Havoc (Tattoos and Ties 1)

“That’s the only word to describe all this,” Keyes said, watching Dev grab two beers from the refrigerator.

Dev laughed and walked straight past him again, handing over a cold beer while heading toward the small patio right off the living room. “Come on. We’ll talk outside. I was about to add steaks to the grill. Come out here.” Dev went through a patio door out into a small backyard, big enough to house some bikes, a couple of scooters, and a small dog that nipped at Dev’s feet.

“That’s Precious.” The small dog attacked his boot with a vengeance, showing she may have more of Dev’s true nature at heart. “They named her that because she’s anything but. She bites all men, all the time, and guards the girls like she’s a pit bull. She never touches any of them. So, don’t stick your hand down there.” Dev moved the yapping dog away from him with his foot. The dog didn’t give at all. She hung on to Dev’s boot as he tried to walk toward the grill.

“Where’s your bike?

“In the garage.” Dev used a thumb over his shoulder to point to a small row of garages directly behind the apartment building. “Dude, really, it’s not that big a deal. You ain’t the only one who can smell all happy. It’s that good lovin’, and don’t act like you’re not doin’ it too.” Dev’s fist popped out for a knuckle touch. Keyes obliged, but that took his thoughts in a whole different direction.

“Mine’s slummin’ it for a few fucks. She slummin’?” Keyes hooked a thumb over his shoulder toward Holly still in the house.

“Maybe. But I moved in,” Dev said, waggling his brows like he had accomplished a magical feat.

“You moved into that flower house?” Keyes asked incredulously. No way had his filthy friend lived in a house that clean. Dev’s name had to mean tornado in some foreign language.

“Hell yeah, I did. The girls love bein’ here.” Dev added the steaks to the hot grill, drawing Keyes’s gaze down to the immediate sizzle. He saw several foil-wrapped potatoes lining the top rack. That meant preparation, and that was something Dev didn’t do either. “I’ve been gettin’ May and Abby every week. Got my support caught up. Me and Holly are movin’ to a bigger townhome when her lease is up to give all three of our girls their own rooms.”

“Do the brothers know?” Keyes asked, opening his can of beer. He handed his to Dev and reached for Dev’s still unopened can on a small patio table.

“Nah, not really. Just you. They know I got some regular pussy. That it’s one of Shanna’s friends, but that’s it. You know their shit freaks with anything remotely normal.” Dev looked over at Keyes. They both nodded at the understatement of Dev’s words.

“I haven’t seen you at the clubhouse. I just figured you were stayin’ at your place,” Keyes said, opening his can of beer.

“I’ve been tryin’ to get you over here for a month then you just ghosted on Friday. You’ve been different. I know you’re hung up on someone—a guy, right?” Dev asked, looking over at Keyes who nodded before taking a gulp. “You’ve been real resistant to relationships. I figured you were strugglin’, figurin’ out your place. You gotta have time to think through your shit. He ain’t one of us, is he?”

“Nope. Nobody you know.” He went for a patio chair, dragging it closer to Dev before he took a seat.

“Yeah, Holly’s gonna be a nurse practitioner. She won’t be hangin’ out at the club either.” That was what he liked so much about his buddy. He just knew shit without Keyes having to explain.

“What’re you gonna do about that?” Keyes asked, after taking another drink. The only part that now made him nervous about Alec centered on when his brothers would start noticing his absence and start sticking their noses in why he was gone so much. His only hope was Alec would tire of him before his brothers got into investigation mode.

“Deal when we get there. No sense rushin’ it, you know. Timin’s right. Everybody’s lyin’ low right now anyway.” Dev’s fist came out, and Keyes obliged the knuckle tap but wasn’t entirely certain what Dev said that needed the emphasis.

“Key, you like Budweiser, right?” Holly said, sticking her head out the open patio door.

“Sure.”

“He speaks,” she teased, grinning while sliding the door back in place and disappearing back inside the house.

“What’re you plannin’ to do with your apartment?” Keyes asked, tipping the can, drinking the rest of the beer down.

“I still got it. I have like ten months on the lease. I had just signed a year lease. Need to use it?” Dev asked, hopeful. With the eagerness on his face, Dev clearly thought that was a great idea.