The Battlefield Series 6: The Ties That Bind Us (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “We heard. That will be great. You’re working?” Kyran asked Chloe, but his gaze was on Lori, who right now wouldn’t make eye contact with him.

  “Waitressing until the kitchen closes down, but at least I’ll get to hear Hunter’s band,” Lori told him.

  “You ready?” Lori asked Chloe. Chloe looked at her seeming to be surprised at the unexpected question, but Chloe smiled, nodded, said thank you, and they left.

  “She was going to town on that bag today, and all the moves we went over, it was like she was extra motivated to learn them,” Marco said to Kyran.

  “Lori sure does have a chip on her shoulder when it comes to us. I wonder why she even comes here if she has a problem with us,” Kyran said.

  “She definitely has a problem with you, Kyran,” Marco teased as they headed out of the room and toward the office.

  “Me? Why me and not you?”

  “She smirked at me today,” Marco said with an air of arrogance like it was a big fucking deal she “smirked” at him.

  “Are you kidding me? You made a stupid joke that was so lame I think they felt bad for you,” Kyran replied.

  “I still got a smirk, and I’m holding on to it.”

  “What the fuck for? She doesn’t like any of us. She barely talks to Leif even when she hangs out with Antonia, Carina, and their men.”

  “We hardly know her,” Marco said.

  “We’ve tried talking to her,” Kyran added.

  “Like once about her plans for the weekend, and then she took off. Most women throw themselves at us. Hell, I got four fucking invitations for this weekend alone, and I don’t mean going to the fucking movies,” Marco said and threw a few pieces of paper with phone numbers on them into the garbage by his desk.

  “So go enjoy yourself.”

  “I’m too old for fucking around with teenyboppers. I want more, and so do you.”

  “Do not,” Kyran stated.

  “Do too. Don’t fucking lie. I saw you a few weeks back coming in at five o’clock in the morning half-dressed, smelling like whiskey and cheap perfume.”

  “So?”

  “Was it the blonde sister or the brunette?” Marco asked.

  “It was two months ago, and it was both of them,” Kyran said and then crumpled up a piece of paper and threw it at his brother’s head. Kyran leaned back in his chair and was disgusted.

  “Both? Holy shit. You were pissed off that day, though. Not exactly the behavior of a man who had a wild night with two acrobatic sisters,” Marco said.

  “I was drunk. I fucking drank way too much.”

  “What the hell was going on that night? Shit, I remember drinking a lot, too, and we were at the Filling Station. Then Leif came in. Mateo was doing a job for a friend.”

  “It was the night we found out Lori wasn’t working because she went away for the weekend. The guys at the bar were talking and said they thought she had some guy she was seeing in Lancaster, an hour from Repose.”

  “She still disappears sometimes during the week. She was gone yesterday and switched her workout session to today. You think she really is seeing a guy?” Marco asked.

  “Maybe we should stop worrying about it,” Kyran said and sat up in the chair. He started pulling on the keyboard and getting the computer going.

  “Maybe we should just ask her?” Marco said, and Kyran shook his head.

  “She’s seeing another guy. We don’t hit on another man’s woman. Let’s just stop talking about it,” Kyran said and went back to typing.

  * * * *

  “This is great. It’s so crowded, and the music is awesome. I so could get used to this,” Chloe said to Lori as she picked up a tray of drinks from the bar for her table.

  Lori smiled. “I could get used to it, too. I love their sound. It’s like country alternative,” she said, and Chloe raised her arms up and did a sexy wiggle to the beat. Lori followed, and hoots and hollers filled the area around them.

  Both of them smiled, and Lori gave her a high-five. Chloe walked away, and Lori turned toward the bar to see Leif, Mateo, Kyran, and Marco squeeze their way in. She felt her heart racing. Why did she have to be attracted to men like that? They were all wrong for her. She was glad she wore her tight blue jeans and a tank top tonight. She looked good and tan from her long runs, and the tank top rested slightly above her belly button, showing off the gold hoop piercing as well as part of the tattoo on her hip. It all helped her get the big tips. She’d started going toward the brothers when two guys called out her name.

  She looked at them.

  “I need two more Guinness, sweetheart,” the one with the dark blond hair told her. He gave her body a once-over as he placed the twenty down on the bar.

  “Sure thing, honey,” she said and grabbed two pint glasses, placed them under the beer tap, and filled them up. She put the two pints down and then took the twenty.

  She turned toward the register and got the change.

  “Hot damn, baby, those jeans look custom made,” the other guy said. The music was loud, but these guys were louder. It caused everyone to pay attention to them and this conversation.

  She placed the money down on the bar, and the tall one with the dark eyes covered her hand with his. She tightened up as he leaned over the bar.

  “You’ve got to be one of the hottest, most fit bartenders I’ve ever laid eyes on,” he flirted and gave her a wink, then released her hand.

  “Thank you for the compliment. Where you guys from?” she asked.

  The blond licked his lips after taking a sip from his beer.

  “Cloverstown, three hours from here. We came in for the martial arts tournament,” he said.

  “Oh yeah, that was earlier today.”

  “Tomorrow too for the finalists,” he said and winked.

  “You both competed and are in the finals?” she asked.

  “Sure are.”

  “That’s great. Good for you.”

  “You know the dojo near Turbank?” the blond asked.

  “I do,” she said but didn’t tell them she trained there, too. She would never get involved with a man who was a martial artist or was obsessed with martial arts. It might be a stupid rule, but seeing what Pylo did to Evilly on a daily basis was enough for Lori to make that rule and keep it. Never mind what Bragan had done to her, and he was an expert.

  “Maybe you’ll stop in and see us compete tomorrow? We have a good shot at taking first, then moving on to the finals in Dallas.”

  “That is pretty cool. Excuse me a moment, please.” She took an order from two women who approached the bar and made them their Bay Breezes, then started fixing the orders for the waitresses that were coming through from the dining room. She and Ledger took turns making them. When she finished up, she turned around and noticed Mateo, Marco, Leif, and Kyran’s beers were getting low. She walked closer.

  “Hi, guys, do you need another round?” she asked. They all looked at her, and she swore as their eyes ate her up. Every part of her body felt it. She saw Mateo look down at the two guys who had been talking to her.

  “Yeah, we need another round,” Leif said and gave her a small smile that was pretty damn powerful. She started grabbing pints and pouring them their beers.

  “Were those two men bothering you down there?” Leif asked and looked at them again. She glanced that way, and the two men were talking but looking at her.

  “No, they were just being friendly,” she replied and placed the beers down. Mateo handed over a fifty-dollar bill. She got the change from the register and knew Mateo and his brothers were watching her. Why she wanted to look sexy and perfect for them, she didn’t know. It was like she liked them, but she knew better than to. She couldn’t be stupid here. She’d made a decision to not date anyone for quite some time. She got away from Bragan, so why couldn’t her sister get away from Pylo?

  She turned around and placed the money down on the bar. Another song started, and everyone was cheering and moving in their seats. “Hunter’s ban
d is so good,” she said to them without thinking. She shouldn’t be striking up conversation with them, yet those two guys down the bar were kind of making her feel uncomfortable. They were staring at her and talking. It was like they were making plans. She knew enough, living on her own the last few years, to follow her gut instincts. When she felt the hand on her hand, she tightened up, widened her eyes, and locked gazes with Kyran.

  “You okay? You sure they aren’t bothering you?” he asked.

  She shook her head.

  “I’m okay, Kyran. They’re not from Repose. You might recognize them from the dojo. They said they were in the competition today,” she said to them.

  “Yeah, we know them. Mateo faces the blond guy tomorrow, and I face the other one in grappling.”

  “Seriously? Oh my God, they look really fit. So that means you made it to the semis?” she asked and then heard her name. She excused herself and walked back down to the end of the bar. Chloe was there.

  “Okay, so there is this group of fifteen young women looking for all these crazy drinks. I haven’t even heard of half of these. They are heading this way. I figured I would give you the heads up.”

  Just then the group of young women who appeared to be having a hell of a time made their way to the bar. People were moving out of the way, and of course they placed themselves right between Kyran and his brothers and the two guys from the competition.

  “You got this or do you need help?” Ledger asked. She showed him the paper. “I’ll cover the waitresses’ drink orders and the beers, you handle that,” he said, and she winked.

  She started to place the different glasses down onto the bar.

  “So, ladies, you all having a good time tonight?” she asked them. They started hooting and hollering. “What do you think of the band?” she asked, pouring, shaking, mixing the different cocktails up. She noticed some of the women striking up conversations with Kyran and Mateo. Leif and Marco kept a straight face, and even as the women flirted, all four men looked like their normal pissed-off selves. They were so damn serious all the time. They looked like they could explode in anger at any moment. Another reason to stay clear of them and especially their bad sides.

  She started handing out the drinks, shaking and mixing more, and the women were thrilled. Lori saw the two men watching her and staring at her breasts as they bounced while she shook the shaker. It wasn’t her fault. She finished up and went to refill the guys’ beer glasses.

  “Where did you learn how to make those kinds of drinks?” Mateo asked her, totally ignoring the women surrounding them. When it looked like the men weren’t biting, the women went off, leaving her a twenty-dollar tip. Lori was going to put it into the shared tip jar when Ledger stopped her.

  “That’s all yours, honey. Good job,” he said and then walked over to the other end of the bar. Lori rolled the twenty and placed it into her top.

  “I used to work at a place down South,” she said to Mateo as she wiped down the bar. He stared at her and the way she tucked the money into her top.

  “Where down South?” Marco asked.

  “Key Largo for about two years.”

  “Seriously?” Kyran asked.

  “Yes. I worked at a really cool outdoor beach bar, making all these crazy fruit and alcohol drinks all day long. It was fun, though,” she said, and then she had to walk away to fill more drink orders.

  As the night went on, she would go back and forth to refill their beers, and they would talk to her about some regular things. The two guys from the contest asked her when she got off work, and she told them they should go talk to the women whom she made the drinks for because she wasn’t interested.

  When the blond reached out to snag her wrist, she was pretty pissed off and about to make a move to get him to let go of her wrist when Kyran appeared.

  “Release her wrist right now,” Kyran told him.

  “Oh, look who it is,” the blond said and gave Kyran a once-over. His buddy stood up, making the barstool scrape along the floor, and the blond stayed seated.

  “Release her wrist,” Kyran repeated.

  “Everyone calm down. Buddy, let go of me now,” she said, and when the blond looked at her, she could tell he’d had too much to drink. His drinking partner tapped him on the shoulder.

  “Save it for tomorrow, Luke. You’ll wipe the mat up with him,” his friend said.

  He released her wrist and chuckled at Kyran. Mateo, Marco, Leif, and their friends were standing there now, too, all backing Kyran up.

  “I think you’ve had enough to drink, and it’s time for you to leave,” Kyran said, and Lori looked at him. She saw an expression she had never seen before. Kyran was angry. His eyes were squinted tight, his fists were by his sides, and she could clearly see the veins by his temples pulsating. He had a very short crew cut and large pectoral muscles but was trim like a martial artist. Marco was the oldest of the brothers, and he made a signal with his hand, and Tank came over.

  “Is there a problem over here, Marco?” Tank asked.

  “No problem, Tank. These gentlemen were just leaving,” Leif said, and Lori saw him flash his badge. The expression on the two guys’ faces indicated they weren’t pleased. The one with the brown hair rolled his eyes, and the blond was in a dead stare at Kyran.

  “We were just getting to know Lori. No harm done.” The blond turned around and dropped a twenty on the bar. He leaned closer and Lori could see that Kyran stepped forward but hesitated. He and his brothers looked so damn mad it scared her, but she focused on the blond.

  “Next time I’ll get your number, honey. I’m definitely coming back here. You’re just too sweet to not get a taste of.” He eyed over her breasts, and her temper flared.

  “Don’t bother, you’re not my type,” she said gave him a once-over with disgust in her eyes.

  “We’ll see.” He gave her a wink and made a kissy noise. She wanted to flip him the bird, smack him or something, but Marco stopped Kyran from grabbing the blond and Leif got in the way and asked them to leave. The blond looked at his buddy, who chuckled, then gave Kyran and Mateo a nod.

  “Tomorrow, assholes,” he said and he the other guy walked out with Tank following.

  “Are you okay?” Leif asked her. She didn’t look at her wrist, she just stared at Kyran, who seemed like he wanted to tear something apart. It made her think of Pylo and even Bragan. She nodded.

  “I’m fine. I’m sorry you needed to waste your time with that. Let me get you guys cold beers.” She’d gone to move when Marco touched her hand.

  “Wait,” he said, and she paused, looking at him as his gaze zeroed in on her wrist.

  “It’s all red,” he said, and she looked down at his huge hand encasing her wrist. The man was big. All his brothers were.

  “It’s fine. Don’t worry, it doesn’t even hurt.”

  Kyran stared at her and her wrist as Mateo calmed him down.

  Marco released her gently, and she went right to pouring them four nice cold beers. She placed them down, and they remained there in her section of the bar for the rest of the night.

  * * * *

  “Kyran, you need to calm the fuck down already. She was fine. She didn’t even seem fazed by those assholes,” Mateo said.

  “She was, and did you see that look she gave me? She was scared of me.”

  “Well you were fucking pissed,” Leif stated.

  “That asshole grabbed her fucking wrist. He was staring at her breasts and then telling her he wanted to taste her. What the fuck?” Kyran raised his voice.

  “Calm the hell down. It’s over and done with. Tomorrow we compete against them and kick their asses,” Mateo said.

  Mateo watched her now, working the end of the bar. It was late, and they needed to get up early for the competition and to set everything up at the dojo.

  “We should head out,” he said.

  “Shit, look at the time, and we need to get up early,” Kyran replied. He stood and looked down at the end of the bar. Leif w
aved Lori over, and she headed back toward them.

  “What do you need, Leif?” she asked.

  “We’re heading out. Just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  She smiled. “I’m fine, really. I told you it wasn’t a big deal. Thank you again. Good luck tomorrow.”

  “Are you going to stay and watch after your session?” Marco asked.

  “I don’t know,” she said and looked away.

  “There are going to be some really good competitors there. You might enjoy watching. I think Antonia is going to stay. We may need some extra help at the registration tables,” Marco said.

  “Oh, then I probably will. I can help you if you need more people,” she added.

  Marco smiled. “That would be great. We’ll let you know.”

  “Someone will walk you out at the end of your shift?” Leif asked.

  “Of course. Ledger and I leave at the same time when we close up.”

  “Good. We’ll see you tomorrow, Lori,” Leif stated, and then they all said good night to her. Marco and his brothers headed out, shaking their friends’ hands. When they got outside, Kyran and Mateo looked around the parking lot.

  “They headed out. There’s no way they would stay here and wait for her. They want to kick your asses tomorrow,” Marco teased them.

  Mateo chuckled. “I think we’ll be doing the ass-kicking. They’re not even that great.”

  “Never underestimate your opponent,” Leif said as they piled into the truck.

  “Okay, Dad,” Kyran replied, and they laughed some more as they headed home.

  * * * *

  “Lori, do you mind not doing the class until later? The guys need my help and Damon’s help for the registration. There’s no way they can handle everything and let Mateo and Kyran warm up for their matches,” Antonia asked. She was speed-talking and trying to help at the entrance to the dojo. It was chaos around the place, and people were paying to come in and watch.

  “Sure. I can help,” she said and placed her bag down underneath the table. “Where do you need me?”