“Oh my God,” Poppy covered her mouth with her hand as her big blue eyes shined with unshed tears.
“She just stood there and let it happen,” I continued. “Which, in my opinion is even worse than the monster inflicting the pain. It wasn’t that she was scared for herself, it was that she didn’t care. He was her son and she didn’t care what happened to him just as long as her husband continued to treat her like a princess.”
“You should do it,” Wynn said in an adorable little growl, her violet eyes narrowed into slits. “You should track that bitch down and totally scratch her eyes out. It’s the least she deserves.”
“You know, that’s not a bad idea, actually,” Poppy mused.
We all whipped around in her direction. “You’re joking, right?” I cried. “I can’t just go hunt the woman down and beat the shit out of her.”
“Maybe not beat the shit out of her, but you could confront her. I mean, isn’t that basically what she did to you? She tracked you to a grocery store—which, by the way is totally creepy—so she could confront you. You’d just be doing the same thing. Rub her face in it that her son’s happy now. That’s what they were always trying to take from him anyway. There’s nothing bitter, miserable people hate more than knowing someone else is happier than they are.”
“Or—” Wynn interjected. “We could key her car and slash her tires.”
“You know what? Forget everything I just said. That. What she said.” She pointed to Wynn. “We should do that.”
“Oh my God, you psychos, I’m not going to go vandalize her car.”
“Well this lunch turned out to be a big waste of my time, then,” Wynn grumbled. “So much for best felony friends forever.”
I stared at my friend in open-mouthed stupefaction. “You know, for being such a cute, tiny, pixie-looking thing, you’re actually really terrifying.”
She smiled saucily. “Well thanks, babe. That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
Wynn was hilarious and I loved the crap out of her, but I pitied the man who ended up falling in love with her.
Jensen
Walking through the doors of Bad Alibi, the first thing I did was scan the room in search of one person in particular. My eyes found her almost instantly, like they knew exactly where she was. And as if her body recognized mine the very same way, her head came up and turned in my direction. The moment she saw me, her lips spread in a smile that took my breath away at the same time it gave me life.
The bar was packed, so I knew she was busy, but she still took the time to saunter over to me, those hips swaying enticingly, and come up on her toes to plant a kiss on my lips. We’d been living together for two weeks now, my ring on her finger that whole time, and my body still strung tight the moment I saw her after any length of time apart. I wasn’t sure if that feeling was ever going to go away, but I sure as hell hoped it didn’t.
“Hey, bunny,” she purred with a teasing wink.
“Hey, sunshine.”
“You want a beer or a whiskey.”
I looped one arm around her waist and pulled her against me. “Beer tonight. Brant’s stayin’ with your aunt and uncle, so we’ve got the whole night to ourselves once you’re off work. I intend to take advantage of every single second of that time.” I gave her a wink. “Starting with re-christening my truck.”
She did a full body shiver and pressed in deeper. “Sounds like a plan I can get behind. I’ll find you with your drink in just a minute.”
With one last peck, she spun around and started back toward the bar. A loud, sharp whistle stole my attention off my woman’s ass, and when I turned in the direction it came from, I saw Stone sitting up by the pool tables with Cannon, Cannon’s dad and my old boss, Banks, a buddy of theirs named Clay, and a few others. Stone lifted his large, tattooed arm in the air and waved me over.
I started toward them, trading greetings with people here and there as I passed. Since getting back together with Shane, it was like everything from the past had been forgotten. The community opened their arms and pulled me, Gage, and Laeth in for an enthusiastic embrace. The three of us were no longer outsiders everyone was hesitantly polite to. We were part of the fabric that made Redemption.
I was making my way through the mass of tables and people when a voice spoke up from behind me.
“Well look who it is, Jensen Rose. Surprised to see your pussy-ass came back. Especially after knockin’ up your chick then leavin’ her high and dry.”
I slowly turned to look at the asshole who just spoke, already knowing full well who it was. Time had not been kind to Ronny Culpepper. The former football star was now sporting a beer gut that made him look like he was about nine months pregnant. His hair was thinning on the top in a way that he needed to just cut his losses and shave it off, but instead had let it grow out, giving him an unfortunate mullet. Only his was a party in the back and absolutely nothing up top. It wasn’t a good look. The lines carved deeply into the skin around his eyes and mouth weren’t from laughing, he looked like he was at least ten years older than his age, and on his arm was none other than Rina Martin. Christ, this woman’ll never learn.
“Ronny,” I said amiably, tilting my chin before turning my back on him and continuing toward the pool tables.
“Don’t turn your back on me, asshole.” He gave my shoulder a shove, rocking me forward just a bit. Pulling in a calming breath, I stopped and looked back at him without a shred of emotion on my face. I knew what this fucker was doing, but there wasn’t a chance in hell I was playing into his shit. “Who the fuck you think you are? Just ’cause everyone else here thinks your shit don’t stink doesn’t make it so. You were a pussy-whipped bitch back in school and you’re still a pussy-whipped bitch now.”
Instead of giving him the reaction he wanted, I chuckled. “Any man in his right mind lands himself a woman like Shane Hendrix, he’ll gladly be pussy-whipped. It’s worth it.” I cast my gaze to Rina for all of a second. “Might wanna consider tossing that one back and give it a shot.”
“Kick his ass, Ronny,” Rina hissed through her lipstick-smudged teeth.
“Bet I could,” he said with a grin that showed he was in serious need of dental work. “Just like I kicked his ass back in high school.”
“Shut the fuck up, Ronny,” someone in the crowd shouted. “Everyone knows Jensen beat the shit outta you back then, so just sit your fat ass down!”
“What the fuck’s goin’ on over here?”
Stone appeared at my side, and it was like Rina had just laid her eyes on a wagyu steak. She batted her lashes, making her mascara flake and fall off. “Hey, Stone.”
He didn’t bother hiding his disdain as he looked her over, his top lip curled up in disgust the whole time. “’Sup,” was all he offered before turning his attention to Ronny, who—at the big man’s sudden appearance—was now rethinking his plan to fuck with me.
“You were saying?” I asked Ronny, my expression conveying just how amused I was feeling. I’d never had so much trouble hiding a smile. “I think it was somethin’ about being able to kick my ass?”