by KB Winters
I’d rather they believe the former instead of the latter because gossip traveled fast in casinos, restaurants, and bars, and Emerald Isle was all three.
Without another thought or a frown at the oversized pills, I washed them down with ginger ale. Maybe the combined effect would stave off another round of nausea, at least until it was time for my lunch break.
It took several giant swigs to get the pills down my throat and another two swigs just to avoid that impending sense of puke.
“Okay. All right.” I straightened my work clothes, let out a sigh, then grabbed my tablet and painted a smile on my face as I walked out of the locker room.
It was time to make some money, so I shoved aside all the physical bullshit down deep, including the mental bullshit, and stuck my tits out and settled into my shift.
“Waitress, two more pitchers, please? One dark and one amber?”
I clenched my jaw at the way some customers just shouted their orders over the noise of the crowd. It didn’t bother me that these guys could stare at my tits for hours on end without ever seeing the two little letters that made up my name tag.
It did bother me that they assumed we all knew their voices well enough to identify the table as ours. It was late afternoon, and two other waitresses were on shift, whirling around the pub, dropping off and picking up plates, mugs, and silverware.
As was our custom, no one jumped to do the customer’s bidding because if we did, they would never learn the error of their ways.
“Hey, boys, what can I getcha?” I smiled at the table full of males, two men who were probably the fathers of the two pre-teen boys and an elderly guy who was probably a grandfather to the clan.
“Hey, waitress,” the bald man at the table to their right slurred. “Where the fuck are my pitchers?”
And we have a winner. With one hand on my hip, I turned to face the mouthy jackass.
“First of all, my name isn’t waitress, and there are two more servers on duty right now. Second, who took your order?”
“I called out to you.” He pointed a finger in my direction. “With a body like that, you’re forgiven. Just get our fuckin’ drinks.” He laughed, but his friends seemed less amused.
“Right.” I turned back to the family table with my smile in place. “So, drinks to start?”
“Two beers,” the pre-teens said in unison.
“Root beers,” their fathers added at the same time while the elderly gentleman crowed with laughter.
“Two beers. Two root beers, and one of those Velvet Fires for me. Thanks, honey.”
I rattled off the specials and went to get their drinks as another bout of nausea hit. As always, it came on suddenly and fiercely. Luckily, I was at the drinks station, which gave me time to squeeze four lime wedges into a tall glass of sparkling water and chug it down while the bartender grabbed the booze.
“All right, gentleman, here are your drinks? Are we ready to order yet?”
“Not yet,” the grandfather smiled. “The boys need a quick lesson in Irish cuisine before they decide.” He winked, and I flashed another smile before moving on to the table with the bald drunk customer.
“All right, fellas. You want two pitchers of beer?” Baldy’s two friends nodded as their gazes raked over my body.
But Baldy wasn’t so easily distracted. “It’s about goddamn time you made your way over here. We’ve been waiting forever.”
“Then I’ll bet you’re really thirsty, so what will you have?”
He smacked his hand on the table, smiling when I didn’t even flinch. “A pitcher of dark beer and one of amber ale. Three shots of whiskey and your phone number.”
As if that would ever fucking happen. “How about a plate of nachos or loaded fries to go with ’em?”
“Just the beers,” he growled and then smiled. “So, about that number?” He reached out and grabbed my wrist, attempting to pull me closer, but I held my ground.
“If you don’t get your hands off me, the only number you’ll get is 911. Got it?”
His friends laughed, and his expression immediately darkened as he barked out a bitter laugh. “You and what army?”
“Just me,” I assured him calmly and took a step back. “I’ll be back with your drinks.”
Some days, this job tested my ability to remain patient with drunk assholes. But whenever I got a customer like Baldy, I tallied up his bill in my head and imagined what I would buy with my earnings.
I had my eye on a rose gold ear cuff that sparkled with diamonds, and so I returned with an unflappable smile and set their drinks down in front of them.
“The name is Mo if you need anything else. Mo,” I repeated and tapped my nametag. I turned to walk away just as two uniformed officers entered Midnight mass.
“Officers. You here for food or booze, or both?”
“Yes,” the older one answered with a friendly smile and a laugh. “We’ll take the table in back.”
He pointed to the spot where Jasper and Terry often sat when they talked business out in the open. “A word with Mr. Ashby and two IPAs.”
“Coming right up.” Before stopping for their drinks, I sucked in a deep fortifying breath as I made my way to Jasper’s office and let it out slowly as I knocked on his office door.
“What?” The one-word bark vibrated on the other side of the door, and I rolled my eyes. With each passing day that Sadie stayed in her coma, his attitude grew worse. He was bossier, more ruthless, and more focused on every little detail of every Ashby business. It was exhausting to watch so, I knew he must be beyond fatigued.
I stepped inside to find Jasper on the phone. Signs of exhaustion appeared around his eyes and mouth, the tense set of his shoulders, and the way his brows were fixed in a perma-frown. His dark hair, though? Not a strand out of place. And when he stood, I couldn’t help but smile at the fact that not his shirt or his pants would dare hold a wrinkle. Even the high-end fabric was terrified of its ruthless wearer. He held up a finger without looking my way, giving me plenty of time to drink him in.
Why, oh why, did he have to be so damn appealing?
“What do you want,” he barked when he caught me staring.
I blinked and glanced at the phone in his hand, noticing the black screen. “Two of Glitz’s finest are at the back table waiting for a word with you.”
Jasper’s lips twitched with a knowing smile as if he could read my thoughts. He walked closer and closer until he was in my personal space, right in my face, and licked his lush pink lips. “Was that all you wanted?”
Ah, grumpy fucker was in the mood to flirt. Too bad I wasn’t in the mood, not even for him.
“From you? Yes.” I ignored the way my body pulsed with need at his woodsy masculine scent. The way my clit zinged to life as I caught the flare of desire in his green eyes.
I wanted him, without a doubt, but Jasper Ashby was the head of an international crime organization, not to mention CEO of a billion-dollar business. He was the exact opposite of the settling down type. He didn’t have white picket fences or baby showers in his future. It was blood and guts and mayhem for him for the foreseeable future. Until he took his last, violent breath.
“They’re waiting,” I told him and sauntered off to get the beers for the officers and a Velvet Fire for Jasper.
I knew the deal with Jasper and the business. That was a big part of the reason I lived in a penthouse suite at Emerald Isle and got chauffeured around town like a goddamn mafia princess. I knew family secrets, and more than that, I knew how to keep my mouth shut.
Ashby secrets were vaulted, and, as Sadie promised all those years ago, I was rewarded handsomely for that. So when I strolled up to the table with three drinks on my tray, I pretended not to notice Jasper sliding an envelope to the older of the two uniformed officers. It was no big deal to me, nothing I hadn’t seen before. Heard it too. I knew they owned plenty of law officers, especially in Glitz, Vegas, and Mayhem, but also all around the state. It was how they operated, how t
hey stayed ahead of the law, and I just accepted it all as normal.
“Anything else you fellas need?”
The younger officer looked up with an appreciative smile and opened his mouth to order.
“No,” Jasper barked, his tone extra annoyed like it was all the time lately. Everything pissed him off these days, including me.
“Okay,” I said easily, as if his words didn’t hurt. “Holler if you need anything.”
I stood a little taller as I walked away to check on my other tables, and that was the last I saw of Jasper until he approached me just as I was leaving for the day.
“I need you to work Lucky Lopez tonight. Ten-thirty to three.” Without waiting for an answer, he walked away, so sure I would step in to help him out because I always did.
Sadly, I probably always would.
With that cheerful thought, I made my way home and took a quick nap, thoughts of Jasper and my baby heavy on my mind.
Chapter Fifteen
Jasper
It was late as fuck, and here I was, still wasting my time in the back office at Lucky Lopez. As much as I bitched and moaned about Sadie taking it over, I was happy to give the place back to her.
I had no interest in running a titty bar, especially one like this that was a logistical fucking nightmare to start with, but with an extra floor and double the capacity of drunk, horny customers, this place was a shit show waiting to happen.
The increase in security had done fuck all to deter customers. If anything, they came back night after night, hoping to relive the excitement of Sadie’s shooting.
Sadie would love to see this shit, and I was sure Thomas told her all about it because he spent all of his daytime hours at her side. Truth was, I didn’t even know when the fuck he slept because he was here from sundown until closing, making sure this place looked just as Sadie wanted it when she woke up. Which she still hadn’t fucking done yet.
So Lucky Lopez was my headache. For now.
A knock sounded on the door, brisk and hard enough to be heard over three levels of music. I glanced at the clock and sighed. It was half-past midnight, which meant it could be anyone on the other side of that door. Chances were slim I wanted to deal with any of them.
“Come in.” I sat back with a sigh; arms folded to let the intruder know they weren’t welcome.
The door opened, and the sight of Addison Beck shocked the shit out of me. She had become a regular at the club, hoping to get information on me, my mother, and my business any way she could. It was her appearance that left me stunned.
Instead of her usual boxy black, gray, or blue suit, she had on tight jeans that showed off the fact that she was fit. Fit as fuck with lean muscular legs and a tight, round ass. She wore a lace top that highlighted her breasts and her trim waist. Her tits pushed out just a little as she sauntered inside with a coy smile and shut the door.
“You’re here so much I might have to put you on payroll,” I told her with a laugh.
“I’m overqualified to work here,” she cooed, making it clear that tonight she wasn’t here to pump me for information or my customers; she was here for dick.
“Hardly,” I shrugged. “Most of my girls are college students. A few are grad students looking to graduate without a mountain of student debt like you have.”
“Good for them.” The words came out on a low whisper, and Beck licked her lips. “But I’m not here to talk about your employees.”
“Yeah? What are you here to talk about?”
“You. Me. Things.”
Things? I let my head fall back as a roar of laughter escaped. “Is this your big plan, Addison? You thought you could fuck me and get me to reveal a few Ashby family secrets? Tell you the ins and outs of our business?” I stood and put my hands flat on the desk so barely two inches separated our faces.
Beck was no pushover; she stuck her chin out and arched a brow. “And if it is?”
“No one is a good enough fuck to get me to talk.” Not even Mo, who was a world-class fuck and gave the best head I ever had in my life.
Addison licked her lips again before they curled up into a seductive grin. Heat filled her eyes and flushed her skin, but it was the stiff peaks poking through the black shirt that told me this wasn’t just about information. Agent Beck was horny and looking for a quick, hard fuck.
“I am,” she shot back on a breathless sigh.
“Yeah?” Her bravado was impressive and, yeah, intriguing too, but this wasn’t her. I rounded the desk and marched toward her, and just like I expected, she backed up, giving me the advantage. Her eyes widened in surprise when she found her body sandwiched between me and the wall, equal parts fear and desire swimming in her blue eyes.
“I’m telling you right here, right now, nobody is that good a fuck.” I let my finger trace the line of her jaw, down her long neck to her pronounced collarbone.
She let out a shaky breath as my finger traced the underside of both tits. “You can’t know that.”
“Oh, but I do know that, Addison.” I rested one forearm on the wall beside her and tilted her head up, so we were eye to eye, letting the other hand slide into the tight fit of her jeans.
“I could push you down to your knees right now, shove my cock down your throat until you tremble with need before I bend you over my desk and fuck the life out of you. I’ll leave you trembling with need and hungry for more, but you still won’t have any Ashby information. This is me being kind.”
Beck rolled her eyes, but when they opened back on me, I saw how dark they were. Filled to capacity with heat and desire.
“Sounds really kind,” she offered up with too much sarcasm. And a sexy little gasp.
I teased her, brushing my fingertips back and forth over swollen pussy lips. “I could fuck you and give you nothing, Addison.” I pushed through her swollen lips and found her clit swollen and wet. One finger slid inside, and she gasped. I added another, and she let out a low guttural moan.
“Oh,” she moaned and let her head fall against the wall with a thud.
“Yeah, you need a good fuck, don’t you, Addison?” Two fingers thrust deep again and again, and her hips rolled, pushing up against my hand while I pumped into her, bringing her closer and closer to the edge.
“How long’s it been since you had a proper fuck?” She moaned and grabbed my wrist like she was in charge. “Better yet, how long since you had an improper fuck?”
Her orgasm was close. So fucking close, and if this were another woman, another time and place, I might let her.
Maybe.
My fingers stilled as her pussy clenched around me. “I could do all that, but I’d rather just talk business with you. We can talk about how much it’ll cost you to get the fuck out of my state and never look back. Give me your number, and I’ll give you a fuck you’ll think about until you’re old and gray.”
Big blue eyes opened, and she sucked in a breath as if that would ease the letdown of an almost orgasm. Beck let her breath out slowly to cool her desire, and when she finished, she stood a little taller as she attempted to put some distance between us. But I was bigger and stronger, and I refused to budge. “I’m not interested in your fucking money, Jasper.”
“Bullshit,” I groaned and slowly pulled my fingers from her body before I pressed my hard cock against her body. I let Beck feel how hard I was already; how genuine I was about my offer. Lust flared in her eyes, and I took her hand and put it on my cock. “You need to figure out what the fuck you want, Agent Beck, and get back to me.”
Her skin flushed at my words, and I laughed.
“If you still want to ride this cock on your way out of town, I’m happy to oblige. I gotta tell ya, I’m curious if your cunt hair is as bright as these curls.” I twirled a curl around my forefinger and smiled.
Beck sucked in a shocked breath and pushed at my chest, harder this time. I took a step back and then another. “Fuck off, Jasper.” She yanked my office door open, revealing another redhead, this one with straight
strawberry blonde hair and big meaty tits that made my mouth water for a quick fuck.
I flashed a smile at Mo, wondering if she was up for a quick orgasm. Or two.
Chapter Sixteen
Mo
It was ten past three in the morning, and my shift at Lucky Lopez was over. I knew what I had to do, pull up my big girl panties and tell Jasper the truth. I couldn’t do any more of these late-night shifts. He’d want to know why, then again, after seeing Agent Beck flee his office looking flushed and satisfied, maybe he wouldn’t give a shit.
Don’t kid yourself.
I nibbled my lip and shook my head, staring straight ahead but seeing no details. Jasper would want an answer, and I didn’t have one other than, I can’t keep working sixteen to eighteen hour days while pregnant. If I decided to stay pregnant.
Who the fuck am I kidding?
Okay, yeah, I was pretty sure that I was probably, almost certainly, keeping the baby. This was my chance to have a family of my own. Straighten up my life. And a precious child would do just that.
Especially Jasper’s child. This baby would want for nothing.
“Waiting for someone?” Jasper’s deep voice sounded in my ear, startling me out of my runaway thoughts. I blinked as I realized I was still standing in the middle of the employee room, staring into space.
“Well?”
“No. Hulu’s waiting for me outside. I’m just tired and ready to go home.” Which I would do right after we had a little chat. “Listen, Jasper, I can’t keep doing these double shifts. The late nights are kicking my ass, and I’m constantly tired.”
He stared at me for so long I was sure Jasper was going to walk away without addressing my concerns. His jaws clenched, and his nostrils flared, a sure sign an explosion was imminent.
“I need you, just for a little while longer, Mo.”
Words I’d heard before, though in a different context.
His voice dropped to its begging tone. “You know what you’re doing around here. and I can’t be sure the rest of the girls do.” But it only meant he was leveraging me.