Tall, Tatted and Tempting (The Reed Brothers 1)

Bone leans back against the counter beside me, and Abby tries to make herself look really busy. I watch Logan as he yells at Pete in sign language. I have no idea what he’s saying, but it’s not pleasant, whatever it is.

Bone looks at me over his shoulder and says, “You got a place to stay tonight, Kit?”

I nod. “Yep. But thanks for checking.”

Bone looks closely at me for a minute. So closely that my skin crawls. “Let me know if you ever need anything.”

“Sure will.” I don’t say more than that. I just play with my straw and wait for him to walk away. It’s best not to antagonize him.

Bone stands up tall, nods at me, and walks toward the back entrance. He leaves. Logan is still yelling at Pete. And Pete’s finally deflating a bit. Logan’s bigger than he is. But that’s not all. Pete looked like he wanted to argue with Logan when they first started talking. But then Logan wraps his fist up in Pete’s shirt and jerks him into his chest. He’s not signing a word. He’s just glaring at Pete until Pete holds up his hands in surrender. If looks could kill, Pete would be a dead lump on the floor.

Logan releases him and Pete falls back off his tiptoes onto his heels. He signs something that calms Logan down, but he’s still pissed, and he starts shoving chairs from place to place. He was stacking them. Now he’s stacking them forcefully. Pete walks toward me and grumbles.

“What were you doing with Bone, Pete?” I ask.

“Nothing,” he mutters.

“That man’s no good. Don’t let him get you into trouble,” I warn quietly.

“Why does everyone think I’m going to get into trouble?” Pete asks, affronted. He pats his chest. “I can take care of myself.”

“Not with the likes of him,” I say.

He looks up at me, and asks, “What do you know about Bone?”

“More than I want to know,” I admit. I’ve seen what he’s capable of. I’ve seen what he’s done to girls at the shelters. I’ve seen how he uses them.

“Mmm hmm,” Pete hums.

Just then, the band members walk out from the back of the building. The lead singer walks toward me and slaps a small pile of bills in front of me. He sits down on a stool next to me, his shoulder a little too close to mine for comfort. I shift away. He doesn’t take the hint.

I look down at the stack of money. “What’s that for?” I ask.

“That’s your cut of the door.”

“What’s that mean?” I ask.

He nods toward the front door. “We get a percentage of the cover charge. That’s your cut. We split it five ways.”

A grin steals across my lips. “Seriously?”

He smiles and nods. “Seriously.” He lays a hand over mine. “You did a good job tonight.”

I slide my hand from under his and wipe it on my jeans. He doesn’t notice. He looks at me like he’s hungry and I’m cake.

I pick up the stack of bills and fan them out in my hand. There’s more than three hundred dollars here. My mouth falls open. “Thanks,” I say. I can live for weeks on this much money.

He shrugs. “You earned it.”

Abby jumps in. She’s watching Logan across the room. And warning me by shooting her eyes in Logan’s direction. “Logan’s girlfriend is an amazing guitar player, huh?” she asks.

“Girlfriend, huh?” he asks me quietly.

I smile and nod. “Girlfriend.” I look over and see Logan walking toward us. He’s not smiling. He’s doing the opposite. I get up and step between him and the lead singer. I didn’t even get his name. Nor do I really want it. I tuck the money in my pocket and put my hands on Logan’s chest. He looks down at me and tries to brush me to the side, but I won’t let him. “When can we go home?” I ask, purposefully tugging him toward me by the loops in his jeans. He finally looks down at me. His brow is furrowed as he glares at me. “What’s the sign for home?” I ask.

He shows me, looking into my eyes as he signs it. I point to me and then repeat the sign. Logan nods.

The lead singer walks by us, and says softly so that I can hear, but Logan can’t see his lips. “When he’s done with you, give me a call, sweetheart,” he says.

Abby gasps. He looks over at her and winks and she flips him the bird. He laughs louder, and then he leaves, taking his band mates with him.

Logan wants to talk to me, I can tell. But he won’t do it with everyone looking. “When can we go home?” I ask.

He looks around. The chairs are all put up and Ford took over with the mop. Logan claps his hands at Pete and Pete turns around. He makes the sign he just showed me for home and Pete nods. He’s still pissy but he comes with us.

I wave at Abby and she waves back. She’s lifting her purse from beneath the bar, so I think she’s about to leave, too. “Don’t be a stranger!” she yells at me. I smile back and nod. She’s nice. I like her.

We walk through the bar to the back exit, and let ourselves out. It’s after four in the morning, and I’m tired, but the cold air wraps around me, and I feel more invigorated than I have in a really long time. I just got to play with a band for hours. And I have over three hundred dollars in my pocket.

Logan takes my hand in his and looks around. The streets are dark and more than a little scary at this hour. I’m suddenly really glad I’m with these two men. They’re both built like mountains, and the tats make them look much fiercer than they are. I want to talk to Logan, but I know he can’t walk beside me and see my lips. So I stay quiet all the way to his apartment. He motions for Pete to go up the stairs, and we stand in the stairwell for a moment. He brushes back a strand of hair that’s stuck to my lip. “You really enjoyed tonight, didn’t you?” he asks as soon as Pete’s gone.