Max (A Carter Brother series Book 4)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  “Payback’s a bitch,’’ I remind him; pointing my finger warningly towards him. Turning around I face the queue and give them a bow. “Thank you, Coldenshire, and goodnight,’’ I boom, earning a few more giggles and laughter.

  Walking past Elliot towards the rest of the group I swear I hear him mumble about mental institutions, but I can’t be sure. Maybe he has a relative in one.

  “That was fucking classic,’’ Mason roars over the loud music. He’s still laughing at my expense. Fucker.

  I jump on his back, causing him to stumble. “Giddy up. It’s party time.’’

  “I’ll get the drinks. You fuckers go grab that table bar over by the dance floor,’’ I shout.

  The place is packed. People are huddled at the bar waiting to be served but I push my way through until I’m happily at the front. The girl next to me sends me a glare but I just wink, blowing her a kiss.

  When I see one of the girls I’ve fucked before I shout her over. I can’t really remember her name. I’m pretty sure it begins with a D but it could be anything. I just don’t want to risk calling her the wrong name and not being served.

  One thing I’m short of and that’s patience. I can’t stand waiting in line for anything. Even at a bank when there are more than two people in front of me, I’ll leave.

  “Hey, gorgeous,’’ she purrs, leaning over the bar. Her heavy breasts squeezing together and with the small tank top she’s wearing, I get more than a good eyeful.

  “Hey, Da-darling,’’ I greet smiling. I try to recall her name again, but I’m getting nothing. I just hope the whole darling thing worked. When she smiles I take that as a good sign and that she hasn’t caught on that I have no idea what her name is.

  “What can I get ya, Senator?’’

  I grin. “Can I get seven vodka Red Bulls, fourteen shots of whatever you have and four shots of the strongest liquor you have,’’ I wink. Mason needs to catch up but he also needs to learn the concept of revenge.

  “Walk to the end of the bar,’’ she shouts over the music. Handing me my change, she picks up the tray of drinks. I nod my head, knowing the drill. Whenever they have a big order they always ask the customer to head to the end of the bar. That way the drinks won’t get spilt trying to get out of the crowd of people waiting to be served.

  “Call me. I finish at three,’’ she winks, leaning in to kiss my cheek. My mouth, for once, stays shut. I’ll probably end up wearing the tray of drinks with the comebacks flying through my mind right now. Instead, I give her a tight smile and walk off. I don’t even know what I’ll be doing at three, but one thing is for certain, I know who I’d love to be doing at three and it’s most certainly not her.

  “That was quick,’’ Mason comments as I place the tray down.

  “That’s what Denny said about you,’’ I smart off. Clearly not amused, I carry on. “Joking. People just separated to let me through. They were lining up to serve me,’’ I tell him.

  “Dickhead,’’ he mutters.

  “Did you buy the bar?’’ Maverick shouts over the music.

  “These are Mason’s,’’ I shout. Picking up the four shots the D chick poured. I hand them over to Mason with a grin on my face. “You need to catch up.’’

  He nods grinning. Poor sod really does look like he needs a drink. He takes the first shot and ends up bent over coughing his lungs up.

  “What the fuck is that?’’ he wheezes. I slap his back hard while trying to control my laughter.

  “That, my friend, is payback. Here, take this. It will ease the burn,’’ I lie.

  Not reading into my lie, Mason happily takes the shot glass from me, downing the drink quickly. His eyes shoot wide open, a look of horror crossing his face. I burst out laughing, no longer able to control it. His cheeks are puffed out like a hamster and I’m pretty sure I’ll be seeing steam shooting from his ears soon.

  “Two more,’’ I shout, grinning.

  “You’re an ass,’’ he growls but takes the two shots anyway. I laugh when he starts coughing again. He grabs for the glass of vodka Red Bull, downing most of it in one go.

  “Bottoms up,’’ Maverick shouts, holding one of the shots up. We all follow, grabbing our own and shooting it back.

  “Ants,’’ Myles laughs.

  I groan, but then the seven of us are on the floor with our legs and arms flapping around. I’m pretty sure Adam was already playing Ants before we even dropped the deck, but it all happened so fast I can’t be sure.

  Getting back up I begin to feel a little wheezy. It’s then I realise the gist of the game. The quick movements are guaranteed to get us pissed quicker.

  “You sly dog,’’ I laugh at Myles who just salutes me with his drink, pocketing his phone. Mason and Maverick are helping Adam up, leaning him up against the post next to the dance floor.

  “He’s not going to last the night,’’ I point out to anyone who is listening.

  “We’ll drag him with us anyway. He can be like our mascot or something,’’ Lee grins, grabbing a pen out of his pocket.

  “You carry a colouring book in there too?’’ I ask, leaning back to see.

  “No,’’ he laughs. Walking over to a swaying Adam; Lee begins to draw on his face. I laugh. So cliché.

  Dick move. But still funny as fuck.

  Walking over to Lee, I snatch the pen from his hand, ignoring his protests. He was in the middle of drawing a moustache. It looks more like a two year old has been scribbling on his face, though, I don’t tell Lee that in fear of hurting his feelings. “What’s his number?’’ I ask Lee. He rattles it off while I copy it down on Adam’s head. ‘Call me in the morning’ is written above the number and I step back, admiring my handi work.

  “He’s going to kill you,’’ Mason chuckles as I pocket the pen, hoping it will come in handy later on.

  Maybe that’s why Lee had it, I think to myself.

  I shrug. Then I hear it. I jump in the air, twisting around mid jump to face the others and start going crazy.

  My fucking song!

  I love this tune.

  “Ooooh watch me, watch me,’’ I sing and start throwing down some moves. Everyone moves out of my way as I jump up the two steps leading to the dance floor.

  Everyone cheers me on and I grin, busting another move as the song continues.

  Myles and Lee join me, showing off their own skills, but Mason and Maverick watch on laughing. They move their bodies every so often but, apart from that, the two look like two stiff robots.

  Dorks.

  Adam. Poor Adam. He’s standing against the pole, nodding his head with heavy, jerky movements. Every so often I’ll see him try to move his arms in the air, but it doesn’t happen for the poor lad.

  Bless him, he does soldier on.

  The song finishes and a girly song comes on but it doesn’t stop me. Helping me, Lee and Myles grab Mason onto the dance floor. I try to grab Maverick but the ‘fuck off’ look he gives me has me dancing backwards, hands in the air, back to the others.

  Back in the group huddle, I start jumping around Mason shaking my chest as Jessie J and Ariana start talking about banging some chick. Drunk, and feeling stupid, I keep pretending to shake my tits at him. He shakes his head amused. But then hands Maverick his drink to hold and starts shaking his ass.

  “Whooo, Clitoris Love-Bandit is getting married next month,’’ I shout over the crowd.

  “Two months,’’ Mason laughs, correcting me.

  “And you’re having your stag now?’’ Lee asks laughing.

  “We didn’t want hangovers on our wedding day,’’ Mason shouts back, then starts twerking like a fool.

  Laughing hard, I copy, bouncing my way around our small group. A few girls try to join in by acting like retards. It’s like they’re thinking if they can dance like us they’ll be accepted, but it doesn’t work like that. You have to be a special kind of retard to join our huddle, they just look like crazy clowns on drugs.

  Listening to hollers around us
, I look up and notice we’ve formed a nice crowd. None of us seem to care. Even Maverick has joined us. He’s not exactly busting any moves but at least he’s not robotically moving his shoulders from side to side anymore.

  “Ants,’’ Myles shouts, roaring with laughter.

  “Fucker,’’ Maverick growls as we all throw ourselves down on the floor.

  “I’m going to need some back physio after tonight,’’ I groan, waving my legs and arms around.

  “You should be used to being on your back,’’ Lee comments snidely.

  “Nah, your mom likes me on top,’’ I shoot back.

  “Wanker.’’

  People are careful not to step on us. A few of them even stop to stare down at us as if we’re fascinating creatures on display.

  “What? You never seen an epileptic ant before?’’ I shout.

  Getting up off the floor I wipe off the back of my jeans, groaning when I feel the back of my jeans are wet.

  “Great,’’ I moan and Mason and Maverick turn in my direction.

  “What?’’ they ask simultaneously.

  “I’m soaked. I landed in a drink,’’ I tell them, turning around for them to see.

  When they begin laughing I turn back around to face them. “What? Please tell me it’s beer and not some other bodily fluid.’’

  “At least you’ve lived up to your name, Senator Pantstain,’’ Maverick laughs. I groan, not finding the fucker funny.

  “Where do you think the girls are now? Harlow hasn’t texted me back,’’ Malik shouts, ignoring Maverick and Mason laughing at my suspense.

  “You going to be pussy whipped all night?’’ Lee asks.

  Shit.

  He didn’t just say that.

  “Shut the fuck up,’’ Malik growls. One thing you should never do and that’s make snide comments about his relationship with Harlow. Yeah, he’s pussy whipped to fuck, but for Malik, it’s love and he’s proved over and over that it is. He’d do anything for her. Has been like that since the day he met her.

  “Hey, just asking,’’ Lee laughs, holding his hands up, not realising how close to death he just got. “Hey, a shot, girl. Let’s grab a few shots and head to the next bar.’’

  “Yeah, it’s getting on. Didn’t realise how long Mason took to raise some money,’’ Maverick laughs.

  Now Malik has mentioned the girls, my mind turns to Lake. Grabbing my phone from my back pocket I unlock the screen. One message pops up and I grin when I see it’s from Lake.

  A picture downloads of Lake and Kayla and my eyes pop out of my head.

  What the fucking hell!

  Why are we here and not with the girls?

  Do the lads know what the hell they’re wearing? Or not wearing shall I say.

  Holy fuck, her tits. Her legs. Fuck me, her hair. It’s wild and down, falling to her luscious ass. Not that I can see her tight ass in the picture, but the picture is grabbing at my imagination. The shorts look like they’re painted on her, they cling that tight to her body.

  “What has you looking like you’re about to blow your load?’’ Myles grins, staggering up to me. He looks quickly down at my phone but then from the corner of my eye I see his head snap back down. His hand shoots out snatching the phone from my hand as he inspects the picture at a closer range.

  “Holy fucking Christ,’’ he shouts, his eyes bugging out. “Did you know what they were wearing tonight?’’ he asks Malik.

  “What?’’ Malik asks panicked and grabs the phone from him. He looks at the screen and turns awfully pale. For a second I think he’s going to pass out like good ole Adam. But instead, he hands Mason the phone and gets his own out. He pulls the phone to his ear and curses when he doesn’t get an answer.

  “He really wants to fuck her right now doesn’t he?’’ I muse loudly, earning a growl from Malik. “What? I’m hard from just a picture,’’ I laugh.

  Myles slaps me. “That’s my fucking girlfriend.’’

  “Huh?’’ I wince, rubbing my sore head.

  “Kayla,’’ he deadpans. “In the picture.’’

  “Like I give a fuck. My eyes were on the prize, bro,’’ I wink and he just shakes his head.

  “Come on. We need to move on before the bouncers come and kick sleeping beauty out,’’ Maverick laughs. He’s bent over helping up a sleeping Adam.

  “I’m up, mom,’’ Adam slurs and we all look at him laughing.

  The atmosphere in the club turns light again and we all laugh trying to help Adam up.

  “Shouldn’t this be me you guys are carrying?’’ Mason wheezes, tucking his shoulder under Adam’s.

  “Oh, give it time. Give it time. The night is still young,’’ I warn and follow them out.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  LAKE

  “Hey, isn’t this Maverick’s club?’’ I ask the girls when we pull up outside MC5. Max had mentioned the clubs his brothers own a few times during conversations.

  “Yeah. It’s above VIP, the strip club,’’ Kayla giggles. Bless her. Her face is all red and everything and she only said, ‘strip club’.

  “I thought they were two different clubs,’’ I think aloud. It’s pretty impressive. Getting out of the limo I take in the scenery. Queues of people line the street, waiting to be let in. Lights stream through the windows of the club and the music blares from the inside.

  “This is amazing,’’ Nay squeals, stepping towards the club. Seems Nay is a squealer and a happy drunk. She’s been hilarious since we drunk our last drinks at ‘The Fire Inn’.

  “It’s impressive,’’ I agree, grinning. Grabbing my arm, Kayla pulls me towards the front of the queue. Denny and Harlow are already stood at the front doors, laughing and joking with one of the doormen. I hear him congratulate Harlow on the pregnancy just as we arrive, so they must be familiar with him.

  “You ladies stay out of trouble tonight,’’ the doorman winks.

  “Oh, you can restrain me if I get into trouble,’’ Stace flirts, winking back at him.

  Turning towards her, I burst out laughing. She’s eyeing him up like he’s something to be devoured.

  “He’s not a pizza,’’ I whisper yell in her ear. Everyone laughs. The doorman just smirks, eyeing the tall, model beauty.

  “Ohhh, but how I’d love to have a piece of him,’’ she breathes. My eyes fall on the tall, burly doorman again and I can see her appeal. He’s a good looking man if you’re into the whole scary looking, muscled man. And from the way he and Stace are eyeing one another, I’ll take a huge guess and say they’re both into each other.

  “Have a good night,’’ he chuckles. He removes the red rope letting us step past. A few people in the queue protest but a deep growl from the doorman shuts them up right away.

  Kayla and I giggle. We follow the girls into the club, both of us in awe as we take in the atmosphere and our surroundings. Everyone in the club is dancing, having fun and drinking. Just walking in I can feel the buzz coming from everyone else, the feeling contagious.

  “Oh my gawd, this is amazing,’’ I giggle excitedly, my hips moving to the music as we follow Harlow. “Where are we going?’’ I shout.

  “We’ve got a private area blocked off for us tonight. Mason handled it all,’’ Kayla answers, her head nodding to the beat of the music.

  Holy cow!

  Mason is the shit and has just become my favourite Carter brother. He’s cornered off the far end of the club for us. It’s roped off, a doorman standing near the makeshift entrance.

  “Hey, Mason has had Tony prepare you some drinks. They’re on the table. He’ll be over soon, he just got called away,’’ the doorman rumbles to Denny.

  “It’s fine,’’ she waves him off and we head into what is now our space. I feel special, like a celebrity, as we enter the roped up area. Nearby people begin to stare, most likely wondering the same thing, I’m sure.

  As soon as we’re seated, Nay is pouring us drinks and handing us some shots. Tony even prepared Harlow some cool refre
shments. A coke, water and an orange juice are all in a bucket of ice. Mason really thought of everything for his girl and her friends. He went all out.

  Kennedy hands me another shot, I take it, knocking it back. Surprisingly I don’t cough, which is a first for the night, even the taste doesn’t bother me anymore: I’ve drank that many I’m immune to the strength of them.

  “This is the best freaking night ever,’’ Denny screams over the music. “Thank you so much. I love you guys so much.’’ Her eyes begin to water and my own eyes start to soften.

  “Aww, we love you too, babe. And we’re having a blast too,’’ Nay replies.

  “And coming out isn’t exactly a hardship,’’ Harlow laughs.

  “Nope, I’m having the time of my life,’’ I salute, holding my glass up. Don’t ask me what we’re drinking. I have no clue. All I can tell you is that it’s fruity and yummy as hell.

  “You guys are going to make cry,’’ Denny pouts. We all laugh at the sulky expression she’s trying to pull off.

  “Stop with all the emotional stuff. We’re here to have fun,’’ Harlow shouts over the loud booming music. “But just so you know, I love you too, bitch.’’

  “Hell yeah,’’ Nay shouts, shaking her raven black hair.

  “We’ve played the truth game but what comes with playing truth?’’ Harlow asks with a cheeky grin as she eyes us.

  “Dares,’’ Stace answers, grinning like a fool. She looks excited at the possibility of getting down and dirty.

  “I’m lost,’’ I declare loudly, my drink sloshing a little over the side of the glass. “Whoops.’’

  “I’m with Lake,’’ Kayla laughs. “Literally.’’

  I laugh at her goofiness. She’s so darn cute. “Thanks,’’ I grin.

  “Truth and dare. We’ve played truth, now it’s time to get down and naughty and play dare,’’ Harlow giggles, her cheeks blushing.

  “Did you practice that speech?’’ Denny teases.

  “Every day in the mirror,’’ Harlow answers seriously. Giggling, I take another sip of my drink, readying myself for what Harlow has up her sleeve for dares. Because there’s no doubt that she has been planning the best dares her masterful mind could conjure up.