Repo (The Henchmen MC Book 4) (10 page)

And on top of that, the bastard seemed to use any excuse to get close to me. When he was giving me an order, he would get in my face. When he was chastising something I did, he got up behind me and spoke over my shoulder.

He never out and out touched me again, but he got close enough that he might as well have.

It was a problem because, one, he was doing it because of my request to keep his hands off me. And, two, because while my brain was beyond annoyed with him, my body didn't get the message and any time I felt his body near mine, my skin flushed, my breasts felt heavy, my sex clenched, a sense memory of his kiss pressed into my lips.

So I had been, for a week straight, in a state of absolute anger and constant sexual frustration.

It was an issue.

It was especially an issue because it was making me forget my mission and causing me to lash out in small ways when I knew that the littlest thing could get me thrown out. I needed to get a grip. I needed to remember why I was there and what it would mean if I got kicked out.

So still fully clothed and in a sour mood to end all sour moods, I went to sleep.

--

It was hard to hold onto my anger the next day. Granted, we were all still called on to do all the menial tasks. But all the members were around. Most even brought their old ladies and children. Reign's wife, Summer, was hanging around. Their daughter, Ferryn, toddled around us while we talked about the food and who was going to be at the BBQ.

I had to admit, it was nice to talk to a woman for a change. Being around so many men had, in a way, been almost refreshing. There was a lot less of the cattiness, the back stabbing, the bullshit. But that being said, sometimes it was just nice to hear someone complain about the humidity making their hair get crazy.

Duke and Renny mulled around, both of them giving the other a wide birth. Renny was uncharacteristically quiet, barely even saying good morning to me. I wondered if I would ever figure out what had made two reasonably friendly men go HAM on each other.

Considering this was supposed to be a job of sorts, I found myself getting a bit too invested. K wouldn't approve.

"Probie," Repo's voice called, making me stiffen and turn. He didn't call me by my name anymore. That was apparently part of his newfound asshole-ness.

"What's up?" I asked, giving him a wholly fake smile that actually hurt the muscles in my face.

"Reign needs you out front," he said, turning and expecting me to heel like an obedient little dog.

I stared daggers at his back as we went out to the front where Wolf had pulled his mammoth truck up, Moose and Fox already up in the bed working on untying the kegs. "Hey what do you need?" I asked Reign before Repo could announce that he'd brought me to heel.

"Kegs," Reign said, jerking his chin toward the bed of the truck.

Fuck. Of course.

See, after all my training with K, I knew that there wasn't much a man could do to best me unless he had even better training. It wasn't about strength per say, it was about technique and instincts. But, that being said, it wasn't sexist to admit I was weaker. Physically, I was simply not as strong as my male counterparts. I didn't like it. It chafed every time I needed help lifting something that one of the guys could lift by themselves. But it was just how it was. I wasn't as strong. Kegs, well, they were about one-hundred and sixty pounds. There was absolutely no way I could lower one to the ground by myself.

But fuck if I let anyone know that.

"On it," I said on a shrug, walking past Janie and Wolf and hopping up into the bed.

"You guys are
assholes
," Janie hissed and I bit into my lip to keep from smiling. I liked Janie. I think it was impossible to not like her. She was a certified badass and completely unconcerned about speaking her mind and even pushing around the members of the club. You had to respect her balls. I envied her ability to speak her mind.

After yelling at the guys, she hopped up in the bed to help me, evening up my odds.

"Ass looks great in those jeans," Fox said, giving me one of his trademark creepy smiles as I walked past.

Honestly, his comments were so frequent and, for all intents and purposes, innocent seeing as he never tried to act on any of it, that I had long since learned to ignore him. Janie, of course, was not of the same mind. That just wasn't her style.

"Funny, I don't hear you telling Cash or Reign or Wolf what nice asses they have," she snapped, reaching for the handles on the keg I was untying.

"Don't want to fuck theirs," Fox shrugged. And, well, it was the wrong thing to say around Janie.

"Are you fucking serious?" she asked, straightening and advancing him across the bed. "You do realize this is a brotherhood right? You're not supposed to..."

"Have to deal with a sister? And her fucking mood swings when she's on the rag like you obviously a..."

I felt my stomach muscles tense, knowing there was no way she was going to let him get away with that. See, Janie worked for Lo at Hailstorm and aside from being a good hacker and pro bomb-maker, she was really
really
good at Krav Maga. So when I saw her plant her legs wide and bend at the waist, well, I knew that Fox was going to be in a world of pain.

One second he was standing there on the truck bed. The next, he was flat on his back on the ground.

"Hey, bitch..." Moose growled, slamming his big palm down on her tiny shoulder.

And, well, he just signed his metaphorical discharge papers with that one move. Because down on the ground, Wolf was actually fucking
growling
and Cash and Reign had both stiffened. You did not,
ever
, touch another brother's old lady. No matter what.

In K's words, it was time to distinguish myself.

I turned, grabbing his wrist and twisting it, planting the palm of my other hand on his shoulder so he couldn't whip back at me and turning him fast, shoving his chest down on the top of one of the kegs. "Apologize," I demanded as he tried to throw his weight back at me and I brought my knee up to press into his back, holding him in place.

"Fuck you," he spat.

"With what? While we're talking about our
brothers'
body parts, I've seen you changing, Moose. You don't have anything a woman wants in those pants."

"Maze," Repo's voice called. It wasn't just my name; it was a warning.

And, well, I had hit my limit of shit I was willing to take.

"What?" I almost screamed back, every last drop of frustration spilling into my voice. "Last night Duke and Renny got into a knock down drag out and all you did was stand there and place bets! But because it's me you're going to pull the fucking 'boss' card a-fucking-gain?" I asked, still yelling, slamming Moose against the keg hard then pushing away from him. I moved across the bed, focusing all my anger on Repo. "He put his
hand
on someone else's old lady. He's lucky it's still attached to his body!" His hands dropped down by his sides, his hands curling up into fists as a muscle ticked in his jaw. But he stayed silent.

"She ain't wrong," Wolf declared, reaching for his woman and pulling her down on the ground with him so he could wrap a protective arm around her.

"Maze, you need to calm down," Repo said, his voice sounding tired.

Calm down?
Calm down?
The bastard...

"You need to stop..." I started, but was cut off by Reign's bark.

"Alright, enough," Reign said, obviously done with the situation. "Moose," he said inclining his head toward him in the truck bed, rubbing his wrist where I had twisted it, "Maze is right; you don't put your hand on a woman. Ever. And you certainly don't put your hand on your fuckin' road captain's woman. What the fuck were you even thinking?"

"She could have broken my brother's bac..."

"Then your brother should show a little more respect. You're out," Reign said in a lethal way that brooked no argument. "Your brother can stay if he shapes the fuck up. Now you've ruined enough of this party so get the fuck gone so we can all enjoy the rest."

Moose turned an almost comical shade of red as he fought to keep his mouth shut, knowing damn well that the last thing he wanted to do was start some kind of argument with Reign. He moved past me, slamming so hard into my shoulder that white sparks of pain made me grit my teeth to keep from hissing. He wasn't going to get a reaction out of me. He was out. He wasn't my problem anymore.

I hopped down off the bed, storming back toward the compound. I needed a minute to get myself together, take some deep breaths, repeat my mantras. Hell, even call K if I couldn't get myself under control. All I knew was I needed to get the hell away from Repo.

"Maze..." he said, his voice almost soft like I remembered it being when I was sick, as he tried to reach for my arm as I passed.

"Don't you fucking touch me," I hissed under my breath as I passed, trying to keep my eyes off him because if he looked at me, he would see the nonsensical cocktail of anger, sadness, betrayal, frustration, and defeat. And, well, I'd be damned if I let him see any more weakness from me.

I stayed clear of the basement, knowing Moose or Fox would be down there collecting Moose's stuff eventually and hung out instead in the bathroom, pacing the small space, murmuring the plan to myself under my breath.

Regardless of how Repo got down on me, I knew I had done the right thing with Moose. I also scored a point because he was out. He was out and that meant one less person riding me. It also meant I was one step closer to getting a patch.

So long as I could swallow my pride, bite my tongue, and just... deal with whatever else Repo and the others might throw at me.

Twenty minutes later, deciding I had wasted enough time of a good party on a bad mood, I made my way back out to the yard where a few of the men had congregated around the grill. The smell of hamburgers and hotdogs filled the air, making my stomach groan in protest of its emptiness.

"Sugar, honey, darlin'..." a smooth voice called from behind me, immediately making me stiffen.

"What?" I growled as I turned, brow raised, ready to take more sexism crap from whoever it was and knowing there wasn't much I could do about it.

And there was a guy. Really, it was hard to describe him. He almost had a greaser look with his thin face, slicked back hair, tight black pants, and white tee. But that wasn't exactly right either because he was literally covered in tattoos up to his neckline and had an eyebrow and tongue piercing. His deep green eyes didn't so much as drift below my neck and his smile seemed open and friendly.

"You belong to someone here?"

"I don't
belong
to anyone," I bristled.

"Shoot, this is Maze. She's a probate," Cash said, walking up, slamming a hand on Shoot's shoulder and holding out beer bottles for us to take.

"No shit?" Shoot asked me, smile getting wider. "'Bout fucking time you jackasses got progressive," he remarked, giving me a wink as he sipped his beer.

"Says the lone gunman," Cash laughed, shaking his head.

"Hey you find me a skirt who can shoot fifty yards in a dense fog and hit their target, I will happily take them on. I could use some vacation time. Thinking 'bout taking Amelia down to Al'bama in the shit part of winter here."

It started to click then. I'd heard of Shoot, better known as Shooter. He was a hitman for lack of a better term. Amelia must have been his woman. Legend was, he was the most charming man in fifty miles in any direction. Somehow, I believed that. There was obviously just something wrong with me that he had no effect on my mood.

I again blamed Repo.

I chanced a look over to where he was talking to Janie by the picnic tables. Janie looked angry, Repo kind of dead-eyed.

"Maze," Cash called, drawing my attention.

"Yeah?"

"I know you're having a shit time of it here and I'm not gonna disrespect your intelligence by saying it hasn't been planned that way, but I have to say... you're bearing it like no one else would."

"I'm just as deserving as the rest of them," I said, lifting my chin a little.

"I'm not saying I don't agree with you, sweetheart," he said, giving me an almost sad smile. "But I'm not going to be giving you any false hope either. The odds aren't in your favor and you were really close to fucking it up for yourself out front. Not because of that shit with Moose. The fucker had it coming. But if Reign didn't cut you off, I'm pretty sure you would have crossed a line with Repo."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders.

"Because if I don't, Lo is going to tie me to the headboard and chop off my balls for not warning you. Now," he said, his smile going a little wicked, "I'm okay with some kinky rope fun, but I'm pretty attached to my balls. I'd like to keep it that way."

At that, I felt my lips curve up slightly. "I didn't really need the warning. I've known how it was from day one," I said, my eye automatically catching the movement of Repo from the picnic tables to the far end of the yard where his cars were situated. Why my eyes always sought him out despite my strong aversion to him lately, I had no idea. They apparently had a mind of their own.