Shade sat up, tearing down his rifle then placing it carefully into his canvas bag. Standing, he placed the straps on his shoulder, his boots going to where he had been lying, stirring the leaves and twigs together before he tossed several rocks around. Even if someone guessed a sniper had taken them out, they wouldn’t look that far away. No one could make a kill shot from that distance. Except him.
* * *
“Lily.”
For the first time since she had begun eating lunch with him, she didn’t have a mutinous expression on her face when she entered his office.
Shade closed the door after she entered, going to sit at the chair beside his desk where he handed her the chicken salad.
“Thanks, Shade.”
“You look tired today,” Lily probed at his silence.
“Late night.”
He had driven to Ohio so he could be seen there then had driven back during the early morning to be there when the factory opened. His ass was killing him from riding that many hours on the bike.
“Oh.” Lily took a bite of her food.
A few silent moments later, she asked, “Are you mad at me for something?”
“Yes.” Shade was going to tell her the truth even if she didn’t want to hear it.
“Why?”
Shade gave her an angry glare, leaning back in his seat. “Why do you think?”
“Because I talked to those bikers?”
He was just as pissed off at her for kissing Viper, but he had to be content with blowing off half of his anger.
“You know better than being friendly with bikers like that. Remember the first time you saw us at the lake? You were petrified, yet you sashayed your ass right up to their table.”
Lily winced at his description and then tried to explain. “Because I wasn’t scared of them. I knew you were there.”
Shade’s anger dissipated. Well, fuck. How was he supposed to stay mad at her when she had just admitted to feeling brave because he had been there?
“They’ve left town, but if they come back, stay away from them.” Shade gave her the warning in a cold voice, not entirely over his anger yet. It was going to take a while to get over Viper.
“I will,” Lily promised.
She placed her dirty dishes back on the tray before going to the door. She was about to open it when he called out to her.
“Don’t ever touch Viper or one of the other men again.”
She twisted the knob and then went through hurriedly, closing it behind her. The woman did have a survival instinct. If she had turned around to argue with him, he had promised himself to throw her on his desk and fuck her silly.
Shade tossed the rest of his uneaten salad onto the tray, too disappointed to be hungry anymore.
* * *
That afternoon, Shade spent his time walking the factory floor, managing the huge number of orders. If Georgia kept flirting with him, he was going to fire her or beat the hell out of Rider for hiring her. To make the afternoon worse, Train and Rider brought Kaley into the factory.
He had told them repeatedly to keep her on the down-low, but they had argued back that Kaley wanted to be a member, and she already had three votes. That was why the power of the vote was so important. If any member didn’t want a woman to join, they withheld their vote. Kaley was never going to get enough votes to become a member. He believed she was joining as payback to a cheating husband, and he didn’t think she would get along with the other women.
Shade could tell from Lily’s blush she was uncomfortable with the way Kaley was dressed in a pair of shorts and a swimsuit top. She was going to have to get used to it, though. The women liked to dress seductively for the brothers, and as he had every intention of her becoming a member, she was going to have to get used to seeing a lot worse. Shade simply wanted to do it slowly and give her time to adjust, not have it thrown in her face like that.
Evie and Bliss came into the factory to see what was holding Train and Rider up, using the opportunity to try to convince Shade to go swimming with them.
He stood in the doorway while Lily kept working on her order, looking up at them every so often with a puzzled expression. Shade didn’t try to interpret it. She was probably mentally fixing him up with them. She wasn’t going to be clueless much longer, though; he was getting fed up playing Mr. Nice Guy, since she had kissed Viper.
After the women laughed, telling him he was missing a good time, Shade gave them an obscene gesture when Lily wasn’t looking then went back in his office to clean his desk. At quitting time, he went to her workstation, coming up behind her.
“You ready?” Shade asked.
Lily jumped. “What for?”
“To work out.” Shade couldn’t understand why she was surprised. They worked out every day after work.
“I didn’t bring my bag. I didn’t know if you would be gone again today.”
“I left a message for Georgia to tell you that I was out of town yesterday, and I would be back today.”
“I guess she forgot.”
That bitch never forgot anything. Not to mention, he had texted her what to tell Lily, and he had left a note on her desk.
“It doesn’t matter. Winter always keeps extra outfits in her locker. You can have one of hers. You need a new one, anyway.”
“There’s nothing wrong with the one I have,” Lily protested.
“Other than it’s two sizes too big and meant to be worn during the winter, and you left it at home,” Shade remarked.
“Fine,” she snapped back at him. Shade was about two seconds away from paddling her ass when she apologized. “I’m sorry.”
Shade nodded, pacified at her apology. “Go outside. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Okay.”
As soon as the door closed, Shade strode angrily to the back room where Georgia was placing the seed order which had been delivered, throwing them haphazardly into the refrigerators.
“Why didn’t you give Lily my message?” he asked bluntly.
“I did. She must have forgotten.”
“Don’t fucking lie. Lie to me or any other boss here again, and you’ll be fired,” Shade said harshly.
“I’m telling—”
“Be very careful, Georgia. Remember those kids you have at home,” he pushed. Georgia snapped her mouth closed. “Don’t ever think for a second that I would believe anything you say over Lily. She doesn’t know how to lie, unlike you.”
“Okay.”
Shade could practically see the steam coming out of her ears. As soon as he was finished with Lily’s workout that night, he was going to have that talk with Viper.
“When you come to work in the morning, I want those seeds straightened out. You were putting them in the wrong refrigerator, and you’ve worked here long enough to know how to do it right.”
“Is that all?”
Her sharp tone nearly had him firing her on the spot. If she didn’t have so many children, he would have. Not that he cared, but Viper would.
“Yes.”
When she hurried through the factory, her hands smacking the metal doors to the outside, Shade followed, turning off the lights and locking his office door. Then he came out of the factory, locking the door behind him.
“Why is she angry?” Lily asked as Georgia pulled out of the parking lot.
* * *
“Lily.”
For the first time since she had begun eating lunch with him, she didn’t have a mutinous expression on her face when she entered his office.
Shade closed the door after she entered, going to sit at the chair beside his desk where he handed her the chicken salad.
“Thanks, Shade.”
“You look tired today,” Lily probed at his silence.
“Late night.”
He had driven to Ohio so he could be seen there then had driven back during the early morning to be there when the factory opened. His ass was killing him from riding that many hours on the bike.
“Oh.” Lily took a bite of her food.
A few silent moments later, she asked, “Are you mad at me for something?”
“Yes.” Shade was going to tell her the truth even if she didn’t want to hear it.
“Why?”
Shade gave her an angry glare, leaning back in his seat. “Why do you think?”
“Because I talked to those bikers?”
He was just as pissed off at her for kissing Viper, but he had to be content with blowing off half of his anger.
“You know better than being friendly with bikers like that. Remember the first time you saw us at the lake? You were petrified, yet you sashayed your ass right up to their table.”
Lily winced at his description and then tried to explain. “Because I wasn’t scared of them. I knew you were there.”
Shade’s anger dissipated. Well, fuck. How was he supposed to stay mad at her when she had just admitted to feeling brave because he had been there?
“They’ve left town, but if they come back, stay away from them.” Shade gave her the warning in a cold voice, not entirely over his anger yet. It was going to take a while to get over Viper.
“I will,” Lily promised.
She placed her dirty dishes back on the tray before going to the door. She was about to open it when he called out to her.
“Don’t ever touch Viper or one of the other men again.”
She twisted the knob and then went through hurriedly, closing it behind her. The woman did have a survival instinct. If she had turned around to argue with him, he had promised himself to throw her on his desk and fuck her silly.
Shade tossed the rest of his uneaten salad onto the tray, too disappointed to be hungry anymore.
* * *
That afternoon, Shade spent his time walking the factory floor, managing the huge number of orders. If Georgia kept flirting with him, he was going to fire her or beat the hell out of Rider for hiring her. To make the afternoon worse, Train and Rider brought Kaley into the factory.
He had told them repeatedly to keep her on the down-low, but they had argued back that Kaley wanted to be a member, and she already had three votes. That was why the power of the vote was so important. If any member didn’t want a woman to join, they withheld their vote. Kaley was never going to get enough votes to become a member. He believed she was joining as payback to a cheating husband, and he didn’t think she would get along with the other women.
Shade could tell from Lily’s blush she was uncomfortable with the way Kaley was dressed in a pair of shorts and a swimsuit top. She was going to have to get used to it, though. The women liked to dress seductively for the brothers, and as he had every intention of her becoming a member, she was going to have to get used to seeing a lot worse. Shade simply wanted to do it slowly and give her time to adjust, not have it thrown in her face like that.
Evie and Bliss came into the factory to see what was holding Train and Rider up, using the opportunity to try to convince Shade to go swimming with them.
He stood in the doorway while Lily kept working on her order, looking up at them every so often with a puzzled expression. Shade didn’t try to interpret it. She was probably mentally fixing him up with them. She wasn’t going to be clueless much longer, though; he was getting fed up playing Mr. Nice Guy, since she had kissed Viper.
After the women laughed, telling him he was missing a good time, Shade gave them an obscene gesture when Lily wasn’t looking then went back in his office to clean his desk. At quitting time, he went to her workstation, coming up behind her.
“You ready?” Shade asked.
Lily jumped. “What for?”
“To work out.” Shade couldn’t understand why she was surprised. They worked out every day after work.
“I didn’t bring my bag. I didn’t know if you would be gone again today.”
“I left a message for Georgia to tell you that I was out of town yesterday, and I would be back today.”
“I guess she forgot.”
That bitch never forgot anything. Not to mention, he had texted her what to tell Lily, and he had left a note on her desk.
“It doesn’t matter. Winter always keeps extra outfits in her locker. You can have one of hers. You need a new one, anyway.”
“There’s nothing wrong with the one I have,” Lily protested.
“Other than it’s two sizes too big and meant to be worn during the winter, and you left it at home,” Shade remarked.
“Fine,” she snapped back at him. Shade was about two seconds away from paddling her ass when she apologized. “I’m sorry.”
Shade nodded, pacified at her apology. “Go outside. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Okay.”
As soon as the door closed, Shade strode angrily to the back room where Georgia was placing the seed order which had been delivered, throwing them haphazardly into the refrigerators.
“Why didn’t you give Lily my message?” he asked bluntly.
“I did. She must have forgotten.”
“Don’t fucking lie. Lie to me or any other boss here again, and you’ll be fired,” Shade said harshly.
“I’m telling—”
“Be very careful, Georgia. Remember those kids you have at home,” he pushed. Georgia snapped her mouth closed. “Don’t ever think for a second that I would believe anything you say over Lily. She doesn’t know how to lie, unlike you.”
“Okay.”
Shade could practically see the steam coming out of her ears. As soon as he was finished with Lily’s workout that night, he was going to have that talk with Viper.
“When you come to work in the morning, I want those seeds straightened out. You were putting them in the wrong refrigerator, and you’ve worked here long enough to know how to do it right.”
“Is that all?”
Her sharp tone nearly had him firing her on the spot. If she didn’t have so many children, he would have. Not that he cared, but Viper would.
“Yes.”
When she hurried through the factory, her hands smacking the metal doors to the outside, Shade followed, turning off the lights and locking his office door. Then he came out of the factory, locking the door behind him.
“Why is she angry?” Lily asked as Georgia pulled out of the parking lot.
