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Suddenly, I’m no longer in the mood for tacos. “Let’s get out of here.”
“What? No way?” Sage pouts. “Our food hasn’t even come out yet.” Sage looks over her shoulder and then back to me. “Why did you lie to that guy about Stone?”
I shake my head, not wanting to get into the details of my paranoid mind. “I don’t know. I just didn’t get a good feeling from that guy.” Jones is a common name, and there’s no reason to think he’s related to Bobby Lee. He could be trouble that followed Stone from California. “Let’s just get out of here. Please.” I pick up the passion fruit margarita and down it as fast as I can.
“Fine,” she growls, angry and annoyed, drinking my favorite Cadillac margarita like she owns it. “I’ll tell our waitress to make the food to go because there’s no fucking way I’m leaving this place without my damn tacos.”
A small smile touches my lips, but I can’t shake the worry or the fear that burrows its way under my skin. Something about that dude gave me the creeps, even before his clear interest and warning for Stone.
As soon as Sage returns with our food, we head to the car. “He was kind of cute,” Sage says, but I’m only half listening to her, looking around the parking lot to see if those guys are lurkers.
It’s all clear, but I lock the doors all the same and haul ass back to Opey, heading straight for Hardtail Ranch and Stone.
“What’s going on, Ivy?” Sage tugs on the hem of my shirt the same way she used to as a kid when she didn’t know what was happening.
“Hang on,” I tell her as the door swings open and Peaches’ smiling face welcomes us to her home.
“Girls. This is a pleasant surprise.” When we don’t answer, her smile dips. “Isn’t it?”
I shake my head. “Is Stone around?”
“Yeah, we just finished up with lunch. Come in.” She steps back, the look of concern on her face growing more intense by the second. “What’s going on?”
Stone strolls into the kitchen, looking like a hot, rugged, movie version of a biker, too smiley and too handsome and entirely too tall.
“Ivy. Hey.” His smile slips, and his hands go to his lean hips. “Look, if you’re gonna bitch me out about fixing your car, save it. I got a good deal on the parts, and it was an easy fix.”
“Liar,” I reply with a smile and tap my bottom lip. It’s his tell when he’s lying, nibbling his bottom lip. “Anyway, I’m not here about that.”
I repeat the story from the bar, keeping my gaze on Stone because I need to see that he’s taking this seriously.
“Did he say anything else?” Gunnar poses the question, his deep voice laced with anger.
“No. Just to say Butch says hi, but then he said his name was Trey Jones. There was something about his tone that I didn’t like.”
Peaches puts a hand on my shoulder, guiding me to the sofa. “You were right to listen to your gut. Bobby Lee has a brother, Trey. He was in the Army when everything went down, but two years ago, he fell off the grid completely.”
I can tell she realizes something because she stands almost as quickly as she sat down. “He must be back, which means I need to find out where he’s been.” With that, Peaches leaves me alone with Stone, Gunnar, and Sage.
“What’s going on?” Sage whispers. “Can I eat my tacos?”
“Later,” I growl out of one side of my mouth.
“Stone, you need to be careful. If he’s Bobby Lee’s brother and asking about you, he’s got plans. Now that you’re back, we all need to be prepared for shit to jump off.”
Stone nods, his expression growing darker. “I’m always prepared, Dad. Always.”
Badass Stone isn’t the same as the badass I knew as a teenager. This version is grown up, darker, and more dangerous, and I’m happy to see him show up to take care of business.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, full of guilt.
Five fucking years later.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Stone
“This place hasn’t changed at all.” I smile and look around the small bar that’s been a staple in Opey since I was old enough to know what the hell a bar was. The old pine bar has a few more scratches than when I was last here. The stools still only swivel in one direction, and the owner, Smoky, is a little grayer and giving off angry old man vibes.
