by Nina Levine
He took a step closer to me. “Yeah, Devil.”
My breathing sped up a little at his proximity. “That’s a nickname, right?”
His smile never left his face. “It is.”
“You’re not going to tell me your real name?”
“Nope.”
“Let me guess, only the special girls get that.”
“Every girl’s special, darlin’, but none of them get that.”
“Oh, you’re smooth. What about the story behind the nickname? Will you give me that?”
He leant his face closer. “If I tell you that, will you have a drink with me?”
“I can’t. I’ve got work to do, and—”
Dylan joined us and cut me off. “And if she has another drink, she won’t be able to sing tonight.” He moved so he stood next to me. Right next to me, with his arm draped over my shoulder. His way of telling a guy to back the fuck off.
I sighed. Dylan and I had gone head-to-head numerous times over his protective ways, but he refused to stop. Just like my damn brother.
Devil seemed surprised. “Sing?”
Monroe chimed in. “Hailee’s the singer in Cherry Vivid.” At Devil’s frown, she added, “The band that plays here all the time.”
“I haven’t had the pleasure of watching you perform yet,” he said.
I hit him with a sexy smile. “Well, you’ll get to tonight if you stick around.”
“I think I just might, darlin’.”
Our attention to each other was diverted by those around us then. Tatum pulled him aside to discuss something while Dylan dragged me back to the band so we could finalise our song choices for that night. The butterflies in my belly didn’t ease, though. Devil had stirred them up in a way they hadn’t been awakened in years.
3
Devil
I sucked back some beer as I watched Hailee sing a Pink song. Jesus, she could belt out a tune. The band had been playing for a good twenty minutes, and I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off her. Between her voice, the way she interacted with the audience and her beauty, she fucking owned the stage.
Tatum shifted her face closer to mine to say, “Your girl’s good.”
I chuckled. “My girl?”
Her eyes met mine and she smiled. “You’ll make her yours for at least a night. It’s what you do.”
Lifting a brow, I queried her, “It’s what I do? Where the fuck do you get that idea from?”
“You forget I’m a lawyer, Devil. I see everything, and I’ve seen you around. You’re a lover, not a fighter, right?”
I drank some more beer and nodded. “True, I am. But you make me sound like an asshole who fucks women for one night and doesn’t look back.”
“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I’m just stating facts.”
“Okay, so maybe I have had some casual sex lately, but that’s only because there didn’t end up being any connection with those chicks afterwards.” Fuck knew why it was so important to me that Tatum not think I was an asshole, but it was. I’d gotten to know her well over the last few months and respected her enough to care what she thought of me.
“No connection? As in, no attraction besides sex?”
“Yeah, nothing that made me want to dedicate time, you know?” I drained my bottle of beer and placed it on the table we sat at with Nitro and Monroe. “I don’t know, I need a spark, some passion… or some shit, and I’m just not feeling it with anyone lately.”
Nitro cut in. “When you’re finished with your relationship counselling, you and I need to discuss tomorrow.”
Tatum ran her fingers through Nitro’s hair. “You okay?”
He leant his elbows on his knees and took a moment before answering. Glancing sideways at her, he shook his head. “Lot of shit going on, Vegas. I’ve got a headache from hell.”
“You wanna go home?”
He sat up again and laid his arm across the back of her chair. “No, we’ll stay for a while.”
Nitro had come a long fucking way since he’d met Tatum. He and I’d had a shitty day and I knew he didn’t want to be here tonight, yet he stayed for Tatum. A long fucking way.
Tatum finished her drink and stood, reaching for Nitro. “Come on, champ, take me home.”
His lips twitched, a smile almost forming. Standing, he slid an arm around her waist and pulled her close. He whispered something in her ear before looking at me. “I’ll come by your place at eight tomorrow morning. We’re gonna see Ghost if it fucking kills us.”
We’d spent hours this afternoon attempting a visit with Ghost, but there’d been some issue at the prison and we hadn’t been granted a visit. Nitro had asked Tatum to help, and she’d come through with the goods after talking with some of her legal buddies.
Tatum turned to Monroe. “You want a lift home, babe?”
“Yeah, thanks.” Eyes on me as she stood, she said, “Good luck with Hailee.”
I glanced at Hailee on the stage. “I never need luck, Monroe.”
“I bet.”
Nitro met my gaze. “Be ready for tomorrow, brother. Ghost can be a motherfucker when he wants to be.”
Yeah, I’d heard those stories, too. I lifted my chin. “Go home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
After they’d left, I made my way back to the bar and ordered another beer. “How much longer is the band on for?” I asked Doug as he handed it over.
“Don’t fuck with her, Devil,” he said, pissing me off.
“What the fuck does that mean?” I’d been coming to this pub for years, and as far as I was aware, Doug and I were on good terms. This attitude off him wasn’t fucking appreciated.
“It means that Hailee means something to me and I won’t stand by and watch you use her.”
“Jesus, does everyone think I’m an asshole when it comes to women?”
“Your history speaks for itself. I can’t remember the last time you dated a woman.”
I took a long slug of my beer. “It was two years ago, asshole, and she left me, not the other way around. And that was after two years of living together. I’m not a complete fucking bastard.”
He leant on the counter. “I’m not saying you’re a bastard, and I have nothing against you sleeping with whoever you want. Just don’t fuck with Hailee. That’s all I’m saying.”
I was ready to tell him to go fuck himself when Hailee’s voice cut through the crowd, announcing they were taking a half-hour break. Without another word to Doug, I headed towards the stage.
Hailee met me halfway, her eyes roaming appreciatively over my body before finding my gaze. A slow smile hit her lips. “You’re still here.”
I returned her smile. “You think a man could walk away while you’re singing? Besides, I owe you a drink.”
“I never said yes to a drink.”
“That word may not have left your mouth, but it sure as fuck was written all over your body, darlin’.” I tipped my bottle of beer to my lips and waited for her reply. This conversation could last hours and lead nowhere, and I wouldn’t give a shit. I just wanted to be in her presence and soak her sexiness into my bones.
She moved into my personal space, our bodies almost touching. “I’ve got lots of words written all over my body, but yes isn’t one of them.”
I closed the tiny distance between us and traced a finger over her lips. She didn’t stop me—a fair indication that she was as keen for this as I was. “How about I buy you a drink and we start figuring out how you’d like me to get you from clothed to naked.”
“We could have a drink, but getting me naked could take some time.”
I grinned. “I’m all about the challenge.”
“Yeah, maybe not this one.”
Fuck, when I finally got her under me, it was going to be fireworks. I ran my finger down her face, neck, and down to her collarbone. My eyes dropped to the tight, sleeveless black top she had on. The one that revealed a cleavage I’d like to get between. When I found her eyes again, I said, “I’ve never walked awa
y from a challenge in my life, darlin’. I’m not about to now.”
She gripped my hand when I started trailing my finger over her skin, down to her tits. Halting my progress, like I had hoped she would, because a yes given too soon was nowhere near as fun as a no dragged out, she said, “I’m not single.”
“How not single are you? Like, are we talking close-to-marriage single or he’s-barely-gotten-his-dick-wet single?” I’d never cut in on a serious relationship, but she wasn’t giving me those kinds of vibes.
She didn’t skip a beat. “Let’s just say his dick is almost dry, but let’s also say that I’m not looking for an alternative at this point.”
“Let’s also call it bullshit. I haven’t met a woman more open to an alternative in a long fucking time.” I dipped my face so my mouth was next to her ear. “We both know that if I pursued the fuck out of you tonight, you’d be bending that sweet ass over and letting me fuck you any way I wanted.”
Again, she didn’t stumble, and gave it back to me just as good. “I think we both know that me bending over for you is a long way off. As for letting you fuck me any way you want… that would be after you prove you know your way around a pussy.”
“I know my way around a pussy better than I know my way around my dick. And that’s saying something because—”
She silenced me by placing her finger against my lips. I loved her skin on mine and had to restrain myself from forcing her to keep it there. “Let me guess, your dick gets a good workout?”
Fuck.
This woman was fucking made for me, and it was taking every ounce of strength I had not to put my hands all over her body. “A French Martini, right?”
Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Huh?”
“That’s what you’re drinking tonight, right?”
“It is. How did you—”
I cut her off and dipped my mouth to her ear again. “I’m the kind of man who always makes it a point to know things, Hailee. I’m also the kind of man who doesn’t give up, so let me buy you a drink and spend some time with you.”
I saw the moment she gave in when I pulled my face away from hers. Unfortunately, it was also the moment her boyfriend decided to show his face.
“Hey, babe,” he said as he quickly kissed her cheek. Her fucking cheek. If Hailee was mine, no fucking way would I greet her with a kiss on her cheek. Especially not if she was talking with another guy. I’d be making it really fucking clear to him that she was mine and that he should back the fuck off and never go near her again.
She turned into him, but I caught the hesitation. His arm slid around her waist, but his attention wasn’t on her. And it wasn’t on me, either, which it should have been. His gaze had wandered to something behind me, while Hailee’s eyes still held mine.
“Thanks for watching us play tonight,” she said, letting me know this conversation was done.
“I’ll be back to see more soon.”
I watched them walk away, my attention on her ass and my mind stuck on what made her tick. She wanted what I wanted. I just had to figure out what was holding her back.
Ghost sat down across from Nitro and me at the prison the next day, and with one look at him, I knew this was going to be a hard conversation. And probably not one that would get us anywhere.
He glared at Nitro. “King sent you to do his dirty work?”
Nitro clenched his jaw. “How are you, brother?”
Ghost raised a brow. “Are you asking because you genuinely care, or is it the kind of question you ask to break the ice before you try to fuck a man in the ass?”
Nitro shoved his fingers through his hair and then rested his elbows on the table separating us from Ghost. “When the fuck have I ever tried to screw you over, Ghost?”
Ghost continued to glare at him while we all sat in silence. Finally he blew out a long breath. “Always a first time for everything, especially when the feds are breathing down the club’s neck.”
“So you know about that?” Nitro asked.
“Yeah, they came to see me a couple of weeks ago.”
“And?”
Ghost didn’t answer him but rather, glanced at me. “Who are you?”
Nitro cut in. “It doesn’t matter who the fuck he is, answer my question.”
The dark eyes I was staring into flared with anger, and again he said, “Who are you?”
“Devil,” I answered.
“You been a member for long?”
“Seven years.”
He leant back in his seat, stretching his legs out in front of him, his arms crossed over his chest. To anyone not part of this conversation, he would have looked casual, but I saw the tension that had settled in him. “So you joined a few years after they fucked me over.”
“Fuck,” Nitro bit out. “No one fucked you over, Ghost. When are you gonna let that shit go?”
Ghost’s anger came to life and he pushed out of his chair, slamming his fist on the table. “When are you gonna see King for the motherfucker he is, Nitro? He’s had you on that fucking leash for years, ready to do his dirty work whenever he says so.”
Nitro shot out of his seat, a matching look of fury on his face. Before he could lose his shit, though, I stood too and placed my hand against his chest. Pushing him back, I cautioned, “Brother, this isn’t the time. Sit down and let’s get what we came for before the guards kick us out.”
His lips pressed together and his eyes cut to mine. After a few deep breaths, he nodded and stepped down.
I turned to Ghost. “Sit the fuck down. You need to hear what we have to say.”
He stood his ground. “I don’t need to do jack.”
“Yeah, you do,” Nitro said. “For Ashlyn’s sake.”
Whoever Ashlyn was, she meant something to Ghost, because his face clouded over with menace. “You fucking touch her and I swear to fucking God you’ll live to regret that decision.”
“You give us what we need and I won’t go near her. The decision is in your hands.”
“Motherfucker,” Ghost muttered before dragging the seat back to the table and sitting. “I fucking gave Storm everything and this is the way you repay me.”
Nitro and I sat. He shook his head. “No, we looked after you, but you chose to walk away and be a cunt about it all.”
“What would you have done, Nitro, if you’d been in my shoes? King stripped my vice presidency from me because I made one fucking mistake, and then he did everything in his power to cut me from the club. He chose pussy over a brother. Tell me that you wouldn’t have taken that as a reason to walk away.”
I was confused, not knowing the full story, but I was under the impression that Ghost was still a club member. “You left the club?”
Ghost met my gaze. “I’m nomad now. Stuck in a fucking prison for the shit I did for a club that didn’t have my back after all.”
“For fuck’s sake, Ghost, when did you start making shit up in your head?” Nitro glanced at me. “He made a play for King’s woman—”
Ghost cut in. “When I was fucking drunk!”
“So that makes it okay?” Nitro threw out.
Ghost raked his fingers through his hair. “It was a bad move, but you can’t tell me you haven’t done dumb shit after a few drinks.”
Nitro leant forward. “But it wasn’t the first time, was it, Ghost? You’d done that shit before. King forced Jen to tell him the truth after you were locked up. Turned out you hit on her almost every time you got wasted, and she didn’t tell King because she didn’t want to cause problems in the club.”
“Yeah, well that didn’t give King the right to take my vice presidency away and give it to Hyde.” He looked at me. “Does he still put pussy before his brothers?”
I’d heard just about enough. “I’ve never seen King choose a woman over his brothers. And I’m betting there’s more to this story than the shit you’re spinning.”
“There sure fucking is,” Nitro said, but didn’t elaborate.
Ghost didn’t respo
nd. He simply sat there seething.
“How about we get down to business?” I suggested, having had enough of this conversation. Ghost didn’t appear to be the kind of person to ever consider he could be wrong. “What did the feds want when they spoke with you?”
Ghost crossed his arms over his chest again. He sat in silence for a beat, but quickly came to his senses. “They were asking questions about Storm’s drug trade.”
Nitro frowned. “What, from ten years ago when you actually had something to do with it?”
“Yeah, that and they also wanted to know what I knew about the shit that went down with Moses.”
Fuck. This couldn’t be good. The Moses incident should never have seen the light of day. We’d buried that, never to be heard of again.
The vein in Nitro’s temple pulsed. “What the fuck do they know about Moses?”
“I don’t know. I told them I knew nothing.”
“So they just left it at that?”
“For now. I’ve a feeling they’ll be back, though.”
“Why?” I demanded.
Smug delight flashed on his face. “Because they want to bring King down.”
The vein that had pulsed at Nitro’s temple damn near pushed through his skin. “And let me guess, you want to help with that. Except, if you do, all bets are off the table as far as Ashlyn’s concerned.” He stood. “Are we on the same page?”
“Yeah, we’re on the same fucking page, Nitro,” Ghost replied. “But when I get out of here, you’d better watch your back, motherfucker. No one threatens my sister and gets away with it.”
“You think you’re getting out of here?” Nitro took a step away from the table. “You might wanna stop making threats if you ever want that to happen.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of Ghost and his threats, but Nitro’s? I’d never cross him. If he threatened to find a way to keep me in jail, I’d believe every word he said.
As Nitro left the table, I said to Ghost, “Not sure how well you know him, but I’d never fuck with Nitro. Make sure you call us when you hear from the feds again.”
