Chapter 10 Chaos
Chaos
“Who’s the new girl?” Soul drops onto the barstool beside me, eyeing the stage.
Glancing over my shoulder, my eyes land on platinum blonde hair. “Tiffany.”
She’s dressed like a fallen angel tonight. A topless fallen angel at the moment as she spins in circles around the pole.
“She’s popular.”
I eye the circle of men crowding the stage around her. “You should see what she pulls in for a lap dance.”
“Oh yeah?” Soul grins at me. “How good is she at riding your lap, Chaos?”
“Fuck off.” I turn my back on the stage, hitting send on an email and then tucking my phone into my pocket. “You know I don’t fuck the strippers anymore.”
“Yes, so very noble of you.” He chuckles, waving down Brandy from across the bar.
She smiles big, adding a little extra sway of her hips as she walks over to him. Brandy has always had a bit of a crush on Soul. Most girls do. He’s charming and fun. Plus, he’s better at hiding his asshole tendencies than I am. Even if he’s no more committed to the women he fucks.
Brandy stops in front of us, leaning over the bar to show off her impressive tits.
“Looking hot tonight, Brandy.” Soul winks.
“You’re not so bad looking yourself.” She works her lower lip between her teeth, drawing attention to her mouth. “I’m off work in about an hour if you’re planning to hang around.”
“Fuck, you know how to tempt a man.” Soul smiles, but I know him well enough to see how fake it is. “But I’ve got shit to get done tonight. Club business.”
She forces a frown. “Let me know if that changes.”
“You know I will.” He winks again, and she pours him a shot of the same whiskey I’m drinking before walking away.
Soul flirts and fucks his way through this city, but lately, I haven’t seen him take a single girl up on her offer.
“What’s your deal, man?” I lift my glass, and he clinks his against it, downing his shot.
“Nothing.”
“Really? Because you haven’t dropped your pants for a single girl since…” My eyebrows scrunch as I try to remember the last time I know Soul hooked up with anyone.
It’s not like he’s discreet about it. Most of the time, he doesn’t bother finding somewhere private before bending a girl over. He’s an exhibitionist and proud of it. But it’s been months since he’s even touched a girl.
“New Year’s,” I say finally, downing my shot. “You haven’t fucked anyone since that hot-ass brunette we met at the casino.”
“Don’t remember.” The fact that he avoids so much as looking at me tells me he’s lying.
“Really? You don’t remember?” I hitch an eyebrow. “Pretty blue eyes. Tiny pink dress. Nice fucking tit—”
“I said I don’t fucking remember.” He cuts me off, and I grin.
He sure as fuck remembers, but clearly, he doesn’t want to. “Damn, that girl got your panties in a twist. What the fuck happened? She that good at giving head?”
Soul takes a swing, and I duck just before he pummels me in the side of the face. He tries again, but Kansas catches his arm this time.
“You guys good?” he asks, letting Soul go. “Maybe take this shit outside before you ruin everyone’s night at the club.”
“We’re good.” I grin, not taking my eyes off Soul.
I’ve never seen my brother this riled up over a girl. And never protective over one. That’s a whole other level of giving a shit. Soul makes a point of not caring about anything outside of the club.
“We’re good,” Soul agrees, dropping back down onto the stool and taking the shot Brandy slides each of us.
This time, we don’t cheers.
“Have you seen her since New Year’s?” I ask, draining the shot.
He shakes his head, shoving aside his empty glass. “Nope.”
So he hasn’t seen her, and he’s still hung up on her? Interesting. If he was sneaking off to fuck her, I’d understand. But he’s chasing a ghost.
“Well, if you want me to have Tiffany cheer you up, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind,” I offer, knowing she had her eyes on him when he walked in tonight.
Soul laughs. “I’m good. Besides, I think she’s more interested in cheering you up.”
I glance over at the stage and see she’s wearing nothing more than a thong now. When she catches me watching, she winks. I’ve already heard whispers from the other girls; Tiffany plans on breaking my resolve on my hands-off policy. Except it’s not going to work.
Tiffany is hot, but that’s the extent of my interest. And even her pretty face and naked body aren’t enough to get my dick interested these days.
Not with Willa sleeping in my bed. Stupid pillow wall between us or not, she’s all I can think about.
Tiffany could walk over here right now and drop to her knees, and my cock wouldn’t so much as twitch.
Not because of my weird line I draw with the girls at the club, but because the idea of touching anyone who isn’t Willa makes me want to peel off my skin.
That girl has a way of getting under it and staying there. I shouldn’t want her, but I do.
She chose my brother for fuck’s sake. So why the hell has she still always felt like mine?
Soul chuckles, and I shake off thoughts of Willa. He’s my best friend, so I know he sees straight through me, but I’m not talking about it.
Turning to face the room, I stretch an arm across the bar behind me and watch the scene tonight. Since shutting down the Iron Sinners strip club, business has doubled. Between weekend deals, new promo tactics, and our prime location on the Strip, we never have a slow night.
We’re near max capacity tonight. Every seat is full, and there’s a line out the door. Our best talent is on every stage, draining the pockets of everyone in here. I’m not good at much, but running this club is what I do best.
Unfortunately, pissing off Zane means he’s made it his mission to fuck with our club. They didn’t find anything during the raid, but he has eyes in here. Some I can pick out and some I can’t. Unless we’re on the compound, I have to assume someone is always watching.
A guy near the center stage starts to get a little too rowdy with the girls, and security steps in to kick him out.
It’s a general rule that security should spot what’s happening in the club before I do.
Because if I get to it first, then that means they weren’t paying attention, and I’ll sure as hell make the men pay if anyone hurts or so much as touches one of the girls without their permission.
I might be an asshole with no interest in a relationship, but consent is a nonnegotiable.
Soul spins on his stool, beer in hand. “Did Ghost manage to dig up anything on that list?”
He’s careful with his words in case anyone is listening. For all we know, the raid could have been an excuse for Zane to plant bugs all over this place. Ghost hasn’t had the chance to do a sweep because we’re keeping up appearances. Monday, when we close for the morning, he will.
“Ghost doesn’t have anything new yet, but he’s working his magic until he turns up something useful.”
Soul nods, taking a sip of his beer. “How are things going with Willa?”
I glance over at him, and he grins, still watching the stage.
“You started it by digging into my shit from New Year’s. Glass houses, Chaos. Your girl’s fiery.”
“Not my girl.”
“Whatever you tell yourself when you jerk off at night.” He chuckles. “How long was she with your brother?”
“A decade.”
He pauses with his beer bottle halfway to his mouth. “Fuck, that’s a long time.”
“Yep.”
“No wonder you thought he sent her here. A decade with someone is commitment.”
“I don’t know if it was like that.”
Maybe it’s hope. Maybe I’m delusional. But something about Willa’s offhand comments about her relationship with my brother leads me to think it wasn’t as perfect as he made it seem.
“What makes you say that?” Soul asks.
“For one thing, he was fucking around on her.”
“Asshole.”
“Mm-hmm,” I agree.
Soul shares my stance on unfaithful pricks, although for different reasons. He watched his father cheat on his mother and treat her like shit until she killed herself. Soul never forgave him for it.
He rests his elbows on the bar behind him. “It’s all right to be fucked up about it. You’re allowed to feel whatever you want. That’s a lot to unpack.”
“You gonna give me a therapy session now?”
“Just saying.” He shrugs. “I get it’s messy, but the girl is clearly still under your skin. Can’t say I’ve ever seen that happen before. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to figure out what’s still there or what isn’t. You’re allowed to like her.”
“She’s my brother’s ex.”
“And that would stop you?” Soul hitches an eyebrow, and I grin.
“Not for the reasons it probably should.”
I don’t give a shit if she was my brother’s girl. He was the easier option at the time, and I get it. The less difficult path. The one her father approved of. They still never had the same kind of connection Willa and I shared. Part of me always knew that.
“Speak of the devil’s ex…” Soul lets out a low whistle as Willa walks into the club with Aimee at her side.
Havoc follows close behind them, guarding them from anyone who dares to get close. But it doesn’t block the stares. So many eyes follow Willa into the room, including mine.
Willa looks too damn good for my sanity. Her black T-shirt hugs her full tits, and her skirt is so short it shows off every inch of her perfect legs. Her boots are a hint of home.
She’s still the only girl who makes me feel like I can slow down and just exist.
Mom told me that true love is finding someone you can sit with in silence without feeling awkward.
Given that Mom chose Tate as a husband, I took her advice with a grain of salt.
But when I’m with Willa, I get it. She draws out this peaceful quiet inside me.
So long as she’s in my vicinity, I can breathe.
Willa and Aimee stop at the other end of the bar so Aimee can talk to Brandy, while Havoc continues walking toward us.
“Thought I made it clear she wasn’t leaving the compound?” I narrow my eyes on Havoc when he stops in front of us.
“You expect me to tell Aimee no to a girls’ day?”
I glance over at Aimee, who is already glaring at me like she can sense I’m giving her man shit. “Guess not.”
Havoc shrugs. “Willa was fine. I had my eyes on her the whole time. We didn’t run into any trouble.”
That’s not what worries me. I know Havoc can handle himself if anything went down. He wouldn’t let anything happen to the girls. But now he brought her here, to my club. She’s walking freely through my world like she belongs. Not seeming the least bit intimidated, and it’s dangerous.
At the compound, I can compartmentalize how I’m feeling about her walking back into my life. Here, not so much.
“You’re fucked.” Havoc slaps me on the shoulder.
“You’re starting to sound like him.” I shove Soul’s arm. “I am not fucked.”
“Yeah, you are, man. That look on your face… you’re totally fucked. Trust me.” He chuckles, walking away to go meet up with Aimee.
I let my gaze drift to Willa sitting beside her, and I hate that my brothers are right. Willa tips her head back in a laugh that sets my soul on fire. If only those same flames weren’t the ones that already burned my life to ash.