Page 10 of Mac

“What are you going to do?” he asked me, but kept his eyes on our visitor.

“I’m going to go pull Colt out of whatever hole he’s found himself in, and I was hoping you’d call Viking.”

“On it,” he said as he walked toward the front door.

I eyed Kate, who was keeping her shit together for now, but she looked completely out of place. I motioned Zeke over. “Watch her and don’t let anyone mess with her. I’ll be right back.”

I ran upstairs to Colt’s room where I banged on the door.

“Go away!” our VP yelled.

“Dude, we have a situation.”

I could hear some angry mumbling before the door was thrown open. “This better be good,” he grumbled while zipping up his pants.

I peeked around Colt and saw Michelle and one of the other club girls sitting naked on his bed. The one whose name I didn’t know was glaring at me, pissed I had interrupted her good time. When I glanced at Michelle, she had a little smirk on her face. I didn’t know what kind of game she was playing, but if she thought I was going to be jealous of her fucking Colt, she had another thing coming. I didn’t give a shit who she was with.

I turned my attention back to Colt. “Wolf’s calling Viking, but I thought you should come on down for this.”

That got his attention, and his demeanor quickly shifted from pissed to alert. I filled him in on what was going on as we made our way down the stairs.

I looked over at the bar and was relieved to see Kate still sitting there. Wolf was talking to her now, and she looked just as freaked out as she’d been while talking to me outside.

“Viking’s on his way. I didn’t tell him anything, just that we needed to talk to him ASAP. He wasn’t thrilled,” Wolf explained when we reached them.

I saw our visitor blanch at his words. I’m sure she was questioning her decision to step foot on this property.

“All right, sweetheart, what’s this all about?” Colt asked.

She glared at all of us then at Colt. “My name is Kate, not sweetheart.” She said the last part under her breath.

“Well, Kate, let’s head out to the backyard,” Colt said, lips twitching at her spunky attitude. “It’s quieter outside, and I know Viking won’t want an audience for this conversation.”

She went pale but asked, “Why do you keep calling him Viking?”

It was clear this chick knew nothing about our lifestyle. Based on her reaction, she’d lived a very sheltered life. I was all too familiar with girls like her and knew she wasn’t cut out to hang around guys like us.

“It’s a road name,” I answered. “Any other questions, I suggest you wait and ask him.”

I grabbed a couple of beers off the bar and led Kate outside. Wolf stayed inside to wait for Viking, but Colt silently followed behind us. He was a man of few words, but he took everything in. He probably already had a good read on this girl.

“I didn’t mean to make him angry. Maybe I should come back another time,” Kate said, sounding defeated as we stepped into the backyard.

“Now’s as good a time as any,” I said, sitting down on one of the chairs that surrounded the large fire pit. “Besides, he’d be more pissed if he came back here only to find you gone.”

I offered her a beer when she sat down next to me, but she declined, shaking her head. “Not of legal drinking age, remember?”

I laughed and glanced over at Colt, who was standing on the other side, grinning. “We’re not overly concerned with rules around these parts,sweetheart,” I informed her.

She rolled her eyes and settled back in her chair, pulling her hair up in a messy bun. We sat in silence for a bit, just listening to the crackle of the fire and feeling the chilly air shifting through the desert night. I eyed her, drinking my beer. The firelight made her lightly tanned skin more bronzed, and the blue of her eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. She was dressed conservatively, and the tight jeans and loose-fitting sweater shouldn’t have been a turn-on, but they were. I watched her face. The weariness and defeat in her posture, combined with the sadness and fear in her expression, spoke of someone who’d had a lot taken from her, but was still standing. Like she was still here, but not entirely sure why. I completely understood that, and it was strange relating to her on that level. I didn’t like it. It made me think about my own past I’d resolved years ago. Or so I thought.

“What?” she asked, suddenly. She nervously fidgeted with the locket around her neck.

I was staring and not hiding it. It was clear she had no idea just how gorgeous she was. I shook my head and glanced away only to find Colt’s questioning look. I downed my beer and tossed the empty bottle into the flames, the sound of the glass breaking making her jump a little. Colt gave a low, rumbling chuckle, but I cut him a look that just made him grin like the Cheshire Cat.

Then, we heard the rumble of a bike pulling up. Colt came to attention, and I stood up. “Looks like he’s here.”

If Kate had seemed freaked out before, that was nothing compared to how she looked now. She was physically shaking in her chair and looked like she was going to be sick.