by Emma Slate
Barrett shook her head. “Nope.”
The server returned with our drinks. I lifted my rocks glass and sniffed cautiously. “Bourbon?”
Barrett turned up her nose at me. “Single malt scotch. Balvenie DoubleWood 17 year.”
I snorted. “Snob.”
“Excuse me?” she asked, huge grin on her face. “You are one ballsy lady.”
I held up my glass. “To ballsy ladies.”
“Hell yes,” she said. We clinked glasses and then she took a drink. “So. Joni, have you finally managed to seduce Zip?”
At ten o’clock the performances began. Burlesque dancers took the stage, singing and teasing their clothes off much to the enjoyment of the audience.
I was on my third drink—trying to keep up with Barrett and failing. Joni was still upright, yet her eyes were glassy.
“That looks like fun,” Joni said, wistfully glancing at the stage.
“It’s very fun,” Barrett said. “I used to perform, back in the day.”
“Did you?” I grinned.
Barrett winked. “Nothing gets a man to admit he wants you faster than when you entice other males to stare at you.”
Joni and I exchanged a look.
“We were planning on doing karaoke,” Joni said.
“Yes, we were. I forgot to ask if you were any good?”
She smiled. “I’m decent. I can belt ‘Proud Mary’ with the best of them.”
Barrett shook her head. “You need something else, something that goes with the theme of the club.”
“I know ‘La Vie En Rose’,” Joni said after a moment. “And I think I’ve had just enough vodka not to be embarrassed if I screw it up.”
“Perfect,” Barrett said, shooing Joni out of the booth. “Come on, let’s get you a costume and tell the Emcee you’re going to perform.”
“How are we getting the boys to come down here since they’re dealing with business?” I asked.
Barrett grinned. “Easy. I text Flynn and tell him I’m thinking about performing. He’ll rush down here to try and stop me.”
“Stop you?” I laughed. “Why?”
“Because I promised him I wouldn’t perform anymore.”
An hour later, Joni was outfitted in a gorgeous gold sequined costume with fringe and a feather headband that wrapped across her forehead, her face was done up in the true flapper style, and her hair was wavy and pinned back. She waited back stage, not at all showing any signs of nerves.
“Show time,” Barrett said as we retook our booth, which had remained empty the entire time we’d been getting Joni in costume.
Barrett took out her phone and shot off a quick text to Flynn. Not ten minutes later, Flynn Campbell entered the club, followed by the entirety of the Blue Angels.
Colt’s eyes met mine and he immediately came to me while his brothers took seats at empty tables and swarmed the bar. Patrons glanced curiously at the intrusion, but quickly turned their attention back to the stage and pretended they didn’t see the leather-wearing bikers in the upscale lounge.
“Hen,” Flynn growled as he stood at our table, peering down at his wife. “You promised.”
She lifted her glass of scotch to her lips and smiled. “Do I look like I’m performing tonight?”
His eyes raked over her. “You lied.”
“Had to get you and the boys down here.”
“Why?” Flynn demanded.
With a chin nod at the stage, both Colt and Flynn turned their attention. The tuxedo wearing Emcee announced Joni and a moment later she took the stage, her hand going for the microphone.
“How much has my sister had to drink?” Colt demanded. “And she better not be performing burlesque.”
“Relax,” I said. “She’s just singing.”
Colt growled and slid into the booth next to me, crowding my space. Flynn sat down close to Barrett and I saw his hand glide under the table to rest on her thigh, but his curiosity won out and he turned his attention to the stage.
I nestled into the crook of Colt’s body, having missed his solid presence and warmth for the past few hours. Though it had been nice to be out of the house, out of Waco, I’d missed him.
As Joni began to croon into the microphone, my gaze wandered around the room. I looked at Zip who was sitting with Bishop and Knight, but his eyes were riveted on Joni’s body.
I couldn’t help the smile that curved my lips.
Knight’s gaze caught mine. He looked at me like he was trying to figure something out, shrewd, calculating.
I didn’t like it.
Turning my head so I wouldn’t have to see Knight, I grazed my lips along Colt’s jaw. “Want to get out of here?”
He looked down at me, smile lines crinkling at the corners of his eyes. “Fuck yeah.”
Colt got out of the booth first and then helped me up. Flynn stood and shook Colt’s hand.
“Thanks, brother,” Colt said. I could barely hear him over the sound of Joni’s singing, but I was still privy to their conversation.
“Sanchez will be in touch.” Flynn then looked to me. “It was good to meet you, Mia.”
“Same.”
Barrett, a lot less formal than her husband, climbed out of the booth and embraced me. “One day, you’ll come to Scotland and I’ll tell you the story of how Flynn and I met.”
“I can’t wait.”
She squeezed my fingers affectionately.
Colt all but dragged me from the club, but I forced him to stop so I could watch Joni as she finished her performance.
The applause and whistles were deafening and the audience was begging for an encore. Colt was finally able to get me out of the club, but not before I caught Knight’s eyes on me again.
A shiver of foreboding slithered down my spine.
There was something about him, something I didn’t trust.
I bit my lip in thought as Colt led me across the marble floor lobby to the elevators. A carriage came almost immediately. “Did you have a good night?” he asked me once we were in the privacy of the elevator.
“I did. I missed you though.”
His grin was arrogant. “Did you now?”
I rolled my eyes. “Did you get to discuss everything you needed to discuss?”
He paused for a moment and then nodded. “We won’t decide on anything until I talk to Sanchez. Won’t touch the product, won’t move the product. Everything stays where it is until I know what Sanchez wants.”
“Barrett says he’s the most powerful man in Argentina. Does that mean he’s—is he head of another cartel?”
Colt sighed. “Yeah, babe, he is. I don’t like the idea of getting another cartel involved to get rid of the one in our backyard, but what choice do I have?”
“What about the Coeur d’Alene Blue Angels?” I fished. “What about Knight?”
“What about him?”
“You trust him, don’t you?”
He frowned at me. The elevator doors opened and then he was dragging me down the hallway to our room. He pulled out a key from his back pocket and then he was ushering me through the open door.
I didn’t have a moment to look around at the gorgeous decadence because Colt was marching me toward a wall, not stopping until my back hit it.
He caged me in. “What aren’t you saying to me, Mia?”
“I’m not saying anything—”
“Bullshit. You don’t think I know how to read you?” He got closer to my face, his brown eyes peering into my soul and knowing things without me having to say anything.
“I don’t like how he looks at me,” I admitted quietly.
“How did he look at you?” His voice was a dangerous purr.
“He was staring at me like he couldn’t figure me out. Not sexual,” I hastened to explain. “Just—I don’t know. There was something in his eyes, Colt. Something I couldn’t decipher.”
Chapter 23
I woke up early the next morning. My mouth tasted like peat and I briefly thought about Bar
rett’s choice of drink. It lingered on the tongue. I was giving my teeth a vigorous brushing when Colt pushed open the bathroom door. He came in to stand behind me, dropping a morning kiss on my bare shoulder.
We didn’t say anything as we brushed our teeth in companionable silence. Colt was just rinsing his mouth when his cell phone rang. He grabbed a hand towel and wiped his face as he strode from the bathroom.
I heard him answer the call and speak to someone on the other end. When he hung up, he came back, leaned against the bathroom doorjamb, and watched me.
“Yes?” I taunted. “Like something you see?”
“Whole lotta something,” he admitted with a sensual grin.
I was wearing a white lace camisole and a pair of clean underwear Colt had thoughtfully packed in a small bag, as if he’d known all along we’d be staying overnight. It was odd to be with a man who planned, had it all figured out, even a spare change of clothes.
I’d gone to bed with last night’s makeup on my face and I tended to the destruction now. I threw my hair into a messy bun and turned on the faucet.
“Who was on the phone?”
“Boxer. Everyone is already at the clubhouse for the lockdown.”
“Good. I guess.”
Colt raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Freedom restricted, everyone on top of one another, barely any privacy. It will get old fast. Joni and I were already going nuts, staying at the clubhouse.” I sighed and reached for a bottle of high-end facial cleanser. “I miss our home.”
“Our home, huh?”
“Our home,” I repeated.
“I need you to be patient, just a bit longer, okay?”
“I know,” I muttered. I splashed warm water onto my face and then grabbed a clean hand towel and patted my skin dry. “It’s just—well, I feel like I’m just along for the ride, you know? I don’t do anything. I just sit and wait and let you protect me. I need to do something, Colt.”
He ran his hands through his disheveled hair, making the muscles of his chest dance. The ink of my name across his pectoral rippled and my heart felt heavy with emotion.
“I’m talking to Sanchez today. That will dictate everything that happens from here on out.”
“Sanchez might not come through, you know.”
He smiled. “He will.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“You’ve met Barrett.”
“Uh, yeah.”
“If Sanchez isn’t convinced, I’ll get Barrett to intervene. She’ll step up to bat for us.”
“Why would she?” I asked. “I mean, I know you and Flynn are friends, of a sort. But why would they help us unless they will benefit directly?”
“That’s just it,” he said with a dry smile. “They would benefit.”
“I don’t get it. Maybe it’s the scotch I had last night, but I don’t understand.”
He rubbed a thumb across his jaw, the noise of stubble against skin sounding like sandpaper against wood. “Barrett talked about her business partnership with Sanchez, yeah?”
I nodded.
“Flynn and Barrett own a scotch distillery in Dornoch, where they live. They make bottles of scotch, pack Sanchez’s product in the boxes, and have them distributed.”
I blinked. “They’re drug mules?”
Colt shrugged. “Among other things.”
“But, why?”
Colt mulled his words over for a moment before saying, “They have certain political affiliations they’d prefer to keep close to the vest. But let’s just say they belong to the Scottish version of the IRA.”
I inhaled a shaky breath. “Okay, I wasn’t expecting that. Damn, now I really want to know how Barrett and Flynn met.”
“It’s a damn good story,” Colt admitted. He finally pushed away from the doorjamb. “You ready to get out of here? Head back to Waco? I’ve got more shit to handle than just Sanchez.”
I nodded, swallowing. “Are you—what are you going to do about Knight?”
Colt cracked his knuckles. “Have a talk with him. Man to man.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. On top of Sanchez, the Iron Horsemen, and a hell of a lot of cocaine, Colt was going to have to go face-to-face with another Blue Angel president, a man we needed to show our strength in Waco. A man whose club we needed for back up.
I prayed like hell it didn’t turn into a blood bath of Blue Angel against Blue Angel. Colt couldn’t afford this to get personal, but Knight was hiding something.
Colt pulled on a pair of jeans and reached for his cell, reading the screen. “Zip just texted. He’s gonna get Joni moving. They’ll meet us back in Waco, along with everyone else. You almost ready to get out of here?”
“What about saying goodbye to Barrett and Flynn?”
He grinned. “Darlin’, they’re already on their private jet bound for Scotland.”
A few hours later, Colt and I walked into madness.
“Thank God you’re here!” Darcy said, throwing her arms around me.
I removed my leather jacket. “Let me change and then put me to work.”
Darcy nodded and let out a sigh. She looked at Colt and glared. “Next time, a little more warning would be nice. I’m trying to get the guest rooms cleaned and ready for all the new faces around here. Right now Knight and the boys are out back. I told them to get out of my hair and let me work.”
Colt grinned and kissed her cheek. “You’re the best.”
Someone barreled into my legs and wrapped small, thin arms around them. Lily looked up at me and grinned, showing the loss of one of her front teeth.
“Hi!” she exclaimed.
“You lost something,” I said, poking the hole with my pointer finger and making her giggle.
“Mama says the Tooth Fairy is gonna come visit me tonight,” Lily stated in excitement. “Do you think I’ll get to meet her?”
“Er,” I began, “I don’t think it works that way. The Tooth Fairy is all about mystery.”
Thank you, Darcy mouthed.
After I changed clothes, I went back to the kitchen to help Darcy. Rachel and Allison were already there.
“The kids keep interrupting,” Darcy said in a harassed voice. “Do you mind going to entertain them while we finish getting the meal together?”
“Sure thing.”
I waved to the men having beers and sitting at the picnic tables while the kids ran in circles around the yard. After spending a few minutes with them, I realized I was no match for their zeal and energy. How the hell did Darcy do it?
Knight sat on one of the picnic tabletops, drinking from his bottle of beer, watching me. I saw Colt out of the corner of my eye, his face darkening when he realized that Knight was studying me.
I swallowed, wondering when it would come to a head. Colt had enough on his plate. He didn’t need the Knight thing weighing on him, and in my state of inebriation the night before, I’d blurted out my thoughts to Colt. If I had it to do over, I would’ve waited.
Not that I would’ve handled Knight myself. I didn’t know him. I didn’t know his personality. I was comfortable with my Blue Angels, but that did not extend to other brothers outside the Waco chapter.
I frowned when I realized how I was thinking about my new family.
Chosen, not born.
Strong. Loyal. Fierce.
What would they do if Knight was a threat to me?
Darcy came out the back to announce that dinner was ready. We were eating relatively early, but there would be leftovers to munch on through the rest of the night. Everyone flocked to the food and formed a line leading into the house and kitchen—the kids went first.
Colt joined me at the back fence as I waited for the line to clear out. “You okay, babe?” he asked, sliding his arm around my waist. “Is it Knight? I promise I’ll talk to him.”
“It’s not Knight,” I lied. And then because I wanted to distract him, I blurted out, “Can we please not have kids for a while?”
I held up my finger and pointed it at him. “Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?” he asked with sham innocence.
“Don’t pretend to give in to what I’m asking and then make plans behind my back.”
He laughed. “I promise I won’t knock you up until you give me the green light. Happy?”
“Happy.”
“But I gotta tell ya.” His mouth drew closer. “It’s all I can think about.”
“You’re insane.” I teasingly pushed against his chest. I looked around the backyard and frowned. “Where’s Joni?” I hadn’t seen her since we’d gotten back from Dallas.
“Probably in her room sleeping off her hangover,” Colt said dryly.
“I’ll tell her dinner’s ready and ask if she wants me to bring her a plate.” I kissed him quickly and then eased away from him.
I wormed my way around the bodies waiting in line for food so I could take the backstairs up to the third floor. As I turned the corner, I saw Zip had Joni pressed against the closed door of her bedroom. There was no space between their bodies and his fingers were in her hair, his lips on hers. Her hands gripped his leather cut like she was afraid if she didn’t hold onto him, she’d fall down.
I cleared my throat.
Zip tore his mouth from Joni’s and whipped his head toward me. His pupils were dilated with lust and his face morphed into a mask of shock at being caught.
“Dinner’s ready,” I said lamely.
Zip pushed away from the wall and sauntered toward me. “Don’t say anything to Colt.”
“Zip.” Joni’s tone was a warning but it sounded tired.
“I won’t say anything,” I said. It was Joni who I addressed yet I didn’t take my eyes off Zip. His gaze searched my face and finally he whispered, “Thank you.”
Zip didn’t look at Joni as he headed down the stairs.
When I was sure he was gone, I said to Joni, “You’re certainly playing a dangerous game. Out in the open like that.”
“Do you want to come in?” she asked, turning the knob on her door.