2. Chapter Two
two
Warren
“Tonight was a good one,” Xavier says, holding up a bag filled to the brim with cash.
He had just finished sorting through the registers from the bar. Damon sits at the computer, running numbers through our accounting software.
Together, we own Shadows, a secret kink club that draws in hundreds of people when we randomly announce a date and time for the club to be available. The rules are very simple: you must wear a mask, and you can’t tell anyone about the club.
So far, everything has been great. The guys and I live very secretive lives because we are also in the mafia.
While we aren’t as corrupt as most guys you imagine in the mafia, we do sometimes play on the wrong side of the law.
We need to keep our identities hidden. Even though Damon defied our rules and fell in love with someone he met at the club. But, she’s cool and one of us now.
“That’s awesome,” I say, as I move over to my desk. I remove my mask, my favorite neon pink mask that I wear at Shadows, and place it on the glass desk. Checking the time, I notice it’s nearly five in the morning.
“Who wants to go to the beach?” I ask, sitting down in my leather chair.
Warren and Damon pause their tasks and glare at me.
“I’m fucking exhausted, man. I’m going home to sleep,” Xavier grunts out.
He’s always got a stick up his ass, so his response doesn’t surprise me.
“Nah, I’ve got a hot girl in bed waiting for me. Did you see how good Lilly looked tonight in that red spandex suit?” Damon asks, whistling. “It was my Britney Spears fantasy.”
Lilly is a realtor, but also comes to Shadows when it’s open. Damon and Lilly are disgustingly in love, but it makes my brother happy, so I’m happy for him, I guess.
“You guys are lame,” I grumble.
Xavier zips up the cash bag and prepares it for transfer to our private bank accounts tomorrow.
Damon moves to stand, powering off his computer.
I stand, too, and walk out with them. The crowds are long gone, and the parking lot is quiet and dead.
I hop into my old Ford truck that I just had redone, and watch as Damon and Xavier drive off.
Normally, we drive our bikes to the club, but it was an unusually rainy day in Sunnyvale, and none of us wanted to get wet.
As I turn the engine on, I pull out of the parking lot and drive toward the beach. I’m too pumped to go home, and the only club in Sunnyvale closed about an hour ago. I could drive to Los Angeles and find something to get into, but I think better of it.
Driving through the streets of Sunnyvale, I notice how it’s like a ghost town at this hour.
The sky is starting to get a light golden haze as the sun starts to peek.
When I finally make it to the beach, I park and take off my shoes.
Walking through the cool sand, I find a seat and watch as the sun finally shows itself in the morning sky.
My eyes feel heavy, but I stay until the sun is full and people begin to wake and make their way into the world.
As I sit in the sand, I feel my phone buzzing in my pocket.
It’s too early for Damon or Xavier to be messaging me, so I know it can only be my dad.
Sighing, I let the call go to voicemail.
I will deal with whatever problems he needs me to fix later.
For now, I just want to sit here in the calmness of the morning.