“Need to talk to my pop, you know where he is?” she asked, gripping my biceps hard.
“Everything okay?” I asked, going in for a kiss that she surprisingly gave me without a fight.
“Just need to apologize,” she replied with a huff as I pulled away.
“Ouch.”
“Yeah, not my favorite thing to do.”
“He’s in the second bay, I think. Want me to come with you?” I didn’t like that she was apologizing. That meant she’d done something to piss her old man off.
“I think I know my way,” she teased with a small smile, stepping back.
“Find me when you’re done?”
“Sure.”
She spun and walked toward the garage bay her dad was working in, and I couldn’t help but stare at her ass. She was wearing a pair of jeans that were snug in all the right places. Damn.
“You gonna help me finish this or what?” my little cousin, Will, griped, sticking his head out of the garage. The kid was twenty, but I swear to God he was still growing. His dad, Grease, was a big guy, so everyone had expected him to be big, too, but not this late in the game.
“You juicin’?” I asked, stalking back into the garage. “You’re pretty damn pissy lately.”
“I’m not usin’ steroids, asshole.”
“Gettin’ bigger,” I murmured, watching him closely.
I didn’t give a fuck what the other guys did. I wasn’t their daddy. As long as they did their jobs and had my back—we were cool. But my little cousin was a completely different story, and he still wasn’t as big as I was. I’d kick his ass.
“Steroids don’t make you taller, idiot.”
“Fillin’ out, too.”
“Yeah, because I’ve been working out and eating a shit ton of food,” he snapped, leaning under the hood of the Chevy we were working on.
“Just lookin’ out,” I said calmly, still watching him.
“I don’t need you to look out for me!” he roared, making my head jerk back in surprise as he came out from under the rusted hood. “I’m a grown ass man—”
“Yeah, little tantrum you’re throwin’ sounds real manly,” I shot back. Where the fuck was his attitude coming from?
He took a step toward me and I braced my feet. I didn’t think he’d be stupid enough to take me on, but I wasn’t letting him knock me off balance if he tried to take a—yep.
I guess he was feeling stupid.
“This will not end well for you,” I growled, dodging his fist.
“Pussy,” he sneered, swinging again, this time making contact with my lower ribs. Fuck, that didn’t feel great.
“Will!” Slider yelled, making Will freeze. “Take that shit away from the cars!”
I nodded and turned toward the open doors, catching a glimpse of Trix’s worried face as I moved outside. I didn’t make it two feet before Will took a cheap shot. My head snapped forward and I stumbled onto the gravel.
I was suddenly just as pissed as he was.
“You fuckin’ kiddin’ me?” I yelled, spinning to face him and slamming my hands into his chest.
No way the kid wasn’t on steroids. No fucking way.
He spit on the ground between us.
My hand swung out without conscious thought, and I watched with satisfaction as I connected with his jaw, knocking him back a pace. All around us, the boys had come to watch, keeping their distance and staying mostly quiet.
“Takin’ cheap shots at family? The fuck is a matter with ya?” I asked as he swung again, his fist glancing off my jaw as I dodged him.
“Not my family,” he spit back.
I hit him again. And again. And again. I hit him four or five times before he fell, and I ignored the throbbing points where he’d gotten me back as I watched him land hard on the gravel.
“The fuck was that?” I asked quietly, breathing heavily as I met our VP Poet’s eyes.
“Get him up, boys,” Poet ordered. “Find one of the girls to patch him up. Christ, we need a fuckin’ doc.”
“You start that?” Grease asked as I finally made eye contact with Trix. She looked completely freaked out as her pop held her tight against his side.
“Hell, no.”
“Alright,” he said with a small nod, following the guys carrying Will inside.
I prodded the inside of my cheek with my tongue and found two cuts from my teeth. I spit the blood out of my mouth with a grimace, finally feeling the full extent of Will’s fury. I was going to be sore as hell tomorrow.
“Take the rest of the day,” Slider said calmly before walking away.
“Christ,” I mumbled, shaking my head. Then Trix was there.
“What the hell happened?” she hissed. “I’d barely walked away and all of a sudden, you’re having a schoolyard fight with Will.”
“Hell if I know,” I answered, bracing my hands on my hips. “Damn, that boy’s got some mitts on him.”
“Yeah, you look like shit.”
“Don’t feel real great, either.”