Bittersweet (Redemption #3) - Jessica Prince Page 0,38

from that smile.

Man, I was in serious trouble.

Chapter Eleven

Jensen

“Sure you’ve noticed already, but it looks like big brother wants to rip your organs out through a hole he’s plannin’ to punch in your chest.”

I turned to look over my shoulder toward the section I knew Shane’s family would be sitting in, along with their other friends. They never sat anywhere else but at the pool tables whenever they came in. And sure enough, Stone Hendrix was looking at me exactly how Gage had described.

The dude had about two inches on me and a couple pounds worth of muscle. Every inch of his beefy arms was covered in colorful ink in intricate designs, only making him look even more menacing than he already did.

I’d only met the man twice back when Shane and I were together, but it had been enough for the dude to scare the absolute piss out of me. Now, not so much. I hadn’t been in a fight in years, but that didn’t mean I’d gotten rusty. If anything, with the skills I’d picked up during my time in the service, I was even better at it than I had been back then. It was just that I had my anger issues in check now.

I looked to his left and spotted Scooter sitting next to him—only slightly smaller but no less threatening—looking at me with the same scowl. Instead of turning away, I jerked my chin up, letting them know I wasn’t going to be intimidated into leaving. They knew why I was here. Hell, everyone in Redemption knew. I was here to get my family back, and I wasn’t going to let anyone get in the way of that.

The silent stare-off was broken by a feminine purr. “Well, look who’s finally come home. Gotta say, darlin’, this is a pleasant surprise.”

A woman shoved herself into the space between me and Gage, keeping her back to him as she leaned her elbows on the tabletop, using her arms to squeeze her tits together in a way that she thought would be appealing but really wasn’t.

I narrowed my eyes and took her in for several seconds, trying to place her before realization dawned, and with it, annoyance.

“Rina,” I grunted, making sure my tone and expression conveyed the displeasure I was feeling at her sudden appearance.

She eyed me up and down, the glassiness in her gaze telling me she was riding a high that came from more than just booze. She ran her tongue across her top row of teeth. “Been a long time, Jensen. Wasn’t sure you’d come back.” She lifted her hand, placing it on my chest and slowly dragging it downward. “Really glad you did.”

I grabbed her by the wrist before she could reach down any farther and jerked her hand away. “I see nothing’s changed with you. Still going out of your way to stir up trouble, huh?”

She smiled like my rebuff at her touch didn’t have any effect on her. “Only way to have any fun in this shithole of a town. Speaking of fun . . .” She leaned in closer and I could see that time had been very fucking unkind to her. Beneath the layers and layers of glopped on makeup, the hard life she’d lived had been carved into her face, making her look at least a decade older than her twenty-five years. “How about you and me get outta here and go have some fun of our own?”

“Rina. There’ll never be a day, now or in the very distant fuckin’ future, where I’d get my dick anywhere near you.”

She leaned in closer, the stench of alcohol on her breath strong enough to make my eyes burn. “Gimme a few minutes and I bet I could change your mind.”

Jesus, this chick. I was about to physically remove her from my space when I caught movement from the corner of my eye.

“Back the hell up and get your hands off him.” I turned just in time to see Shane hit her ex-friend with a withering glare so intense my balls drew up a little. Jealousy poured off of her like water off a polished rock.

Well, I thought to myself, fighting back a smirk. This is definitely an interesting development.

Shane

“You need to slither back into the hole you crawled out of, Rina. You’re embarrassing yourself, which is really saying something, seeing as you’re you.”

From my peripheral vision, I saw Jensen curl his lips between his teeth to keep from laughing out loud