“No, I suppose not.”

What the hell did that mean?

“You still look like a sissy ass bitch,” Hawke then remarked, his mouth twitching at the end. “Can’t grow a beard to save your life? Shit hasn’t changed, I see.”

“Fuck you, the bitches dig me how I am. You’d know that if you were around.”

Something dark flashed in Hawke’s eyes as he moved to let Hector through. Then he shut the door and crossed his arms, watching his brother carefully. Hector nodded his head at Graeme in greeting, and Graeme gave a half-ass nod in return. Then the big biker looked over at Borden, and then at me. His face softened a little, amusement skirting his features as he took me in. I straightened myself up in the chair, looking back at him, not wanting to look away like my mind was instructing me to. His mouth widened into a grin before he directed his stare at Borden.

“This is a big fucking surprise, Borden. I didn’t think this day would ever come,” he said, collapsing into the chair in front of us. He leaned back in it, his legs spread wide as he made himself absolutely comfortable. These were the movements of a man in power; one that didn’t fear Borden in the least. It was definitely out of the norm for me to witness, and I glanced at Borden, trying to assess his reaction at Hector’s behaviour. Borden was still a blank canvas, though.

When he didn’t respond straight away, Hector glimpsed at me again. Once more, he didn’t care that he was openly ogling me, and I started to get a little nervous. I wasn’t used to this anymore. Borden was very possessive. I’d seen his cutthroat glares at men we passed, and they always whipped their heads away in fear, to the point where nobody really looked at me anymore.

This man didn’t seem to give a flying shit.

Hector wasn’t necessarily looking at me the way those men did.  There wasn’t anything lustful when his eyes roamed me, though he licked his lips briefly as if appreciating me. Mostly, he was just curious, and I understood why.

Borden didn’t just let any woman into his world.

“The babe is fuckable,” Hector remarked, his eyes locked on my face. “Who is she?”

“Mine,” Borden finally said, his voice hard, that backbone of authority bleeding through. I knew that tone well. It was a warning, one that wouldn’t be repeated if this dick continued talking about how “fuckable” I was.

Hector chuckled, nodding at him. “Fair enough that she’s yours and all, but what’s a hot piece of ass doing in your office while we’re here to discuss business? A woman’s place is outside that door. Preferably on her knees, in my opinion.”

Oh, no he didn’t.

Sexist pig.

My lips curled up in anger, and I glared at him. He caught the look and just smiled. It was an easy going smile – a very nice smile – a mouth full of straight white teeth that made every feature on his face glow with mischief. It was one those goddamn smiles that unfortunately had the power to put you at ease. He enjoyed riling someone up, and I was the one he was targeting. I felt my cheeks suddenly redden, and I finally tore my eyes off of him, looking directly at Borden, a man who made me feel the complete opposite of ease.

Borden remained impassive. With an almost bored tone, he replied, “She’s here because your end of the bargain involves her.”

“How so?”

“We got a threat,” Hawke cut in from behind him, his voice suddenly cold. “So get your fucking shit together and learn some respect. The girl is Borden’s, and you’re meant to be mindful of other people’s property.”

Property? Bloody hell, sexist pigs must run in the family.

The tension in the room suddenly spiked. Taken off guard, Hector glanced over his shoulder at his brother, and I suddenly realized what was going on here. Hawke was the older brother, and he was giving his younger one a scolding. Obviously shitty, Hector tensed a little before smiling forcefully at him, bottling up his anger.

“My apologies, brother,” he murmured. “I’ll mind my mouth.”

“Good. Now we need your help to locate this threat,” Hawke continued. “We’ve scoured the streets searching for it, and at this point, we need a fresh pair of eyes.”

Hector shrugged, still a bit shitty. “Why me?”

“You’re good,” Borden inserted. “Very fucking good from what I’ve heard. Plus your men are loyal to you, despite acting like fucking savages in my club.”

Hector ignored the dig. “What does their loyalty have anything to do with it?”

“It has everything to do with it. When a man has the loyalty of his crew, it usually means he’s generally good at what he’s doing. Am I right?”

The amusement on Hector’s face faded away. He nodded solemnly at Borden’s words, and I could see a hint of pride in him hearing it. Glancing at me again, he asked, “So what’s going on then? Hawke was vague about it. Said you were getting threatened or some shit, which seems fairly the norm for someone like you. You’re a fucking tyrant. I was under the impression nobody runs you down anymore as it is.”

“No, they don’t. I make sure of it.”

“So what is it then? I’m scratching at the walls, man. I need to know what it’s going to take for me to get to that fucking port. That’s what I’m here for, right? Let’s cut to the chase. Shit’s getting tight on my end, the cops are cracking down on my transport trucks, and I need this to happen. A-S-A-P.”

“I got a text threatening her life,” Borden explained, tilting his head in my direction. “The fucker had sent it outside her apartment building, and he purposely left behind his phone in the process.”

Hector crossed his arms, shooting Borden a look of confusion. “I mean, I could lie right now and tell you that’s bad just so I can get what I want. But your reputation is pretty fucking crazy, Borden, and it’s like that for a reason. I’m not sure you should be stressing over a text this much, man. What if it was a just a little shit trying to act tough and then getting spooked by what he’d done?”

“Either way, I want to know the person responsible. In the rare event that I’m not here and shit goes south, I need to ensure that you’ll be there to protect her.”

“To protect her,” Hector repeated, glancing at me. “Does this extend beyond this text message, in any sort of situation?”