Page 177 of Pawn's in the Bishop's Game (Checkmate 1)

He narrows his eyes.

If he’s her sort-of-brother, then I guess I’m banging his sort-of-sister.

“Scotch and Sammy, and baby Squeak. Scotch is X’s brother.”

“Okay.”

“Luc. The blonde. He’s my real brother. He’s banging Kari.”

“Which is Marc’s sister.” I try to hide my grin when Marc yanks the girl from Luc’s arms. He stands with a woman under each arm like a total boss and glares at me like I’m the one fucking all the sisters.

“Right. Marc’s sister. My brother. Then you got Britt.” She gestures to a dark-haired woman with a fat toddler on her hip and a huge fighter to her left.

“The one who kicks you when you’re down?”

“Yeah, her. She married the giant in the back. The fighter.”

I eye the fighter. I take note of the plethora of ink lining his arms. Even some up the side of his neck. Then I flip my gaze to the equally huge dude next to him with the same amount of ink.

I think I’ll fit right in with the fighters.

“The Rollers are in the back; you got Bobby and Kit. Jon and Tink. Aiden and Tina. Jimmy and Iz. They’ve all got a dozen kids each. They’re all here somewhere. Hey Benny, where’s Smalls?”

The blue-eyed teen who looks like a grown ass man glares at my girl. “I don’t freakin’ know. I don’t care where she is.”

Jess looks up at me with a playful grin. “He cares. Maybe she’s with Mac. That would be awkward – Benny’s girl is with Benny’s bestie.”

“Shut the hell up, Thing 1. She is not!”

I turn my head to the side, crack my neck, and bask when the teen shuts his trap. He swallows and looks me up and down. Sometimes it’s useful to look like a thug. Benny stops disrespecting my Jess in a hot second and steps back.

I nod.

He nods.

We have an agreement.

She points at the police chief. “You know X.”

Alex steps forward. The first to break formation, he extends a hand and watches me with an intense glare. “You saved my life.”

I take his hand and shrug. “There was a gun near my girl. I did what I had to do.”

“And in the process, you saved my life. I appreciate that.”

I nod.

He steps back and brings the blonde boss lawyer under his arm.

Angelo, the guy that ran into a fiery club with me, steps forward and offers a hand. “I’m glad you didn’t die.”

I chuckle. “Me too. You did good work. Got the other twin out. Didn’t lose your shit. Protected them when I couldn’t.”

He shrugs.

Frowning, Jess steps onto her tippy toes and looks around the room. “Where’s Laine?”

“Here.” Stepping out of the crowd, a girl that looks identical to mine refuses to meet my eyes. She doesn’t offer a hand. She simply stops six feet away from anyone and refuses to allow anyone to touch her.

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