If he was a good man, he’d let him go and find his own happily ever after. Ink tried to picture it. Could he watch as Hannibal and Jade grew closer together while he stood back? His knuckles popped, and he realized he had been gripping the glass so hard that it was on the verge of cracking.
No, he wasn’t willing to not be part of the sweet sounds she made as she fell apart under his hands. He might not be ready to settle down, but he definitely wasn’t ready to let her go. What the fuck had changed? Hannibal had always been the one making sure they took things slow. Ensured that whoever they were with understood they were liked but not loved, so things didn’t get messy.
His calm patience was the primary quality that made the man one of the best snipers around. He didn’t rush. One time in the Rangers, the two of them had sat in the same position for over seventy-one hours. Hannibal was the one who didn’t twitch, even when Ink had been sure he was going to die of boredom.
Ink was supposed to be the one who had to be reined in. The one with impulse control and a temper, while Hannibal acted as his safety net. He was not supposed to jerk the net away and leave his partner dangling, not knowing what to do.
It wasn’t even that he’d asked about getting tested that bothered him so much. The way Hannibal had snapped at him when they’d gotten back to their house meant his Brother was more invested in Jade than he had ever been in another woman. Ink had been ready for a quick argument about not discussing things first that would have landed them back on solid ground. Before he could even say anything to call his Brother out for going off script, Hannibal had snapped,‘It’s not like I asked you to put our patch on her back, Ink! Grow up, get over your issues because I’m not in the mood to hear them.’
The shouted words were a slap to his face, and he’d lost his shit. He couldn’t remember a single time his Brother had shouted at him in their entire friendship. Their arguments were always with him shouting and Hannibal patiently calming him down.
Ink took another sip of his drink, and let the burn ease down his throat. The front door to the Clubhouse swung open. Feminine laughter filled the room as several of the Old Ladies practically danced into the room. They were all dressed in workout gear. Highdive following them, looking like he had survived a prolonged battle. The expression was all too familiar since every Brother had worn a similar one at least once after being on protection duty for the Old Ladies.
He hid a smile behind his drink. They must have come from Jade’s gym. Had his girl put the Marine through one of her courses? The Enforcer for the Club wouldn’t like being shown up, especially not by a tiny thing like Jade. But he would have put up with it for the sake of the crazy women under his protection.
He loved his Club. The Dark Sons were a brotherhood of trust. They would always have his back. A group of men brought together because of their common belief in a cause bigger than themselves. Each one of them had served their country in one way or another and found when they came back that civilian life was no longer to their liking.
Ink had been one of the founding members of the Denver chapter. Joining up with Hannibal because he wanted a set of good men at his back. Ones he could trust. They’d helped him and Hannibal start their business and seen it thrive and succeed. They partied at each other’s sides, and had been through wild and dangerous times together.
Over the last couple of years, some of the Brothers had settled down with Old Ladies. While there were still wild times and the loyalty of his Brothers was unswerving, these women had given something new to the Club. A poet would call it a soul, or a grounding influence that balanced them all out.
Not a single one of those women tried to hold their men back. Instead, they acted like an anchor in the storm and gave them all something to protect, something to fight for. ‘It’s not like I asked to put our patch on her back.’ Hannibal’s words echoed in his head.
Was his partner ready to find his own anchor? Could he settle? If it wasn’t for the fact that he never planned to be a father, maybe he might consider it. If the woman was anything like these ladies. He needed to get on the same page as his Brother and he didn’t know how.
“I’m so glad I went with you this time! Did you see her on the Salmon Ladder?” Cheryl, Deep’s Old Lady fanned her face. “Seriously, that was the sexiest thing I’ve seen in a long time. If I wasn’t married to Deep, I would so be trying to get in her pants.”
Val’s musical laughter rang across the room. “Who are you kidding, girl? Deep wouldn’t mind if you got in her pants. But I think she has her sights set on double trouble.”
Ink turned around and raised his eyebrow at the women as they walked by. It was a poorly kept secret that the Old Ladies called him and Hannibal double trouble, but they usually tried to hide it. He could only guess that the ‘her’ they were talking about was Jade.
“I reckon you ladies had fun at Jade’s gym?” He sometimes played up his good ol’ boy roots around these women just to see them smile.
“Yes,” Val said and winked. “We had more fun than a kid at a county fair. Highdive tried to race Jade on the Salmon ladder.”
“Salmon ladder?” Ink looked over at his Brother.
The Sergeant at Arms shook his head, his amused frustration plain on his face. “It’s like a pullup bar on steroids. You have to hop the steel bar up the ladder.”
Now that he heard the description, Ink was pretty sure he knew what they were talking about. “I’m guessing it’s not as easy as it looks?”
Highdive shook his head and gestured for a drink of his own.
Pixie giggled. “She beat him almost as bad as she beat you and Hannibal. We are hooked on that place. If she can teach us how to do half of what she did today, I’ll be happy. You are having so much fun you don’t even notice you are working out till your body feels like jelly.”
Cami bumped her hip. “Amen to that. So much more f-fun than lifting and running. Have you and Hannibal started your t-training sessions with her yet?” The woman’s devious smile was dangerous, so Ink ignored the question.
He turned his attention to Pixie. A question had been bothering him for the last few days. “Why did you use your marker to get us over there? It’s not like you needed to get leverage with Jade for something.”
Pixie’s eyes held a mischievous glint. It was hard to remember that behind her innocent looks was a very devious woman. “Any woman who talks about a man with that level of excitement in her voice deserves a chance to see if the reality can live up to the fantasy.”
He had almost forgotten that Jade had said she was a fan of their tattoos. It was easy to forget details like that when his brain constantly replayed the image of her shattering under his touch. What had she said to provoke the interfering instinct in Pixie?
“What did she say?”
“Looking to get your ego stroked?” Pixie teased.
Val laughed. “I don’t think it’s his ego he wants stroked.”