by J. M. Dabney
“I do it a lot.”
Elijah sounded disgusted by the idea of wearing a tie. It was at odds with Elijah who rarely knew what casual was and Scary didn’t think he’d seen the man in anything other than a suit in the whole time he’d known him.
Tank made a noise and he looked towards his friend. The man had a silent question in his eyes. Tank was asking was Elijah Scary’s boy. He wanted to shake his head, but he couldn’t. Wanting Elijah wasn’t new, but he sure as fuck never gave into his needs. Which for him was pretty much out of character. When he wanted something he went for it with no regrets afterward.
“You should wear a tie more often, maybe not one like this.”
“Ain’t exactly my style.”
“No I don’t expect it is. Come on, I’m buying.”
“I don’t think they’ll let us through the fucking door.”
“We’ll see.” Elijah whispered cryptically and stepped away.
“Showtime, boys. Elijah’s in the lead, we’ll be on his six. Anything goes down and the cops show whoever is closest gets Princess and Elijah out.”
A round of affirmations to the plan sounded before they were quickly on their way up the long drive to the country club’s main building. They parked in the lot since no one would let some valet touch their wheels. When they dismounted to join Elijah he was kneeling in front of Princess straightening her tutu and uneven pigtails, even retied her boots. It all seemed second nature, like he did it every day.
“Do you know I used to help your Daddy tie his shoes when I dropped him off at school?”
“You raised Daddy, he said you were the best Dad ever.”
“I don’t know about that, Mina. Like all parents I made a lot of mistakes.”
“Nope,” She popped her lips on the p and made Elijah give a real laugh. “Daddy said you were perfect.”
“The only one perfect around here is you and beautiful to top it off.”
Scary watched Elijah hold Princess’s cheeks and lean in to press a soft kiss on her forehead. He hadn’t known Elijah raised Brody. He was aware their parents died when Brody was a kid, but he’d assumed a family member took Brody in. What else didn’t he fucking know about the secretive man?
“Come on, take my hand. You okay?”
“Yea, I got my crew,” Princess stated with all seriousness.
Every one of them whooped behind her and ran up to kiss the top of her head, Princess squealed and hugged each one. They all took family and crew seriously. They’d lay their life down for anyone of them, especially partners and kids. Princess had instantly earned the rank of family, even before Brody.
They walked towards the building, all eyes were on them. Some were disgusted and others held a hint of fear. It was the fear which caused Scary to stand taller taking full advantage of his height and massive frame.
“Mr. Mayor, what are—I’m sorry but we can’t—”
“Yes you can, I made reservations and you will honor them. As a member I’m allowed guests and since these are my niece’s uncles it makes them family. Show us to a table.”
“I’m going to need to talk to the man—”
“No you don’t.” Elijah enunciated and squared his shoulders.
Without thought he and Tank stepped up to flank Elijah and Princess. The host or whatever he was took a step backward. He sneered at the slim man. The snobby man turned and led them towards a long table in the middle of the room.
“No, this won’t do, I need a table where my back is to the wall.”
Scary knew the rest of the crew all stared at Elijah. How the fuck did he know some of them couldn’t have their back to the room.? There was a loud huff and they approached another table, this one at the back of the large dining room. All exits were in line of sight.
Once again he and Tank took position on either side of Elijah, Elijah and Princess protected from both sides by them. It felt natural for them to take protective positions and it shouldn’t—there was nothing natural about this new development.
“Good evening, Mayor, I’m Gloria, I’ll be your server tonight, can I start you off with drinks, maybe an appetizer?”
The woman seemed friendly enough and her smile was genuine, he could tell by the tiny crinkling at the corners of her eyes.
“Hi, Gloria, I’ll have coffee and the young lady will have a Shirley Temple in a rocks glass with lots of cherries, go light on the grenadine, I’m babysitting until tomorrow.”
“Got it, ease off the sugar.”
“Thank you,”
“And you, sir?” Gloria looked at Tank, but seemed to avoid looking at his face.
Tank signed and before anyone else could answer, Elijah spoke up. “He wants a stout.”
The man seemed to instantly find the table setting interesting and started adjusting the placement of the items.
Tank once again seemed transfixed on the shy man. Scary looked away, ordered the same and the rest of the guys ordered.
Their food quickly arrived and they all settled into eat. Tank was cutting up the Filet Princess ordered. Scary looked around the room. It was eerily quiet and they were the center of attention. People had their heads together, whispered and pointed, but one thing was clear they hated the supposed unwashed masses in their pristine kingdom.
A slim shoulder leaned into him and whispered, “Please eat.”
“Yea,” He dug into the huge steak and ate even though he still studied the room.
Decades of being on alert didn’t end because he’d finally found a place he liked, a business and job he loved.
“Thank you.”
“Uncle Elijah, can Tank and Scary spend the night at your house?”
“Wha—What,” Elijah stuttered.
“You let my friends spend the night before.”
“Honey, I’m sure they have to go back to work after we leave here.”
“But—”
Tank grunted and cut her off, his huge, scarred hands surprising graceful as they moved, expressive. He let her know they needed to work, but she could spend the night out at the crew’s house soon.
“You promise?”
Tank’s only answer was resting his hand over his heart. Scary watched Elijah’s expression. It was affectionate as he watched Tank and Princess. The man’s behavior was confusing the fuck out of him tonight. Scary didn’t like when shit didn’t add up. Surprises more than likely got someone killed.
“Mina, let Tank eat his dinner.”
“Mr. Vaughn, can we speak with you for a moment?”
A man with a pinched expression and a four-figure suit approached the table, two other men behind him. The hate-filled gazes traveled around the table.
“No, as you can see we’re enjoying a dinner with our niece.”
“We’re going to have to ask—”
“Did you and your fucked up—” Scary almost laughed as Elijah and Tank reached to cover Princess’s ears at the same time. “Little cult here enjoy making a five-year-old girl cry? Especially for something as insignificant as some marker on her fucking arms or an innocent outfit.”
“We have a particular image and our members are selective.”
“You mean you’re bigoted fucks who need a good rub-off to remove the sticks from your tight asses. Normally I like tight asses, but not when they're attached to fuckers who think they’re better than Princess. No one fucks with my niece.”
“If you and your party don’t leave immediately we’ll be forced to call the authorities.”
“Go for it, won’t be the first time I’ve spent some time in cuffs, normally I like my man to wear them, but whatever.”
Snorts echoed around the table.
“Mayor, do you believe this is the image you want to portray, associating with criminals?”
“I was elected and served this town well for the past two years, my reputation is above reproach, and my friends aren’t criminals. If you feel the need to notify the authorities over a peaceful group having dinner feel free to do s
o, but I assure you, you won’t like the consequences. My niece needs to have dinner before we go home so I can put her to bed. Now if you’ll excuse us,” Elijah’s voice was cold.
Scary glanced at Elijah.
There was anger burning in the man’s gaze. He felt proud of Elijah and sort of weirded out by the man’s defense of him and his crew. It wasn’t like he’d ever been kind to the Elijah. Tank still had his hands over Princess’s ears as she ate dinner. Tonight wasn’t the first time they’d been forced to block her from adult conversations.
“We’ll be reconsidering your membership at the next meeting.”
“Do what you feel is best, but after tonight I’m sure I can find better establishments to frequent and spend my money. Now, if that is all,” Elijah effectively dismissed the not so welcoming committee.
“Very nice, pretty man.”
He shot a glare at Crave. The man would fuck anything that walked and he wasn’t letting the fucker get any ideas. A dark blond brow rose and a wide grin pulled at the corners of Crave’s mouth. Shit, he was going to end up killing one of his best employees.
“Thank you, sorry your dinner was interrupted, please finish.”
The rest of the meal went smoothly even though everyone seemed to find them as fascinating as a freak in a show. But they’d finished their meal, protested Elijah paying for them, although the man won with just a steely look. They filed out of the club, everyone else pulled away leaving him, Tank who cradled a sleepy Princess to his chest and Elijah behind.
“I want to thank you for what you did for Mina. It was very nice of you, Scary.”
“No one fucks with Princess.”
“Bad word, Uncle Scary.”
“Sorry, Princess.”
Elijah chuckled and drew his attention, “She has you wrapped around her tiny finger.”
“I won’t deny it.”
“I better get her home. It’s way past her bedtime.”
“Yea, we need to get to Brawlers. No one else works the front door like Tank.”
Elijah turned away from him and toward Tank. Elijah approached the other man and reached out to take Princess. “Thank you, Tank, it’s was nice to meet you.”
His friend nodded in answer as he relinquished Princess to Elijah.
“Say bye to Uncle Scary and Uncle Tank.”
“Night, love you.”
“Good night you two, be safe at work tonight.”
Scary observed Elijah securing Princess in her booster seat, the loose slacks pulled tight across the sexiest rounded ass he’d seen in a long time. He started to move forward until Tank’s large hand spread across his chest stopping him. Scary glanced over at Tank he noticed the cold bastard was back. He knew the dead look in his friend’s eyes hid what he felt. One thing he knew it was almost fucking impossible to read the man unless he wanted to let it slip. The beep of Elijah’s horn pulled his attention away, he watched the taillights disappear out of the lot and down the drive.
“This is fucked up.”
Tank grunted and they moved towards their bikes to make their way to Brawlers. Not only did he need to keep himself away from Elijah now he’s going to having to keep Tank fucking away as well. This so wasn’t going to end well and that was an understatement of the fucking century.
4 TALL, SCARRED AND SILENT
Brawlers was already at capacity and it was barely eight. Tank checked the line and glared at the rowdy fuckers. He was in the mood for a fight or a fuck, mostly he wanted the second, but that wasn’t going to happen.
“Tank.”
Someone yelled his name and he noticed the group making their way towards him. Brody and the rest of the Twirled crew closed the distance.
“This is a terrible idea, I want to go home.”
He perked up at the familiar voice—Elijah. He searched through the group until he spotted a surprising mass of black curls. The last time he’d seen Elijah his hair had been neatly combed and conservative. How the fuck did the man hide those curls? He instantly pictured them wrapped around his thick fingers as he fucked that slim body into his mattress.
“Shut up, you’re coming out with us. We’re already here, get over it,” Brody smacked the back of Elijah’s head.
Tank growled and reached between the bodies until he wrapped his hand around Elijah’s bicep to pull him from the circle. He sent Brody a look and watched the man back up hiding behind Trouble.
“Hi, Tank,” Elijah smiled shyly up at him.
He tightened his arm around Elijah’s waist and then moved him slightly behind him. He signed quickly—Touch him again and I will end you. A slender hand patted his chest and he rumbled.
“Ease up, Tank. They’re brothers it’s what they do,” Trouble defended his man.
Tank just shook his head because he didn’t give a shit about the excuse. No one was putting a hand on Elijah. He didn’t understand this instinct. They’d only spent a few hours in each other’s company but he’d thought about the man all week. Scary warned him away, telling him Elijah wasn’t for either of them. Tank didn’t agree and the fight that followed ended in a few new scars.
He communicated to Crave with a few quick hand signals. Crave smirked and winked at him shooing him away. He led Elijah inside without giving the Twirled crew any more attention.
He sensed them right on his heels as he parted the crowd with his mass as they headed towards a private booth for the Brawler employees. He gently pushed Elijah into the horseshoe-shaped seat until the man was safely in the center with a full view of the room, a table bolted to the floor and an exit immediately to his left.
Elijah grinned and Tank realized the man knew what he’d done. So what if he wanted the man safe he didn’t need to be made fun of for it. He frowned as soft fingertips stroked the scars and tattoos on the backs of his hand. At the odd sensation of someone treating him gently he almost jerked back, yet suspected it would hurt Elijah’s feelings. He shouldn’t give a fuck about the man’s feelings—dammit, he was just a man, a sexy piece of ass. The thought brought on a foreign feeling of guilt.
Elijah put his fingers to his mouth and moved it away in the sign for thank you. Tank could only nod and resist the urge to rub his chest to rid it of a weird, uncomfortable tightness.
“Nice move, leaving us behind with your own personal Brawler Security.”
Tank observed the confused look Brody sent Elijah.
“Hey, man, how you doing,” Zerk shoved his partner, Landon into the booth and earned a backhand to the stomach.
“If I ask you nicely could you knock him out?” Landon asked.
Tank grunted a laugh at Zerk’s wounded yet obviously fake expression.
“After two years of complete devotion you’re finally showing your true colors.”
“Hush it, go get us drinks.”
“Get Elijah the biggest drink they offer. He needs to loosen up.” Lucky crowded into the booth pushing Priest in first.
Priest was looking a little sick and panicked. Tank touched his shoulder and Priest looked up at him. He signed—you’ll be okay.
“Wha—what did he say?”
“He says you’ll be fine,” Elijah answered automatically. He was sitting with his elbows on the table with his chin resting in the cup of his palms. “I want coffee.”
“No, you’re drinking, you’re going to regret tomorrow like you should have when you were too busy raising me.”
Elijah didn’t look like he’d hit thirty yet, so the fact he’d raised his brother confused him. He had a lot of questions and none of them he could ask. Scary was painfully clear that Tank couldn’t have the man. Didn’t mean he couldn’t protect him while Elijah was on his turf. Pretty and innocent men didn’t come to Brawlers. Cultured men like Elijah walking through the door was unheard of in the time he’d owned the place.
“But, Brody, I want coffee.”
“Who goes to a bar for—”
Tank slammed his palm down on the table and shut Brody up. He knew siblings cou
ld be annoying, well, he assumed they could be, he was an only child. He turned and grabbed Zerk’s beefy bicep.
“I’ll get him coffee.”
Tank raised his brow.
“All night, the only thing to pass his lips will be coffee.”
Tank nodded and turned back to the table to find Elijah smiling sweetly at him. “Thank you, Tank.”
He nodded and then tensed as he sensed Scary behind him.
“What the fuck is he doing here? Are y’all fucking insane?”
“He’ll be fine. He already has his personal bodyguard,” Landon answered with a wicked tilt to his lips as he looked at Elijah and him.
“Tank, I need to see you for a minute.” Scary wasn’t asking and Tank growled as he followed his friend to the hallway leading to the bathrooms and office. “What the fuck are you doing, man?”
I want him—his movements were quick and angry.
“Well you can’t have him, neither of us can. I doubt that boy has had anything up his ass but toys and fingers.”
I do not need your permission—He clenched his fists and resisted the urge to slam one of them into the wall over Scary’s shoulder.
“We’re not having this conversation. It’s done. Decision made.” Scary spun away to leave and Tank grabbed his arm to jerk him around. “We can’t do this. Look at him and look at us, he’s the fucking mayor. What the fuck would he want with either of us?”
We want him—he signed and his shoulders dropped.
“Yea, but would a man like Elijah even fucking think about being sandwiched by two beasts like us. We’ve never crossed this line.”
But we could do it—Tank wasn’t ready to give in—just think about it, okay?
“I’ll think about it, but don’t get your hopes up, man. What if I say no?”
Tank glanced towards the direction they’d left Elijah with his friends. What would he do if Scary told him it wasn’t possible?
Live with it I guess. Not much I can do. You are my brother, right? Cannot let a man come between that—the words killed him.