Page 14 of My Hotshot

He said I was off the hook, but the vein in his temple told me I was anything but. “Okay,” I replied cautiously.

“Stretch just got three weeks to figure out whatever the fuck he’s trying to do before they move on Boone and Gibbs.” Yarder’s jaw clenched. “And Stretch, too.”

My stomach tightened.

“And what happens if Boone and Gibbs move before then?” Aero asked.

“Then Leo and Brynn will move faster,” Yarder growled, eyes locking onto mine like twin lasers. “You better be right about Stretch.”

And then he turned on his heel and disappeared down the hallway.

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and turned back to Aero. “You know one more thing I wouldn’t mind going back to the way it was before Boone and Gibbs?”

“What’s that?”

“Yarder.”

Aero laughed under his breath. “Yeah?”

“I don’t remember him being such a…”

“Asshole?” Pirate offered.

“Dick?” Aero chimed in.

I pointed between them. “Yeah. Both of those. You’d think having Poppy around would’ve mellowed him out.”

Aero shook his head. “Nah. With each ol’ lady, Yarder has one more person to keep safe. Pretty sure he’s at his wits’ end. You getting an ol’ lady would likely send him over the edge.”

I scoffed. “No plans on that, brother.” There hadn’t been a woman in years who had even turned my head to want to keep them around for longer than a night.

Well, that had been true a week ago. Before Lainey popped back into my life.

Lainey hadn’t texted.

Hadn’t called.

Not that I expected her to. But a part of me had hoped she would. That maybe something I said would’ve stuck. That maybe I’d mattered just a little in the mess she’d come out of. But I wasn’t gonna push her.

If she ever wanted to see me again… I’d be here. She just had to call me.

Until then, I had shit to handle. Like keeping Stretch alive.

Sloane appeared behind Aero and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Hello, handsome,” she sang, swaying slightly on her feet.

Aero didn’t even flinch. “Where do you want to go now?”

“The farmers market,” she said, completely unsurprised by his tone. “No point in denying it.”

“Just you?” Aero asked, already knowing the answer.

“Well,” Sloane sighed dramatically, “I’m pretty sure Adalee, Fallon, and Poppy want to go too.”

I grinned and leaned back on the stool. “Once the rest of the girls find out y’all are leaving the clubhouse, you know they’re all gonna want to tag along.”

This right here—this was why I didn’t have an ol’ lady. Sure, I helped where I could, ran backup for the girls when they needed it, but at the end of the day, I didn’t have to wrangle anyone full-time.

Aero narrowed his eyes at me. “Yeah, and thenyoucan come along to help.”

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