Hearts Under Cover (The Wallace Brothers #3)

Chapter One

Cameron

“THAT’S TEN TO nine. My service.” I grinned, standing at the ping-pong table across from my opponent.

“No way. The ball was out of bounds.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Grizz?”

He waved his paddle wide. “I’m talking about the serve you just returned was out of bounds making the score ten to ten.”

“Let me ask you something.” I cocked my head. “How is it that you’re legally allowed to ride a motorcycle when you’re clearly at least half-blind?”

“I’m blind?” Grizz countered. “Stevie fuckin’ Wonder would have called that shot ‘out.’”

My oldest brother, Connor, better known as ‘Hatch,’ was the Sergeant at Arms for the Dogs of Fire Motorcycle club.

Tonight was ‘family night,’ a time-honored tradition held every month or so for club members and their families to hang out, pig out, and drink up.

Although none of our other siblings were club members, the Dogs had always treated us like one of them.

We were always welcome to ride, party, or hustle them at ping pong any time, and I was always thankful when my schedule allowed me time to do so.

With the club growing, the ping pong and foosball tables had been moved outside during the warmer months, in order to make more space inside the clubhouse but I had a feeling this was going to be a very temporary fix and they would eventually need to expand the building or move to something larger.

Grizz had been around since almost the beginning, and he was always the first to challenge me to a game whenever I was around. He legitimately thought he could win at least once, and he never did. It was kinda sad.

I shook my head. “I never thought I’d see the day when you were so afraid of losing to me that you’d resort to cheating. I thought you respected the game and yourself more than that.”

“I don’t sweat you,” Grizz said, squaring up to the table. “Go ahead. Take your stolen point and serve the ball. I’ll beat your ass anyway.”

I adjusted my grip on the paddle, took a breath, and served the ball.

Grizz returned the shot, the ball hitting the edge of the table, causing my return to come up higher than I’d have liked.

The ball was now at the perfect angle for Grizz to deliver a hard spike, earning him the point and tying up the score.

“This is it, Bob the Builder,” Grizz said. “This one’s for all the marbles. Don’t let the pressure get to you.”

“The only thing weaker than your shit talk is your backspin,” I replied.

“Enough fucking chit chat,” Grizz bellowed. “It’s time for you to go down.”

My eyes narrowed on my opponent, as I rasped, “Service.”

The volley which followed my serve was nothing short of epic.

Two athletes, at the peak of their ‘careers,’ battling to the death like the gladiators of ancient Rome.

Each of us upping the intensity with every returned ball, until I delivered the final death blow, leaving only one man standing in the arena.

“You piece of shit, brick layer,” Grizz shouted as I raised my hands in victory, thrusting them higher into the air as the roar of the crowd filled my ears.

Tonight’s ‘crowd’ consisted of three bikers, one of whom was passed out on a lawn chair, and a black Labrador retriever named Duff, and the only thing any of them shouted was, “I got next game.”

The families who weren’t staying had gone home, and the ones who were, had already headed to their respective rooms for the night.

“I think I’ve kicked all the ass I needed to make my point,” I replied.

“Next time, brother, I’m gonna kick your ass.”

“That’s what you said last time,” I retorted with a grin, handing my paddle to Grizz before heading inside to grab a fresh beer.

Once inside the clubhouse, I found my other brothers Cullen and Cade, standing together, talking.

“Don’t you guys see enough of each other at work?” I asked, breaking into their conversation.

“You’d have to show up to know, wouldn’t you?” Cullen asked.

“Damn, that’s a little harsh, isn’t it?” I replied.

My brothers and I were partners and co-owners of Wallace Brothers Construction, a commercial and residential building company.

Business was booming, but my brothers were stressed out because we barely had the staff to cover all our scheduled jobs.

Finding long-term qualified workers had proved to be our greatest challenge as business owners, and lately my brothers had even been questioning my commitment to the business.

Not that I could blame them. My attendance record for meetings and site visits had been increasingly spotty in the past months, and they picked up on the fact I was clearly distracted and checked out when I was around.

“Sorry, Cam, but come on. How many times did you make it into the office last week? Twice? For a total of four hours,” Cullen replied.

I nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ve had a lot on my plate during the past few weeks. I’ll do better, I promise.”

“A lot on your plate? You’re a twenty-nine-year-old single guy. What the hell could possibly be on your plate besides work?” Cade asked.

My family saw me as the bright and loveable fuck-a-bout kid brother.

Even my younger sister, the real baby of the family, had her shit together more than I did.

Meanwhile I was out, night after night, chasing women, blowing my money on bottle service and fancy dinners.

As much as I knew they loved me, I also knew they were all disappointed in me at some level.

The worst part was I could do very little to change their opinions of me.

I was the one writing the narrative of my life, and I’d be an asshole if I got upset with them for reading it correctly.

“Okay, maybe lay off our brother for five fucking minutes, huh?” Cricket snapped, taking my arm and pulling me aside.

Our sister was fierce, bossy, beautiful, and someone you did not fuck with. The only one who got the blonde hair and blue-eyed gene, she favored our mother and we would kill anyone who hurt her.

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “Hey, sissy. When did you get here?”

“Just now. Bar was hopping. Really good tips.”

Christina was a bartender at Blush, a nightclub my brother’s club owned and she made a mint, but I wasn’t a fan of her employment choice.

Mostly because she was a magnet for guys who were douchebags and since she’d lost the love her life (her words) a few years ago and blamed Hatch for that, she tended to occasionally push the boundaries with men.

I frowned. “Are you bein’ careful?”

She grinned. “No way in hell.”

“Cricket,” I admonished.

“Nope, we’re not doing that. Grown woman right here.”

I sighed. “It’s just that ever since Jase—”

“Do not say his name,” she hissed.

“Cricket, you have to deal with him leaving, sweetheart.”

“I don’t have to do shit. Hatch ran him out on a rail and Cade did nothing to stop it, so they can both burn in hell as far as I’m concerned.”

I ground my teeth, my jaw locking as she said those words. She didn’t mean them, but I knew she was hurt, I just didn’t realize she was still this angry.

“He left, Cricket. And he hasn’t reached out since. You don’t think your ex has any culpability in this? Hatch was trying to protect you.”

“Hatch can eat a bag of dicks.”

I couldn’t stop a snort. “Okay, maybe a bit harsh.”

She stared past me with a glare that could turn a man to stone. “No. He knows what he did. I’m ruined for any other man. Broken beyond repair and I will never forgive him for it. Cade is second on that list. You and Cullen are spared, but only just.”

“Well, thank god for small favors,” I deadpanned.

“Why do you look like you’re going to kill Cam?” Hatch asked, walking up to us, our brothers were close behind him.

“Oh, it’s not him I want to kill,” Cricket said.

Hatch sighed. “What did I do this time?”

“Jase,” I provided.

“Jesus Christ, Cricket, you wanna drop it?” Hatch snapped. “He wasn’t the guy for you.”

“How the hell would you know?” she snapped back. “You ruined my life. He was everything to me and you broke me. I am forever devastated. I will die a lonely, used up, old lady spinster because of you.”

“Sissy, don’t be dramatic,” Cade said.

“How about you eat chode?” she shot back.

“What the hell did I do?” Cade asked.

“You had the power to stop Thing One from sending Jase away, dickhead, and you did nothing. Nothing! You let him ruin my life.”

“Like I have the power to control Connor,” Cade murmured.

Cricket threw her hands in the air in frustration. “You’re the only one who does, idiot.”

“Maybe we stop with the name calling,” Hatch suggested.

“Maybe go take a flying fuck at a rolling donut.”

My brothers all burst out laughing.

“What does that even mean?” Hatch asked.

Cricket huffed. “I refuse to believe you were the fastest sperm.”

“Jesus, who pissed in your coffee this morning?”

It was then I realized what day it was and shook my head before pulling Cricket in for a hug. “I’m sorry, sissy.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Cade asked.

“Because today is the anniversary of Jase leaving.”

Cricket burst into tears as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

Cade sighed. “Of course, Rain Man would remember the day our sister’s loser of an ex—”

“Fuck you, Cade,” Cricket hissed.

Before I could comfort my sister any further, my phone buzzed.

“Sorry, guys. I gotta take this,” I said, answering.

“Hey, Leslie. How are you doing? Um, yeah. I think I can manage that. How about you give me twenty-five minutes and I’ll be there?

That sound okay to you? Alright, perfect.

I’ll see you then, beautiful.” I hung up and returned my attention to my brothers, who were all staring at me.

“Are you fucking serious right now?” Cullen asked.

I shrugged. “What?”

“We were just talking about you showing your face around more often and now you’re gonna ditch family night to go meet some hot piece of ass.”