Page 90 of Beware of Dog

Toly said, “I’ll call Maverick and see who he can spare.” He cocked a black brow. “Unless your brothers are bored in Tennessee.”

“Hm. They might be. But…” Raven glanced at Cass, and then at Shep. “I suppose you’ll have to share with everyone at some point.”

Shep shrugged, as if unbothered, and reached for a slice of the bechamel sauce with artichokes and sausage. Cass could read the sudden tension that stole across his shoulders, though.

“The trial’s not ‘til May,” Cass said. “It could be an extended assignment.”

“Worthwhile, though,” Raven said.

Nat stirred in her sleep, little fusses and kicks, and Toly’s expression transformed when he reached to smooth her little flyaway hairs across the crown of her head until she stilled. Gazing at her with as much emotion as Cass had ever seen from him, he said, “Why don’t we just kill the little fucker?”

“Trust me, that’s what I wanna do,” Shep said.

Cass said, “But the Blackmons have Shep on camera pistol-whipping Sig in their house. If he turned up dead or missing, they’d blame the Dogs.”

Toly’s head whipped around toward Shep. “You did what?”

“I don’t wanna hear it, Mr. Moscow, not after the shit you’ve pulled in the past.”

Toly’s eyes flashed dangerously, and Raven waved a hand through the air.

“Boys,no. We’re not doing this.” Her tone brooked no arguments, and didn’t receive any. “What’s done is done, which means the best option going forward is to get Jamie to trial.”

Shep said, “But what if little Siggy was extra incentivized not to fuck around with us anymore?”

Raven sent him a look.

“Worth a shot.”

~*~

Nat woke back up, because she always did. The guys gathered up the leftovers, they migrated back into the main part of the flat, and Toly crammed the pizza boxes in the trash. When he pulled the vodka out of the freezer, he got down two glasses, and then pulled the whiskey off the top of the fridge unasked.

Nat was put into her swing in front of the nightly news, and Raven slid into Toly’s lap in the armchair he usually favored.

Cass wound up tucked against Shep’s side, secure under the heavy weight of his arm, occasionally stealing sips out of his glass as he got warmer, looser, and louder thanks to the whiskey.

She was struck suddenly by the notion that they were sitting here for the first time as two couples. It was like a double date. The idea left her giddy.

She tilted Shep’s hand toward her, not bothering to pluck the glass from his fingers, and took the last shallow sip from the bottom of the glass, throat burning, head spinning pleasantly. Getting tipsy with him was always an entirely different and entirely pleasurable experience, compared to drinking alone or with friends at a party. She felt safe. Like it would be okay if she fell, because she would land on him.

“Damn thief,” Shep said, and leaned forward to grab the bottle off the coffee table.

“You’re not going to be able to ride,” Cass warned, laughing, fingers curling in his hoodie when he flopped back with a fresh drink.

“Stay here,” Raven said with a wave. Cass searched for judgement in her face, but her smile was indulgent.

“I’m celebrating,” Shep said. “Your sister didn’t gouge my eye out with that meteor she calls a ring.” He aimed his glass at Toly. “And by the way, dude. What the hell were you thinking? How’re you ever gonna topthat?”

Toly had one arm snug around Raven’s waist, and gestured to her with his free hand. “You’ve seen her,” he said by way of explanation.

Raven made a scandalized sound. “Are you saying I’m shallow? Itold youI didn’t need a ring.”

“I wanted to make sure all the assholes in the fashion business knew you were taken.”

“Aw.” Raven stroked his hair back. “That’s very sweet, in a barbaric sort of way.”

“Please, he was overcompensating,” Shep said.

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