Chapter Four
Denver got up bright and early to have a look around the old gaming hall.
It was in disrepair, to say the least. He sure as hell hadn’t been in it since back when his dad stashed his liquor, his drugs,
his weapons and all that other shit in there. He hadn’t been in it since that chapter of their lives had been closed.
So it was dusty, with the impression of scandal, ill repute and liquor-soaked evenings stamped into every corner.
There were bedrooms upstairs, and he had considered turning those into guest rooms. Maybe people would enjoy staying above
an axe throwing bar. Especially one that used to house prostitutes and gold-panners.
Maybe. He had dismissed the idea initially, but now this new venture seemed to be about embracing the slightly rougher edge
of King’s Crest.
He really would need to talk to the collective about that.
He wished it wasn’t so damned early in the morning, because honestly, he could use a little bit of alcohol to fortify himself against Sheena Patrick. He had not gone home with Delilah last night, and it had been a pretty damned foolish decision.
He should’ve gone and blown off some steam. But local women were never really his thing, preferring to keep everything no
strings to the best of his ability.
And . . . most of all, he had never in his life slept with one woman while thinking about another. Mostly because he couldn’t
recall ever wanting a specific woman with intensity.
He liked women. All women. All shapes, all sizes, hair color, skin tone, those that laughed loudly, those that giggled softly.
He had a deep appreciation for the female form and function. All that was feminine turned him on. So when it came right down
to it, he just wasn’t picky. Some people called him a man whore. And by some people, he meant his brothers, who, with the exception of Landry, could hardly claim to be any better. Especially Justice, who had
spent years giving himself away like he was a damn sample platter at Costco.
He had never found it to be a negative thing.
But last night, Sheena had been in his mind, and in good conscience he simply couldn’t take one woman to bed when he thought
the possibility existed that he might fantasize about another.
Even contemplating that made him feel dirty.
And not in a fun way.
He walked back out of the gaming hall, and got in his truck, driving it back toward the main landing of King’s Crest, where their big event space was, and their overnight lodging.
They were planning a big Christmas party this year, one for the whole town.
Something different to the usual festivities that happened in the meeting hall.
It had taken quite a bit of convincing to get the collective to allow it.
Because everybody liked tradition, but thankfully, Fia King was his sister-in-law now, and that meant deciding to shift the venue from Sullivan’s to King’s had been an easier proposition than it might’ve been, considering he had an inside agent.
Years ago, when Landry and Fia still hated each other, it definitely would’ve been different.
Harder.
But now . . . Well. They were one big happy family.
So that would be great. A good chance to let everyone in the area see what they had going. He wondered . . . Maybe they could
incorporate a little axe throwing. It would be cutting things tight, but considering they were just renovating the gaming
hall, he thought it could be done. At least have it all in order in time for the big event.
Sort of like a speakeasy, all things considered. He had been trying to outrun the more unsavory aspects of the King family
history, but maybe embracing it could be its own sort of reward.
He saw Sheena Patrick’s car pulling up a moment later, but there were more trucks behind her. And he had no idea what in the
hell that was about.
One by one, five big trucks pulled into King’s Crest. Sheena got out of her car and made her way over to him. A guy he recognized
as Manny Jiminez got out of one of the trucks. Manny was a contractor in the area. Though, Denver couldn’t say he knew him
well, since he was pretty sure the guy did most of his jobs up in Mapleton. As anyone looking to do more lucrative construction
work would.
“Hey. I brought my crew.”
“Your crew?” he asked, his eyes going laser-focused on Sheena. Today, she had long sleeves on. But the top still had a scoop
neck, which gave him a clear view of her pretty spectacular cleavage. Damn. It was 7:00 a.m. He really needed to calm down.
“I didn’t approve any crew.”
“I have plans. I talked to Manny about it a couple of weeks ago.”
“Did you? So before you talked to me.”
“You made it pretty clear that you owed me a favor, Denver.”
“My favor did not extend you being able to do whatever you wanted on my property. I have a plan. I have a venue.”
“You didn’t say that yesterday.”
“I was unaware that you were going to show up with a crew.”
“Why wouldn’t I? I gave you the binder. Did you not read the entire binder?”
“No. I didn’t read your dumbass binder from cover to cover, Sheena, because nobody does that. Literally fucking nobody. That
is like reading the entire terms and conditions.”
“I always read the terms and conditions, Denver.”
“Liar.”
She took a step toward him, her green eyes glowing. “No. I do. Do you know why? Because sometimes buried in that fine print
is a promise that you’ll sell your soul. Ask my dad. I wonder where I get my paranoia from.”
“Your dad jumped at the chance to sell his soul. Anyway, I actually think his soul might still be a free agent, unless Satan
claimed it. His body is the only thing my dad had a claim on.”
“Just . . .”
She looked behind her shoulder, at Manny, who looked questioning, like he was wondering if he ought to jump in, or if he should
leave well enough alone.
Denver made direct eye contact with the other man.
“I didn’t realize that you hadn’t been . . . I mean, I didn’t know that you weren’t informed,” he said.
“Well, I wasn’t,” said Denver. “We’ve got our own crew here. We’ve done the majority of our own construction work.”
“Sheena is a friend. I was willing to do the work at cost and labor, nothing more.”
“Really,” said Denver.
Manny shifted. “Really.”
Well. They’d clearly slept together. Not that he was judging; it was just there was no earthly reason that a man would come
with a crew to do work at cost for a woman he didn’t have a vested interest in. And typically, that vested interest happened
on a mattress.
Again. Not that he was judging. Not that it mattered. Though the whole thing was annoying. Really damned annoying.
“I want to do the axe throwing bar in our old gaming hall.”
“Gaming hall?”
“Yes. It’s rustic, and it has a lot of history.”
“Why don’t I even know that it exists?”
“Because my ancestors were involved in all kinds of illegal shit. Interesting, but not exactly the image that we’ve been trying
to project. Still, I think it could be a little bit of a tourist draw. And I’m thinking that I might want to renovate all
of it, and make it just a little bit more lawless around here. You know, in a tourist way.”
“Well . . .” She sputtered. “I don’t hate it. I don’t. But . . .” He could feel the power struggle between them. The push-pull.
She wanted to bean him over the head, fair enough. He had half a mind a frog-march her off the property.
So they were even.
“Just saying, you should’ve run all this past me,” he said.
“Manny,” said Sheena. “I’m sorry. You and the guys can take off. Clearly, my business partner and I have some things we need
to discuss.”
“Whatever you say,” he said.
And Denver could only marvel at the way she had rallied the troops, and then dispersed them.
“You get every guy to do your bidding like that?”
He thought about the way the men in the bar had looked at her. Like she was something magic and terrifying all at once. He imagined that she did.
“He’s a friend.”
“Oh. A friend.”
“Yes,” she said. “I knew him in high school. Geez.”
“I’m just saying . . .”
“You’re just implying that I’m trading sex for work.”
“Hell no,” he said. “I assumed the sex was in the past.”
“For the record, I haven’t had sex with Manny.”
“Oh, then he’s definitely hoping that you will.”
“What makes you say that?” she asked.
“Because men don’t do nice things for women if they don’t want to get laid.”
“You did not just say that. What kind of relic from a bygone era are you?”
“I'm just realistic. Maybe that’s a gross generalization.”
“Well. It is pretty gross.”
He snorted. “Are you going to tell me that you have such a high opinion of humanity that you don’t think that could possibly
be a factor?”
She paused for a moment. “I don’t have a high opinion of anyone or anything. If that’s what he thinks is going to happen,
that’s fine. I’ll give them a set-down. I don’t care. I guess what I really don’t understand is why you think that you have
to warn me about anything. Or worry. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long damned time. Do you think I’ve never had to
give a man a firm no? Do you think that I have never had to give more than a no? I’ll put my boot up the guy’s ass. I don’t
give a shit.”
Her husky voice went sharp then. Like a blade.
She wasn’t kidding.
“You can’t go doing things like that without consulting me. We don’t need to come to a consensus on humanity.”
“You and I think pretty much the same things about humanity. You just think that it’s your responsibility to protect me because you think I’m a woman and I need it.”
“First of all, is there anything wrong with that? Second of all, I take it upon myself to try and extend protection to everybody
that my dad messed around with. Regardless of gender.”
“Yes, it is a bad thing,” she said, her chin stubborn. “Because you’re underestimating me. You’re acting like the way that
I’ve navigated my life these past thirteen years, hell, maybe even all thirty-one years of my life, somehow only worked miraculously.