“Car comin’ up the lane.”
Her head twitched and she separated just enough from both of them to look through their bodies toward the front door, Jussy murmuring, “That’s weird.”
Deke started to move but stopped when he saw Chace heading to the door, two empty wineglasses in his hands, and he was shaking his head at Deke.
“Catch it on the way for refills,” he called.
Chace had heard the car too.
Deke nodded.
“Maybe someone invited somebody,” Jussy remarked and Deke looked again to her. “Though, no one said anything.”
She was detaching, getting ready to head to the door Chace was arriving at in order to offer her greeting.
Deke started to move with her when he saw the door was open and he heard Chace, who was partially blocked by the open door, saying loudly into the night, “Can I help you?”
“Who’re you?” a voice came back, sounding distant, and Deke figured Chace spoke before whoever it was made a full approach.
But Deke had tensed because the question was asked, it wasn’t voiced nice, and most importantly, it made Jussy get tight at his side.
“That’s my question but I asked it a different way and I’d like you to answer it,” Chace pointed out and Deke saw his body had switched from cool to alert.
“Outta my way, I wanna talk to Justice,” the voice from outside said, definitely closer, and Deke noticed Jussy hurrying toward the door but doing it glancing at Joss.
He also distractedly noticed their friends becoming aware of the situation and conversation beginning to falter, attention shifting, as well as bodies.
These the men’s.
And now Chace was not alert at the door.
He was barring it.
“I’m afraid that’s not gonna happen until you tell me who you are.”
“Don’t know who the fuck you are either but do know whoever you are, you got no right to stand in the way of me havin’ words with my sister.”
Hearing this, blood rushed to Deke’s head, a sensation he hadn’t felt since the last bar fight he’d been in over half a decade ago.
He and Jussy were almost to the door and he had just enough of his shit together to push her back gently, but not enough not to put some serious pressure behind the grip he took on Chace’s shoulder to tell the man to get the fuck out of the way.
Chace’s head jerked to the side at the contact but he read Deke and got the fuck out of the way.
That was when Deke was confronted with Jussy’s near-twin, the male variety, a boy who refused to become a man who looked a fuckuva lot like a young Johnny Lonesome.
He took that in in half a second before he got right in Maverick Lonesome’s space and used his bulk—this mainly being his chest, he didn’t lift his hands—to shove the shitheel back.
“Hey! Fucking shit! What the fuck?” Maverick shouted.
Deke kept bumping him back then lifted one hand to plant it in his chest and give him a shove that sent him sailing four feet.
Only then did he turn and growl to Chace, “She stays inside.”
“Deke—” Jussy started, already one step out the door and still on the move.
That’s all she got out. Chace pulled her back through the door and shut it behind her.
“Seriously, dude, what the fuck?” Maverick clipped and Deke turned his attention to the kid.
He heard the door open behind him, tensed, felt it wasn’t Jussy just as he heard her protesting deeper inside the house, and knew someone he didn’t mind joining them was joining them.
Other than that, he didn’t take his attention off Lonesome.
“First, you’re gonna tell me why you’re here,” Deke informed him. “I’m good with what I hear, you’ll get to talk to your sister. I’m not, you’ll get in your car and drive away.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Maverick asked, his gaze skidding from Deke to whoever had joined them.
From the fear that instantly glinted in his eyes, Deke guessed it was Ty, definitely. Decker, probably. Tate, undoubtedly, because Tate would always be at Deke’s back. Also Twyla, because, she’d deny it to her dying breath, but the woman would take a bullet for any of them. And with the length of the kid’s sweep, Deke figured, maybe Ham.
“I walked out of that house, kid,” Deke reminded him. “That house bein’ your sister’s. Not me that’s gotta explain what I’m doin’ here.”
He pulled himself up, giving himself the impression he didn’t have to look so far up to keep Deke’s gaze.
“I’m only talkin’ to Jus,” he stated.
“Think I covered that,” Deke told him.
His face screwed up. “I don’t even know who you are, so I’m not sayin’ dick to you.”