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Then Big G glanced up and saw Hattie standing on the threshold.

“Mama Bear is in the house,” he announced.

He grabbed Crash by the scruff of his neck and yanked him off the stool next to mine, despite Crash’s squawk of protest. “Hattie, come take a seat. Behave yourselves, boys. Sit up straight and no dirty jokes. Spike, keep it in your pants.”

Spike spread his hands with a lump of the stolen sausage in his cheek, mid-chew.

“Hey, I can be a perfect gentleman around the ladies. Ask anyone.”

Gatling aimed a kick at him.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full. Didn’t your mother ever teach you that?”

“Says the antisocial hermit raised by wolves in the backcountry,” Spike retorted.

“I wouldn’t say every lady is enthralled with you,” Blackbeard said. “That little slip of a thing at Hot Shot’s garage would walk through the fires of hell barefoot if it meant she didn’t have to deal with your bullshit.”

Spike huffed and swallowed his food, waving his fork in the air.

“Look. That was a misunderstanding. After I explain everything to Morgan, we’ll be best friends again.”

“She can’t stand you,” Blackbeard said in a flat voice.

Spike grinned.

“I’ll change that one day. Mark my words.”

I sighed and rose to my feet, crossing the room to Hattie’s side. Cupping her elbow, I took her aside, away from my bickering brothers.

“Is everything okay? If I had known you were stopping by, I would have cleaned up a bit…”

I trailed off, scrubbing my unshaven jaw. Tex should have reached out to let me know that Hattie was on the move. Had she given him the slip?

“I figured your clubhouse was the safest place to be right now,” Hattie replied. “As soon as I left Connie and the kids, Vlad started following me after two blocks. I assumed you have at least one man—probably more—still watching the house. So, you can stop fretting.”

“Is that why you came over at seven-thirty in the morning to scold me?” I replied.

“Do youwantme to scold you?” she countered, arching an eyebrow.

I lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug.

“I always thought it was hot when you ripped me a new one.”

She huffed a laugh and shook her head, but I noticed the pleased pink color rising to her cheeks.

“Which is exactly why our marriage wasn’t normal. Why couldn’t you get turned on by something sweet, like a candle light dinner? Or a romantic weekend in the Bahamas?”

“If I recall correctly, it wasn’t a candle light dinner that made you do this.”

I lifted the sleeve of my T-shirt to reveal my bicep where Hattie sank her teeth into me during sex, the first week after wemet. The next morning, I had those vicious red marks tattooed, wearing it like a badge of pride.

Hattie hissed and swatted my shoulder.

"Neil! I told you to have that removed ages ago.”

I smoothed my sleeve back down into place.

“And I told you, that’s never gonna happen. I earned that bite mark. I should have had those welts you left on my back tattooed as well.”