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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

I STOOD IN the shadows, watching Spinner be a complete idiot.

What the hell was he thinking?

Yeah, Fang made it look good—the property cut, the picture, the whole setup, making it seem like he and Lucy were working together. But I didn’t buy it for a second. Zeynep trusted Lucy, and that was enough for me.

I shook my head as I listened.

“Really?” Spinner snapped, yanking Ashlynn closer like a fucking fool. “You think I don’t see it? The secrets, the games. You’ve been playin’ me this whole time.”

“Believe what you want,” Lucy said flatly. “I’m over it. Over you.”

For a moment, they just stared each other down. Then, without a word, Spinner turned to Ashlynn, pulling her against him.

“Come on,” he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, voice laced with cruelty. “Let’s go somewhere private.”

What the hell was he doing?

“Hold on,” Lucy said, her expression sharp, cutting. She was done with the scene. Done with Spinner.

He stopped, but he didn’t look at her, his jaw flexing as he waited. She moved closer to him and told him something only he could hear before backing away from him.

She bent down, picked up a condom package by her boot, and tossed it at him.

“Wouldn’t want things to get complicated,” she added, giving him a look that only they understood. “You two hurry along and enjoy yourselves. Wouldn’t want the romance to fizzle before the whiskey does.”

Lucy had a way with words, and she was tough as hell. I could respect that. But she was reckless, and that was dangerous.

She turned, her gaze sweeping over Chain, Thunder, and Gearhead as they sat watching. I knew what she was thinking—that they didn’t stand up for her. But it wasn’t their place. She should understand that.

Without another word, she spun on her heel and walked away with her head held high.

I moved further out of the shadows as Spinner and Ashlynn headed my way. I was going to knock some fucking sense into him. The brother was drunk, and he’d regret this come morning.

But I didn’t have to intervene.

“Get lost,” Spinner growled, shoving Ashlynn away.

“What?” she said, still trying to hang on him.

“I made a mistake,” he mumbled, pushing past her and heading inside. “Leave me alone.”

Ashlynn started after him, but I stepped out and grabbed her arm.

“The brother said leave him be,” I reminded her.

She looked at me the way she always did—like I was some freak of nature. “I’m tired,” she spat, like she thought I wanted her now that Spinner didn’t.

I scoffed. “Just get lost and leave Spinner the fuck alone.” I let her go and walked away.

These sweet butts thought every man wanted them. Even if I wasn’t scarred, I wouldn’t be interested. I wasn’t built that way—to share a woman, to go where any man could go.

My daddy was one of those men, and it killed my momma little by little. She only wanted a man to love her, care for us like a man was supposed to do. Strange, how they both died together in a car accident when I was sixteen. Poetic justice for my old man some would say.

After that, I lived with Chain, and his parents showed me what a marriage should be. I wanted that for myself.

That thought made me think of Zeynep.

And that made me want to check on her.

So I pushed off the porch railing and headed inside to do just that.