27
Sitting alone at a small table in a dark corner of the club, I sipped my drink. I had switched to water when Lorenzo had called and asked me to step up for the night, and I had entirely sobered up, not that I’d had much to drink beforehand.I had come here looking for a fight, but so far all I’d done was let out some of that built up rage by fucking Clara again, and subsequently getting her fired. I wish I cared, but I really didn’t. She’d probably be better off away from this place anyway. I had probably done her a favour.I was still looking for a fight. Lorenzo had told me to make good decisions, or something, so I guessed if someone acted up, that just meant I had to talk to them first, and hope that they didn’t want to listen. I could prove myself by trying to be the bigger man, and then do what I do best.Michael came over and hovered next to the chair opposite me. “You good, bro?” he asked.“Yep,” I replied, and scanned the room for the hundredth time. Why the fuck was everyone being so well behaved?He waited for a moment, and when I met his gaze, he gave me a sharp nod. “Well, if anything happens, I’m only over there.” He gestured to the table that his extremely drunk wife was attempting to dance on top of and cringed. “I’ll send her home,” he assured me.“Good,” I said in response, hiding all emotion from my voice, but inside I felt a swell of power. He was treating me like I was really running shit tonight. That felt good. A little taste of what was to come.He rushed away and hauled Rebecca down from the table, then dragged her over to the bar, presumably to call a taxi to take her home. She shoved him away and ran to the dancefloor, wobbling like a baby deer in her too-high heels, but she managed to move faster than I had expected. She wriggled herself into the middle of a group of young girls, and I watched with mild amusement as Michael fought his way after her, but was halted by a pretty blonde who proceeded to assault him with a red feather boa.Rebecca collapsed on the floor giggling, and the group of girls quickly helped her back up. Michael looked furious, but the blonde continued to wrap him up and bopped him on the nose. Apparently being a terrifying gangster didn’t faze this little group.He eventually wrangled his wife and removed her from the building, and I turned my attention to the bar, taking in the faces of each person standing there waiting for a drink. A couple of boys looked a little shifty, but when I looked closer it was clear that it was only because they were underage. I managed to catch Michael’s eye from his new spot at the bar and shot a meaningful look at the boys, he clocked them and nodded in understanding. Words were exchanged between him and a barmaid, and a few minutes later the security guard, Reg, came and quietly removed them from the bar.I checked in with Lorenzo, shooting him a message to let him know everything was fine. Then went back to watching the room.The pretty blonde with the feather boa approached me, and her little group cheered her on as she glanced back at them. She blushed as she got closer then pouted in a way that I guessed she thought made her look attractive. It wasn’t necessary. For one, she was already attractive, and two, she was barking up the wrong tree,I really wasn’t in the mood.“Hey handsome, you’re really working that whole dark and mysterious thing,” she purred and perched on the edge of my table.Her short red dress rode higher up her thighs to expose the frilly edge of her pink lace underwear. She looked down and bit her lip, but made no attempt to cover herself back up. I gave her a disinterested nod and turned my head away from her to look elsewhere.A tickle brushing my cheek drew my attention back to her and she wrapped the boa around my neck. I scowled at her, but she didn’t stop, pushing further and sliding herself off of the table and onto my lap.“I bet you’re really dangerous,” she said seductively, and I gently nudged her in a hint to get the fuck off of me.“You have no idea,” I murmured.
She shivered but made no attempt to get up. “Danger gets me so hot,” she breathed, and pulled on the boa that was still wound around my neck.
I glared at her and reached behind my head. In one sharp tug I ripped the boa in half and her mouth fell open. “I’m not interested,” I said flatly, but she just flashed me a playful smile.Determined little thing.“Come on big boy, of course you are.”“I will only tell you this once,” I began, pushing my face closer to hers. “If you don’t get the fuck off of my lap in the next five seconds, I will ensure that it’s not just me who isn’t interested in you. No one will want to fuck you if you’re bleeding out all over the floor.” My tone dripped with ice and her eyes widened.
She quickly jumped up and went to head back to her friends with a terrified look on her now ghostly pale face.“Don’t forget this,” I called after her and lifted the ripped pile of feathers from the floor at my feet. She hurried back over, refusing to look me in the eye, and retrieved her accessory, then disappeared in the direction of the ladies room, flanked by her little girl gang.I sipped my drink again and took note of the Brothers in the club. Including myself there were only three of us still here. Michael and Cooper had taken up position by the bar, both leaning with their backs to it while holding a casual looking conversation, but they were focused. The three of us were clearly able to sense that something was going to happen soon.Only a couple of seconds passed before a girl came running from the ladies’ room screaming, followed by another girl who was holding the blonde that I had just rejected tightly to her chest with a gun pressed into her temple.The blonde locked eyes with me as I stood and approached them. “Help me,” she shrieked.The girl holding her pushed the gun harder against her head. “Shut up, you dumb whore.”I looked at the girl and racked my brain, seeing if I knew who she was. I drew a blank though.“Put the gun down,” I said to her, keeping my voice calm but firm.She didn’t look like the violent type, in fact she looked completely normal, cute even with her dark bangs and polka-dot dress. This wasn’t a threat on The Brotherhood, so I had to try to de-escalate it first, I couldn’t just go in and shoot the stupid girl for pulling a gun in our venue without trying to talk her down. Mild irritation crossed me; I’d really hoped that another gang would start something. Not this.Michael and Cooper emerged on either side of me, both with their broad arms folded and looking threatening as all hell.“No, she’s been making her way around this bar hitting on men who are spoken for,” the girl holding the gun snarled, and her eyes flicked between my Brothers.“That’s a shit reason to shoot someone,” I said and Cooper flinched, probably expecting her to pull the trigger in reaction to my criticism, but she just hardened her stare as she continued to alternate her attention between the three of us.“Put the gun down, Sam,” Cooper snapped, and I froze.Fuck. Sam, as in Samantha, Coopers fucking girlfriend. Where did we stand on shooting each other’s girlfriends? I looked across at Michael and he slightly shrugged one shoulder, apparently as unsure as I was. I turned to Cooper and jerked my head at Samantha, encouraging him to take over. Sure, I had wanted to get my hands dirty tonight, but this was his girl, so it was his mess to handle. If he couldn’t, I guess I’d finally have an excuse to break that perfect nose of his.A small crowd had gathered around all of us, but the majority of the club goers were drunkenly oblivious to the scene taking place where we stood. Cooper stepped forward and Samantha’s gaze finally settled on him.“Sam, you’re not going to shoot some girl for flirting with me. That isn’t you,” he said softly. The way he spoke to her made me glad I didn’t have a girl to worry about, I couldn’t do that soft, gentle crap.“Isn’t it, Coop? Like you’d even know anymore,” she said, her voice wobbling slightly and her grip on the blonde loosening a fraction. The terrified girl noticed and attempted to wriggle out of Samantha’s hold, but she didn’t get far as Samantha quickly tightened around her and cursed under her breath.
Tears began to fall down the blonde girl’s cheeks and I glared at Cooper, silently telling him to hurry this shit up before narrowing my gaze on the small crowd, silently threatening them into ignoring us. The ones who noticed stepped away, dragging their friends with them until it was only us Brothers and the two girls.“If this is about me then take it out on me, not some girl who, honestly, Sam, is pretty harmless, aren’t you love.” He smiled at the blonde and I rolled my eyes, fucking moron.Samantha screeched and turned the gun on her boyfriend, tossing the girl to the floor. The blonde girl’s eyes darted around as she realised that she was safe for now, and she scrambled to her feet. She threw herself towards me like I was her hero or some shit, like I hadn’t just threatened her with a bloody fate a few minutes ago, but I sharply shook my head at her.
She stopped dead in her tracks. “You’ll protect me, right? You didn’t let her shoot me, so you’re going to protect me?” she whispered, her voice hoarse.“Leave,” I commanded, but she hesitated.I had to agree with Sam, this girl really was a dumb puttana. My gaze shot to Michael, and he nodded, anticipating my request and moving forward, lifting the girl over his shoulder and marching her towards the exit where her friends were nervously waiting with Reg.My attention was drawn back to Samantha as she closed in on Cooper. “Looking for another girl to rub in my face, Coop? Like it’s not enough that you constantly blow me off for that fucking slut Mallory.”My jaw tensed at her words. Insulting Mallory was my thing, and apparently, I didn’t like hearing it coming from anyone else.“Careful, Samantha,” I growled, and Cooper’s brows lifted slightly. “I’d think twice before you insult our girl again.”“Whatever, new guy.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “This is about him anyway. I’m sure he has a whole harem of women hidden from me. That’s where he is late at night when he claims to be with you lot.”“Sam, you know that isn’t true,” Cooper said, still keeping up the soft approach. “You know I keep things separate to protect you, there is nothing else going on.”He stepped closer so that she was pressing the gun to his chest. Seeing him step up to a girl who was clearly at least a little unhinged marginally changed my opinion of him. He wasn’t quite as much of a shithead as I had first thought.“Give me my gun, baby, you can shout at me at home,” he whispered.She stared deeply into his eyes, and it was like watching snow melt, her whole body sagged, and she placed the gun in Coopers hand. “You’re going to take me home?” she asked quietly.“Yes, I’m taking you home,” he confirmed. Apparently, that was all that she needed to help her calm down, and she sighed heavily.“Okay, I’ll go and get my bag.”I stared at Cooper in confusion. “What the hell was that?” I asked.“That, my friend, was me taking a massive risk. She is not okay; her protection isn’t the only reason I keep things separate. Fuck, I’m in for a long night.” He scrubbed his hand over his clean-shaven chin and blew out a long breath, then he gave me a thoughtful look. “Our girl?”“Don’t read too much into it, pretty boy,” I grunted, “Gotta defend her, for appearances sake.”He gave me a slow nod, his expression sceptical, like he definitely thought I was lying. “For appearances,” he repeated, then went to find Samantha.I rolled my shoulders, easing the tension that had been building in them, and frowned to myself. Why the hell had I called her that? Like fuck was I going to dwell on it though. I didn’t need to dedicate another second to thinking about Mallory. Instead I pulled out my phone and sent a message to Lorenzo, filling him in on what had just happened, then looked at the time. One hour until this place closed. One more boring hour until I could call it a night, head home, and spend a couple of hours in the gym. A punching bag would have to satisfy me tonight.