Page 36 of The Protection Agreement

Luke is next to us in minutes. “Dele saved some for you, Bruce,” he says. I smile and still grab one from Adam’s plate.

Daniel comes closer. “So, we finally meet her,” he teases.

“Fuck you,” I say as I take a bite of his wife’s beef patties, enjoying the moist and sweet flavor of the pie.

“She’s stunning,” Declan says, and I immediately turn a scowl to him. “What? The fact that I’m happily married to a stunning woman doesn’t mean I’m blind. Just letting you know what’s on the mind of my brother and fucking Enrique,” Declan mutters.

Right on cue, we all turn in the direction of the two guys who are standing together, and yes, their eyes are fixated on Jola. The other three women are married. I could say Enrique is looking at Sarah, who’s a few steps away from the ladies talking to Jake, Declan’s bodyguard, but that’s me consoling my mind. His eyes are clearly on Jola.

“Fuck!” I grunt.

Daniel slaps my shoulder. “You better seal that deal soon,” he teases. “Or you snooze, you lose.”

Ice returns, and I stare at him, asking why the fuck he left her side. This is certainly a time I need his bulky ass standing guard next to her, so those two know not to even think about it.

“The ladies commanded me to leave Lexi.” I look to Lexi, and she’s laughing with Daniel’s son in her arms, and the boy is blatantly squeezing her boobs.

I turn to Daniel. “Maybe it’s your son I need to keep an eye on.” They all turn and start to chuckle.

“He learnt from the best,” he jokes and looks around to make sure we alone heard him.

The evening starts to move in a fun direction with my brothers throwing jabs at me for every moment I thought it was fun to mess with them. Jola came over a few times to ask if she can share her phone number with the wives. I told her yes. I cringe when Enrique and Jola start to salsa. It was captivating and disturbingly mesmerizing. I had no idea she could dance like that. Never mind the fact I want to punch Enrique for touching her.

Then I hear Julian say, “I might need to start taking salsa lessons. I see why Anne and Sarah like it.” Declan chuckles next to me when I turn a frown at Julian.

“Not to worry, I will remind him not to mess with you,” Declan teases. “I’m sure you now feel the same way I do about Enrique.”

“Let me know when and where to take him out,” I say as he gives me a fist bump. I hear Luke laughing.

“Maybe we all need to take lessons from Adam, instead of hating on that guy for his smooth dancing skills,” Daniel says.

“Fuck that. Even Adam could get on the chopping block too,” Declan jokes.

“I heard that,” Adam says behind us. “Stop hating, boys,” he mocks. We all ignore him and keep watching Enrique dance with Jola.

“I heard Lexi speaking French to my boys,” Declan says.

“Yes, she speaks French.”

“Cool. Anne is totally going to love knowing that. I should also tell you I heard MAK talking about introducing her to Cole A.” He smirks as I turn a frown to him. I forgot Jola is a fan of Cole A. She’s always blasting the songs of the Grammy Award-winning star, and MAK is always happy to talk about her work with Cole A.

“Damn,” I say.

“Uh-uh,” he mocks. “If you want to fight anyone, it should be Daniel, not me,” Declan concludes.

“I fucking hate you guys. Now I have to say no to her, which is not fun.”

“Welcome to the club,” he pats my back.

“What club?” Luke asks next to Declan.

“MAK is planning to introduce Lexi to Cole A, and Bruce is finding out how hard it is to say no,” Declan generously fills Luke in.

“I can say no. She will understand that hanging out with Cole A is not safe for her,” I say, shoving my hand in my pocket, watching her laugh with Enrique.

“Good luck with that, and please don’t hate on my wife. You all know MAK loves her work,” Daniel says as I turn a frown to him.

Chapter twenty-three