Chapter 4

 

 

Chloe

 

THERE SEEMED TO be a lot of eyes on us as we headed over to the two dart machines. Although everyone seemed nice and friendly, there was an undercurrent of arrogance in the room, especially from the fellows wearing the Gold Viper patches. As for the women, there was quite an unusual mix in the crowd. Some looked like tough biker chicks while others reminded me of the high-maintenance types you’d see on “Real Housewives”. The kind with long nails, perfectly groomed eyebrows, and expensive couture clothing.

“I’ll be right back. I need to use the bathroom,” Jordan said, taking a sip of beer. He set it down on one of the tall pub tables. “Watch this for me, please.”

“Will do,” she said.

When he left I smiled at her. “Watch his beer?”

“I know. He doesn’t trust anyone,” she whispered, looking amused.

“Is he worried someone will slip him some Rohypnol?”

“Who knows?” she replied. “Although, Raptor’s wife had it happen to her.”

“Who’s that?”

She explained that Raptor was Jordan’s half-brother.

“So, now he has two half-brothers?”

“Apparently,” she replied.

“It must have been quite a shock.”

“Nothing seems to surprise him. Or me, come to think about it. Not since my mother married into the club.”

“I can imagine.” I swirled the straw around in my Bloody Mary and took a sip.

“So, how’s your drink?” asked Jessica, who’d mixed it up for me while Tank and Graham had been onstage.

“Fantastic, thank you. I’m a little hungry and it’s actually filling me up,” I replied, taking another sip of the cocktail. She’d added a couple of olives and a pickle too, which was hitting the spot.

Her eyes widened. “Oh, crap. That’s right. We should probably eat something before we both regret it. Do you want to go over and check out the buffet?” she asked, nodding toward the table full of food on the other side of the room.

“Maybe after we play one game?” I replied. “Since, we’re already over here.” Besides, there was a table full of Gold Vipers sitting next to the buffet and a couple of them were staring at us.

Noticing, Jessica waved at them and they waved back.

“Do you know everyone here then?” I asked her.

“Pretty much. I’ve never met Graham before.”

“What’s his story?” I asked, glancing over at him. He was very attractive, even though I normally didn’t go for rough looking guys with tattoos. Not to mention they’d had to bail him out of jail. But, he was cute and very intriguing.

“I don’t know much, to be honest. Jordan just found out that his mother left Graham in a church and that nobody knew about it, but Slammer.

“Huh. Do you know why he was in jail?”

“Assault, I believe,” she replied.

Well, that was that.

Handsome or not, if he’d assaulted someone, I didn’t need to hear any more about the guy.

Jessica gave me a funny smile. “Why are you asking?”

“Just curious.”

“He’s cute, isn’t he?” she said with a knowing smile.

I shrugged. “Yeah.”

She handed me a set of darts. “But, you’re not interested because of the assault.”

“I’m not looking for a guy, period. Not right now, at least. And if I was, I’d prefer someone without a temper.”

The truth was, I wasn’t interested in getting involved with anyone. Not after the ordeal I’d gone through with Brent, my last boyfriend, who’d seemed like the perfect guy when we’d first met. After a couple of months, unfortunately, I learned that he was an emotionally abusive, narcissistic asshole. One who’d tried separating me from my friends and family. Thankfully, it was Kai who’d helped me to recognize what kind of controlling and manipulative man Brent really was. Since then, I’d been skittish about getting back into the dating scene.

She nodded. “I don’t blame you.

Jordan returned at that moment and the three of us played a couple rounds of 301. Unfortunately, even with my steady hand, I had a horrible aim. Jordan, on the other hand, beat us by a landslide, just like he’d promised.

“That’s it. I’m getting hangry,” Jessica said, pouting after he buried us again. “I need food.”

I set the darts down. “Yeah, I’m hungry, too”

“I’m going to call Raptor and see what’s taking him so long,” Jordan said, looking at his watch. “Can you get me some food too, Jessica?”

“Sure, babe,” she replied.

Smiling, he gave her a quick kiss on the lips and then went to use the phone.

“Your husband is unusually quiet,” I said to her. He’d barely said two words during the games.

“Yeah. I happen to talk too much so we’re a perfect match,” Jessica replied as we headed over to the food.

“How did you two meet?”

“Through Slammer. I’ll tell you about it sometime. It’s a long story.”

“Okay.”

“Wow, yummy,” Jessica said, when we approached the buffet. “They picked up Olive Garden.”

There were several half-eaten trays of lasagna, Fettuccini Alfredo, spaghetti, and ravioli, along with breadsticks and salad. We loaded up three plates in all and found a nearby table. As we started eating, I noticed Graham staring at me. When our eyes met, he looked away.