Mutt shot past me in alarm, darting into my room with his tail between his legs and I slipped inside as I heard Fox shouting something from within his room. Just before I could close my door, he stepped out wearing nothing but a pair of boxers with a pistol in his hand and a snarl on his lips. He didn't even seem to notice me as he strode away, heading towards JJ and the sounds of destruction without so much as a flicker of fear or confusion, just a determination to deal with whatever was going on. And damn his ass looked good when he was striding away all purposeful like that.
I closed my door and twisted the lock for good measure. Not that I really thought it would keep any of them out if they wanted in, but I wanted them to know I had no desire to see any of them if they came to my door.
The sound of raised voices came from the kitchen a moment later then everything fell quiet.
A few minutes later, the glow of headlights shone in through my window, wheeling around before I heard the car pulling along the drive.
I retreated to my bed, tugging the sheets up around me as I waited for them to come back. But they never did.
F ox pulled his black pick-up around the front of the house while I hit call on Chase’s number for the fifth time. Answer, motherfucker.
“Yus?” he slurred at last. “That you again, Rosie? I’m up for that BJ now.”
“We’re going out, you coming?” I growled, my fist curled tightly on my lap. Fox’s jaw was pulsing hard and I didn’t think there would be much left of his teeth soon if Chase didn’t hurry his ass up. We’d grabbed some clothes out of the laundry, both of us in t-shirts and jeans.
“Fuck…my head,” Chase groaned down the line. “I’ll settle for your lips on my cock then JJ, anything to take the edge off of this oncoming hangover.”
“Chase,” I snapped. “Get out here or we’re leaving.”
Fox turned the truck down the drive, his patience obviously wearing thin.
“Hold your fucking horses, I’m coming,” Chase growled then started muttering, “Just not in the way I’d hoped after a three am wake up call…”
Fox let the engine idle and I lowered my window, leaning out of it and looking back at the house. Chase was climbing out of his window in a pair of boxers and an open blue shirt, a pair of jeans scrunched in his hand with some sneakers and what looked like a bottle of rum.
He used the drainpipe to shimmy down half way before dropping onto the gravel, stumbling a step before jogging toward us and I shoved the truck door open, sliding along the bench to let him in.
Chase leapt inside with his unruly dark hair in his eyes and a stupid smirk on his face.
“Where are we going brothers?” he hollered, slamming the door shut behind him and starting to tug on his jeans.
I swiped the rum from the footwell, taking a long drink as Fox took off down the road.
“You’re drunk,” Fox deadpanned.
“No, I’m soberly challenged,” Chase corrected, laughing and I punched him in the thigh as he buttoned up his jeans. “Shit, I need a top up or this hangover’s gonna be as much of a bitch as your momma, J.” He swiped the rum back from me, taking a drink before pulling out a box of cigarettes and pushing one into his mouth. He lit it up, leaving the window down so the smoke carried out of it on the cool night air. I let the comment about my momma slide because as much as I loved the woman, his assessment of her was kinda accurate.
“Did you lock your window?” Fox demanded.
“Yeah, I think so,” Chase said.
“Well did you, or didn’t you?” Fox growled, giving him a death glare, looking like he was about to go climbing up to Chase’s room to check.
“Yes,” Chase insisted.
The house was locked up tight, so even if Rogue decided to come back out of her room and take off, she was going to find her ass firmly caged.
“So what’s the occasion?” Chase asked.
“Rogue,” Fox growled, his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel.
He’d about lost his fucking shit when I’d told him Rogue’s secret and I was expecting Mount Harlequin to blow its top any second. I really should have been organising a town-wide evacuation. “And you need to sober the fuck up right now so you’re not deadweight for this conversation.”
“And how do you expect me to do that?” Chase drawled.
I turned to Chase and he frowned at my serious-as-shit expression. I only got like this when I was feeling murdery and even in his half-pissed state, he could recognise the change in me.
“The piece of fucking scum who’d touched Rogue was her ex-boyfriend. And he didn’t just beat her around – which trust me, would be more than enough for me to slit the motherfucker’s throat – but he also choked her out. He thought she was dead and buried her in a shallow grave on the edge of Sunset Cove.” Acid sizzled in my veins as I pictured it.
Chase’s face paled and the tipsy look in his eyes dissolved into a killing-spree rage. Yup, that sure sobered him up.
“You got a name this time?” he asked hungrily, but I shook my head.
“I need blood in payment for this,” Fox growled like fucking Batman and Chase and I nodded our agreement. “I’ve put a call out to every one of our people asking for information on this guy, but it didn’t jog anyone’s memories with the little we know. So far they’ve got fuck all leads.”
“She came from out of town,” I sighed. “This asshole could be anyone from anywhere.”
Chase cracked his knuckles one by one, taking a long drag on his cigarette. “Well if our guys haven’t heard anything about some deadbeat putting their girl in the ground, maybe we need to broaden our horizons.”
“Precisely my thinking,” Fox said dangerously and I glanced at him, adrenaline seeping into my veins as a dark smile curled up my lips.
“The Dollhouse?” I guessed and he nodded firmly, accelerating down the streets that led toward the cliffs.
Soon, we were winding along the ocean view road, the crescent moon hanging low over the water and casting it in silver.
Fox eventually turned up the private road that led to the Dollhouse. Or so everyone this side of Sunset Cove called it. It was a middle ground between the rich and the poor, a huge hotel at the highest point of the cliff that looked like a Malibu Barbie Dreamhouse. It was essentially a brothel on steroids run by Fox’s Aunt Jolene and her husband Chester. They weren’t part of the crew because women couldn’t be sworn in thanks to Luther’s rules, but he’d given his sister this land a long time ago, letting her do whatever she liked with it so long as she paid the crew a cut out of her takings.
Jolene didn’t meddle with anything on our side of the cliff. I guessed she liked running things her own way because she’d refused to let her husband join the Harlequins unless she was allowed to join too. In my opinion, keeping women out of the crew was bullshit, but Luther’s rules still applied here. Especially because the old boys, or the elders as we called them, still had a stick up their asses about women joining. Fox had to pander to them unfortunately, but I guessed they’d die off eventually then he could run Sunset Cove however he liked.
The Dollhouse might have been on our territory, but Jolene and her husband were fit to defend themselves without our help. Chester was ex-military and had their security detail trained up and armed to the teeth. Rumour had it they had this whole cliff ready to blow as and when the notion took them.
We wound up the road towards the property, the floor length windows on the bottom floor giving a view into the never-ending party that was always going on here. A huge pool ran the whole length of the house and was full of bikini-clad girls and Ken doll lookalikes. There were plenty of X-rated Barbies too who had their tits out and were laying on the many sun loungers under the pink glow of the outdoor lighting.
The balconies on the first and second floor were full of dancing, grinding bodies as they moved to an endless beat, high on drugs, sex, or just fucking life. I knew that feeling. Fuck it, I was that feeling half the time. But not tonight. T
onight, I was an animal with a thirst for blood. And not the sexy vampire kind. The kind who caused pain for the sake of pain. Because no one hurt Rogue Easton and got away with it. That had once been a cardinal fucking sin in Sunset Cove, and as far as I was concerned, it still was. It looked like my brothers agreed with that too. Even Chase - who had plenty to fucking say about her staying here - would clearly still draw blood for her. He couldn’t help it. We’d all loved that girl once, and the mark she’d left on us was everlasting. It was just a fact of life now. Even if she hated us and would gladly watch us burn for her, we’d drag her enemies into the flames as we went.
I opened the glove compartment and took out the three handguns stashed there, checking they were loaded before passing one each to Chase and Fox before tucking mine into the back of my jeans.
Plenty of people noticed when Fox pulled up beside the pool and got out, not just because he’d off-roaded his way onto their front lawn, but because everyone had just realised who had arrived.
We walked around the pool, heading toward a pink Cadillac which had been made into a hot tub. Girls and guys shouted propositions to us, while others cowered away, ducking their heads and having the good sense to drop their eyes. Tonight, was not a good night to fuck with us. In fact, no night was a good night to fuck with us. But especially not when we were out scenting blood like hungry dogs.
“JJ, baby, are you here for a good time?” Jessie called to me from the Cadillac. She worked for me in the club and it was good to see her enjoying herself as she hung one leg over the edge of the tub and some blonde dude went down on her.
“Not tonight, sweetheart,” I tossed her way and her eyes widened at my tone, seeming to get the hint.
I was in asshole mode. And when I was in asshole mode, people tended to end up bloody. When Chase was in asshole mode, they tended to end up dead. And when Fox was in asshole mode, they tended to end up obliterated. All in all, someone’s fate wasn’t looking pretty tonight.
Me and Chase flanked Fox as he headed inside through an open sliding door, the thump of the bass pounding in my ears as we did a sweep of the party-goers then strode up the bright pink staircase to the next floor. People parted for us like the red sea for Moses and a whole lot quicker too.
Upstairs the floor was sparkly and white and a huge bar stretched nearly the entire length of the house ahead of us. This place was a playboy’s wet dream; Chester and Jolene had built it after winning big in Vegas. They’d spent every penny they had to bring their vision to life, but I had a very well informed hunch that this place was sitting on a whole lot of debt and hiding one helluva bankruptcy in the pockets of its owners. The Granvilles weren’t business people. Their whores were cheap and underpaid, most of them hooked on crack meaning they were semi-functional and didn’t inspire repeat customers.
Beyond that, the Granvilles’ mantra of living in an endless party meant anyone was welcome here twenty four seven, so the clientele tended to be poor-ass alcoholic losers seventy five percent of the time. The booze was almost as cheap as the whores, and all in all, when you looked a little closer at this so-called dream house, you realised it was a shit heap with cracks in the walls.
I was half waiting for them to sell up so I could buy them out for a pittance and build something really worth having on this cliffside. If this place was run with even half the management of Afterlife, it coulda been something special. But as it was, it only held a decent vibe on Saturday nights and wasn’t worth shit any other day of the week. Had they taken my advice when I’d given it though? Hell no. You can’t teach business sense to a drunk horse, I guess.
Someone stumbled into Fox, spilling his drink all down his shirt and I swear someone else screamed as they witnessed it. The guy backed up, taking in what he’d done as Fox’s shoulders tensed.
“Ohhh shit, look what Barry’s done!” some helpful little tit shouted from behind the guy and I glared between Barry’s sniggering friends.
Fox punched Barry so hard in the face that he hit the ground before he even knew what had happened. It was a kindness really. He could’ve done a whole lot worse. Anyone who crossed us, accidentally or otherwise, had to be put in their place. But just as I thought this little issue was wrapped up with a tidy ass bow and some confetti, his stupid pack of dudebro friends dove forward to defend his honour.
Fox roared a challenge and started beating the hell out of them with vicious blows. I glanced back to look for Chase and cursed as I spotted him face fucking some girl on her knees in a pink bikini, his hand fisted in her hair as he casually smoked and gazed out the window, seeming oblivious to the fight that had broken out. Just your average goddamn weekday.
I leapt forward to help Fox, throwing heavy fists into the faces of the drunk assholes and they fell like sacks of shit at our feet, not getting a single punch in before their asses hit the floor. Pathetic.
“Hey! No fighting in my house!” a man boomed and I looked up to meet Chester Granville’s gaze, his eyes widening as one final fucker made a brave but pointless attempt to take us down and fell to the mercy of my fists.
Chester was a huge, middle aged guy, built like a fort with spiky blonde hair and his stupid large biceps strained against a too-tight shirt. He cut the music just in time to hear Chase groan loudly and spill his load to a whole fucking audience who broke out into cheers.
I snorted a laugh and Fox cut me a look that said he was not amused. I whistled at Chase, getting the hint to round him up and he jogged over to us, pulling his zipper up while the girl curtsied and ran out of the room giggling.
“Who turned the music off?” Chester’s wife Jolene strode into the room in high heeled boots and a skin-tight leopard print dress, her blonde hair falling in waves around her shoulders. All the money in the world couldn’t buy good taste unfortunately. Not that they had all the money in the world, but they definitely hadn’t spared even a penny on taste.
Jolene was beautiful and a couple of inches taller than her husband when she wasn’t in her heels, but in them, she dwarfed him like a tiger next to a kitty cat. A kitty cat with bulging muscles and a fluffy blonde moustache, but still.
She folded her arms as she spotted us, cocking her head to one side. “Are my nephew and his friends causing trouble in our home?” she asked with an edge to her tone.
I sure as shit hadn’t missed the armed security lurking in every corner of the room, or the ones that shadowed the lord and lady of the house themselves. I also hadn’t missed the fact that not a single one of them had stepped in to stop us putting a pile of drunk idiots on their asses. So long as we were allied to their little mistress and master, we could do whatever the fuck we wanted around here.
“I’m not sure, pookins,” Chester said, painting a stern look on his face.
I swooped down on the guy who’d spilled his drink on Fox, hauling him to his feet by the scruff of the neck as his friends groaned and crawled away from the scene of the massacre. The massacre of their dignity that is.
“Here’s your culprit.” I grabbed the guy’s hair in my fist angling his head towards Fox as he started trembling. “You owe my brother an apology.”
Fox sneered at the guy and he actually tried to press back into me to get away. I lowered my mouth to his ear, more than happy to let him know I was the least safe place in this room to be. “Do you think I’m going to protect you from him, little boy?”
Chase smirked as he moved to stand beside Fox, releasing a breath of smoke that was directed into the guy’s face.
“I-I’m sorry Mr Harlequin,” he stuttered at Fox and I shoved him to his knees.
“Now suck his dick,” I commanded and the guy actually reached for Fox’s belt, making Chase roar a laugh.
Fox smacked the guy’s hand away with a growl, stalking past him toward the reason we’d come here. “Evening, Aunt. A word?” he asked of Jolene, embracing her quickly and she pecked him on the cheek.
I grinned at Chase and Jolene nodded to us, turning to lead us from the room.
Her husband trotted at her side like a neutered puppy. After Rogue had left town, I’d vowed never to let a woman take my balls again. They would stay firmly between my thighs for the rest of my days to be sucked on and fondled by many a woman. And the odd guy when the occasion called for it. I wasn’t into men exactly, but a brother could always use a helping hand from time to time, a finger here, a tongue there. We were all just flesh and bone, and sometimes a hand was going spare that might as well be put to use.
Jolene led us into an office that looked like a Disney princess’s headquarters and I dropped into a fluffy pink office chair while Chase threw himself onto a puffy bean bag. Fox stood as rigid as a toothpick as he gazed coolly across the desk at Chester and Jolene.
“So I’m guessing by your expression, Fox, you’re not here to party?” Jolene asked.
Chester dropped into a seat and his wife placed her hand on his shoulder, the clear power in their little empire.
“I have an offer for you,” Fox said, cutting to the chase.
“What kind of offer?” Chester narrowed his eyes and if I wasn’t mistaken, Jolene’s long pink nails dug into his shoulder.
“We’re looking for information,” Fox explained. “If you’re able to get it for me, I’ll reward you for it.”
“How much?” Chester piped up again then winced as Jolene’s nails dug in tighter.
“What information?” Jolene demanded, placing a hand on her hip.
“We’re looking for someone whose girlfriend recently disappeared,” Fox said, choosing his words carefully.
“She would have gone totally off the radar,” I added.
“Like a ghost,” Chase growled, somehow looking intimidating as he rested his elbows on his knees and sat up on the beanbag.
“She was a brunette, five nine, tanned, twenty six years old with tattoos on her left arm, back and right thigh,” Fox said. “That ring any bells?”
Chester glanced up at his wife who was either giving us a seriously good poker face or she genuinely didn’t know shit. I could read people like books normally, but Jolene was a master at hiding her real emotions. Just like her brother and his son.
Sinners' Playground Page 10