“Ren,” I said softly as my way of saying thanks and his face lost some intensity.

“Dom doesn’t deserve her,” Ren said back and at his words and the way he said them (like he really meant them) I moved into him. I couldn’t help it. I agreed with what he said, I believed he wanted to keep Sissy safe and I was happy he was a good guy. There weren’t a lot of them in this world but I was beginning to think Ren was an exception to that rule. So now, by my count, there was one, maybe two if you counted Luke (though the jury was still out on him) or maybe about a dozen if you counted the Hot Bunch, Tex and Duke.

It was on that thought when Stella started to sing Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and all eyes turned to her.

Stella was in rare form that night. It was like she was intent on giving the performance of a lifetime, as if the King of the World had stepped in to see her set and she had to impress him or have her head chopped off. She rarely ever pulled out “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and when she did the audience became transfixed, as it was right then and I was no exception. Even though I was stuck by the heart-wrenching lyrics and the way Stella delivered them, I could swear her eyes were on Mace. It was as if she was singing right to him and somehow, in a weird way I didn’t get, that made it even more poignant.

Hmm.

Another thought to ponder at a later time (and peck over with the rest of the Rock Chicks).

I was so lost in Stella and what was going on with her and Mace (because something was definitely going on with her and Mace), not to mention the song, I didn’t pay much attention when Ren moved around to my back. I did notice his arms going around my waist and him pulling me into his body. I also noticed his chin resting on my shoulder, his cheek pressing against mine. Further, I noticed his body felt warm and hard and he smelled really good, a hint of spicy, expensive cologne mixed with Hot Guy and the combination of all of that was heady stuff.

I also noticed that Mace didn’t see Ren move. He was staring at Stella like he was never going to stop watching her. The song was so sad, so beautiful and Stella sang it with such emotion, it felt good having strong arms around me. I crossed my arms over his at my waist and melted back into Ren’s torso.

Then, as it was with that song, especially the way Stella sang it, Ren and I seemed somehow to stand alone, even in the massive crowd, while we let Stella’s singing and Hank’s lyrics wash over us.

Therefore it was a shock when I felt Ren go rock solid not to mention at the same moment the air went dangerously electric. I turned my head to see what was causing the tension and I saw Luke standing close wearing his customary black with the addition of a killer black-leather motorcycle jacket. His face was stony, his eyes so focused on Ren they didn’t even flick to me for an instant.

Uh-oh.

I straightened in Ren’s arms, blinking rapidly at Luke and trying to catch one of the feelings coursing through me. The most prevalent of these included a bit of fear and a helluva lot of panic.

“Outside,” Luke growled to Ren, his voice a low, angry rumble.

Ho-ly shit.

Ren moved from me as panic took firm hold. I tore my eyes away from Luke to look at Ren and he was grinning like he was very happy about something.

Fuckity, f**k, f**k, f**k!

“Rock Chicks!” I shouted toward the stage and Daisy was the only one who heard me but a load of people gave me pissy looks for shouting during Stella’s “Lonesome”.

Daisy looked away from Stella to me. I pointed at Ren and Luke moving away as I jumped up and down, following the boys and motioning with hand gestures that could only describe, “Danger! Danger! The end of the world is nigh!”

Daisy’s eyes moved from me to Mace, who was trying to block me, to the departing Ren and Luke. She cottoned on quickly to the situation and started tagging Rock Chicks.

I was multitasking, communicating with the Rock Chicks and following Luke and Ren when I hit something solid and stopped to look up at Mace.

“Mace, you have to get out of my way,” I told him.

“You’re stayin’ in here,” Mace replied.

Ha!

As if!

I wasn’t going to stand inside Herman’s drinking a beer and listening to Stella while Luke and Ren ripped each other apart.

“No way! I’ve got to stop them,” I said to Mace.

Mace shook his head.

I didn’t have time for this. Luke and Ren were going to tear each other to shreds in the parking lot, all on account of me being a big dork.

When was I going to learn? When, when, when? If one of them got hurt… shit!

“Out of my way,” I snapped, dodged to the left, to the right, back to the left then ran around him on his right, giving him a wide berth and looking like a lunatic because he didn’t give chase, he just watched me while he turned in a slow semi-circle still shaking his head.

I didn’t worry about looking like a lunatic. I took off out the door. By this time, the whole Rock Chick posse was on my heels.

I hit the parking lot and saw them. Luke had taken off his jacket and was in the act of tossing it on the hood of his Porsche when we got there. Ren was rolling up the sleeves of his jeans shirt.

“Lookin’ forward to this,” Ren said low as I stopped, the Rock Chick posse gathering around me.

“What’s goin’ on?” Daisy asked from beside me.

I ignored her. “This is crazy. Luke, let me –” I started but Luke’s eyes cut to me and I froze in mid-speak at his look.

Then his eyes sliced to Mace. “Keep her back,” Luke said.

Before I could react, I felt an iron arm clamp around my waist as Mace grabbed hold of me. I leaned into it with all my bodyweight and tried to push his arm away with my hands but I was held fast. I was beginning to wonder if Riley wasn’t leading me down the garden path with his so-called “workouts” and “strength training”.

“Shit, I don’t think this is good,” Jet whispered from somewhere close and I looked her way. She was pale and staring at Luke and Ren. I did a scan and noticed that all the Rock Chicks were pale.

“No, this is not good,” Roxie agreed.

“No, this is really, really not good,” Indy put in.

They were not wrong.

I decided to try another tactic and looked to Ren. “Ren, please, don’t do this. This is crazy. Someone’s going to get hurt. Just go, I’ll call you later.”

“Boys, listen to Ava, stand down,” Ally threw in.

Ren ignored Ally and me. “Ava told me about you,” Ren said to Luke.