Chapter 80
LEX
The Catacombs – About to murder Callum Whitmore… again.
The last beat of the Nickelback mashup slams into the floor like a meteor. The crowd’s still roaring when Knox steps up to the mic again.
“Trifecta, stay on the floor.”
The girls freeze and then all three of them start laughing as three burgundy and black high-top tables are wheeled onto the dance floor.
Cade leans in. “Are they gonna dance on the tables?”
“Holy hell, these girls… goddamn.”
Knox grins like a demon. “Ladies, you know what time it is.”
They each step behind one of the tables. The crowd roars louder as three of Wexley’s finest start strutting out—Callum, August, and the tight end, Jalen.
They each take a spot in front of a girl, and of fucking course, Callum goes to Bella’s table. Then three Legacy girls come out carrying trays stacked with neon-colored shot glasses, ten on each tray.
Cade stiffens beside me, eyes locked on Bella. “This is not going to end well. Last time she took shots with Cal, they ended up skinny-dipping in the Hamptons.”
“The fuck they did.”
“Relax, babe. It was years ago. And technically, I think it was her idea.”
Knox is grinning like a lunatic. “Wexley, it’s time to find out if our Trifecta can out drink some of our big, bad Wolves!”
“Big, bad fucking mistake,” I mutter.
“Shots” by Lil Jon hits like a brick wall. The lights flicker red. The first round goes down like liquid fire and the crowd screams: “ONE!”
The girls grind up against their football players like this is foreplay and the shots are the warm-up.
Bella’s got her back to Callum’s chest, dancing to the beat, her head tilted, laughing.
He leans down to say something in her ear, and I swear to God I see red.
Haley’s practically straddling Jalen now.
Ellie’s got August eating out of her hand, literally.
The second shot hits. “TWO!”
I’m gripping my cup so tight it might snap. Cade puts a hand on my shoulder.
“She’s just having fun,” he says gently, but his eyes are on Callum too.
By the third shot, Bella drops to her knees in front of him when the song talks about sucking cocks. The crowd goes nuclear as Callum pours a shot straight into her mouth and then throws his head back to down his own.
“THREE!”
“Three,” I mutter. “Fucking three.”
Cade barely glances at me, already reading the tension in my jaw.
“How many more until we hit Hamptons level?” I ask, voice low and sharp.
He lifts a brow. “Four, maybe five. Depends if that’s bourbon or tequila in those shot glasses.”
I glare across the room as Callum grabs another. “Cool,” I grit. “Guess I’ll start digging Cal’s grave now.”
Rez appears beside me. “Man, seems like everyone in this damn place wants a piece of Bella’s ass.”
“I’ll fucking kill them all,” I growl.
Rez laughs. “Relax. She’s yours. Look at her damn tits, Lex… She’s yours.”
“SHOTS,” cheers erupt from the crowd singing along to the song.
Shot four. The girls are grinding again, sweaty, wild, untouchable.
The floor pulses, “FOUR!”
Cade exhales hard. “Four.”
I nod once. “One more and we’re pulling her off the damn table.”
He smirks, but there’s zero humor in it. “You or me?”
I crack my neck. “We’ll flip a coin.”
Cade laughs and shakes his head. “Hope Cal’s wearing a cup.”
Bella’s legs are around Callum’s waist as he lifts her in the air, spinning her like a prize. Ellie’s laughing, her head thrown back in August’s arms. Haley’s got Jalen by the jaw and is whispering something I’m sure is insanely filthy.
“FIVE!”
Cade mutters, “We’ve officially entered Hamptons level.”
“If she takes that top off, I’m throwing hands. And then a table. And then Cal off the roof.”
I’m about to rip the floor up, but then Bella’s eyes flick to me just for a second and she smiles. And I swear, it’s like everything else disappears. All the noise, the bodies, the chaos. She sees me. Only me. The tension in my chest eases.
Yeah, this party’s out of control. Yeah, I want to body check Callum through the fucking wall. But our girl? She’s taking her life back. And fuck… she’s never looked hotter.
Buzz, Buzz
DAD: Your girl’s probably going to need to be carried out of here. But goddamn, you picked a good one.
I snort, biting back a grin. “Yeah. I know.”
He’s standing in the shadows by the bar, disguised in jeans and a fitted jacket like he’s just another partier. After the masquerade, there was no chance in hell I was letting her walk into this place without backup. So yeah, my dad’s here. Watching. Guarding.
Knox opens the dance floor back up. Rez sprints out first like the cocky bastard he is, grabbing Bella by the waist and spinning her around like he owns her. She laughs—head thrown back, eyes lit up—and for a split second, the rage is back.
“Fuck that shit,” I growl, already moving.
Cade’s hand clamps down on my arm.
“Lex. Give them a minute,” he says low in my ear. “He’s your family and they’re friends. You should’ve seen how much work they did together for your Donor Fight.”
I grit my teeth. I watch Rez plant himself behind her and start grinding. I can’t breathe. My hands ball into fists. My girl, my fucking girl, is letting him. She’s laughing, sweaty, glowing, letting the music take her like it’s nothing.
By the second chorus, I’m done. “Can I go now?”
“Go get our girl.”
I bolt. Cross the floor in four strides and grab her by the waist, yanking her out of Rez’s hands and spinning her around to face me. Her eyes go wide, then dark as her smile spreads.
“Yeah, malyshka. You know what time it is.” I pull her against me, grinding with her to the beat, hands gripping her hips like handles. Cade slides in behind her, all smooth and heat, hands already in her hair.
“Goddamn, you look so good,” I murmur, biting at her earlobe. “You know I almost decked him for that, right?”
She laughs, breath hot in my mouth. “I was just dancing.”
Cade pulls her hair aside and kisses her neck. She moans low and dirty right against my lips.
I groan. “Bourbon?”
She nods and jumps up, arms locking around my neck, legs cinching my waist. Her cowboy boots smack my thighs as she grinds against me—like she’s riding me in our bed, not in the middle of a dance floor with half of Wexley watching.
Cade’s watching her too, eating it up. His eyes are blazing and his dick is probably hard as concrete.
Yeah, my girl’s feelin’ it now. Tipsy, high off the night.
She’s back.
Rico, our resident rhinestone warlock and part-time hydration fairy, comes sprinting across the dance floor like a man on a mission.
He’s got a tray of water bottles in hand and muttering something about electrolytes and lawsuits.
He doesn’t stop moving, just tosses one bottle to each of the girls with damn near perfect precision.
“Hydrate or die, bitches!” he shouts.
Without missing a beat, all three of them raise their bottles and chorus back in unison, “Yes, Dad!”
They blow him kisses and start chugging like their lives depend on it. Bella leans back just enough to drink without spilling, still wrapped around me like a fucking vice. I don’t let her go. Not even a little. She finishes the water, wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.
She leans in close, lips brushing my ear as her arms tighten around my neck.
“I have a surprise for you,” she whispers, all soft and sweet, with something devilish hiding underneath it.
“What is it?”
Her smile curves against my jaw. “Shhh,” she teases, breath warm. “I’m not supposed to tell.”
Then she giggles—giggles—and that damn Southern accent starts slipping through like honey seeping into cracked wood.
“You’ll see soon enough, baby.”
God damn it, I love her. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch something moving. Josh, Drake, and Sam wheeling something big up the corridor of The Catacombs, trying to be sneaky but failing miserably.
Knox’s voice blares over the speakers, smug as hell. “We have a special king in the building tonight…” The lights shift, a spotlight sweeping over and stopping on me. “Mr. Lex Barinov, leader of our distinguished guests… the Hollow Kings.”
Cade claps a hand on my back, grinning. Bella’s trying to hold it together, biting her lip like she’s not the one who planned all this.
“And I think it’s time,” Knox adds, “that he gets himself a goddamn chair.”
“About fucking time,” I mutter, cracking my neck.
Bella snorts and covers her mouth, shaking her head. “You’re impossible.”
The Row boys start screaming, losing their minds as the three Trifecta stunt dudes wheel something out from the shadows.
“The rain stage?” I ask, eyes narrowing.
“Surprise,” she squeals.
The guys roll it into place, center of the floor, that slick, raised platform with mist sprayers lining the edges. A single chair gets set in the middle and Knox calls out again.
“Alright, King Barinov. Get your ass up on that throne.”
I move to go, but Bella grabs my hand and yells for the whole combs to hear, “What are the rules of my chairs, King Barinov?”
I grin. Slow. Dirty. Then reach down and strip my shirt off, dragging it over my head, baring every scar, every fight, every inch of Bratva ink under the spotlight.
The screams get louder. Bella catches my shirt one-handed and waves it like a victory flag. She tosses it to Cade, then saunters up behind me, her boots echoing off the platform.
I drop into the chair, legs wide, body humming. I lean back, spread my arms along the edge of the chair like I own the damn world.
Bella climbs the stage with that fucking look, the one that says you’re mine, and I know that I’m already fucked. Then she turns to the crowd, hands on her hips.
“I need a belt!”
“What did you just say, baby?”
The crowd screams. August’s already halfway up the platform, grinning like the devil child he is. He unbuckles his belt and hands it over with a bow.
“Anything for you, Queen Bella.”
“Thanks, Augie,” she purrs. Then hands it off to Ellie with a wink.
My heart’s pounding now. “Baby… what are you doing?”