”
At that, I rolled my eyes and let out a groan. “God, she even takes the fun out of insulting her,” I said to no one in particular.
Rina took a step forward like she was prepared to make things physical, and Jensen pushed off his stool, as if he were ready to wade into the fray when a guy I’d seen a few times in the bar with the rest of the Riders spoke up. “We got a problem over here?”
If I had to guess, the dude was in his mid-to-late thirties and roughly the same height and weight as Jensen, and it couldn’t go without saying that he was damn fine. Jensen moved closer, stepping in front of me like he was worried the guy was about to cause trouble, and partially obscuring me behind him.
I might not have been feeling like myself tonight, but I wasn’t in the mood for his protection, not after I’d seen Rina’s grubby little hands all over him. I’d been standing at the bar, chatting with Poppy and Wynn who’d arrived a few minutes earlier when I saw her approach their table. Jealousy had surged through me so hard and fast that it was frightening. I’d reacted without thinking, leaving my friends behind and storming over to their table to make it stop. That was all I could think about, making it stop and getting her as far away from Jensen as humanly possible. Preferably to somewhere like Alaska.
I didn’t know this guy, but I assumed that since he was the one to get up and approach, he was in charge somehow. If there was anyone in this situation who could get Rina the hell out of Jensen’s space, it was this guy.
Moving from behind Jensen, I stopped at his side and informed the man, “Not to tell you who you should or shouldn’t be hanging with, but you may want to re-think your association with this one,” I told him, jerking my chin in Rina’s direction.
I was halfway expecting him to get hostile, so when one corner of his mouth hooked up, I was slightly surprised. And it had to be said, that partial grin wasn’t the worst thing to look at. “Really? ’Cause it sure seems like that’s exactly what you’re doin’.”
I shrugged like it was nothing. “Just doing my part to help mankind out. She’s a brand of trouble that’s just not worth the hassle.”
At that, Rina lunged, snarling, “Fuckin’ cunt!” Her arms lashed out, but before she could get hold of me, the big guy’s smile fell into a frown as he grabbed her and yanked her to a stop. Letting out a sharp whistle that had everyone in the bar coming to a dead stop in whatever they were doing, he glanced over his shoulder and issued a command. “Bane, come get your bitch on a leash before I do it for you.”
Another guy appeared all of a sudden, wordlessly taking Rina’s arm and dragging her toward the exit as she spewed her special brand of nasty with every step.
“Sorry about that,” he continued, his eyes never wavering from mine. A tiny thrill shot up my spine at the sound of a low growl rumbling up from Jensen’s throat as he moved even closer, grabbing my arm to pull me behind him once more.
The burn of jealousy had finally started to peter out, but seeing this side of Jensen heated my blood in a completely different, far more pleasant way.
The dude gave him a cursory glance before turning on his boot heel and heading back toward his table where the rest of his guys—minus Bane—still sat.
“You good?” Jensen asked, his rough fingers coming up beneath my chin so he could tilt my face up to his. It was a move he used to do all the time whenever he wanted my attention. Even if I was listening while looking somewhere else, he’d gently take my chin and bring my eyes to his. He’d said it was because he could read everything I was thinking or feeling when he looked in them. I hadn’t realized until that very moment how much I’d missed that simple touch.
All of a sudden, it was a struggle to breathe. “Uh, y-yeah. I’m good. Fine.”
He was staring so hard I could have sworn he was looking directly inside of me as he asked, “You on break yet?”
I nodded, that fleeting touch still making it difficult to talk.
With his hand on my back, Jensen began guiding me through the jumble of tables and people toward the hallway at the back. A shiver bloomed across my skin at the press of his palm against me, spreading wide until goosebumps popped up along my skin and my breathing grew erratic.
I was careful not to look in the direction of the pool tables, knowing if I did I’d see the disapproval on both my uncle’s and brother’s faces. I couldn’t deal with that just then, not when I was already a tired, confused, tangled mess of emotions.
The door to the office creaked as it closed, the catch of the locking mechanism sounding as loud as a gunshot in the quiet room, alerting me to the glaring fact that Jensen and I were all alone in here.
I moved to the desk, forcing myself to put some space between us, even though my body missed the warm, strong heat of his hand at my back. Turning to face him where he stood just a few feet inside the office, I leaned back, resting my hips on the desk and holding onto the edge with both hands. “So what’s going on? What did you want to talk about?”
“At the risk of undoing any of the progress I think I’ve made lately, I’m going to admit something that probably won’t make you very happy.”
Panic gripped my chest like a vice. I’d become pretty damn good at dealing with disappointment and heartbreak over the years, but the kind of pain Jensen had caused was totally different. What he’d done in the past, it hadn’t just been disappointing to me. He’d damn near broken me, and I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to survive another blow.
I imagined the worst. I imagined him telling me he was leaving again, and that he needed me to try and explain to our son why he would no longer be around. The thought made me curl my fingers around the lip of the desk so hard my knuckles groaned and throbbed. It hurt. It physically hurt, and not just because it would break Brantley’s heart, but also because it would break mine all over again. I told myself I hated him a million times, but if I were being honest with myself, I didn’t. I couldn’t. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t really hate him. I’d once loved him too damn much. “Just say it,” I demanded, my voice a barely-there whisper. “You’re leaving again, aren’t you?”
His head jerked back in bewilderment. “What? No. God, Shane, no. I’m never leaving you or Brant again. I swear it.”
The relief was almost enough to take me to my knees. “Then what is it?” I croaked, my throat feeling like it was being squeezed.
“I had Laeth look into you. I had him do a little digging into your past, specifically, the years I was gone.”
It took a full minute for what he’d just said to properly penetrate. Once it did my first thought was why? That was, until it dawned on me why someone would go to such lengths for information.
Shooting up from the desk, I pointed an accusing finger in Jensen’s face as I clipped, “If you think you can dig up something on me that’ll make getting custody of Brantley easier, you’re sadly mistaken. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you take my boy from me. Over. My. Dead. Body, Jensen Rose!” I snapped each word while brutally stabbing my finger into his chest.