Claiming Menace (Ruthless Sinners MC 5)

He was right. It would take some work, but I had the means to look into Aubrey, or whoever the hell she was, without anyone having a fucking clue. Hell, I’d spent the better half of my life doing just that, but something was holding me back. I didn’t know how to explain it. Hell, I didn’t understand it myself, but my gut was telling me to hold off. “I’ll get to it.”

“And you need to talk to Lynch and fill him in on the situation. Maybe he’ll have some insight as to what’s going on with her.”

“I will as soon as he comes in for his shift.”

Before I had a chance to say anything more, there was a commotion behind us—one that drew my attention to the table Aubrey had been serving. Rage engulfed me when I saw that one of them was pawing all over her, and she was doing her best to get out of his reach. When she stepped away from the table, he took a hold of her arm and yanked her into his lap. She looked utterly terrified as she tried to pull herself free from his grasp. It wasn’t the first time a customer had gotten handsy with a waitress. I knew one of the brothers would handle it, but for reasons I couldn’t begin to explain, I jumped off my stool and charged over to the table. Aubrey’s eyes were wide with surprise as I leaned down and lifted her from his lap. As soon as I’d gotten her on her feet, I turned my attention to the asshole who’d grabbed her.

I reached down and clutched a handful of his shirt, twisting it into a knot as I pulled him towards me. “Time for you and your buddies to move on.”

“Why? We’re just having a good time.”

“Too good of a fucking time.” I leaned in closer and growled, “No one, and I mean no one, touches one of my girls. You got that?”

“Yeah, man.” The guy sank back in his chair, and sounding almost sorry, he muttered, “I got it.”

“Good.” I released my hold on him and pointed over to the door. “Now get the hell out.”

“Wait... Do we really gotta go? He didn’t mean nothing by it. He was only messing around,” one of his buddies chimed in. “It’s Hank’s bachelor party, and we let things get out of hand.”

I didn’t immediately answer. I needed a second to collect myself, so I inhaled a deep breath and then looked over to Aubrey to make sure she was okay. Her face was blood red, and her hands were trembling as she brushed the strands of hair from her face. It seemed like she was on the brink of tears, and I had to say, I was a little thrown by the fact that she looked so rattled by what had taken place. This couldn’t have been the only time some guy had gotten too friendly with her, not when she was so fucking hot, but it was clear the encounter had gotten to her—which enraged me even more. I didn’t want to scare her any further, so I swallowed back my anger as I placed my hand on her arm and asked, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“You sure?”

She nodded as she muttered, “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“See! She’s cool with us staying.”

I briefly turned my attention back to the assholes at the table. “I said to get the fuck out!”

The entire crew grumbled and moaned as they got up and made their way out the front door. When I turned back to Aubrey, she was gone. I looked around, and there was no sign of her. Fuck. I headed back over to the guys and asked, “Did you see where she went?”

“Out back.” Rafe motioned his head over to the door. “Marlowe just ran out to check on her.”

“Yeah, you might not have to worry about looking into her after all.” Country cocked his eyebrow as he taunted, “She looked pretty upset. Might not be back...”

I didn’t wait for him to finish his sentence. Instead, I walked around the table and out the back door. I’d barely made it to the parking lot when I spotted Marlowe talking with Aubrey. As I started towards them, I heard Marlowe say, “You don’t have to worry about guys like that. The brothers won’t let anything happen to you.”

“But—”

“You’re in good hands here, Aubrey. I wouldn’t be working for them if I thought otherwise.”

“Menace called me one of his girls.”

“Yeah, well... Menace is Menace. He takes his job seriously.”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure I like the idea of being one of ‘his girls.’”

Marlowe was about to respond but stopped the second she spotted me coming their way. As soon as I reached them, Marlowe smiled and said, “I’ll give you two a minute.”