“It’s only nine o’clock, you horndogs.”

“Nine?” Ford asks. “That means Ashleigh is getting ready to walk to the coffee shop. I can probably catch her before she wakes Kate up from her morning nap.” He gets up and throws the paper down. “I’ll be back later,” he says as he pulls the door open and bumps into Rook.

He pushes past her without a word and Rook is just about to ask what’s going on when Ronin corners her. “Follow me, Gidget. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

And then I’m alone.

What the f**k?

They didn’t even give me a chance to tell them Ronnie’s little tell. She does that shudder thing. When I touch her for the first time before we f**k, she shudders. And she closes her eyes for a second. That’s how I know she’s in the mood. Granted, I can make her shudder any time I want, but when she’s really horny, all I gotta do is drag a finger down her arm and I get the closed-eye shudder.

I grab my phone from my desk and press her beautiful face. I don’t expect her to answer, so when I hear her voice after the first ring, I feel… happy.

“How can I help you, Spencer?”

“Are you available today?”

She sighs. “Yeah, I already got you four apartments lined up to look at. I’m just pasting directions into the email right now. Be sure to check—”

“No, Bomb. Fuck the apartments. Are you available to see me today?”

She pauses. “See you?”

“Yeah, like, for lunch? Unless you’re having lunch with that ass**le from last night.”

Silence.

I hate that I added that dig. I’m such a f**k-up when it comes to her.

“Ronnie?”

“I have to work at the shop. Everyone’s down in the Springs until Thursday. I gotta open and close. So if you need anything else—like, shit that does not involve lunch—call me over there.”

I get the three-beep hang-up.

That’s just perfect. Just f**king perfect. Ronin is off screwing Rook. Ford is off eating candy pu**y. And I’m stuck here with no one. And the worst thing is, I’m the only one who’s worried about all the shit that’s going down. Those two ass**les are so busy with their women, they’re getting sloppy and slow.

In fact, it’s a good thing Ronnie and I are on the outs. Yeah. It’s perfect, actually. Because now I can stop thinking about her and concentrate on my job.

I glance out the window that overlooks the bike bays. All the guys are anxious to get started on their projects. Ryan and I are both working on major deliveries, one of which needs to be completed in two weeks. But I’m waiting on the chrome guy and the upholsterer for the custom seat.

I stand up and look out the window behind me. This one has a view of College Ave. In fact, I can see the FoCo Cinema from my office. I like that. I can spy on Bombshell from right here and she’ll never know, because I have a pair of high-powered binocs in my desk drawer and she likes to sit by the front window in the winter and outside in the summer.

The deafening roar of a badass bike makes me look left. It takes me several seconds to actually come to terms with what I’m seeing.

My Veronica.

On our bike.

She flashes past and I swear she flips me off as she passes. It’s hard to tell because she could’ve just been adjusting her hand on the grips, but it sure the f**k looked like she flipped me off. She turns into a space in front of the cinema and parks the bike. A group of college guys are in line at the front coffee window and they all turn to look at her. I know they say something, because that one-finger salute is crystal clear.

I chuckle. Veronica is adorable. And I’m feeling needy right now. It sucks that Ford and Ronin get to have girlfriends while I have to squirrel away the feelings I have for Veronica to try to keep her out of the messed-up shit we’re in. I’m not sure how Ford can justify it.

I mean, Ronin, I get him. He’s got one thing on his mind and that’s Rook. His job is lying to the police and bailing us out of shit. And right now, we’re not in any shit legally. He’s got nothing to do. Plus Rook works with us. She’s here all day long.

Ford, he’s a hacker, so I sorta get the feeling he thinks he’s ten steps ahead of everyone at all times. Why worry? And I bet he is. Who the hell knows what goes on in that freak brain of his. He’s practically employing his own private police force to protect Ash and Kate. And he’s got those dogs.

But that’s just not enough peace of mind for me. If I had my way I’d have all the girls locked up in here with us all day long. I’d stick a crib in the empty office on the other side of the shop and that could be Kate and Ashleigh’s little room. Rook could run the showroom and Ronnie could just sit in here with me so I’d never have to take my eyes off her.

Plus, there’s cameras all over this place. Not in here, this is the only private place in the whole building. But everywhere else is wired up for the show.

I sigh. They’d be so much safer here with me to keep my eyes on them. And that’s my job. Yeah, I am the initial planner. Ford gets that genius brain to come up with original shit every now and then, but mostly I come up with the plans and he carries them out. I run security. I protect everyone, boots-on-the-ground style.

This is a waiting game. The trial officially starts today with jury selection but the witnesses are not supposed to start until next week. Apparently jury selection is an art and major players understand this and take their time. That’s what our lawyers say, anyway. In the big-league trials—and this one certainly qualifies—jury selection is everything.