Chapter One

Carson

 

“What’s good, brother?” Tommy clapped me on the back and slammed a glass of beer into my hand. The liquid sloshed over the edges of the cup and I yanked my hand away, shaking it off and laughing. “You gotta have better reflexes, man,” Tommy said. “Seriously, you can’t expect me to clean up after you!”

 

Tommy and Steel threw their heads back and roared. After a minute, I joined in, wiping my sticky hand on my jeans and reaching down for the beer.

 

“I’m great,” I told both of them. “Spent a day checking out some of the most delicious babes.” I grinned. “They closed Tinder’s down for a bachelorette party. Can you believe that shit? It was like being on the set of a porno.”

 

Tommy grinned, exposing a mouth full of yellowing teeth. “That’s rich, man,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “You want to do some shooters? There are some pretty ladies in here tonight,” he said, sniffing the air. “Smells like good pussy to me!”

 

Steel and Tommy started laughing so hard that one of the bartenders looked in our direction. I’d never seen her before; she was on the short, curvy side with long red hair in a braid that snaked over one shoulder and piercing green eyes. She was wearing a low-cut corset-style top that corralled her tits into a savage cleavage, and I could almost be sure that she winked at me before she turned around. Damn, I thought to myself. She is smokin’!

 

“Yo, Carson,” Tommy said, clapping me on the back. “Did you not fuckin’ hear me, man? I asked you a question!”

 

“He’s got puss on the brain,” Steel said with a snicker. “Can’t say I blame him!” He swung a fist out in front of his body and thrust into the air, back and forth, miming sex. “It’s been a long time for me too, brother,” he said with a laugh.

 

I rolled my eyes. “Sorry,” I muttered. “What’s up?”

 

Tommy leaned in. “You got any dirt on the Aztecs? I hear we’re in some deep shit with them.”

 

I shook my head. “Nah,” I said. “The intel never showed up. I was waiting for an hour. Didn’t get a call or nothing!”

 

“Them’s the breaks, man,” Steel said.

 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the redhead again. She was leaning over the bar and wiping down the surface with a dirty rag. Her tits were practically spilling out of her top. I imagined pulling her on my lap and sticking my tongue down her top, lavishing her nipples with rough strokes until she cried out. In my jeans, my cock twitched and stirred.

 

“She’s rich,” Steel said under his breath. “I love it when she has her tits out like that.”

 

“Hi, guys,” Diane said. She sidled up to our table and poked me in the ribs. I glared down at her. “How y’all doing tonight?”

 

“Real good,” I said with a grin, pulling her closer and nuzzling her neck. Diane pushed me away with the expertise of a cocktail waitress, but she was laughing as she did it.

 

“I’m good, too,” she chirped. “Can I bring y’all a round? Shots? Tequila?”

 

“That’d be great, hon,” I told her. “Hey, who’s that smokin’ redhead behind the bar? I haven’t seen her before.”

 

Diane leaned in close and grinned. “That’s Caroline,” she said. “She just started a little while ago, but she’s real good, don’t you think?”

 

I growled under my breath. “She’s a babe and a half,” I said. “Is she single?”

 

Diane shrugged and walked backwards towards the bar. “Ask her yourself,” she called. “She doesn’t normally work Fridays, this might be your only chance.”

 

Downing the last of my beer, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and walked closer. Up close, Caroline was a little older than I’d first pegged her, maybe in her late twenties. She was pretty in a tough way, the kind of girl who looks like a wildcat in bed. And on the streets—the way her green eyes gleamed, I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed.

 

“I’d ask what you want, but you already have a drink,” Caroline said. She pointed to my table and I turned around to see Steel and Tommy downing shots. “Can I get you something else?”

 

“Besides your number?” I smirked. Caroline rolled her eyes and turned away. As she whirled around, I caught a sniff of her perfume: spicy vanilla and chili. A shudder ran through me, I instinctively knew that her hair would smell exactly like that.

 

“Not supposed to go out with customers,” she said smoothly. “What about a drink, though?”

 

I laughed shortly. “If you’re asking me, sure,” I said.

 

Caroline rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible,” she said. “I have to work now,” she finished. “Later!”

 

I watched her heart-shaped ass walk away and felt another twinge in my cock. Damn, I thought. After a long week of work, she would have been a sweet little girl to have in my bed. Then again, maybe it was for the best. Running into my one-night stands after the fact wasn’t usually pleasant, and if she worked here, chances were that I’d see her again.

 

“Carson, get your ass over here!” Steel called, and Tommy started hooting. I rolled my eyes and walked back towards my friends. They were goofs, but they meant well most of the time.

 

“You guys can’t wait a fuckin’ second?” I complained. “Didn’t you see I was trying to talk to her?”

 

Tommy laughed shortly. “Tonight’s not about pussy” he said in a quiet voice. “We gotta talk about our future, the future of the club! Man, I can’t believe this kinda shit’s been going on!”

 

“I know,” I said in a conspiratorial tone as I leaned in closer, Caroline almost forgotten. “Over the past couple months, we’ve had two Aztec run-ins.”

 

Steel nodded. “And I have intel saying that they’re planning something,” he said quietly, running a hand through his dark hair. “I don’t know when, but I heard something about a string of arsons.”

 

I frowned. “Arson is fuckin’ serious,” I said quietly. “We can’t get tangled up in that. Not while we’re using so many resources on this turf war.”

 

“I know,” Tommy said patiently. “But we don’t know the whole story yet. We can’t make any decisions. We’re gonna vote on it tomorrow,” he said. “You going to the clubhouse?”

 

I nodded. I always spent my weekends at the clubhouse. Drinking, fucking, gambling, sometimes taking care of a fallen brother. Ever since I’d been patched to Devil’s Own, the club had been my life. Tommy was the VP, and he and I had grown up together. Steel was a friend of his from way back—crazy and violent, but not a bad dude. None of us were bad dudes, really. Maybe unethical and cruel sometimes, and maybe mixed up in some bad shit, but not really bad.

 

“Carson,” Tommy said, “you gotta have my back on this. You know Josh doesn’t always agree with us,” he said in a low whisper. “Things ain’t goin’ the way he wants them to. He wants us to get back into running guns, you know that?”

 

I shrugged. “It’s better than the dope,” I said finally. “But everyone knows that we won’t be able to kick any Aztec ass until we’re really done with that. They have too much of a share on the dope market. We’re not going to break in without incident.”

 

Tommy looked at me, his black eyes blazing. “I know that,” he said finally. “I’m just so fuckin’ nervous about this.”

 

“Get your panties out of a twist,” Steel hissed. “You know Josh knows what’s best for the club.”

 

I looked at Tommy. “I’m gonna get another drink,” I said. “You boys want shots?”

 

Tommy and Steel hollered and whooped, forgetting that the moment had been tense. I breathed a sigh of relief as I went up to the bar. Caroline was still there, and she eyed me with interest this time.

 

“Can I help you, sugar?” she asked. “And no, I still can’t give you my number.”

 

“She’s busy,” some thin, reedy guy said. He stepped closer. “And bar’s closing, maybe you and your gang want to go somewhere else.”

 

I stepped closer to him and looked down at him. He was shorter than me, but with no less cockiness. I sensed a coldness emanating from his thin form. “We’re a club,” I said smartly. “Not a gang. And it’s only midnight. Closing up so early on a Friday? When Josh gives y’all so much?”

 

The guy eyed me and finally turned away. “Fine,” he muttered. To Caroline, he leaned across the bar and stroked her bare forearm with his greasy fingers. “Think about it, honey,” he told her. “You don’t wanna be left out in the cold, do you?”

 

“I’m fine,” she muttered. Seeming to only just then remember that I was standing in front of her, Caroline turned to me with a fake grin on her face. Even when she was faking it, she was still breathtakingly pretty. “Can I help you?”

 

I narrowed my eyes. “Is that jerk bothering you?” I asked. “I can get rid of him, no big.”

 

She shook her head. “Forget it,” she told me. “He works here. Friend of the owner.”

 

“Ah,” I said, leaning back and crossing my arms over my chest. “So you’re fine with him bossing you around, too?”

 

She flushed. “It’s not like that,” she said. “And I’m fine, I swear.”

 

I gave her a hard look. “Sure,” I said casually. “How about grabbing me a beer?”

 

When she returned with my bottle of Heineken, I was just about to ask her out when that drip appeared again.

 

“Lucas,” Caroline said with irritation. “What is it? I told you, I’ll be right there.”

 

“You know how particular Eddie is about getting the back room cleaned,” Lucas said snidely. He stared up at me and I had the rotten feeling that he was just messing with her to get to me. “You better go get cleaning, girl!”

 

Caroline blushed and stepped out from behind the bar. Lucas gave her a patronizing smile that made my blood boil. When she was about to walk past, I turned to Lucas.

 

“Look, you fuck,” I said slowly. “How many times do I have to tell you: don’t bother the lady! She obviously doesn’t want to talk to you, and there’s no need to get butthurt because she doesn’t wanna be around you!”

 

Caroline turned to me, her green eyes blazing. “Hey,” she said shortly. “I can take care of myself!”

 

Just as I was about to defend myself, Lucas leaned in my face. “You be real careful around here, thug,” he said in a smarmy tone. “You know who runs the show? I do, motherfucker,” he added under his breath. “Now, you and your gang should shoo.”

 

Throwing my hands up in the air, I walked back to the table. Tommy and Steel looked bleary-eyed, and I called a couple of prospects from the Devils to come escort us home.

 

But when I went back to look for Caroline, she was already gone.