CHAPTER TEN #2
We all stared at her, shocked. Calm, collected, level-headed Nora had never acted like this. And she’d been working at Sugar for years now.
She turned and hurried back to the bar after thanking Nadine.
Nico seemed hesitant to start talking again. “Well. Um, what does everyone think?”
“I think Nora knows Jax Neely better than she’s willing to admit,” Reynolds said in a conspiratorial tone.
“Not about that, Reynolds. Jesus.” He leaned forward and whispered, “I think we all got that clue. But I was talking about the shared or monthly memberships.”
“I like it, but we’ll be giving them cheaper options than our regular members,” Carmen said.
“It’s more expensive by the month, if someone ended up accidentally paying for all twelve months, it would be way more expensive than a regular membership.”
“But sharing would mean a two- or three-way split…” Carmen argued.
“As I said, the overall cost of a shared membership will be much higher than a regular membership because of the convenience it offers. And we’d have celebrities as members.
That’s fucking huge. We already have local bigwigs.
Now if we had some whose faces are all known nationwide, we’d be seen as more and more exclusive. ”
Carmen nodded, looking thoughtful. “You’re right. Let’s do it.”
Nico grinned. “I thought that’s what you’d say.”
“That’s why I’m your favorite sibling,” she said, patting his shoulder.
“Shit. You heard that?”
“Can’t wait to let Leo know…”
“Fuck no! He might never recover.”
Carmen almost doubled over laughing, and I couldn’t help but smile. She rarely let loose like that. “I’m kidding. He’d be a nightmare to be around if he found out.” She shuddered. “He’d be doing whatever he could to try to beat me out as your favorite.”
Nora walked back over with a new drink for Carmen. She still looked pale. “Sorry about that,” she said.
“It’s no big deal.” Carmen smiled at her.
“I’d like to be in the auction this month. Is it too late?”
Carmen looked taken aback. “Um… no. There’s still time. In fact, my headliner position is open. I was trying to pressure Glory into it, but she’s being stubborn as usual.”
“Great, thanks.” She looked relieved.
“We’ll talk about the details tomorrow. Come see me around nine in the morning, please.”
“I’ll be there,” Nora said, looking more like herself. She turned and hurried back to the bar, and Carmen looked at us.
“Well, there’s clearly a story there, but I doubt we’ll ever hear it. Nora doesn’t share anything personal.”
I was about to say something about knowing that she was studying to be a librarian, but I saw Enzo striding towards us with obvious news. “Jess,” he called you’re going to want to hear this.”
Jess and Nadine came over.
Enzo didn’t even say hello when he sat down, but he did smile.
“Great news out of ‘Shitty Wilkins’ as Nadine and Jess call it. The Gray Bones MC is no more. The police and feds moved very early this morning and raided the compound. They rescued more than fifty women and shut down the traffickers the MC was working with. They also busted various members for drugs, prostitution, kidnapping, and more.” He locked eyes with Jess.
“It’s over. The club is gone, the members are in jail, and you’re safe. ”
“Oh my God.” Tears filled her eyes. “Thank you so much!” She covered her mouth with a shaking hand and Nadine wrapped her in her arms.
“Just like that?” Reynolds asked.
“It’s done.” Enzo slapped his hand on the table and stood to leave.
I felt a little uneasy. I wondered if Axle from the Skeleton Key MC would have been able to get things done that quickly. My guess was no. I wondered how many of the government officials involved owed Enzo favors. Everyone seemed to owe Enzo favors. It was the way he liked it.
“They’re sure they have Skeeter?” Jess asked.
Enzo nodded. “They believe he’s dead.”
Jess frowned and went pale. “Believe?”
“Yes. The compound burned. Apparently, Skeeter set it on fire to try to protect the MC from getting in trouble. He was trying to burn those poor women alive in the strip club. Along with some of his members. He doesn’t seem to care much about human life.”
Jess shuddered, and I went to her. I held her while we listened to the rest of what Enzo had to say.
“They found a few sets of human remains in the MC clubhouse, but all of the people in the strip club building were rescued. They believe that Skeeter’s was one of the bodies recovered. The remains are being transported to the GBI for identification, but it can take a while.”
“That’s great news,” I said, relieved. But then I saw Jess’ face. She looked devastated. Oh God. Was she in love with him? She’d lived with the man for five years. Was it insensitive for us to be celebrating his death?
“He’s still alive,” she whispered, and there was something in her tone that gave me chills.
Everyone turned to look at her.
Nadine came over and rubbed her back. “No, sweetie. He’s dead. He’s gone, and he can’t hurt you anymore.”
“I wish I could believe that,” she said quietly to no one in particular. The look in her eyes was so haunted, so sure, that my sense of unease about the whole situation began to grow.
But I had a plan to protect her.