Midnight Moonrising (Moonrising #2)(109)

"Is that your girlfriend?" the girl said quietly as she glanced up at Brad. Oh, so she knew Lea was back there, plotting out her death. Interesting.

"Nope," Brad said as he glanced nervously over at Lea. Her narrowed eyes hadn't moved from the girl. "Has she said anything to you?"

"Nope," the girl mimicked his answer. "But I figured if I screamed, she would come at me with that big-ass knife."

Brad snickered as he leaned against the counter, since it didn't appear as though Lea was going to do that; she still hadn't moved. "She lives here. This is her kitchen you're cooking in. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

The girl's eyes popped wide. "Ace said this was the club owner's house. I came in with him just after dawn. He told me to make breakfast. I'm sorry if I'm intruding."

"Mmm-mmm-mmm," Ace said as he jogged up the hallway in nothing but a towel wrapped around his hips, slapping Lea on the butt as he passed by, and then he embraced the girl from behind and swung her around. "Something smells good," he said as he stood her back on her feet and nuzzled her neck.

The girl laughed, but Brad's wide eyes were on Lea, watching closely as her face turned various shades of red.

Swiftly walking to Lea, Brad made sure to block her view of the laughing couple as he bent down to look her in the eyes. "It's only for a day or two. We need him to help Mena then he's gone. I swear it. The girl didn't know any better. You can't kill them, Lea." He held out his hand for the hilt of the machete. "Can I have it? Please?"

She slapped it in his palm. "I wasn't going to kill her," she growled. "I was protecting her dumb ass."

Brad breathed a sigh of relief as the weight of the knife fell into his hand. "Ace," he said, without turning around, and then waited for the giggles to cease. "Phoenix told you not to bring anybody home. He's gonna shit a brick when he finds out—"

The door of the basement opened and Roel stepped into the kitchen, giving Lea a sweet peck on the cheek before going to the cabinet and selecting a black coffee mug. After he poured a cup of coffee, took a sip and sighed, he said, "Phoenix already knows." He shoved a few pieces of bacon on a piece of bread and took a big bite as he sat down at the breakfast nook. "Everybody in the house knows. She's got a great set of lungs."

"Get her out of here, Ace," Brad said.

Ace threw up his hands in defense. "Hey, no blood, no foul. It was after daybreak. Everything is cool."

"Everything is not cool. He asked you not to—"

"All right, all right! Damn! Stop your bitching. I'll send her home." Ace turned toward the confused girl, with a grin a mile wide on his mug. "Baby, it's time for you to go. Thanks for… well, thanks for everything."

She blinked. "We're leaving? Now? But we haven't even—"


"No, no—you're going; I'm staying here," Ace said, then pulled a chair out and sat down at the nook, patting Chaos on the head and slipping him a piece of bacon when the dog moved up beside him.

Any confusion that had been on her face was all swept away and replaced with anger. "Are you serious? My car is at Hellhound. Do you expect me to walk home? I rode here with you!"

Ace chuckled as he helped himself to the breakfast the girl had cooked. "And what a great ride it was."

"You're an *!" she screamed as she stormed by Brad and Lea then ran down the hall to the room Ace was staying in.

"Dude, you really are. That was cruel."

Ace shrugged. "So take her home."

Brad slapped his chest. "Me? Heather would kill me if she saw another girl getting out of my ride in a nightclub parking lot."

"Didn't you just leave home?" Ace said. "Surely you haven't had time to bang another chick in that amount of time. If so, you'd better get that checked out. There's no way your girl is satisfied."

"She's satisfied," Brad snapped, fists clenching at his sides.

"Christ, will you two shut the hell up?" Roel said, eager to end the bickering before it escalated. "You aren't making my hangover better with all that arguing. I'll take the girl to her car."

"I'll go with you," Lea said. "We can take the Escalade."

"Sounds good to me," Roel said as he stood. There was mascara streaked down the girl's face as she speed-walked from the hall and went straight for the garage, without a goodbye or even a middle finger in the air. Roel lifted his eyebrows. "Phoenix is waiting for you downstairs after you get dressed. Your welcome is wearing thin. I can only take up for you so much, before I'm the one who has to take the heat for your f*ck-ups. That was crossing a line. We don't treat women like whores down here, even if they are whores. Bond with Mena and then take your ass home."

Ace gritted his teeth. "You do realize you're speaking to an Alpha, right? You'd better act—"

"You're not my Alpha."

"I will be after the bond."

"Your say will never trump Mena's, Ace, no matter what you become to her after this. Eat your breakfast and find Phoenix. You are doing the bond today and you are leaving today."

Roel followed Lea out of the kitchen and slammed the door to the garage behind him.