“Hey, douchebag,” Zander called out as he and Zeke made their way across the lawn.

Zeke swatted the back of his head again. “Show some respect.”

Zander dropped to one knee with a smirk. “Tobias, sir, king of kings, would you care to join us this evening at the Salty Hog, where we will imbibe vast quantities of alcohol?”

Tobias and Madigan had hung out with her brothers and cousins at the Salty Hog after she’d performed last week, once over the weekend, and again Wednesday night after the guys’ motorcycle club meeting. Tobias had met a number of other Dark Knights, including Cuffs, a cop, and Justice, an attorney, both of whom seemed like good guys. They’d tried to sell him on becoming a Dark Knight, raving about the members and the chapters in other states. There was a lot more to them than he’d imagined, including what sounded like a brotherhood like no other. As appealing as that was, considering Blaine had left the table whenever Tobias had shown up, he wasn’t about to invade an angry lion’s territory.

“Don’t be an ass, Zan,” Zeke said as Zander pushed to his feet.

Zander splayed his hands. “I am who I am. What do you say, Tobias?”

“Thanks, but I’m taking Mads out tonight, and since we’re getting off early, I want to surprise her at the park. She’s putting on a puppet show for a kids’ camp.” Last night they’d put together goody bags for the kids with the makings for a toilet-paper-roll puppet and a Madigan’s Magic Puppetry business card, which had a picture from one of her puppet shows and her website address. Of course he’d immediately checked it out.

“So take her to the Hog,” Zander suggested.

“Dude, he’s probably sick of us and wants to take her someplace special,” Zeke said.

“In other words, he’s pussy-whipped.” Zander smirked.

“That’s our sister you’re talking about,” Zeke reminded him. “Ignore him, T. The last time Zander did anything other than chase pussy was…Oh, wait, he never has.”

Zander scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t chase pussy. Women flock to me.”

They were still talking shit half an hour later when Tobias climbed onto his motorcycle and headed home to shower. He and Madigan spent about half their time at his place and half at hers, and they had more than christened his new bed. He loved their lazy nights together as much as he liked going out. They watched movies and played guitar. It seemed like Madigan was always working on new stories, new cards, new puppetry ideas, and he enjoyed hearing about them and brainstorming ideas with her.