Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
HUNTER
“You’re going to get your ass shot, Rivera,” Milky said dryly as I stepped inside Wet Dreams with my guys. It was early, the strip club technically wasn’t open yet, which meant it was the perfect time to catch up with King Dipshit.
Milky was my age, and the dumb bastard got his nickname due to being caught sucking some lactating bitch’s tits in his younger days. I wasn’t about to kink shame the guy, the gross part was that he was a teenager and the woman had been at least forty.
Women in this world did anything to stay relevant among the young guys, or they got kicked to the curb.
“Thought this conversation didn’t need a public audience,” I answered, glancing around the quiet room. “Where’s Hendricks?”
“In the office. He’s busy.”
“Trust me, I know how good Lex is. He won’t be too long,” I joked, motioning to my guys to wait at the bar. “My money’s as good as anyone's, right? Get my boys a round.”
He grumbled but moved behind the bar to start serving drinks, my eyes on the office door.
Sure enough, we’d barely been waiting ten minutes before Archer appeared, Lexi trailing behind him as she fixed her lipstick in front of a small mirror.
“I need a new doorman,” Archer bit out, glaring at Milky before turning his glare to me. “The fuck do you want, Rivera?”
Lexi’s eyes lit up when she saw me, and I took in her outfit.
It was a sad excuse for a mini skirt, her ass hanging out the bottom, and the shirt was more like strips of fabric that held her tits in. The stripper heels should’ve been classified as a weapon too.
“What are you—” she started, but Archer cut her off.
“Go wait in my office,” he ordered, and she raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow.
“I’m not a dog, asshole.”
Her makeup was light, but her lashes and liner were a little extra, her long, bleached blonde hair slightly tangled from whatever Archer had been doing with her.
I’d bet money on the base of his cock being stained red from her lipstick.
“Don’t talk to your girl like shit or I’ll have to remind her that she can do so much better than you,” I snorted, only pissing him off more when Lexi made her way towards me and hugged me. “Hey, babe. What happened to your hair?”
She swatted my chest and grinned. “Don’t start a fight. What are you doing here?”
I loved Lexi. We’d shared many nights lying in the dark together, drowning our trauma in each other, but I didn’t love her in the way where I wanted to tie myself down with her forever.
Sure, she was hot and fucked good, but what we shared was purely convenience for each other. I wanted her safe, but I didn’t miss her more than a friend when she was gone.
“I heard down the grapevine that my favorite girl got married. Just wanted to pop in and congratulate the happy couple,” I murmured, running my fingers through Lexi’s hair to untangle it a little. “Did my invitation get lost in the mail?”
Lexi huffed, giving me a dirty look. “Hunter—”
The click of a gun made me chuckle as I glanced over at Archer to find him aiming his at me.
“I’ve had about enough of you,” he hissed, looking ready to pull the trigger when I pulled mine out to show him.
“Oh, what a surprise. Mine’s bigger.”
“Don’t fucking push me.”
“Or what? You shoot at me and risk hitting Lex? You’re stupid, but not that stupid,” I tsked, swatting Lexi’s ass. “How about you let me borrow your wife for a few hours?” Lexi punched my arm with a scowl, and I rolled my eyes. “I’m only teasing.”
“Well, stop it,” she huffed, her eyes going wide when the door was shoved open and Justin Lopez walked in with some of his men.
Lexi was tough, but I couldn’t blame her for taking a small step behind me. The man was a prick.
“What kind of asshole has a party and doesn’t invite me and my boys?” Justin demanded with a grin, holding his arms out wide. “What’s the occasion?”
“Family only,” Archer said tightly, his gun swinging towards Justin instead. “You’re not welcome.”
“But Rivera is? C’mon, Hendricks. How can you let a man that fucks your girl stand in your club like this? The disrespect,” Justin tsked, making some of his men chuckle.
My guys might have looked casual, but they were ready to throw down if this went to shit. Marco sipped a glass of whiskey, his eyes firmly on Justin. If there was any sign that he was going to reach for his gun, Marco would put a bullet in him instantly with zero hesitation.
Some of the Reapers appeared from the private rooms out back where the whorehouse was based, and I knew this was close to blowing up. Three crews in one room was a bad idea, but three in a room when two weren’t invited was just asking for trouble.
“It seems like you have your hands full, Arch. Me and my guys will be on our way,” I said brightly, keeping my gun in hand just in case. “Lovely seeing you as always.”
Lexi grabbed my arm so hard that her acrylic nails dug into my skin, pleading in her eyes as I looked down at her. I had to get Archer to agree to let me get her out safely, but there was no way he’d agree.
I flicked my attention to Archer, finding his jaw clenched like I’d expected.
“You’ll let me borrow her tonight, right? Since you’re obviously busy,” I stated, wanting to get Lexi the fuck out of here, but Justin snarled.
“Lexi stays!”
“Wait your turn, old man. I called dibs,” I said dryly, dropping an arm around Lexi’s shoulders to shield her a fraction.
“Both of you can fucking leave,” Archer answered sharply, moving towards us to grab Lexi’s wrist and yanked her against him. He was bigger than me, so at least if bullets flew, her shield was better.
He might not have treated her right, but he’d die for her if it came down to it.
Would be nice if he got shot instead of me too.
Lexi smacked his chest, the light shining across the rings on her finger, and that was when all hell broke loose.
“You fucking married him?!” Justin roared, lunging at Lexi like a man possessed, not getting far before Archer fired his gun. Justin dropped to the ground like the sack of shit that he was, the bullet killing him instantly, and then the Demons started firing in an all out war.
My guys threw themselves behind the bar and started firing back, the Reapers joining in to defend their territory.
Someone tackled Archer as they wrestled on the ground, and I grabbed Lexi to pull her to safety, tucking her against me as I started firing at the Demons too.
It was madness, bodies and blood everywhere as the deafening sound of gunfire sounded throughout the building, and a hiss of pain left me as I was struck in the shoulder by a bullet.
I glanced around to find Archer’s right-hand man, Myles, smirking at me, telling me the prick had seen an opportunity to shoot me and had taken it.
Thankfully, he’d missed my damn head.
Demons dropped like flies, a few of my men getting hit in the process, and by the time the room went silent, there wasn’t a Hell’s Demons’ member left standing.
“Are you hit?” Archer demanded as he pulled Lexi away from me and into his arms, running his hands over her body. She was shaking a little, but she didn’t seem hurt, so I turned my attention to my guys as Marco hopped over the bar and moved towards me.
“You’re hit,” he bit out, pushing my jacket out of the way to get a good look at it.
“I’m fine,” I grunted as I shook him off, knowing there was no way in hell the cops weren’t already on the way. “We need to leave.”
“You do,” Archer huffed, keeping Lexi close as he ran his eyes around the room. “I can claim this as self-defense if you fuckers get out of here. Looks a little suspicious if you’re here too.”
“Let me get Lex out of here,” I said firmly, not wanting her to be here. She’d had enough trouble with the cops in her life, and I wouldn’t put it past them to haul her off to prison for the sake of it.
I knew before Archer opened his mouth that his pride wouldn’t allow me to protect his girl, so I just shook my head and put a hand up.
“Whatever. Don’t say I didn’t offer. Maybe one day you’ll care about her enough to stop letting your damn ego get in the way.” I motioned to my guys, turning my back on Archer. “Let’s go!”
Sirens wailed in the distance, and my guys took off outside to get on their bikes, but Marco held back with me to ride behind the group.
“You good to ride?” he asked carefully as we straddled our bikes, eyeing my blood-stained shirt.
“I’m good. Go,” I barked, but the fucker just rolled his eyes.
“We go together. I’m not leaving you here on your own.”
Sports bikes revved as my crew all took off in different directions, Marco and I shoving our helmets on and making sure they were all cleared out before taking off too.
The air was chilly as my jacket whipped around me, and the bullet wound in my shoulder burned as I leaned forward and maneuvered the bike between cars. I hated to admit it, but I was struggling to ride a little, thanks to my injury.
Red and blue lights lit up around us, and I signaled to Marco for us to split up. It was a lot easier to avoid the cops when we were alone.
He went one way, and I went the other, tearing through the streets of Ashburn Valley as the cops decided to follow me, and I almost dropped my damn bike as I slowed to take a corner, making me realize how woozy I was feeling.
How much blood had I lost? I didn’t even know how bad it was.
After the second time I almost went down, I cursed and tried to find somewhere to stash my bike, finding a bushy park area that I could pull in behind and switch the bike off.
I bailed from the bike and made sure it was hidden well, before yanking my helmet off and leaving it with the bike so I could run better. This was the good side of Ashburn Valley, so even if someone found it, it wasn’t likely they’d do anything to it.
I was panting after a couple of streets, keeping out of view as I stumbled along fences and gardens, my eyes landing on a familiar house.