“Like what? Murderous?”
“What about Nash?” he asked.
“Nash is the opposite of his brother. But I just got out of a long-term relationship. I’m in a new town trying to do what’s best for my niece, who hasn’t had the easiest life. There’s no time left on the clock to explore things with any man,” I said firmly.
“Good. Because I know you’d hate to unintentionally add fuel to the fire.”
“What started their stupid fire in the first place?” I asked.
“Stubbornness. Idiocy. Ego,” he said vaguely.
I knew better than to expect a straight answer from a man who was like a brother to the Morgans.
“Hey, Naomi! Can we add an order of—” Sloane cut off mid-sentence.
The petite blonde was staring open-mouthed up at Lucian like she’d just been sucker-punched. I felt Lucian’s entire body go rigid.
My heart sank with the realization that I’d somehow betrayed my new friend.
“Hey,” I said weakly. “Do you know—” My awkward introduction was unnecessary.
“Sloane,” Lucian said.
While I shivered at the ice in his tone, Sloane had the opposite reaction. Her expression went mutinous, and an emerald fire snapped in her eyes.
“Is there an asshole convention in town I wasn’t aware of?”
“Still charming as always,” Lucian snapped back.
“Fuck off, Rollins.” With that parting shot, Sloane spun around and marched toward the door.
Lucian still hadn’t moved a muscle, but his gaze was glued to her retreating back. His hands, still on my hips, gripped me hard.
“You about ready to unhand my waitstaff, Luce?” Knox growled behind me.
Startled, I yelped. There were too many pissed-off people in my vicinity. Lucian released me, gaze remaining on the door.
“Are you okay?” I asked him.
“He’s fine,” Knox said.
“I’m fine.”
It was clearly a lie. The man looked as though he wanted to commit a cold-blooded murder. I wasn’t sure who I should attempt to fix first.
“Dinner. Tomorrow,” he said to Knox.
“Yeah. Dinner.”
With that, he headed for the door.
“Is he okay?” I asked Knox.
“How the hell should I know?” he asked irritably.
The door opened just as Lucian got to it, and Wylie Ogden, creepy ex-police chief, stepped inside. The man flinched, then covered it—poorly—with a smirk when he saw Lucian in front of him. They stared at each other for a long moment before Wylie stepped sideways, giving him a wide berth.
“What in the hell was that?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Knox lied.
Silver whistled from the bar and waved him over. Knox headed in her direction, swearing under his breath.
The guy was wound tighter than a mummy wrapped in Spanx.
“Did Sloane just leave?” Blaze demanded, arriving at my side with Agatha on her heels.
“Yeah. I was dancing with Lucian Rollins. She took one look at him and left. Did I do something wrong?”
Blaze blew out a breath. “That’s not good.”
Agatha shook her head. “Definitely not good. They hate each other.”
“Who could possibly hate Sloane? Isn’t she the nicest person in Northern Virginia?”
Agatha shrugged. “There’s some kind of sticky history between those two. They grew up next door to each other. Didn’t run in the same crowds or anything. No one knows what happened, but they can’t stand the sight of each other.”
I’d been caught dancing with my new friend/boss’s mortal enemy. Damn it.
I needed to make this right. At least ignorance was a plausible defense. I was already reaching for my phone when it started ringing.
It was Stef.
“Shoot. I have to take this,” I told the bikers. “Hey, is everything okay?”
“Witty, I’ve got bad news.”
My heart stopped and then stuttered to a start again. I knew that tone of voice. This wasn’t “we’re out of champagne and ice cream”—this was “family emergency.”
“What’s wrong? Is Waylay okay?” I plugged my other ear with my finger to hear over the band.
“Way’s fine,” he said. “But Nash was shot tonight. They don’t know if he’s going to pull through. He’s in surgery.”
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
“Some sergeant named Grave notified Liza. He drove her to the hospital. He’s sending someone to notify Knox.”