Not wanting the extra attention, my brothers wait for us on the other side of the fenced-in parking lot.
“I wouldn’t get too excited,” I answer honestly. “I’m pretty sure he’d still gut me if he thought he could get away with it.”
Mallory doesn’t even blink. “But it’s a start.”
“Optimism, I like that.” I lean down and kiss her cheek, before opening her door. “Buckle up, babe.”
“I’m not a child, Chaser,” she complains, but does as I ask. When she’s seat belted in, I lock her door before closing it.
As I round the truck, my gaze roams over the parking lot, searching for anything out of place. We were visiting for an awfully long time. Plenty of opportunity for someone to call DeLova’s crew and give them a head’s up.
A pebble skittering over the pavement behind me has me ducking and turning around. Good thing too, because Vasily’s fist flies past the spot where my neck was two seconds ago.
“Good to see you again too, Vasily.” I smirk at him, and he grunts in frustration. I hold up my hands and back up a few steps, getting into position in case he comes at me again. “I’d rethink this if I were you. I just had a nice heart-to-heart with my future father-in-law.”
“Chaser?” Mallory calls.
“Stay in the truck!” I shout without turning away from Vasily.
His dumb-as-an-ox face screws up into a frown. “What do you mean, you spoke to him?”
“Yup. Sorry you raced up here for nothing.”
Confusion clouds his already vacant eyes. “I come every Wednesday afternoon.”
Huh, well, fuck me. Maybe her daddy didn’t approve of me after all. I shrug as if it’s not a big deal, but I’m pissed DeLova never mentioned his goon might show up. Especially after Mallory told him what Vasily did to her.
“By the way, Mallory told her father how you treated her in California.”
He shrugs, but a hint of fear crawls over his face. “I was told to bring her back any way necessary.”
He continues glaring at me, but I’m not all that concerned. I already know he’s a lousy fighter. I also know if he’s planning to go inside those prison walls for a visit, he’s not armed. Most importantly, four of my brothers are waiting on the other side of that fence watching this exchange.
“Besides, she was going to be my wife. I can treat her any damn way I want.” He glances at the truck and snorts. “I assume she’s no longer a virgin, so you don’t have to worry. I’m not interested in marrying a whore.”
“Motherfucker, say that again,” I growl. My hands curl into fists, and I take a few steps closer.
“Do we have a problem, gentlemen?” A deep voice calls out from behind Vasily.
I glare at the asshole in front of me whose ass I’m about to kick and slowly uncurl my fists. Last thing I need is to get arrested and tossed in a cell next to Mallory’s father. I let out a long, slow breath, willing my rage away.
“No, sir. Just ran into an old acquaintance and was saying hello,” I answer smoothly.
“You two need to move it along. This isn’t a hangout.”
“Yes, sir. My girlfriend and I just finished visiting her father and are on our way home now.” I back away and open my door. “Later, V.” I give him a cocky wave and hop in the truck.
“What a dickhead,” I grumble as I fire up the engine.
I glance over at Mallory, who has her hand pressed tight against her chest. “You okay?”
“No. He scared the shit out of me. Thank God no one else was with him.”
“Yeah, let’s hope we don’t run into any of his pals,” I mutter. Vasily watches us pull away. I’m not worried about him tracking the license plate. The truck isn’t mine, and I’d love to see him show up at the owner’s house unannounced.
We stop at the guard shack and sign out, before pulling onto the main road. A couple hundred feet further, my four brothers are waiting at a crescent-shaped pull off on the shoulder of the road.
“Everything all right?” Trigger asks, sauntering up to my side.
“Yeah. Had some trouble with the one guy on our way out, but he wasn’t gonna make a scene there. I wanna hit the road before he decides to follow, though.”
“Let’s ride.” He slaps the front of the truck and heads back to his bike.
“They’re not in any danger, are they?” Mallory asks.
“No, babe. Everything’s fine. Promise.”
She makes a hmm sound of disbelief. After a few minutes of silence, she turns to me. “Our fathers want to go into business together, don’t they?”
No one should ever assume Mallory’s some dumb blonde. “Want probably isn’t the right word. It would be beneficial to both of them is more accurate.”
“Don’t play semantics with me.”