Page 95 of Eagle

He had his reasons. His younger brother had been killed by a cop during a robbery.

“What do you mean, ‘he’s coming around?’” Until now, Brew had been quiet.

“He liked how we handled the shit that went down at his old lady’s restaurant last month.”

A few of us had walked in as a street gang of about six teenagers had tormented the patrons and torn the place up. Rickers’ wife had been in the middle of it all, trying without success to get things under control. It hadn’t taken Mac, Tank, and me long to scare the rowdy boys into running away. We’d been in the process of helping her set chairs and tables back up when the cops had arrived.

Tank made a sound of disgust. “Hell, the asshole and his two minions tried to arrest us for that shit!” He crossed his arms and shook his head.

“Until his old lady stepped forward and explained what had happened,” Wolfe pointed out with mild annoyance.

“Yeah, and we’re always the first ones they fucking blame—”

“Nothing new about that, Brother. It’s a fact we have to live with when it comes to the cops.”

At least until they got to know us.

Tank glared at Bear, and I had to wonder what else he had going on. We all knew he hated cops, but I sensed that this was about something deeper.

Wolfe leaned over the table as if he was about to get up and narrowed his eyes on Tank. “You should be used to how the cops treat us by now. You can’t handle it, maybe the Soldiers of Retribution isn’t for you.”

There was a moment of silence as Wolfe and Tank faced off, and then, to everyone’s astonishment, Tank pushed his chair back and stood up so fast that it fell backwards to the floor. “Maybe it isn’t!” He snarled before storming from the room.

Bear started to get up to follow him, but Wolfe motioned for him to stop. “Let him go.”

“The fuck?” slipped out of me, the slam of the door behind Tank still resonating throughout the room. I could tell by the looks on my brothers’ faces that they were just as confused as I was. Wolfe’s comment to Tank hadn’t been serious. Fuck, there’d been a good-natured half-grin on his face as he’d said it! What the hell was up with Tank?

Wolfe exhaled loudly and sat back in his chair. “He’s going through something right now.”

No one asked for elaboration, because we all knew that if Tank wanted us to know what was going on, he would tell us himself. Wolfe apparently knew, though.

“Almost forgot—” I caught the envelope that Wolfe had slid in my direction. “For your old lady. Another payment from Ron.”

I didn’t bother to open it and slid it into the pocket inside my cut. Leo had finally told me where she’d gotten the money to pay off Ron’s debt to us. Not that I’d asked for an explanation. We’d been sharing shit with each other one day, and it had come out. We were looking for a new house and she’d offered to put up the down payment but fuck that. I’d told her that she was my woman, and I would take care of her. She’d won a million-dollar lottery, but I had my own money, and more than enough to pay the house off when we found it.

“Anyone got anything they want to add before I end church?”

You could have heard a pin drop in the room, because while church was a necessary part of club life, the shorter it was the better.

The first person my eyes sought out when I walked into the bar was my old lady. And there she was, sitting at a table with Delta, Ella, Val, Lola, Jillian, and Steffy, some friend of Ella’s who was visiting for the weekend. As if feeling my eyes on her, Leo turned and we locked eyes, then smiled. I knew that I should go over and congratulate Ella on the baby news, but there was something I needed to do first. I crooked my finger at Leo, coaxing her over.

She excused herself from the others and pushed back her chair. My gaze traveled over her slowly as she walked toward me. Seeing her in my property of cut always made me hard. God, she was beautiful, and she was all mine. When she was close enough, I reached out and snaked my arm around her waist and pulled her flush against me.

Her head fell back as she laughed huskily. “You need me, handsome?”

“I want you,” I corrected against her soft lips.

“What’s wrong with Tank?” There was worry in her tone. “He went storming through here madder than a hornet.”

I shook my head. “Not here to talk about Tank, baby.” I brushed my lips across hers, enjoying the fullness and the taste of her strawberry lip gloss. Loving Leo came easily. She was sweet, caring, and smart. And she loved my moody ass.

“But—”

With a growl, I covered her mouth firmly and shut her up. Her responding moan and the way she sank against me all soft and willing made me weak in the knees. She opened her mouth to mine, and our tongues tangled. My hands dropped to her denim-covered bottom and squeezed, jerking her closer against my throbbing dick. I didn’t care that we were in the middle of the bar. Didn’t care that we were surrounded by my brothers, old ladies, and sweet tarts. But when our kiss turned all hot and needy, and I wanted to strip Leo right there and fuck her, I did care.

Groaning, I lifted her. She wrapped her legs around me, and I turned to head down to my room, blind instinct leading the way.

“I have to fuck you,” I rasped as I walked down the hallway.