Chapter 1
Legend
“Is it always like this?”
I turn to face Spade, one of the newest members of Cerberus. His face is a little pinched as his eyes circle the room.
“Like what?” I ask, lifting my beer to my lips.
“So… I don’t know… crowded?”
Grinch chuckles beside me, causing Spade’s eyes to widen as he looks at him.
“I don’t mean anything by it,” Spade whispers, his voice lowering so no one else can hear but the two of us. “I knew Cerberus was family-oriented. I just didn’t know there was so much family.”
“And growing bigger all the time,” I tell him. “All the guys are falling in love, having babies. I can almost guarantee there will be another pregnancy announcement before the night is over.”
Spade’s nose scrunches like he smells something terrible in the clubhouse’s living room.
I know exactly what he’s thinking because I felt the same way when I showed up. We’re all former Marines. The stories of Cerberus parties and women coming out of the woodwork are rampant in certain circles of the military. Everyone wants to be a member, but only the elite are chosen. I’m proud to be a member of this club, but getting hit in the face with a dozen different couples and their children can feel like a slap in the face.
Grinch and I let Spade flounder a little longer, and as time passes, it becomes increasingly apparent he feels as if he’s spoken out of turn.
“I like k-kids,” he sputters. “I mean, I don’t want kids, but they’re nice enough, I guess. I just thought that there’d be—”
“Tons of women walking around eager to jump on your dick?” Grinch interrupts.
“Well—” Spade takes another look around, his gaze landing on my best friend Apollo who is currently speaking directly to his wife April’s very pregnant belly. “Yeah. Are all the women here with someone?”
Spade’s eyes roam over the crowd, landing on Gigi, one of Kincaid’s twin daughters.
“Don’t even fucking think about it,” Grinch warns. “That’s your president’s daughter.”
“And Hound’s old lady,” I add when Spade doesn’t seem too ready to drop his gaze at just the mention of messing around with his boss’s daughter.
“No shit?” His eyes scan the length of her once more before he turns back around to face us. “Lucky motherfucker.”
“All of the women here are taken,” I say, answering his question from earlier.
“You’re not one of those guys, are you?” Grinch asks. “Because you won’t last long around here if you even try to fuck around with—”
Spade shakes his head, his eyes wide. “I’d never. Married and taken women are too much work. I learned that shit in high school.”
We both chuckle.
“High school?” I ask, wanting more details.
Spade shrugs. “I’ve always been a good-looking guy.”
I take in his military haircut, the dark strands still close on the sides and short on the top despite his discharge from the military being nearly a year ago. His eyes are bright green, and although I’m a hundred percent hetero, I can see the appeal he must have to women. He has one of those devious smiles that makes you want to lean in closer, hoping he’s going to spill all his secrets.
“We have parties,” Grinch says after determining this guy isn’t going to cause problems with any of the Cerberus families.
Intrigued, Spade leans in even closer. “Yeah? I’ve heard about the parties.”
“They take a lot of scheduling,” I explain, not wanting the guy to get his hopes up that tomorrow night will look much different from tonight.
We’ve just returned from Puebla, and ten days in a foreign country working is exhausting, but we always have a gathering like we’re having tonight when we return. It’s a way for everyone to reconnect, reintegrate into the closest thing to a normal life we can have. It serves as a reminder that the entire world isn’t the horrible and terrible things we see and experience while we’re on missions. I’ve actually come to enjoy these times, even though my balls are blue, and I’m in desperate need of finding a woman myself.
“I’m sure with six new members, we’ll be scheduling one pretty soon,” Grinch says. “But in the meantime, we can hit up Jake’s tomorrow night. The women in town flock there.”
Slade nods, disappointment clear in his eyes, his expectations for tonight crushed by Grinch’s words. He throws back the remaining whiskey in his glass now that he realizes his plans are going to look much different tonight from what he originally planned.
Grinch and Slade start talking about previous parties and all the available ass at Jake’s on any given night as I look around the room. Of course, there are the usual suspects. Kincaid and Dominic, our club president and his older brother, are chatting, their wives making the rounds to ensure everyone is having a good time. Tug, one of the other guys on the team and the only one in Cerberus involved in a triad, is eyeing both his girlfriend and boyfriend like he can’t wait to get out of here and into bed with the two of them.