He muttered something I couldn’t hear as he delivered my drink, which tasted like it was straight vodka with the tiniest splash of juice. Dad spent months training me to hold my alcohol. He would slowly increase my intake to make sure I wasn’t a lightweight, getting me buzzed over and over until I learned how to control myself. I could have five of these awful drinks and not even feel a buzz.
I scoped the rest of the place, noting the group of men near the back wearing black leather cuts covered in patches. That distinctive skull logo was embroidered on the back in between the words Savage and Sinner.Bingo.
Otis was tipping back a brown bottle as one of his friends racked a new game of pool. Based on his wobbly gait and squinty eyes, I’d say Otis was doing my job for me. He was already drunk and it wasn’t even seven o’clock.
I grabbed my drink and headed for the back. Eyes followed me, probably because I was one of five females in the entire place. And I was wearing a dress that made my tits and ass look amazing.
“Care to join me for a game of darts?” I asked Otis with a seductive smile. I needed to get him away from his crew, and there were open dart boards near the back entrance.
Otis swayed as he grinned at me, like he couldn’t believe his luck that a young woman like myself was giving him the time of day. Little did he know, his luck was running out.
“I’d love to,” he smiled, showing off the silver cap on his tooth. His blonde hair was messy and dirty, and he smelled like Kane’s gym bag.
I opened my mouth because breathing through my nose was impossible now, and led the way to the dart boards. Otis slithered his hand around my waist and I steeled myself, holding in a shudder. This was part of the gig, but it never got any easier letting them touch me.
“You are–wow, you’re beautiful,” Otis gleamed. “How old are you, baby?”
“Twenty-one,” I responded automatically.Like he gave a shit how old I was.
Otis swallowed, his throat bobbing. He really thought I wanted to fuck his stinky, old cock. Not in this lifetime and not in the next either, big guy.
I trailed my black fingernail along the edge of his cut, going down and stopping near his belt. “What’s your name?”
“Otis. You don’t have to tell me yours. There’s a lot of things I’d like to call you.”
My stomach churned but I smiled anyway, because that was what I was trained to do. I would use this as fuel later when I was wiping that smirk off his face. When he took his last breath, my face would be the last thing he would see. And he would die knowing he would never have power over a woman ever again.
Staying vigilant, I glanced around the room to make sure no one was paying us any attention. Otis’ crew were preoccupied playing pool and throwing back shots. They didn’t give a fuck about where Otis was or what he was doing. As I looked near the bar, I saw a familiar head of blonde shaggy hair.
Finn walked behind the bar wearing a green Fat Cats shirt. He fist-bumped the bartender who had made my glass of vodka and began cleaning up.Shit. If Finn worked here, it was only a matter of time before he spotted me. If he saw me with Otis–cringe–my plans would be fucked.
“Do you want to get some air? I know of a few things we can do that are more fun than playing darts,” I said as I hooked my finger in Otis’ belt loop.
His eyes darkened as they roamed my body, stopping at my cleavage. “I would love to. I need to take a piss first, but I’ll meet you out back.” He nodded to the back entrance, which was convenient since that was where I parked my “borrowed” car.
Finn had his back to us putting bottles of beer into the cooler behind the bar, so I slipped out of there as quickly as possible. The last thing I needed was him askingmorequestions. There was a good chance he was friendly with the bikers, which meant I needed to be even more careful with what I said around him. Finn was a nice guy and I genuinely liked him, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that things weren’t adding up.
I’d have to worry about Finn later, I thought as I leaned against the trunk of the car. After waiting a few minutes, Otis stumbled from the bar, a smile on his face.
In a minute, he wouldn’t know what hit him.
Chapter 22
Kane
TheArlingtonscameoverfor dinner and it was just as boring as it sounded.
I fought the urge to take a nap as we were all seated at the dinner table, finishing yet another course prepared by our chef Phillip. I think this was the fourth or fifth. I’d lost track after Arnold started talking to Dad about golf.
“Sorry I’m late,” Dante said as he barged into the dining room. He was dressed in one of his gaudy-as-fuck suits with his dark hair combed back, looking wetter than an oil slick.
My eyes tracked his movements as he sat in the empty seat across from Arnold, reaching over to shake his hand.
“Mr. Dutton, glad you were able to make it. It’s been a while.” Arnold clenched his hand for a moment and grinned. He was familiar with Dante–that much was clear.
I looked at Dad and his face was grim as the two men shook hands.
“Far too long. The meeting is still on after dinner, right? Y’all didn’t chat without me?” Dante asked as he shook the cloth napkin out and draped it on his lap. He plastered a fake smile on his face, looking around, waiting for his food to be delivered to him.