Burn (Bayonet Scars #5)

I don’t need this kind of abuse. Especially not from someone I can’t yell back at. Instead of making sure he’s okay, I stand and survey the scene before me. The crowd is bigger now, with people yelling all around. Through the crowd, I can see Wyatt on the other side, fighting through his brothers to get to the center. Ian’s even joined in, too. He’s got his arms around Jim, and he’s slowly making progress, dragging him out of the chaos. I was so busy with Fish that I didn’t even hear anyone else come in, but here they are. Grady is in the thick of the mess and so is Diesel. I see a flash of blond hair from the other side. Duke’s got Ryan around the neck and he’s pulling him back. It seems someone else has gotten himself in a fight with Ryan now since he’s still putting up a pretty hard fight despite the fact that Jim’s on the edge of it all.

From the corner of my eye, I see Leo standing in the entrance to the clubhouse. He’s got his standard-issue black suit on, and he looks as calm and cool as can be. He takes one step into the room before stopping. His eyes widen, and he turns his head to the doorway, speaking to someone I can’t see. Waiting a minute, and then stepping into the room, he heads my way. He’s followed by a younger man who has dark brown hair that’s parted on the side. There’s no gel in his hair, and he doesn’t wear a suit, but he has the same confident stride that Leo does. The young man’s olive complexion is set off by his gorgeous brown eyes and the slight widow’s peak at the top of his forehead, just barely off center. It takes me a long moment before I realize this must be the elusive Michael Mancuso.





Chapter 15



Michael stops in his tracks when his eyes fix on something, and his body straightens. His muscles bulge under the short-sleeved shirt he’s wearing to the point that I can see the veins in his arms clearly. Even mad, he’s a good-looking kid. And right now he looks downright deadly. Leo catches sight of whatever Michael’s looking at and moves to run in that direction, but Michael shoves him back and takes off running. My eyes follow his movement as he rushes to where Ryan is being pulled back by both Duke and Wyatt.

I take a step to my right and see Alex, who’s behind Ryan now and whispering in his ear. She’s trying to calm him down, I think, but it’s not working. She’s being pushed and shoved by the collective crowd, but she’s vigilant in her task. She takes a heavy black boot stepping on her foot and an elbow to her head, but she keeps on. It doesn’t look like any of the offending body parts belong to Ryan, but rather men who are trying desperately to avoid getting the crap kicked out of them.

Michael stands back a few feet, reaching out with his arms but then lowering them. Nobody besides me and Leo even seem to know he’s in the room. I know only a little about Alex and Michael and their history. I know she came out to California and he came after her to try and help but ended up hurting her pretty badly. Ian doesn’t bring either of them up, so neither do I. Until I have a better idea of where we stand, I can’t just go around asking about reappearing siblings and family squabbles. Even if I did know where we stand, I still don’t think it would be my place to ask. Everything I know, I learned from Holly. Holly says the club hasn’t allowed Michael to see Alex since he hurt her, which would explain the weird arm thing he’s doing right now. It’s like he wants to reach out and touch her, but he isn’t sure if he should. Like he’s scared to try to repair that relationship—a feeling I completely understand, but wish I didn’t.

A man stumbles back and right into Alex’s side. She falls backward and nearly hits the wall behind her but is saved by Michael stepping into action. The man who fell picks himself up and gets right back into the fight, but this time he seems to be trying to break it up by pulling each man out individually. I don’t even know how it got this big or violent, much less what it’s about.

“You’re okay, miele,” Michael says.

I move closer, around the crowd, so I can hear them better. I don’t know why, but I want to see this. I know Ryan doesn’t want Alex around Michael and that’s caused some issues in the club, so this is probably a big deal. It feels significant.

“Oh my God,” Alex says breathily and turns around in his arms. She stares at him with tears in her eyes and then throws her arms around his neck. He gives her a smile that feels too personal, like I shouldn’t be watching them. I don’t care, though. The confident man who walked into the room is now gone, and in his place is a happy little boy who looks like he’s been reunited with his favorite toy.