“Stand down, sweetheart.” I heard Brick say in my ear.

I stood still in his arm but didn’t take my eyes off Naomi. “You have a situation with Tack, you talk to Tack about it. You do not come to my office, shrieking, making a scene and calling me filthy names.”

She stopped and was leaning into Hop’s hand at her chest. “Oh yeah? I do, what’re you gonna do about it?”

What were we? In third grade?

Okay, I’d play.

“You don’t want to find out,” I warned.

“You can’t take me,” she declared derisively.

“You’re probably right,” I agreed. “But I’d sure as hell have fun with the licks I got in.”

She lifted her hands. “Yeah? Bring it on… cunt.”

“Stop calling me that!” I snapped.

“Cunt!” she screeched and that was it.

And what it was it wasn’t Arctic Tyra.

No.

Lady Dragon got poked with a stick and she… was… pissed.

Therefore I tore free from Brick’s arm and ran the five feet to Naomi. Launching myself by Hop and clearly surprising all holy hell out of Naomi, I took a flying leap and tackled her to the tarmac. We landed with a bone-jarring thud, hers worse because she was under me and the breath went out of her which was good for me. I was able to semi-straddle her (my skirt impeded a full straddle) and get in a good solid smack right across her face before Hop yanked me off and pulled me, kicking and hissing, away. Lenny, the body shop guy, got in between a scrambling to her feet Naomi and me as did Brick and Boz.

“You bitch!” she shrieked, barreling toward me but the boys closed ranks and she ran into them.

“I have more where that came from, Naomi!” I shouted my taunt, struggling against Hop’s hold.

“Bitch!” I heard.

“Fuckin’ stop, both ‘a you.”

This came from our sides. I stopped struggling against Hop’s hold and my head turned to see Dog standing there, his arms crossed on his chest but his eyes were aimed in Naomi’s direction.

“Take a second, woman, look around you. What do you see?” He waited a second, apparently letting her do that and apparently she did it because no sound came from her though I couldn’t see so I didn’t know. Then Dog went on, “You f**ked Tack over means you f**ked us all over. You do not get to come here and do this shit. Clue the f**k in, Naomi. You’re out. This can only go one way and you were around long enough to know which way it’s gonna go. Advice. Be smart, settle your ass down and wait to talk to Tack when he gets here. You don’t, it’s gonna go the way you know it’s gonna go.”

“This is none of your business,” I heard her hiss.

“You’re on Chaos, bitch.” I heard and my neck twisted to see Arlo standing a few feet behind Dog. “You know that shit ain’t right.”

Something must have given because Lenny, Brick and Boz stood down by moving away and I saw Naomi glaring at Arlo but although it seemed the situation had defused, Arlo wasn’t done.

“Tack’s call, ‘cause you’re the mother of his kids, he decides not to ban you, we’ll honor that. But you ever come on Chaos again and talk with that mouth to Cherry, you pushed out Rush and Tab or not, you’ll never come back. You get me?”

I was feeling love for Arlo and Naomi was saved from having to answer when the roar of Harleys could be heard. Three, to be exact (yes, that was how good I was getting at deciphering the noise of the pipes). And moments later we saw Tack, Hound and High roll in.

I relaxed against Hop but he didn’t let me go.

Tack and the boys stopped their bikes about ten feet away from Naomi and got off. Tack’s shades hit me and I saw them do a sweep as he walked wide to Naomi’s side.

Then he asked what appeared to be no on in particular, “There a reason why my woman’s knees are bleedin’?”

My knees were bleeding?

I looked down over Hop’s arm, stuck a foot out and put it back.

Yep, my knees were bleeding.

“That’d be because she tackled Naomi,” Dog offered then finished, “Justified.”

“Yeah,” Tack replied, his shades moving to Naomi, “heard that shit over the phone.”

I watched Naomi’s back go straight then I watched her spit at Tack, “Got the papers.”

“You don’t say?” Tack asked and I bit back my giggle but Hop didn’t. His chuckle wasn’t audible but I felt his body move with it.

“I say, ass**le!” she snapped.

To this, Tack strangely responded, “Fifty thousand.”

Naomi’s body went still and, incidentally, so did mine.

“For each,” Tack finished.

What?

“A hundred,” she shot back and my body went solid as a rock.

Was she…?

Was she…?

Was she selling the custody of her children?

“Fifty, be happy for it. You know I’ll win in court,” Tack told her.

“I don’t know it,” she fired back.

“You know it,” he stated firmly. “Even if you don’t, you and that sorry man ‘a yours can’t afford to fight it.”

“Maybe I feel like puttin’ you through the hassle anyway,” she suggested nastily.

“Your call,” Tack said on a shrug then continued, “But that offer has an expiration. Five seconds.”

Her face paled, she looked quickly toward the office then back at Tack. “Can we talk alone?”

Oh. My. God.

She’d come here for this.

“Four seconds,” Tack said.

Her body jerked.

“Seventy-five,” she haggled.

Ohmigod!

She’d come here to haggle for her kids!

“Three seconds.”

“Sixty!” she snapped.

“Two seconds, Naomi.”

“Fuck you, Tack!”

“Right, one second.”

“Fine!” she clipped.

Tack crossed his arms on his chest. “Good. That’s outta the way, these are the terms. I have the papers drawn up. They’re delivered to you. You got twenty-four hours to sign them. That’s delayed even a minute, deal’s dead. You think of getting any bright ideas or that moron of a man you got does and you think to reopen negotiations, deal’s dead. Tab, Rush, Tyra, me or anyone connected with Chaos sees you or hears from you, deal’s dead. Once signed, the kids see you when and if they want to. They don’t, they don’t see you. You don’t call them or me or Tyra or anyone that has anything to do with Chaos or Ride. You do not show your face here, at my house, at Tyra’s, at the kids’ school, ever. Unless the kids instigate contact, you’re gone. Agreed?”