With a bottle of vodka hanging between my fingers, we, (Melissa, Jada, and I) walked down the stairs, drunk and feeling a little dipsy. Damn, I’m pretty sure we were a sight for sore eyes. Or maybe we looked amazing. Yep, I’m going with we looked amazing because I felt amazing. Fuck the false sense of confidence alcohol gave me. It was real.

“I’m ready to dance!” Jada rose her hand above her head, just as we reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Me too!” The floor was spinning, and the clubhouse was pumping. We had plans to go to the Strip for a night out, well, Melissa had plans, whether she went with those plans was another story, but I’m not sure any of us would make it.

“Hey!” Jada pulled me in closer to her. She leaned into my ear. “You still want to hit the clubs if Melissa changes her mind? I am kid free for the night, and I don’t know about you, but I need to not feel like a mom for a few hours.”

I take another long drag of the vodka and take a mental note on how it tastes strangely like water now. Bad zone. This is Ella’s bad zone.

“Definitely, hey, I didn’t know you had a kid?”

Her head bobbed. “I do. A boy. He’s a hellion, but he’s my child so it’s not like he can help it.”

I take another swig of the alcohol. Interesting that she has a child. I never would have guessed it. “Familiar Taste of Poison” by Halestorm begins playing, and I don’t know why, but my eyes find Frost’s immediately, and to my shock, he’s already watching me. Asha was beside him now, no longer all wrapped on his lap. He raised his glass to the rim of his mouth and took a sip. I sucked in a breath, pulling my bottom lip into my mouth. I was annoyed with how much he affected me, but before I could explore that annoyance, the song kicked in more, and my eyes closed briefly as I got lost in the song. Someone tugged at my hand, interfering my moment as Jada pulled at me to go dance. The guitar came into the song at full blast and I laughed, throwing my head back as Jada dropped down and danced her ass into me. I swung my eyes back to Frost as the hook came back in and all air sucked out of me. Everything went into slow motion, his face turned serious, his eyebrows pulled in together and then suddenly the song was over, taking the intensity of the scene with it. Then it snapped. “I Hate Everything About You” by Three Days Grace started playing next, and just then, it was as though the same wall dropped down over his face and he tugged on Asha, pulling her back onto his lap. He looked at me with a grin on his face and even though it felt as though someone had punched me in the gut, I continued to watch. He drew his tongue out and licked from her collarbone up to below her ear. My eyes fluttered, my blood boiled, and I slammed my mouth shut.

Rage.

“Okay!” Jada jumped in front of me, cutting off my vision of Frost and the bullshit façade he was putting on for me. “So we’re going. Right now.”

My eyes finally cut to her. This was why I couldn’t be involved with him. Like, ever. So what if I felt a little something toward him, it was just lust. I need to kill something. I feel my rage begin to simmer under my skin. This is bad. I haven’t felt this, emotion in general, for so long, it’s kicking up warning signals for me.

“Now?” I asked her, almost pleadingly. Now I knew I needed to get out of here fast before I did something stupid and ruined everything for my brothers. My beast was savage; she should not be awoken.

Jada searched my eyes, hers narrowing as if she could read me a little. Read, and maybe recognize the rage I keep hidden so well. “Yeah, chica, right now. Come on.” She took my hand. “We can find some poor suckers to bring home to my house tonight since my kid is with Hella.”

I didn’t bother chancing another glance at Frost. I followed Jada out the front of the clubhouse, leaving him and that skank to do whatever the fuck they wanted.

I was Ella Motherfucking McKenna. You couldn’t fuck with a McKenna, because, well, because we’ll kill you.

“Yo!” Jada called out to the bearded man who walked into the octagon room earlier to grab Frost. “Give us a ride to town?”

He gazed suspiciously between both of us, and I could see his face a little clearer now—ignoring the fact that I was in fact, intoxicated. He was deliciously tall and built. He had dark brown hair that was long enough to slick back, and he rocked that shit. He had a long full beard that was scruffy and thick but still maintained nicely.

His eyes cut to mine and it’s then I noticed his thick dark eyelashes and deep warm mocha brown eyes. I wasn’t sure how old he was. If I had to guess, I’d say…I tilted my head, running my greedy eyes up and down his impeccable body. “Thirty-eight.”

Shit. Did I just say that out loud?

“Eyes up here, sweetheart.” A deep voice cut into mine. I brought my eyes back up, only to find his dancing in humor.

He stepped closer to me. “Ripper.”

“Ripper?”

Jada rolled her eyes. “That’s his name.” She gaped back at him, but Ripper still glared at me, only he had a slight grin on his lips while doing the glaring.

“Rip, please?” Jada broke in again.

His eyes fell down my body, and then he shrugged. “Yeah, whatever. Jump in the truck.” He gestured behind him and I shot a look over his shoulder to see an all-black Chevy truck.

Jada jumped up on her toes and kissed his cheek. “You’re the best, Rip.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He waved her off and I followed her to the truck.

Jada had already scooted into the middle, so I slid in beside her, making me on the passenger seat.

Ripper jumped in and began pulling out of the compound. I glanced out to the clubhouse to see Frost walking out with a cigarette in his mouth, watching the truck with narrowed eyes.

I slowly flipped him off, my lips curved impudently, then turned to face the road.

After a short twenty-minute drive, we were on the Vegas Strip. Aka, my stomping ground. I had a feeling things were about to get messy tonight. The bright neon lights lit up the busy streets, and a weird feeling came over me. It was the first time I had been out in a long time, and admittedly I didn’t go out much growing up. Maybe once or twice, and that was because I was with Miles and we had something to do. This was the first time I was out just for fun, and it felt…normal.

“Yo!” Ripper said, rolling down the window as we got out of the truck. “Don’t get into fucking trouble tonight, yeah?”

I winked. “We will.”

“Give me your fucking phone.” He put his hand out the window.

“What!” I glared at Jada, then gestured toward her. “Use her phone!”

“I have her number,” Ripper shot back. “I don’t have yours, and if I can’t get hold of you both from that phone, I’d like a-fucking-nother.” His attention cut to Jada, who was already pinning him with her own evil eyes. I sensed something there. Wait. Were they?

“Fine!” I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and threw it toward him. He punched a few numbers in and then gave it back.

“Toodles!” Then he kicked up smoke and burned off.

“Did he just say toodles or am I drunk?” I glanced at Jada, shocked.

She laughed, shaking her head. “Yeah, he totally did. That’s Ripper. Don’t take that cool demeanor for granted though… there’s a very good reason why he had earned the road name ‘Ripper.’”

“I’m gathering,” I replied, as we walked down the strip. “Are you two?” I had to ask, I was too nosy.

She shook her head. “No. I mean, do we? Yes. Sometimes. But he never wants anything more, and that’s fine with me. I’m not into catching feelings or whatever they call it. But it’s just good sex.”

“Fair enough,” I answered, not wanting to pry any further into what they have going on. Once we reached an entry to a club, I tugged on her arm. “Let’s forget for a little while.”

The doorman held out his hands for our ID’s and I rolled my eyes, pulling out my fake from my purse. I have a whole safety deposit box filled with passports and driver’s licenses.

He nudged his thumb over his shoulder and Jada and I skipped inside. The flicking strobe lights, smell of sweat dripped in cheap perfume, and the deep base of some hip-hop song played loudly, and just like that, I was forgetting.

Jada grinned. “Let’s fuck shit up.”

And we did. We danced until sweat poured from our pores and our hair was sticking to our flesh. We danced until my legs were numb, my eyes were so heavy they were peaking and until I felt the first vibration of a phone call in my purse. I ignored it, dancing and swinging my hands up high in that annoying way I see girls doing when they’re dancing but actually can’t dance. I can dance, so I have no excuse as to my dancing this way. Like a flapping penguin. The song remixes into Sam Hunt “Body Like a Backroad,” and I lose it. Yeah okay, so I like country music, especially Sam Hunt. Shoot me. I tugged on Jada and we ground to the smooth beat and lyrics. I spun around to face Jada again, only catching a guy standing behind her, his hands gripping onto her hips. My eyes shot to hers and she shrugged, turning in his grip and wrapping her hand around his neck. Just as I was about to check to see if she was okay with it, even though her response pretty much answered that question, I felt an arm wrap around my waist. I stilled, then turned around to face whoever it was. I was met with a cheesy smile, innocent twinkling eyes, and soft brown curls, I relaxed a little. I’m not feeling him, but since Jada is dancing with someone, I may as well make myself busy with this boy. I’m pretty good at reading people, and he seemed innocent enough. He leaned down into my ear, his hair scratching over my cheek. “Your friend is with my friend, so it only seems like the noble thing to do.”

I threw my head back and laughed. “What a gentleman.” I noticed how I’m a little rigid, and go on my tippy toes, my lips coming to his ear. “Sorry. Not very experienced in this…”

His eyebrow quirked, his palm coming to his chest. “You mean to tell me, a nice girl like you doesn’t do this every weekend?” His mouth widens. “I’m shocked.”

I laughed again, and we fell into a smooth, effortless dance.