Page 17

I roll into parking lot ten minutes before the meeting. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a tad concerned about this. Is Raven gonna want my patch? I can’t do anything but head in the lion’s den. As I stroll into church, there are a few others already there—Slender, Pennywise, Dougal, Raven, Spen and, to my astonishment, Neil. This is no ordinary church meeting. Non-members are a big no-no at church. Not even prospects are allowed, unless they’re being voted in, and even then, they’re only allowed in at the end to receive their patch. No one is sitting in any order, apart from Raven, who is in his usual spot, and Spen, who has a laptop on the go and is using the projector.

“This is a meeting to discuss the bar. Some worrying issues have come to light over the last few days, so we replaced Karen as manager, and I appointed Neil in her place. All access to the books and finances was taken away from Karen. She can stay on behind the bar, and I allowed her to pick up shifts since her wages are now considerably reduced and she has bills to pay. I know I got reports from all of you, but Neil spoke to me yesterday in detail, and the outcome was worrying. I asked Spen to look at the bar’s books and give us an update on how things are. Spen, you have the floor.”

“Okay, so the bar used to be a great little earner, always packed with a lot of returning customers. The books show a solid profit until about six or seven months ago. Then suddenly, they started decreasing. First, I thought it was seasonal, as alcohol sales vary a bit with the season, especially around here. Tourist trade and all that. Fair enough, it’s not huge, but it could impact.

“In the last quarter, the take has been down dramatically. The beer orders have been reduced too. So, on paper, it looked as if it tallied. I compared bank deposits to invoices out and it looked good. Then, I dug a little deeper with Neil’s help. He found some old cash register tallies and cash-out totals for bank deposits. Going back a year, they tallied. Going back six months ago, they tallied. However, in the last three months, we know of at least one month that doesn’t tally.

“The other cash register printouts have vanished. As you can see from the Sunday cash-out total, each week’s take was over a thousand dollars, but we only deposited just over seven hundred into the bank. Now, we know that happened four weeks in a row, so we know at least a thousand dollars have gone missing in that month. The question is, where has it gone, and who has it? Karen signed the deposit slips, but as Penny, Dougal, and Vegas said, she insists she didn’t do the banking.” Spen shifts in his seat, visibly uncomfortable as he looks around.

I had expected many things for tonight, but this was not one of them. I’m just as stunned and silent as the rest of my brothers. We conduct club business with loyalty, respect, and honor. None of the brothers would dream of stealing from the club. That would have serious consequences for anyone. And by that, I don’t mean we’d call the cops.

Neil clears his throat, then he looks at Raven and Spen. “May I?” he asks. They both give him a nod. “I’ve only been at the bar for a few days, but I can tell you that the way it currently is, it will go under. The clientele is sketchy, to say the least. We’re attracting riff raff and the returning customers are lacking. I stopped the watering down of the beer immediately. The lines will be cleaned and flushed, and until that happens, only bottled beer goes on sale. That, however, has a further impact.

“From what I can see just in the past few days, the trust in the bar is gone, and its reputation is down the shitter. I’ve had words with Karen, just like you did, and she insists she hasn’t done the banking. I’m not accusing anyone at this point, as there’s no evidence, but is it possible to find out who did the banking?” He looks directly at Raven, Spen, and Slender. Slender opens his phone.

“Ferret, get your ass in here. You’re needed.” He hangs up and tells the table, “He’ll be here in a few moments.” Ferret lives on the property in one of the cabins, with one room serving as his living area, and another fully tricked out with all of his IT stuff. While waiting for Ferret, Dougal gets up.

“I need a beer. Anyone else?” We all take him up on his offer, and he trundles off into the bar, returning with a bucket full of ice and bottles. “Figured we could probably use more than one,” he grumbles and shoves a cold one toward each of us. Just at that moment, Ferret enters, tablet in hand. He picks a long neck out of the bucket and takes a seat.

“What’s on fire that you need me this urgent?” he asks suspiciously.

“The bar is,” Raven replies, and by his tone, everyone is aware of the gravity of the situation. Slender looks at Ferret.

“Hey, man, we have a problem. Money has gone missing between the cash register totals and deposits. Karen signed the banking slips, but she’s adamant she hasn’t banked them.” Ferret raises his brow in disbelief.

“Then who has? The fairies?”

“Hardly,” replies Slender, “but the who is what we need you to dig into. Do you think you can find out who really did the banking? And who has the money stashed?”

“It’ll take a while, but I’m sure I’ll get to the bottom of this.” Ferret nods to Raven and Slender. “Do we have a suspect? Other than Karen?”

“No,” Raven answers quickly before we can throw speculations around the table. Neil is right—there’s no evidence, and we can’t go accusing people without evidence. And we can’t dish out retribution.

“Okay, do you need me for anything else? Or can I go back to the pussy in my bed now?” Ferret asks with a rather smug smile.

“Nope, that’s it. Go back to what you were doing and don’t do anything I wouldn’t,” Raven goads him.

“Ah, that leaves me a wide variety of options then.” Ferret laughs and walks out the door.

“Any suggestions about what to do with the bar? If it’s not profitable, it’ll cut club funds deep. I’m open to any suggestions.” Raven looks around at all of us before Neil raises his hand.

“We’re not in school, man, just say what you want to say,” Slender encourages him.

“My suggestion would be to close it down.” A lot of murmuring breaks out all around. Neil raises his voice. “Hear me out. I’m not talking about closing for good. I’m talking about closing to remodel and rebrand. Distance ourselves from the poor image the bar has obtained and attract a different clientele, one that will spend money. Lots of money.” We’re all ears now.

“Do you think you could buy the warehouse behind the bar?” Neil looks at Spen and Raven.

“The club has enough money to do that,” Spen agrees.

“Let me hear what you’re thinking, Neil,” Raven interjects.

“Right, if we could buy the warehouse behind the bar, we could break through and turn it into one big property. Rip everything out of the old place, do a complete refurbish, install a large stage, poles, mirrors, etc., and make it a posh strip club. With a membership area which would guarantee returning customers and a public area. I’m not talking whorehouse—I’m talking classy strip joint with dancers, a couple of private rooms for lap dances, a couple of rooms for hen or stag parties, and a once-a-month ladies’ night with male dancers.” Laughter breaks out around the table. Ladies’ night with male dancers? Now, that is some funny shit.

“I managed one of those clubs in Minneapolis and it made a fortune. Especially ladies’ night. The climate is changing, boys, and women like to look too, and stick dollars into thongs.” Neil winks.

“I like that idea,” Raven agrees. Yeah, he would, because he has no old lady who’d go to those nights to see strange dick. Not that I have an old lady, either, but if I did, I’d hate her looking at someone else’s man-meat. My thoughts drift from the table to a beautiful dark-haired woman with piercing green eyes holding me captive. Where the hell did that come from? I shake the thought away.

“Okay, Neil, can you put together a provisional business model structure plan? Help Spen work out a business plan to show us on Sunday?” Raven questions. “We have to take it to vote, but it sounds like a great idea.”

Neil agrees. “Sure, it’ll be cobbled together, nothing exact or fancy. Not a lot of time ‘til then.”

“That’s okay. Dumb it down for us as much as you can, so even our knuckleheads can get the drift,” Slender jokes.

“Okay then, anyone else have anything to say on bar matters? No? Let’s all get home then,” Raven orders. I stand with the rest of the guys.

“Not you, Vegas. Sit,” he barks. Oh great, here we go. “I had a visitor last night, and she was pissed. Extremely pissed. In fact, she ripped me a new one,” Raven states, keeping his eyes steady on mine. “She made me realize I can be a real asshole sometimes, and sometimes act like my dad. Not what I had in mind for myself, admittedly.” He sighs, then pulls out a bottle of Maker’s Mark and two glasses from under the table. He pours us both a generous helping.

“She told me she waitressed at Violets and knows about you and your . . . shall we call it . . . appetites. She also told me you didn’t start this, that she did. Be that as it may, she firmly put me in my place. She seems to like you, and, as she correctly stated, she’s twenty-six, not ten. She’s a grown woman and makes her own choices. I’m not apologizing for beating on you, Vegas. As far as I’m concerned, she was out of bounds, and you went against that.” He pauses to look at me. “However, since she likes you and made it clear that her life is her decision, I won’t stand in the way, should anything develop between you two. Though I’m warning you, Vegas. I will make good on my promise. Hurt her and I will bury you.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, Prez,” I answer and tip back my shot of whiskey. It burns in the best of ways. Raven gets up and walks out of church without looking back. It’s obvious I’m dismissed.

???

I can’t believe she did that. I’m useless talking about feelings, but right now, I’m angry as fuck that she stood up for me when I didn’t, and equally very proud of her for speaking up for herself and taking Raven on. But why would she do that? It’s not as though we’re an item.

I try to make sense of it but can’t quite get my head around it. Raven said she likes me, but what does that actually mean? I don’t completely repulse her? This shit is confusing and is not easing my already rough mood. I’m restless and pacing.

Before I can change my mind, I get on my bike and start riding aimlessly. It usually clears my head. Except this time, it’s not working. My head is throbbing with a mother of a headache, my brain is working overtime, and looking back at the meeting, I try to work out why the shithead Rusty wasn’t there. Never occurred to me to ask, but now I wonder.

Without planning to, I find myself outside Ashley’s house. The lights are on upstairs, so she’s awake. I get off and sit on my bike, watching her window. With every breath, I get more agitated.

What was she thinking? Did she think I couldn’t look after myself? I imagine her in Raven’s office, tearing him a new asshole, and can’t help but smirk. She’s quite something. My dick agrees. She seems fragile at times, but God, that woman has a backbone made of steel. I need to readjust myself, since just the thought makes me hard. Like a creeper, I sit here thinking and watching her window. She just opened the curtain and is looking straight at me, which has me sitting up straight.

Damnit, my stealth is obviously lacking. Like a puppet on a string, I push off my bike and make my way to the front door, which is open. She must have opened it. What the fuck? I make my way up the stairs, taking two at once. She’s standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at me, smiling.

“What took you so long?” she teases. “Knew you’d turn up, Vegas. We need to talk. Even if you can’t or won’t admit it, there is some crazy chemistry between us. Tell me you don’t feel it,” she states, looking me straight in the eye.

Before I can control myself, I’ve grabbed her and pushed her into the room, kicked the door shut, and shoved her against the wall. My dick is as hard as iron, and my mouth descends on hers in half a second flat. It’s not a gentle kiss, like you see in movies. I punish her. My lips crash against hers again and again with brutal force, and my tongue pushes into her mouth. I’m in total control.

She makes a sound deep in the back of her throat that drives me insane. My dick is throbbing, and I cannot possibly get any harder. I pull her closer, if that’s at all possible, and let her feel what she’s doing to me. Her hand is in my hair, pulling me in, while her mouth is dueling with mine, fighting for control. One hand leaves my hair and runs over the front of my jeans, finding my hard cock and rubbing it through the material of my jeans. If she keeps it up, I’ll make a mess like a teenager on his first grope. I have to put a stop to this now, but when I lift my head, her eyes are on fire and she’s panting. I take a deep, calming breath.

“What did you do? What do you want from me, Ash? I’m no good for you, and you know it,” I hiss at her. “I’m not your knight in shining armor, princess. I’m a black-hearted, harsh man who likes it rough, not prince material.”

I flinch when she lifts her hand and slaps me hard. Lucky for her, I don’t hit women in anger, but I do grab her hands and pin them to the wall.

“You asshole,” she spits out. “I know exactly who and what you are. I make my own decisions about what my so-called knight looks like, and I don’t give a shit about how bad you think you are for me. Have you ever considered that you may not be the only one with your kind of darkness? Have you?” She pants at me, fury flashing in her eyes as she shoots daggers at me.

“Princess, I’ll give you one chance, and one chance only, to step away. I have a few years on you, and you know about my needs. You’re hotter than the equator, and I can only fight my wanting in your pussy for so long. This is your one and only chance to step away. You don’t step away right the fuck now, I will fuck you until you scream. I’ll fuck you hard and proper. I don’t do vanilla well, you know that, so you know what you’re getting into. I’m letting you go now. Make your decision, but be certain you can handle what I’ll dish out. And make no mistake, from this moment on, we will be exclusive. I want to see a test that you’re clean, and I’ll provide you with the same. I expect you to go on birth control, because a child is not what I want or need right now. I’ll be in control, and you’ll be mine to do with as I please.”

She stares at me with unreadable eyes and opens her mouth.

“I don’t do submissive contracts. I’m not a full-on sub. Just fair to let you know. Domination inside the bedroom only. Condoms until we both have our test results. Now, fuck me already.”

That was all I needed to unleash the animal.