Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
I nodded, liking that solution. It sounded great.
Lucian nodded too, all pensive-like. “You’re full of good ideas, aren’t you, buddy? Except when you hold my property hostage.”
Greer and I chuckled.
“Careful,” I heard Colt grumble from behind us. “I’m defrostin’ from a long, cold winter over here.”
“I apologize, Sir.” It was Macklin who responded. “Sometimes I forget you’re more delicate than the rest of us.”
Oh shit.
Greer and I exchanged a smirk, and even Lucian was happy to tune in to the shots fired at the other table.
It was hilarious how the entire patio fell silent.
Colt slowly got up from his chair and pushed up the sleeves of his long-sleeved tee, and he positioned himself right in front of a smiling Macklin.
“So you bump into my chair, interrupt my nap time, and then you insult me?”
“It just happened, Sir—I don’t need a Previously on Mclean House Drama as if it aired last week,” Macklin said.
I let out a low whistle.
As if on cue, Walker and Ty stepped out onto the deck and squinted in the bright light, and it was clear they didn’t know what they’d walked into.
“What’s happenin’ here?” Walker asked.
Something was up.
I did a quick scan of the deck. Were Noa and his little friends still out front?
Macklin’s behavior reeked of Look over here while my buddies do something over there.
He wasn’t usually on the brat side of pranks, but when he was, he went all out.
While Colt gave Walker another recap, I made eye contact with Greer and Lucian, and their senses were tingling too. Macklin threw out another goading insult, even going so far as to pat Colt on the head, and that settled it for me. He was creating a distraction out here, which meant he and whoever else didn’t want us in the house or at the front of it.
“I think I forgot my phone in the truck,” Greer said and took off.
I nodded firmly. “I need to take a leak.” I pushed back my chair, spun around, and wheeled inside the club area.
“I’ll go check with Cam!” Lucian hollered.
“You do that!” I couldn’t imagine him being involved, but you never knew. Cam had his moments too. Noa, on the other hand, had those moments on a daily basis. Always my brat. Always ready to get himself into trouble.
As I reached the lobby, the front door was ripped open, and Greer barged in.
“No one out there?” I asked, removing my shades.
He shook his head. “No brats anyway. But River and Reese just pulled in, which means the office is a possible target. Sloan and I saw Shay earlier, so I know he’s around.”
Well, then. We hurried past the stairs and down the hallway, and we came to a screeching halt when we almost crashed into Archie as he left the kitchen.
“Oh Jesus! I’m sorry, Master.” Archie steadied the two mugs of coffee he carried on a tray, presumably for Lucian and me. “Is something wrong?”
“Can’t talk right now, baby. And you better not be involved.” Greer pressed a firm kiss to Archie’s forehead, then jogged down the rest of the hallway.
I followed and came up right behind him as he pushed open the door to River and Reese’s private office.
“Involved in what, Sir?” Archie called.
Greer didn’t respond. He stalked into the office, and I was so fucking sure we were about to catch the brats, but the room was empty.
“Goddammit,” he snapped. “We don’t have anything planned in the playrooms today, do we?”
“Not for the event.” I shook my head. “We have the scene on the third floor tonight, but I can’t imagine the brats who’ve been itching to watch would jeopardize anything.”
He agreed. So we—
“Master Greer!” That was Kit’s voice.
I poked my head out the door.
“Master Gree-eer!” And that was my Noa. I couldn’t see them yet, but they were coming closer. “Mister Sloan said you were in here—where are you?”
Greer poked his head out too. “In the office!” Next, he lowered his voice. “We’re gonna get to the bottom of this, right? Ain’t no fuckin’ chance Macklin would serve his ass on a punishment platter for no reason—and definitely not to Colt.”
Hell no. Colt doling out punishments was something every sub avoided experiencing. He was right up there with River and Lucian when it came to punishments. They tended to scare the crap out of a brat.
“It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let brats outsmart me,” I muttered.
A second later, three brats appeared down the hall, with Kit jogging, Corey sliding forward on his incredibly dirty socks, and Noa skipping.
Despite it all, I couldn’t help but grin. These were the boys who made life more interesting for all Daddies out there.
“What’re you up to, troublemakers?” I asked.
“We just have a question for Master Greer!” Noa skidded to a stop and parked his butt on my lap. He probably didn’t even notice it, but he had the sweetest little routine where he crawled up in my lap and absently played with the hair along the back of my neck, regardless of where his focus lay.