AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Let him go, Blade,” Breaker encouraged.
I snarled my answer.
When the barrel of a gun was placed at my temple, only then did I hear Diego’s voice.
“Don’t fuck with Blade, for Christ’s sake. He can do any damn thing he pleases in my house.” Diego clapped his hands twice, forcing the break in the ceremony to end. The guns disappeared, as if they’d never happened.
“Come on, let the dude go,” Breaker whispered in a husky tone as he flanked my side. “You and me. Let’s grab some air.”
Issuing a slight growl, I finally allowed Tony to slip to the floor. I took long strides, heading outside and away from the pool, Breaker following me. I’d never made a scene before, never drew much attention to myself, but tonight just frosted my ass. I sensed by the sounds that the wretched ceremony was about to begin. Maybe I was just through with everything, the lies and the games. This wasn’t me and never had been. I’d always been good at pretending, but I was exhausted and worn thin.
“Damn. Don’t blame you in there, but I don’t have to tell you that Diego can’t let that shit go. You know that. Your ass might be on the same damn block tomorrow night.”
“Then I’ll fuckin’ kill him.” My words were spit out with no thought, but I was serious. I wasn’t going through that shit again. Ever.
Breaker paced back and forth, his hands on his hips. “Tell you what. Why don’t we get out of here, go to that bar I mentioned? I think you need a break.”
I glanced back at the house, half expecting to see one of the other bosses storming outside to find me. There was no one. Thank God for that. “Yeah, a good idea.”
CHAPTER2
Crystal
“Hey, sweet thang, how about another beer?”
Wiping sweat from my brow, I issued a badass glare at the man sitting on the other side of the bar. Mark was a jerkoff, the kind of prick I wanted to pick a fight with, even if he outweighed me by a solid hundred pounds. He and his buddies were also considered dangerous. Tonight, I didn’t care. I was tired and cranky.
“Can it, Mark.” He sneered when I used his real name, a mistake he’d made paying with a credit card one night. His nickname? Savage. The kid was scraggly, tattoos covering his neck and half his face. All gang related. Why this bar?
“Now, come on. You know what I like,” Mark hissed, making sucking sounds.
“Sweet pussy.” The deep bass vibrated all around me.
The second asshole was even bigger, Ramrod’s arms covered in tattoos. I generally liked the looks of an inked man, kind of sexy if you ask me, but in this case, there was nothing attractive about the Neanderthal. Hence, his nickname. His reputation was as bad as his nasty attitude.
Ignoring them, I tugged the stuffed trash bag from the container, huffing as I dragged it toward the back door, swearing under my breath. Maybe I was just exhausted from working every night for the past ten days, but the flaming asshole was getting on my nerves. I remained outside, trying my hardest to calm my anger, my fingers tapping on the dumpster. Unfortunately, the stench of stale cigarettes and empty liquor bottles assaulted my nose. Mixed with the extreme humidity, the vapid odor made me dry heave for a few seconds.
At least I had tomorrow night off, and I had a date, first one in several months.
Whoopedy-do.
The moment I walked back in, my anger shifted into full blown rage. “Hey, jackass. Get your ass from behind my bar or so help me God, I’ll toss you out permanently.” The asshole had sneaked behind the bar,mybar in an effort to grab another beer. Every customer inside of the Sandpiper Lounge seemed to be waiting to see what I would do, the quiet in the usually jumping joint far too conspicuous. Many of them were terrified, a few regulars staying away. That just pissed me off even more.
A leering sneer crossed Mark’s face as he snapped his head in my direction, the cold brew still in his hand. “Ah, sweetheart, you were busy. Thought I’d help myself. I think you need a lot of help if you ask me. Man style.”
When he groped himself, jutting his hips forward, the others laughed.
Undaunted, I planted my hands on my hips, swaggering closer. “Listen up, bub. I’m not your sweet thang, your sweetheart, or your gal. In fact, no woman in their right mind would bother with the likes of you, given your teeny tiny dick and all.” I didn’t mind pushing certain limits, even though I realized the threeamigos, as they liked to call themselves, had certain ‘connections.’ Who the hell didn’t these days? I was far too over their bullshit to worry about the consequences. I’d been warned more than once about the Desperados, the gang theamigoswere mixed up in. They were supposedly several hundred strong, ruthless and bloodthirsty.
“Whoa!” the third companion exclaimed, laughing as he slapped the bar top. The skinny blond was usually the logical one of the three, but tonight I could tell they were all sparring for a fight, even with a woman.
“Oh, shit!” This was the exclamation coming from several of my customers.
I’d known Mark and his buddies since arriving in Charleston. I’d been warned about them from almost day one. Gang members. A few of the regulars accused them of being murderers. I’d learned a long time ago not to judge a book, at least at first. My instincts screamed they were all low players, soldiers without a real cause. They enjoyed razzing my customers, including fondling my waitresses, and while they’d never actually accosted me in any manner while they were sober, I knew they had a dark side. However, when they were intoxicated, all bets were off. The second Mark held the bottle out in front of his groin, humping and grunting, I’d had enough.
“Get the fucking hell out of my bar!”
Mark stood to his full height, jerking the bottle over his head as if planning on tossing the chunk of glass into the wall of mirrors and bottles.
