“Calm down, woman, and step outside,” he growled at Naomi.

“Fuck you!” she screeched.

“Tack,” Hop said into his phone. “Please, God, brother, be close. I’m in the office at the garage. Your old bitch is here and your old lady is also here.”

Naomi leaned to the side and pointed at me around Hop’s long, lean, jeans and tee clad body, shouting, “He gets his ass here, I’ll deal with him. Then I’ll deal with you, you cunt!”

My body jerked back in my chair at that surprising, harsh and totally uncalled for insult but Naomi was gone. This was because Hop had his hand in her chest. He reached around her and opened the door then he shoved her through and closed it.

I stared at the closed door.

“Oh no,” I whispered to it as I slowly stood, vaguely hearing Naomi’s shrieking outside. “Hell no.”

I stomped to the door, threw it open, stomped to the top landing and stared down where Hop and Naomi were at the bottom of the steps.

“What did you just call me?” I asked.

“Oh f**k,” Hop muttered.

“Cunt!” Naomi screeched, eyes slicing up to me.

The pressure in my head exploded and I stomped down the steps.

“Oh f**k,” Hop said, louder this time.

“That’s it, bitch, in your fancy-ass skirt with your fancy-ass shoes, you think you can take me?” Naomi asked.

She was rolling from foot to foot, hands up, fingers wiggling at me in a “bring it on” gesture even though Hop still had his hand in her chest and kept pushing off on it, shoving her back step by step as I advanced, my high heels clicking loud.

“You just called me the c-word,” I stated.

I heard the quick beat of running motorcycle boots and vaguely sensed mechanics and body shop guys coming out of the garage but I had my target in my sights.

“Yeah, I did. I called you a cunt, you cunt,” Naomi leered. “Tryin’ to take my kids from me. I got the papers,” she snapped.

“I got her, one ‘a you get Cherry,” Hop ordered and I felt a strong arm wrap around my chest from behind.

“Stand down, sweetheart.” I heard Brick say in my ear.

I stood still in his arm but didn’t take my eyes off Naomi. “You have a situation with Tack, you talk to Tack about it. You do not come to my office, shrieking, making a scene and calling me filthy names.”

She stopped and was leaning into Hop’s hand at her chest. “Oh yeah? I do, what’re you gonna do about it?”

What were we? In third grade?

Okay, I’d play.

“You don’t want to find out,” I warned.

“You can’t take me,” she declared derisively.

“You’re probably right,” I agreed. “But I’d sure as hell have fun with the licks I got in.”

She lifted her hands. “Yeah? Bring it on… cunt.”

“Stop calling me that!” I snapped.

“Cunt!” she screeched and that was it.

And what it was it wasn’t Arctic Tyra.

No.

Lady Dragon got poked with a stick and she… was… pissed.

Therefore I tore free from Brick’s arm and ran the five feet to Naomi. Launching myself by Hop and clearly surprising all holy hell out of Naomi, I took a flying leap and tackled her to the tarmac. We landed with a bone-jarring thud, hers worse because she was under me and the breath went out of her which was good for me. I was able to semi-straddle her (my skirt impeded a full straddle) and get in a good solid smack right across her face before Hop yanked me off and pulled me, kicking and hissing, away. Lenny, the body shop guy, got in between a scrambling to her feet Naomi and me as did Brick and Boz.

“You bitch!” she shrieked, barreling toward me but the boys closed ranks and she ran into them.

“I have more where that came from, Naomi!” I shouted my taunt, struggling against Hop’s hold.

“Bitch!” I heard.

“Fuckin’ stop, both ‘a you.”

This came from our sides. I stopped struggling against Hop’s hold and my head turned to see Dog standing there, his arms crossed on his chest but his eyes were aimed in Naomi’s direction.

“Take a second, woman, look around you. What do you see?” He waited a second, apparently letting her do that and apparently she did it because no sound came from her though I couldn’t see so I didn’t know. Then Dog went on, “You f**ked Tack over means you f**ked us all over. You do not get to come here and do this shit. Clue the f**k in, Naomi. You’re out. This can only go one way and you were around long enough to know which way it’s gonna go. Advice. Be smart, settle your ass down and wait to talk to Tack when he gets here. You don’t, it’s gonna go the way you know it’s gonna go.”

“This is none of your business,” I heard her hiss.

“You’re on Chaos, bitch.” I heard and my neck twisted to see Arlo standing a few feet behind Dog. “You know that shit ain’t right.”

Something must have given because Lenny, Brick and Boz stood down by moving away and I saw Naomi glaring at Arlo but although it seemed the situation had defused, Arlo wasn’t done.

“Tack’s call, ‘cause you’re the mother of his kids, he decides not to ban you, we’ll honor that. But you ever come on Chaos again and talk with that mouth to Cherry, you pushed out Rush and Tab or not, you’ll never come back. You get me?”

I was feeling love for Arlo and Naomi was saved from having to answer when the roar of Harleys could be heard. Three, to be exact (yes, that was how good I was getting at deciphering the noise of the pipes). And moments later we saw Tack, Hound and High roll in.

I relaxed against Hop but he didn’t let me go.

Tack and the boys stopped their bikes about ten feet away from Naomi and got off. Tack’s shades hit me and I saw them do a sweep as he walked wide to Naomi’s side.

Then he asked what appeared to be no on in particular, “There a reason why my woman’s knees are bleedin’?”

My knees were bleeding?

I looked down over Hop’s arm, stuck a foot out and put it back.

Yep, my knees were bleeding.

“That’d be because she tackled Naomi,” Dog offered then finished, “Justified.”

“Yeah,” Tack replied, his shades moving to Naomi, “heard that shit over the phone.”

I watched Naomi’s back go straight then I watched her spit at Tack, “Got the papers.”