Talkin' Trash (Bear Bottom Guardians MC 2)

I bit my lip and tried to sit still, but his ever-growing hardness had me thinking about hundreds of naughty things I could be doing right now.

Linc and I had lost quite a bit of time. We had a lot to make up for.

“…think it’s best if you move in with Linc,” Steel said, gaining my attention.

“But I work in Kilgore. I can’t stay here.” I shook my head.

“Then you let him stay with you,” Jessie offered. “But the most logical thing for this little prick Threadgill to go after is you.”

I shook my head. “Dr. Threadgill—Tyson—doesn’t seem like the type to do what y’all are accusing him of. And honestly, what he’s doing—or whomever you think is responsible for it—is being petty. Arresting two men in their club isn’t grounds for hurting people. If what you say is true, Hoax isn’t the first person that they’ve gone after, and for what? What is it accomplishing?”

“Cutting us off from our allies,” Jessie murmured. “And alienating the people we call friends. So, when whatever they’re planning comes to fruition, we won’t have anyone to call for help if we need it.”

“Except you will.” I shook my head. “All it’s going to do is piss us off.”

“Where were you going to before you came here?” Linc interjected.

“Free,” Steel answered instantly. “That was the logical next step. Silas was going to take care of it, but something came up that forced him to stay at home.”

“What?” I questioned.

“Not what, who,” he murmured. “His granddaughter got assaulted while in boot camp. Silas is busy at home trying to keep Sebastian, the granddaughter’s father, under control. It wouldn’t look good for Sebastian to go killing any army officers who were responsible for hurting his baby.”

“Oh shit,” Bayou cursed. “I’d love to get the full story there after they have more information.”

I looked over at Bayou. “Why?”

He paused, honestly considering whether to answer me or not. He came to a decision and turned to face me fully. His eyes met mine, and I had a weird feeling that he didn’t want to be looking at me.

Weird.

“Because I was army for eight years—military police—before I took a bullet in the ass and decided maybe it was the best time to go.” He shrugged. “This shit? Her getting assaulted in boot camp? Not gonna be good. Not gonna be good at all.”

I sighed. “Maybe they’re doing both.” I switched gears back to the topic at hand. “We’re fairly close. Forty-five minutes. Maybe that’s why Threadgill is working in Kilgore. He’s only got a three-month contract, by the way. He’s covering for a doctor who had to have surgery. He’s only got two months left before he’s done.”

“That’s what we were thinking, too.” Steel stood up and gathered plates. “That’s where we’re headed next. Little prick Threadgill is good—though we know him as Tantor. But we’re hoping to see a few of his crew at some point. Maybe let them know that their scare tactics aren’t working.”

“Well,” I hesitated. “They’re kind of working. They’re taking out a few of the pawns on the board.”

Steel exhaled deeply, and I stood to walk over to him.

The moment I was close enough, I threw my arms around him and squeezed him tight.

“I’ll be okay, Steel. Linc will watch out for me,” I told him softly.

Well, I hadn’t asked him yet or anything, but I had no doubt in my mind that he’d be very careful with me.

Linc and I were a long time coming. This thing we had was meant to be.

And just like I wouldn’t let anything happen to him, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he’d do the same for me.

Steel turned from where he was rinsing off the dishes in the sink and wrapped those steely arms of his around my head, squeezing just this side of too tight.

“Don’t think that you’re going to get much breathin’ space, girl.” He laughed softly. “Linc is worse than I am.”

I turned my head to stare at the man in question and saw his eyes on me. They were soft as he took us in.

He winked at me and turned to address something his father said to him, and I sighed.

“I’ll let him stay with me, but if he gets to be too much of a handful, I’ll just kick him out and do it alone,” I teased.

Steel gave me one more squeeze that made my ears hurt, then let me go.

His eyes studied my face for a long moment, and then a smile appeared on his face. “There was one other reason that I didn’t think it was a good idea for y’all to be together.”

I frowned. “What?”

“Y’all are super fucking intense apart. Together it’s like nothing can penetrate that shell y’all’ve made for yourself. Don’t let yourself go blind to the world outside because all you can do is focus on each other.”