Page 37 of The Moment They Can't Forget

“You know that’s just plain wrong, right? She’s an adult and can do what the fuck she likes and likely has in Chicago. This is not the fifties.”

“Don’t, man, seriously. Thinking about Chicago and us not knowing what she got up to makes me queasy,” Sawyer said.

“Here’s another thought for you to add to the one I just gave you?—”

“Shut him up, Sawyer,” Dan said.

“Maybe Zoe left because she had four, possibly five if you count your Uncle Asher, overprotective males making life impossible for her here.” He didn’t know if this was the truth, but it could be.And you should leave this the hell alone considering you’re the man who kept her from her bed.

He looked at the Dukes again and saw that his words had hit home.

“You go on and share that little piece of information with the other Neanderthals in your family, and you see if that makes you back off your sister some,” JD added. “Especially if you want her to stay in Lyntacky.”

“You finished with the therapy session?” Sawyer snarled at him.

“Well, shit,” Red said from his place behind the bar, still unashamedly listening to their conversation.

“What?” JD asked him.

“Trouble is what,” Red said.

Turning to look at who was making the Rollaway owner frown, he saw two men at the pool table. They were arguing with one of the Hyland brothers; JD could never tell them apart, so he wasn’t sure which one. They were the plumbers in Lyntacky and had this annoying habit of speaking in plumbing terms, like ‘that’ll be a wrench’ and ‘if it don’t fit, don’t faucet’ to each other.

“You did sink my ball!” one man he didn’t know roared at Jett Hyland.

“Well, shit,” Dan said, getting off his stool. “Those two fuckers took off their jackets, so we didn’t look too closely at them. They’re Bandits.”

Sawyer growled low in his throat. The Bandits were a local motorcycle gang from one town over who had bad blood with the Dukes.

“I don’t want my place smashed up, Sawyer,” Red warned, coming out from behind the bar. He headed to where the argument was getting louder. Sawyer, Dan, and JD did the same. By the time he got to the pool tables, Dan was trying to calm things down.

“You two need to get out of here,” he was saying. “Bandits don’t come into the Rollaway.”

“No law against it,” one was saying.

“He’s a cheater,” the other biker was saying, pointing at Jett Hyland.

“God’s truth, I didn’t cheat, Red.” Jett Hyland looked pissed off.

One Bandit swung a fist at him and missed. Dan grabbed him in a hold so quick, the man hadn’t seen it coming.

“No fighting,” Dan said. “You clearly need a night in the cells to sober you up.”

“Let him go!” the other Bandit roared, clenching his hands into fists.

“You try that and see how well it goes for you without your buddies to back you up,” Sawyer said. The biker looked at the wall of Dukes and JD and unclenched his fists.

“I’m giving you five minutes to get out of town, and your friend will join you in the morning,” Dan said. He then walked the man he’d cuffed out the door. The Dukes and JD followed.

“I’ve got this,” Dan said over his shoulder as he began marching the biker toward the police station. The sound of a motorcycle told JD the other one had left.

“Noted, but in case, we’ll follow,” Ryder said.

“Look, we’ve covered this. I’ve been a cop a while now, and I know I’m the youngest Duke brother, but I can handle myself,” Dan said in a voice that told JD he’d said these exact words many times.

“I’ll go. You lot stay,” Brody said. “Ally needs to get up early, so I should head home anyway.”

“It’s embarrassing that my big brother has to walk with me while I’m doing my job,” Dan muttered. Brody ignored him and followed.

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