Page 40 of Bruised MC Bear

Nancy took a step forward and offered her hand. “Hello. I’m Nancy. So you’re Axe’s current pet project?”

“I’m Angel.” She took Nancy’s hand and shook it confidently. “It’s good to meet you. I didn’t realize your brother told you anything about me.”

Axe refused to touch that flaming red flag. Women were going to girl talk, and shit was going to hit the fan, so if he knew what was good for him, being elsewhere was better. He motioned toward the front door with his chin.

“Help yourself, I have to get something from the garage.”

That statement was probably as close to a formal invitation as he was going to get, so he let himself into his sister’s sanctuary. Not much had changed in the house itself. Not design-wise. The layout was still clean and modern. Definitely sleek and impersonal, just like Nancy and her husband, who Axe was yet to meet because he and Nancy weren’t on speaking terms when she had sent him the invitation to her wedding. All the other times Axe had come around—which he could count on one hand—the man was always away on business.

Axe was overwhelmed by the silence in the house. Nothing was out of place, even the kid’s toys. He walked down the hallway into the kitchen for a glass of water, and by the time he’d taken his first sip, the rattle of the backyard doorknob made him shoot up straight. His hand went to the gun holster at the small of his back. The kids were upstairs. Nancy and Angel were at the front door. So who was edging their way into the house through the back door?

Axe drew his weapon just as the women stepped into the kitchen behind him. His pointed his gun at on the intruder as he showed himself, ducking past the small door into the kitchen, and juggling keys in his palm. He was a panther shifter.

“If you want to keep your sorry sack of shit in one piece, I suggest you get the fuck out of this house. Far away from me and mine. Got it? Otherwise, we’ll have to dig a large hole in my sister’s flowerbeds for your bullet-riddled corpse.”

All his senses went on red alert as he stared more closely at the prick’s face. The man standing in his sister’s kitchen, eyes wide at the gun trained on his forehead, was wearing a panther cut. Which made sense because he was Kade Jackson, the president of the Nevada Chapter of the panthers MC.

“How the fuck did you find us?” Axe demanded. “Does Kit Reese even know you’re here? He may be the Arizona Chapter Prez, and this may be your territory, but you have some nerve showing up at my sister’s, motherfucker.”

“Get the fuck back,” the man warned.

“Alexander, no!” Nancy threw herself in front of his line of fire with both hands outstretched. “Stop it. Both of you. The kids are upstairs!”

“Get out of the way, Nancy.” Kade said, putting his arm on her shoulder.

“Don’t fucking touch my sister!” Axe shouted.

“Let’s take this song and dance outside, shithead,” Kade snorted. “I’ll calm you right down.”

What the fuck was he missing here? Now wasn’t the time for jokes. Axe readjusted his angle and hardened his jaw. “Stop talking. Turn the fuck around and start walking.”

Nancy stretched her arms out in both their directions, unafraid. “Alexander, I really don’t need my brother to shoot my husband in front of my children. Put the gun down.”