Edison (The Henchmen MC 10)

"No," I countered, going behind the bar to grab the bottle of vodka, twisting off the cap, raising it up, and fucking chugging.

He let out a soft chuckle as he watched, shaking his head.

"Must be a hell of a woman to be drinking like that after not striking out."

"She is," I agreed, swiping the back of my hand across my mouth, swearing I could still taste her there even after all the vodka.

Sweet.

She was so fucking sweet.

I had just gotten my fill, and I somehow wanted more.

He nodded at that. "Hope it works out for you," he said, voice going guarded again. "It'd be good for you to have a woman in your life."

With that, he put the milk crate down for me to deal with, and walked off in the direction of his room.

Women, you would find if you paid close enough attention, were a trigger for Reeve. Why? Well, no one but Cy knew that, and he wasn't about to share his actual brother's secrets, not even to his biker brothers who never kept many of their own.

Whatever it was that went down, it put a dark mark on his soul.

I wonder if it was one that could have light shined on it again.

I finished most of the clean-up, figuring the newer bloods were likely out getting their rocks off, and wouldn't be back until morning. And then Summer would get up and start to clean up her own party.

In the end, I got maybe an hour of sleep before it was time to get up, shower, head to the gym, and see what was going to happen with Lenny.

Five minutes into the session, I was starting to think I was wrong, that she wasn't going to show.

I went to walk out toward reception, wanting to see if she had canceled, or just chosen not to show up, when my eyes caught sight of her.

In the ring with fucking Pagan, of all people. I had to stop myself from asking aloud What the fuck is this shit? and firmly planted my feet, watching as Pagan slammed her backward when she advanced.

When it came to old-fashioned street fighting, there was hardly anyone who matched him. He had been soaking the floor of the ring at Hex for years, taking down men who had a hundred pounds of muscle on him.

But Pagan had a leashed beast that he let out.

And, it seemed, each time he shoved Lenny back, her own yanked at its chain.

"Yeah, get fuckin' angry. This shit isn't gonna do dick in a fight, girl."

It was the girl that did it.

And I knew Pagan well enough to know he had said it on purpose.

Just to piss her off.

Just to see what she would do.

And Lenny, well, she delivered.

But she didn't do some LINE or Krav Maga or Jiu Jitsu.

Oh no. She moved in just at arm's length, used two fingers, and brought Pagan to his knees with a pressure point move that I taught her.

My slow clap was what made her finally release him, whipping around to face me.

"Nice," I told her, meaning it, but she took the praise with a scowl.

I didn't really expect anything different.

"Fuck," Pagan hissed, rubbing at his muscle. "Yeah, sorry. Know she had a class with you, but she got caught up watching me and that new kid from Hex fucking around in here. I know an eager look when I see one. And she was willing. Guess maybe she'd rather put her hands on me than you," he mused, smirk devilish, knowing exactly what buttons he was pushing. I hadn't said shit to him, but I had given a vague answer when Sugar had asked when he rolled up this morning. Fuck what you heard about women, men spread shit like wildfire just as quickly as women did.

Pagan obviously heard, then saw an opportunity to fuck with me about it.

Oh, brotherhood.

It wasn't real if they didn't make you fucking hate your life at times.

"Fuck off," I told him, tone casual, like I was telling him good morning, making him chuckle. "You about done avoiding me, love? Can we get our lesson over with?"

"I wasn't avoiding you," she was quick to correct, too quick for it to be the truth. "I saw an opportunity to learn something from a good fighter. I took it. That's all."

She moved to brush past me, but my hand grabbed her wrist gently, stopping her right at my side. "Remember how I feel about you lying to my face, Lenny."

"That sounds a whole lot like your problem," she shot back, yanking away, then charging back into the session room.

I had a feeling I was about to be in a world of fucking pain.

I suddenly regretted teaching her all the spots I had.

I looked over at Pagan, grinning like the devil himself. "That's about to hurt, man," he told me, sounding like he enjoyed the idea.