Page 62 of Reconciling the Consequences

Johnny loved watching her smile and laugh while she splashed in the water with Derrick and Kevin, loved seeing her let loose after a stressful week of working nonstop.

He wasn’t stupid; he knew something had changed this week. Derrick had told him she’d found something, that Danvers had given her something, and ever since that moment she had been distant with them. She’d withdrawn slightly, as if the weight of the world rested on her slim shoulders.

He thought about bringing it up, asking her directly, but decided it could wait. He didn’t want to ruin this moment. This beautiful, peaceful lunch with his best friends and the love of his life. He wished he could bottle up this serenity and bask in its glory whenever life got too hard.

Kara shot him a bright smile from across the table. She had caught him staring at her. Again. As she had caught them all staring at her whenever she wasn’t paying attention. As if they couldn’t believe she was theirs. Like if they blinked, she’d be gone.

Kara felt lighter than she had in a long while—all week, in fact.

Quinnlyn Beach was beautiful with the crystal-clear water of Lake White Buffalo and the soft white sand that came from the natural limestone walls that made up one side of the beach. In the summer, teens and college kids drove up to those cliffs—Dead Man’s Bluff—to make out and party, and those who were daring enough even jumped from those cliffs into the water below.

The limestone walls jutted out into the lake, making a sharp ninety-degree angle for boaters to navigate when on the water. It created a clashing of the currents, with lots of water-skiers and tubers hitting the rough waters and wiping out from hitting the waves wrong, hence the name Dead Man’s Pointe.

Too many accidents had led to regulations for boaters towing skiers and tubers, so Dead’s Man’s Pointe wouldn’t be so deadly. It didn’t stop the kids from having fun, though.

“This was a good idea.” Kara smiled as they slowly packed up their remaining food and garbage.

“Glad you let me out of the house after all?” Derrick smirked at her.

She rolled her eyes. “Maybe I’ll tie you to the bed next time instead,” she shot back him.

His smirk turned lethal as his hand came out and grabbed her ass. “Baby girl, you wanna tie me up, all you gotta do is ask.” He swatted her ass with a loud smack.

She jumped slightly, looking around. There were families nearby. Children. She didn’t want to make a spectacle. Thankfully no one was paying attention. “I’m gonna hit the bathroom before we head out,” she declared, gathering up their garbage to take with her.

“Sounds good, baby girl.” Derrick nodded.

She dumped their trash into a garbage can outside the bathhouse before she headed inside to do her business. While she was sitting on the toilet, she answered some text messages from Marlie and Danvers and even one from Rachel asking if she was going to come by the club with the guys for whatever party they had planned that evening.

She took her time, enjoying the cool air in the bathroom. She knew she should hurry, that her boys would worry, but she liked making people wait. So she texted Rachel that she wasn’t sure yet and would let her know after she talked to the guys.

When she finally left the bathroom after washing her hands, her boys were no longer at the picnic table. She looked around, and her heart dropped into her belly when she saw the three of them toe to toe with a large group of Devil’s Psychos in the parking lot.

Three against ten. Johnny was squared off in front, with Kevin and Derrick slightly behind and flanking him. Kara didn’t know what to do. They hadn’t talked about this before. Should she stay away? Would it be better for her to stay in the bathroom? What if someone came for her? Would it be better if she was with her guys?

Fuck. She couldn’t hear what was being said from where she stood. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She would go over there and hope for the best. As she headed toward the group of leather-clad bikers, their voices grew louder.

“That why you killed our brother?” Johnny growled, getting into the face of one of the Devil’s Psychos.

Kara locked eyes with Kevin, and he quickly pulled her behind him.

“What do we have here? Aren’t you just a pretty little piece of bubble gum.” A Psycho sneered as he raked his eyes down Kara’s body.

She rolled her eyes and glared at him. Men like him were disgusting.

“You’re in our territory,” one of the Psychos ground out.

“Quinnlyn Beach is neutral ground. Families come here,” Kevin shot back.

The Psycho, a man with short brown hair and black eyes, smirked back. “Well, you have to go through our territory to get here, so we’ve claimed it as ours,” he drawled.

Derrick growled. “The hell you have. This is Knights territory, and Quinnlyn Beach is off-limits.”

One of the guys laughed. It was sinister and sent shivers down Kara’s spine. She didn’t like the way they were leering at her. She looked over the group of rough-and-tumble men. Most of them were around her age, maybe older. Mid-to-late thirties. Not all of them leered at her, though. Most of them were too busy watching her boys. They were smart: she knew with all her being that Kevin, Johnny, and Derrick would fight like hell to defend her. They would do everything in their power to keep her safe. Still, if she didn’t need to be in a situation like this, she wouldn’t go out of her way to find one.

She would feel a whole hell of a lot better if the odds were a little more balanced. Or if the douchebags in front of them would back the fuck off.

She didn’t hear the roar of the motorcycles until it was too late. She didn’t see the additional Devil’s Psychos coming until the crowd before her parted like the Red Sea. The wall of leather stepped back to reveal her goddamn brother: Marcos.

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