by J Bree
I turn to face him properly. “What the hell is a child doing in a strip club? You didn’t think that one through a little better?”
He scoffs out a laugh and picks up my shirt from where it’s hanging on the rail and throws it at me. “She’s not a child… I mean, she’s almost seventeen so she’s definitely not supposed to be here but her tits are about as big as yours so she’s not gonna be scarred by seeing what goes on around here. Still, put the shirt on and come help before Rue comes down here and skins us all alive.”
Rue.
That’s the other biker in charge of this place, the one Diamond wants to bed more than she wants air according to Mel.
“I’m supposed to be dancing in a half-hour.”
He nods and waits for me to pull a long dress back on over my head, something flowy that won’t fuck with the body paint I’ve just spent nearly an hour getting on.
He takes me over to the main office, the bigger room that I’d been in when I’d met Tomi. I feel the first little tremors of nerves building in my stomach but when Speck grins at me I force a smile on my face.
I’ll fake this shit until I make it.
Before he opens the door he cringes and turns back to me. “Can you do me a favor, Angel? Don’t ever mention me talking about how big her tits are. It’s better for everyone if that shit stays between us. It’s… it’s kind of a life or death thing. Just forget it.”
Weird.
Does he have a thing for her?
Ugh, I don’t have time to think about his love life beyond not wanting to be a part of it.
I nod and he opens the door, ushering me in before him. There’s a flash and I duck at just the right time to miss the calculator being thrown at us both but he doesn’t see it coming.
It bounces off of his chest like it’s nothing.
“Holy shit, I’m sorry! I was expecting it to be Reece comin’ in here being an asshole! Fuck, are you okay?”
I straighten up and on reflex jab Speck in the ribs for laughing so hard at the shriek that just tore out of me. “It’s fine! Totally fine, I’m here to help with your homework.”
I step into the room and scowl over my shoulder at Speck where he’s still freaking cackling. The office is way messier than the last time I saw it, piles and piles of bookwork and invoices littering every surface. The girl is set up on the desk on top of it all, sitting in Tomi’s chair with her chin propped up on her fist and scowling.
She’s as cute as fuck.
“Angel, meet Posey. Flower child, meet Angel. She’s our new girl, the money-maker.”
I huff at him and take a seat, the same one I was in when I was last in here, and then I smile at Posey. She gives me a grin and says, “I go by Poe. There’s no way a hot piece of ass like you knows something as boring as fucking geometry. No way. I need Tomi’s grumpy ass to come teach me.”
I snort, slapping a hand over my mouth and glancing behind me like he’s got the place bugged and will burst in here. Speck roars with laughter and slouches into the chair by the door.
“Angel goes to college during the day, she’s probably smarter than Tomi.”
I shrug. “I wouldn’t say that. I’m good with numbers though, gimme a look at what’s giving you trouble.”
She sighs dramatically and pushes a workbook over to me. It’s all stuff I can do and even with a quick glance at it I can see she’s gotten it all wrong so far. When I tell her that, she throws herself back in the chair dramatically.
“Fuck this! Seriously, why was I cursed with a low fucking IQ. You know my sister is a certified genius, right Speck? Went to the best school in the fucking country on a scholarship, she’s a fucking genius and I’m over here in this little podunk town like an inbred fucking hick.”
Speck chuckles at her dramatics again, and her eyes narrow at him. “Why the fuck are you laughing? You’re not any fucking smarter, you barely fucking graduated.”
He shrugs. “I don’t need to be a genius, I just gotta win fights.” He looks over at me, batting his eyelashes. “I do win them, by the way. I win ‘em all thanks to growing up a Callaghan. Rue made sure of that.”
I shrug again. “I’m sure you do.”
Poe scoffs. “Stop fucking flirting, I don’t need to know about whose ass you’re chasing.”
I cringe and grab a spare piece of paper to start working out equations for her, writing out exactly how I’m doing it so she can refer back to it later, and I try to block them both out.
It hurts me a little to know that they all think I’m climbing into bed with the bikers here. To have them all think about me that way… not that there’s anything wrong with that, I guess, it’s just not something I want.
Poe seems really sweet.
“Don’t talk about Angel like that, Graves. She’s not interested in my dumb ass or anyone else so don’t treat her like that.”
I blush a little at the scorn in Speck’s voice. His phone starts ringing and he steps out of the room to answer it.
Poe clears her throat and says, “Sorry if that was rude. I’m just… used to the guys coming here to pick a girl out for the night.”
I shrug and check my watch, I still have ten minutes left. “It’s fine. I’m just here to do a job. I don’t want to start anything with anyone.”
I glance up to see Poe chewing on her lip. Speck steps back in with a little frown right as she says, “Most girls are drooling over the likes of Speck so I’m sure he’s crying himself to sleep over it.”
He flips her off. “Poe’s just pissed she’s still not old enough to hang out with us when she wants too. She’s the baby of the family.”
“You are exactly eighteen months older than me, Reece, don’t be a fucking asshole or I’m calling Keely and she’ll have your ass.”
He shrugs and flings himself back on the chair in the corner. “Eighteen months still means I’m free and you’re stuck doing fucking geometry.”
She throws a pen at him without looking and it still hits him directly between the eyes. “Good arm.”
She quirks a grin at me. “Thanks! Growing up with these assholes means I’m pretty fucking good at it.”
I huff out a laugh at her and side-eye Speck. “You’re only eighteen? Jesus. Mel’s old enough to be your mom and she’s chasing your ass hard.”
He grins back at me. “I do love an older woman. If she asks about me, put in a good word, would ya?”
I roll my eyes at him and try to write a little faster, conscious of how long I have left before I have to get out there.
Poe leans forward in her chair to look at my work. “How long have you been dancing here? No one’s told me about you, I’m a little pissed I didn’t know you were here.”
I shrug. “A few weeks. I... uh, I don’t really hang out with the other girls.”
She scoffs and sits back in the chair with the first page of notes. “Lemme guess, Diamond hates you and now the other girls are being bitches to you? Diamond is a cunt, for real.”
I glance around the room like this is a trap and the stripper herself is about to jump out and fire me. “She’s not happy that I only dance. She thinks I’m a frigid bitch… she thinks that I think I’m too good to be friends with them all.”
She giggles. “Angel, I’ve only had to meet you to know that you are too good for them and it’s got nothing to do with them being strippers. Fuck, if my ass looked like yours I’d be up there taking dumbass men’s money too.”
Speck groans and stares up at the ceiling. “Don’t even fucking joke like that, it’d end in a bloodbath.”
That makes no sense.
Poe huffs and then we both jump at the sound of the door snapping open and bouncing off of the wall. Tomi walks through, pausing when his eyes land on me. The corners of his mouth turn down and my heart stops in my chest.
Poe comes to my rescue. “Where the hell have you been? You promised me you’d help with this bullshit!”
I cringe a little at the way she’s talking to him, he’s b
uilt like a freaking brick shithouse, but he just huffs out a breath at her. “You didn’t have to distract the dancers to get back at me. Angel, you’re late.”
I scramble to my feet and duck my head as I walk past him, cursing under my breath at myself. I enjoyed myself for half a second and it bites me on the ass.
By the time I take the stage Tomi is in his booth, whiskey in his hand and his eyes follow my every move.
Poe is gone before I make it back out.
Chapter Eight
Tomi
I spend way too long hanging around at The Boulevard watching Angel.
I make it clear to the girls that I’m doing an audit of the business, something I do on the regular anyway because it’s our biggest legitimate money maker, and then I set up in a booth every night where I can see every fucking twirl and shimmy the girl does on stage.
It’s a special type of hell because, fuck, can that girl move.
Diamond gives me all of the books, a bottle of whiskey, and the offer of a blowjob in the back room on the first night I arrive. The shock on her face when I pass on the blowjob isn’t just clear to me, the girls all see it and start fucking gossiping but I’ve never really given a fuck about that bullshit.
By the sixth night in a row like this, I’m sure word has gotten around because I find myself joined by my cousin within the first fucking hour.
“You wanna tell me why you’re stalking this place now?” Rue orders a drink from Diamond with a jerk of his head and I pointedly don’t look at the new girl.
He notices her anyway. “Fuck. New blood and she’s exactly your type. Tryna be the first one in her then?”
I blow out a breath and face the facts. There’s no fucking way I’m going to get through this pile of bullshit without having someone on my side. I’ve watched Rue chase his little flower child around for fucking years and I’ve dug him out of shit more times than either of us would ever admit to.
I don’t even have to tell him. The second I turn to face him he sees it on my face. “Oh fuck no. No. Really? A stripper? That’s bad fucking news, man.”
I scoff and drain the rest of my glass. “No shit. Looks like you’re the only one getting a decent woman assigned by the fucking curse. Congratulations. Who’d a thought it’d be Grimm fucking Graves’ kid?”
His eyebrows drop down low and I shrug. “I’m fucking bitter tonight, ignore me. Riddle me this, do you feel like you’ve been shot in the fucking chest all the damn time? Does the curse make you wanna fucking die or is that just me and my cuntstruck self?”
He gestures at Diamond to leave us the goddamn bottle, wise move, and gets to pouring the shit out. I drink it faster than he can pour, my eyes drifting over to rest on Angel no matter how I try to avoid looking at her.
She’s the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.
“It always feels like that shit. Fuck, Posey disappears for six fucking weeks every year, you don’t think that kills me? I don’t even know where the hell she goes, let alone who she’s with. Thorn tells me fucking nothing.”
We’re not allowed to ask either.
Part of his agreement with King is that Poe is off-limits. No one touches her, no one asks about her, and we all protect her with our lives.
For the life of me, I don’t fucking get why.
A group of new guys arrive and the whole damn lot of them walk over to the main stage where Angel is, even the regulars who have favorite girls. It’s pretty fucking clear that the other girls are pissed the hell off about it but the booze is flowing and men are ordering private dances left and right thanks to the tease happening on stage.
She’s too fucking flexible, gets a man fucking excited.
“So… gimme her story then. What do you know, how are we getting her the fuck out of this club before she starts a fucking riot? Jesus, Mel is looking at her like she wants to stab her eyes out.”
I whip my head around to check her out and, yep, the loathing there is clear.
Hm.
That might work to get her outta here.
“I know nothing. Nothing except she won’t do lap dances, won’t work on the side like the other girls, and she wants as many shifts as she can get her hands on.”
Rue shrugs and fills his glass again. “That’s a mark in her favor. At least up there they’re only looking. Fuck, is she the one that smacked Maverick out last week?”
My jaw clenches violently. “He tried to touch her. She told him she didn’t do that and he didn’t fucking listen to her. That’s how I met her, I’ve been too fucking busy with Trink’s bullshit to be down here all that much.”
Rue grimaces. “Guess you’ve got Speck watching her now? Fuck, this is a mess. You hear about the shipment?”
We’re in public so there’s not much more that I can say but, “Yeah. We need pest control right the fuck now.”
Rats.
Everywhere. At first we were thinking it was prospects but we stopped taking new members and yet here we are, losing shipments left and fucking right. Absolute fucking bullshit, the only thing we should all be able to trust in is brotherhood and yet we’re being betrayed left and fucking right.
“It’s getting worse now King’s home.”
If that isn’t a fucking mess as well.
Rue lost his dad to lockup at twelve-years-old, now to have him back at twenty-four as not only his dad but his Prez… lotta shit to deal with there. A fucking lot of shit.
He left behind a boy and came out to a man, one raised by his brother and enough fucking demons running riot in his head that it’s going to take a little more than a homecoming to mend what’s broken.
I get my eyes away from the girl and back onto my cousin. “It’s beyond that. They’re just starting up after lying in wait. Gotta keep our eyes open and our ears to the ground.”
Rue grunts and takes a sip of his drink, muttering and cursing under his breath as he shifts around to get his phone out of his pocket. “Trink and Poe are going to some dipshit’s party tonight. Speck just sent a photo of what they’re wearing and you need to tell Trink to quit her shit.”
I roll my eyes. “What the hell do you think I’ve been doing? She’s a fucking nightmare, doing whatever the hell she can to piss me and Hawk off. Women are more fucking trouble than they’re worth.”
As if fucking summoned by my words, Diamond sashays her ass over to the table and brings a new bottle with her.
Rue nods at her and then says, “What’s the deal with the new chick?”
She blinks at him.
Yeah, he’s not exactly known for chasing tail. He keeps any of that shit as far away from Coldstone as he can fucking manage because nothing on this Earth is going to mess with with his little flower.
“Well I’ll be fucking damned. I mean, she’s hot but I didn’t think she was hot enough to tempt Ruin fucking Callaghan. Those tits of hers magic or something?”
I don’t like that.
I might be fucking pissed about being ‘struck but it’s powerful shit and I’m not fucking happy about her talking about Angel like she’s a piece of meat.
Rue doesn’t even need to look at me to spot it, he just directs the conversation to something a little less likely to piss me off. “She’s getting a lotta interest. It’s not good for the club for us to ignore that now is it?”
She huffs a little but I can see the temper tantrum melting away now she knows it’s just business. It’s pathetic how easy all the strippers get hot and fucking bothered about him.
Ain’t a woman in this place that hasn’t tried to coax my cousin into bed.
“She’s a good worker but not exactly willing to go above and beyond. She’s on time, dances like a dream, and keeps her shit in line but there’s been a lotta interest in getting private dances from her and she won’t budge. A bit jumpy, I think in a few months once everyone is over her pretty face and the money dries up a little she’ll sing a different tune. They always do.”
Rue nods and jerks his head at the bar.
“You’ve got a line waiting. Off you go.”
She huffs and walks away with an extra shake to her ass like that’ll tempt him.
It won’t.
He leans over to slide my glass at me and encourages me to drink the fuck up. “So you’ve got until the shine wears off to get her the fuck outta here. You think you can handle that?”
I shake my head. “I’ve never met a stripper without a problem. She’s either got a pimp, a drug addiction, or four hungry kids at home. Not the kinda situation I wanna get myself into. I’m steering clear.”
Rue nods at me, his face serious for about a second before the mask slips and he’s smirking at me. “Then why the fuck are you still here then, brother? If she doesn’t have you wrapped up tight then why are you staring at her ass like you wanna spread her out on the stage and fuck her so good that everyone watching knows who she belongs to?”
Goddammit.
He’s not exactly wrong but I fucking hate her for doing this to me. I drain the last of the whiskey in my glass and slide the empty glass away from myself because I can already feel it taking effect… like how badly I want to walk over to the guy trying to talk to Angel right now and break his fucking legs.
“Fuck me, things are about to get interesting around here.” Rue laughs and I ignore the fucker.
It’s not like I’ve been cleaning up after him and Poe for years.
I’m a nice enough person not to fucking say it to him though.
My response to being ’struck doesn’t get any better as the weeks stretch on.
I put Speck back on watch down at The Boulevard even though he’d be fucking handy for keeping an eye on Trink right now. It’s probably a shit move that’ll haunt me later but the fucking cuntstruck heart has demands and keeping an eye on Angel becomes my top fucking priority.
