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“For what?”

“For getting them to take their shirts off.”

“What for?”

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“Do I look like I’m joking?” I growl.

“She ran the plan by me. Shirt off. IG post. Tat.”

It hits me what Syn is doing. Rhett has the same tat as them, but where? We decided not to tell Dare and Midnight about Natalie. The less people know about our plan of finding the guy, the less someone might say something, giving the guy in question the chance to scram. If he hasn’t done so already.

“Why’d she tell you but not me?”

“Guess.” He looks at my hands on top of the table. They are balled, ready for a good pounding into Mohawk’s face.

I grunt. “Point taken.”

He rises out of the seat.

“Where you going?”

“To make us a drink. Midnight sent everyone home. It’s just us.”

Now that I’m not deep in my hate fest, I look around. Dare is right. The closed sign is on and there is only the six of us inside Shades. Dare returns with a bottle of rum and two shot glasses. He sits, pours us the shots, and after a toast to Syn’s smarts, we down our shots and slam our glasses on the table.

Smiling, I wipe my sleeve over my mouth. If those two scumbags shooting daggers at me with their eyes don’t know who I am and what I mean to Syn, they do now. Otherwise, I would not be keeping company with her best friend. And . . . that thought doesn’t piss me off. Maybe a girl and a guy can be friends without crossing the lines of their friend zone.

“Dare, dude, get over here. You too, Taron. You’re our photographer, man.”

We head on over. Midnight hands me his phone, then goes to stand by Dare. The two pose for the camera, flexing their arms and showing off their tats. Hunter goes behind Syn and pulls my girl to him with his arms hanging over her small shoulders. I relax my jaw. Relax my grip on Midnight’s phone. If I lose my shit now, there’ll be no chance of getting a look at where Rhett is tatted.

I won’t disappoint Syn. Or have her pissed at me. She’s right. I need to learn to deal with my temper. If I don’t, I stand the chance of losing her. With as much progress as we’ve made, I’m not willing to take that risk.

So, I tamp down my temper and wait. Rhett grabs the hem of his T-shirt, pulls his shirt over his head, and fuck me, he is not tatted along his ribs.

I snap the shot and hand Midnight his phone. Syn and I are back to square one, and my win is bittersweet. Yeah, I’ll be spending more time with Syn, helping her find the douchebag who hurt Natalie. Except we have a different problem on our hands. I see the determination on Hunter’s face, and now that he’s found her, he won’t let Syn go without a fight.

And a fight between me and her ex is a guarantee someone will lose Syn, and that someone is me. I don’t share, ever, and if Hunter doesn’t give Syn up, I will fuck him up to the point he’ll be drinking through a straw and not walking worth a damn without serious rehab.

Needing to calm the hell down, I leave the bar without a word to Syn. She can thank me later for sparing her ex a much-needed beating.

29

Syn

“Idon’t know what to do, Dare.”

“Why you telling me when you should be talking to Taron.”

“You’re my friend. He’s—”

“The guy who has a boner for you?”

“Exactly.”

Dare chuckles. I swat his shoulder. We are on his couch binge watchingNaked and Afraid, one of Dare’s favorite reality shows, after finishing up our dinner of pizzas and cheese sticks. Taron is spending time with his roommates, Andy and Jordan. I sent him a copy of my calendar so that he knows the days and times we’re to spend time together as well as when I’ll be with Hunter and Rhett.