Page 7 of Renegade Queen

“No. You?” I asked, knowing that even if he had, he was always hungry.

“I could eat,” he said, like I knew he would.

I reluctantly moved away from him and opened the fridge that was down here before laughing when I saw the contents. I didn’t even know why I was looking in there, it was basically just full of beer. I swung the door shut and then eyed the three soldier boys whispering between themselves on the couch. If we were going to eat, we needed to either do it upstairs or order in. I didn’t want to leave them with the shifters unsupervised, and I needed to speak with Finn when he got here. The alpha could be touchy.

“Let’s order in,” I suggested. “O’Malley’s is open and will deliver for us.”

O’Malley’s was a bar that basically never closed, and it did the best burgers and wings around. I ate there far too much, but it was just so damn good.

“How do you get O’Malley to bring you food?” Axel laughed. “That grumpy son of a bitch has never even cracked a smile that I’ve seen. But he personally brings you whatever you want to eat at any time of the day or night?”

Tommy O’Malley was twelve when I met him forty-six years ago. The Vietnam War had just ended, and Tommy’s father had lost his life fighting over there. His mother was trying to keep things going, but was failing in a world that didn’t give a shit about the families of Vets who had given their lives in a fight they had no say in.

Tommy got caught stealing from the wrong house and was getting a kicking down an alley when I pulled his ass out of it. I took him on at the garage, sweeping up and cleaning, paying him enough to keep his family in their shitty apartment and put food on the table. At the time, I’d thought I was doing him a favour, and when he started coming to the garage more and more, I didn’t realise it was because there was more going on at home.

Turned out that his mother had gotten mixed up in drugs. She didn’t see the need to go out to work when she had a son doing it for her. It escalated like it always did when drugs were involved. Some shitty boyfriend ended up killing her and going after Tommy. I sorted out the problem, and he came to live with me.

I sent him back to school and he kept working in the garage, living with me in the apartment. Fast-forward to when he turned twenty-five, and he’d saved up enough to put a down payment on the bar. With the contacts he’d made at the garage, it meant he always had customers to fill it.

Tommy was the first person to find out what I was, the first proper friend I had, which was really sad when you considered he was only twelve. He gave me far more than I ever gave him. Tommy kept me going through some dark times because I had this kid that needed me. We got each other through it, and he was still one of my closest friends.

Tank rang an order through to O’Malley’s for enough food to feed all of us, the rest of the MC, which was undoubtedly on their way, and some leftovers to shove in the fridge. He was even kind enough to charge it to my tab. These guys definitely didn’t know how to treat a lady.

Thirty minutes later and we were all sitting around one of the tables eating when Finn, Alpha and President of the Steel Howlers MC, rolled in with two more of his crew. The three soldiers were starting to look a bit squirrelly now that they were outnumbered, and I weirdly felt a flare of protectiveness over them.

Finn walked straight over to the workbench holding the overflow of food, and grabbed himself a burger and fries before coming down to sit with us. The other two who turned up with him went to go check outside.

“So, Alyssa, tell me about the problem you’ve got,” Finn said, biting into his burger and staring at my three soldiers.

Hmmmm, mine, that was a new thought.

“No problem. Just looking to bring some new friends into the fold,” I told him.

Tommy had outdone himself with this burger; it was amazing.

Maddox looked at me over the top of his burger, and I caught a glint of thanks in his eyes. He had no idea how close he was to dying right now.

“I’m of a mind to decline your request,” Finn said, setting down his burger and sitting back in his chair. Then, taking his napkin, he quietly wiped his hands before scrunching it up and dropping it on the table.

“And I’m of a mind to remind you who you’re talking to.” I grinned back at him, I was aiming for pleasant, but it had a hint of too many teeth.

“You would risk our years of friendship for three humans?” He looked over at the three soldiers in derision. His scorn was literally dripping off his face. I couldn’t blame him. Whenever the supernatural secret got out, it tended to be the shifters that got the shit end of the situation. And when the hunts started, it was always the women and children who seemed to end up in the crosshairs.

I sat back in my chair and mirrored his relaxed posture. “I think you’re forgetting the vast amount of favours and leeway I’ve granted you over the years.” Then I sat up and slammed my fists into the table as I got to my feet. “And you forget whose house you’re currently sitting in.”

Finn just grinned at me like my outburst was nothing but an amusing tantrum. “Fine. Have it your way. But when these three fuck up, the consequences will be yours.” He always needed to get the last word in. Unfortunately for him, I was just enough of a bitch to not let him have it.

“I will, but while we’re talking about consequences, I’m finding myself in a less than generous mood now that my hospitality has been questioned and belittled. It’s time for you and the boys to leave.”

I’d become too friendly with the shifters, and it was fast getting time for me to remind them who they were dealing with. The wind outside picked up, and the glass in the warehouse windows rattled against the force.

The rest of the MC started to look a bit worried, and it was more than what I was capable of doing to them. This place was more than a garage to them, even if Finn decided to treat it as if it was nothing. He’d always been trouble, but usually, he was more reasonable. Usually, he just heard me out for appearance's sake. It wasn’t like him to try and throw his weight around like this.

Finn slowly got to his feet and headed for the door, waving the rest of the MC to accompany him. I caught Hunter and Axel glancing my way, and I gave them a reassuring nod. I wouldn’t hold it against them because I was having a little tiff with Finn. They smiled and nodded back before heading out.

No one spoke until the sound of the motorcycle engines rumbled off into the distance.

“That got a bit tense.” Dean laughed, in an attempt to break the silence.

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