AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s perfect. You men can talk all you want while I take Mia down to see the burlesque club,” Barrett said.
“Go easy on her, Barrett,” Colt said dryly.
Barrett laughed. “She’ll be fine. No doubt she can handle herself.”
We all left the private dining room to walk through the restaurant to the lobby. Zip stood with a group of men who wore leather cuts denoting them as the Blue Angels Coeur d’Alene chapter.
“Where’s Joni?” I asked, approaching Zip.
“Still in the club. She saved you a table,” Zip said. He turned to Barrett and grinned. “Look at you.”
“Look at me.” She smiled back.
Zip embraced her and then pulled away. Despite Barrett’s expensive clothes and wealth, she was clearly at ease with the rough and tough biker crowd.
I felt Colt’s arm drape over my shoulder. “Come here, I wanna introduce you to Knight.” He dragged me away from Zip and Barrett and we headed to the other side of the throng. A tall man with a mostly brown beard sprinkled with gray and weathered skin from the years on a bike was talking softly to a younger biker with a strong, angular jawline.
“Knight,” Colt greeted.
He turned toward Colt, his hand outstretched, a smile blooming across his face. But just as he was about to greet Colt, his gaze turned to me and he visibly blanched. Even though his beard hid most of his face, I could see the swatches of his cheeks pale.
“Knight?” Colt pressed, obviously seeing the man’s reaction to me. “You okay?”
Knight swallowed and then nodded. He forced a smile and clasped his hand to Colt’s. “Good to see you, boy.”
“Thanks for coming. The Rex is treating you right, yeah?”
“Just had a glass of the best bourbon money can buy.” Knight grinned, shooting me another quick glance.
“Knight, I’d like you to meet my Old Lady, Mia. Mia, this is Knight, president of the Coeur d’Alene Blue Angels.”
“Mia,” he said, his voice raspy. “Glad to meet you.”
“You too.” I shook his hand, noting how he held onto mine a little longer than was socially acceptable. I forced a smile and tried to shove my unease aside.
“We’re headed up to the Whiskey Room,” Colt said to me. “We should be there for a while.”
I nodded, understanding what he was telling me without saying it. It was club business and so I was not going to be part of it.
“Barrett and Flynn have given us suites,” Colt said. “We won’t be driving back to Waco when we’re finished.”
Which was Colt speak for,drink and be merry, and I planned on doing just that.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could feel Knight’s penetrating stare. I didn’t care for it, so I made my goodbye with Colt brief. I kissed his lips and then slipped from his side, determined to find Barrett.
She was still conversing with Zip but when she saw me, she linked her arm through mine and said, “Gentlemen, enjoy your evening. We will definitely enjoy ours!”
Barrett waved to her husband and threw him a sassy smile, which he pretended not to enjoy, but even I could see the twinkle in his eye. We went into the burlesque club and I took a moment to stop and marvel at the decor. Old school gas lanterns graced the walls and the stage was lit with vaudevillian type bulbs. The female servers were dressed like cigar girls. An eight-piece brass band was in the orchestra pit and the velvet brocade curtains of the stage were currently shut.
“Wow,” I said.
Barrett tossed out a laugh. “I know, right?”
“It’s unbelievable. I feel like I’ve stepped back in time.”
“Precisely the point. Oh look, there’s Joni.” Barrett nodded with her chin in the direction of one of the booths where Joni sat with a drink.
Barrett and I came over and Joni was out of her seat before we even reached her. She hugged Barrett. “I didn’t know you’d be here! I thought you’d be with the men.”
