Stormy eyes met stormy eyes, so much energy swirling between them until finally, Ma relented. “I’ll think about it.”
Jasper smiled and rounded the desk to wrap his big arms around Ma’s petite frame. “Was that so hard?”
“Harder than you know, son.” She patted his face affectionately once and then once more a little harder.
“Get gone, both of you. You have your orders.” She stood and waved her arms in a shooing motion that didn’t stop until Jasper and I were both on the other side of her salon doors. “And I expect to see you both for Sunday dinner.” Her trusted assistant, Thomas appeared out of nowhere to shut the door firmly in our faces.
“Thanks for having my back in there,” I told my brother honestly. I didn’t always agree with Jasper, and sometimes I resented his role as head of the family, but he was smart as fuck and it was good to know even a broken clock could be right once in a while.
Jasper flashed his pretty boy smile and clapped me on the back. “Don’t even think about it. I’ve been telling Sadie for a while now that we should kneecap The Crusaders before we put a bullet between their eyes. Maybe now that I’ve got backup, she’ll listen.”
I barked out a bitter laugh as we made our way down the long hall, bypassing the elevator in favor of the wide marble staircase. “You might not want me to be your backup,” I told him.
“Because you got the wrong chick? Don’t worry about it, little bro, Savannah was gone by the time Terry and I got there. Looks like we’re all in the shit house with Sadie right now. But we’ll take care of it. Like we always do.”
Chapter Four
Maisie
Damn. How much did I drink last night? I don’t even remember whipping out the credit card that was shoved in my left cowgirl boot, which means I either got wasted off eighty bucks’ worth of rooftop bar, or I looked so smoking hot that some guy—or guys—bought me a shit ton of booze last night.
Fuck. What happened to Bonnie?
My head pounded like there was a six-inch drummer sitting right on top of it with two oak sticks, and two more using cymbals right behind my eyes. And I didn’t even want to think about what those freaky little drummers had done to make my mouth feel like a used cat box.
Mostly, my head just fucking hurt like hell. I popped one eye open and looked up at the ceiling. A really white ceiling with weird popcorn style paint. The bed under me was a different deal altogether, firm but very plush. I was sure it had molded to my body. Someone had even tossed a soft cashmere blanket on top of me, which I appreciated.
But the thought of who that someone was terrified me. I sat up quickly. Too quickly and my head started to spin and my vision blurred. When it cleared, my sight fell on the window. It wasn’t even morning yet. I saw stars in the sky through those curtains. A low groan escaped, and I heard something shift. Or someone. It caught my eye and I peeped at a redhead in the corner who totally rocked the hot lumberjack look, and he was sleeping.
Perfect. I moved slowly and carefully; certain I was here against my will—even if I couldn’t remember. It didn’t matter that they put me in a nice room with a comfy bed and a soft blanket. The last thing I remember was dancing with Bonnie at Bullets & Beer last night.
“The club,” I whispered as quietly as I could. Someone must have spiked my drink at the club. I did a quick check between my legs and found my panties in place and more importantly, dry.
“Holy fuck, that’s good news!” Feeling somehow better that I hadn’t been sexually assaulted, I scooted to the edge of the bed, cringing hard when the bed creaked. How in the hell did a bed this nice, creak?
That one tiny screeching noise was enough to foil my escape plans. The sexy lumberjack woke up. Surprised and awake. And smirking.
“Hello.” His voice was deep and rich, not scary. Not yet anyway.
“Uh, hey. Wanna tell me what I’m doing here?” The man unfolded his big body and stood, an act that took at least fifteen seconds, plenty of time for me to slide all the way over to the other side of the bed. And the room.
“I’d love to, but I have no idea.” He picked up his phone, swiped and tapped before speaking into the phone. “She’s awake.” His gaze flicked to mine. “You’ll have answers soon enough. And I’m just here to babysit, not to hurt you. Relax.”
“Easy for you to say,” I snorted. “You didn’t wake up in a strange bed.” I thought about Jana and Max. They’d probably already sent out the whole Bastards club to find me.