Tate
“Get in the car.”
I tried to close the front door, but Dante stuck his foot out. “I’m not going.”
“If I have to go on another fucking girls’ night, then so do you,” Dante demanded. “Roman said we all had to go, so get your ass in the car so we can get this over with.”
I wasn’t in the mood to go out. I know I had Wednesday to go, but the more I thought about it, the more I knew that it wasn’t going to work. Whatever plan Roman had cooked up was going to crash and burn because Hadley hadn’t answered the phone when I called last night. It went straight to voicemail.
“Look, Dante. Roman can’t fix what happened between Hadley and me. It’s done.”
He hooked me around the neck and dragged me out the door. “Fine, then just come have a fucking drink with me, so I don’t go insane having to listen to Molly and Sage talk about the strippers like they’re runway models talking about the damn underwear they have on.”
I patted my back pocket, making sure I had my wallet and strolled to Kellan’s car that was idling at the curb. “You can let go of my arm, ass.”
Dante twisted it behind my back, making me bend over into the car. “But what would be the fun in that?” he smirked.
I collapsed in the backseat next to Sage, and Dante slid in next to me. Kellan was driving, and Molly was in the passenger seat next to him.
“You’ve got twenty minutes to explain to us why the hell Roman demanded my girl go to the strip club tonight,” Kellan ordered. He pulled away from the curb and headed in the direction of the club.
“Jesus Christ,” I mumbled.
Sage elbowed me in the side, and her smile beamed up at me. “Spill, ninja.”
“What is with you chicks calling us ninjas?” Dante mumbled.
Molly turned in her seat. “Um, isn’t that what you are?”
“No. We just do karate,” I pointed out.
“But I bet you could be a kick ass ninja, though. Like, Angelina Jolie could break into your room one night, telling you the fate of the world is in your ninja hands. You would have no choice but to be a ninja.” Sage karate chopped the back of Kellan’s seat and gave a hi-ya.
I leaned forward, my head in the front of the car. “How many drinks did she have before you got in the car?”
“Five,” Sage sang out.
“They were small though,” Molly pointed out.
“Molly,” Kellan laughed. “They were damn shots.”
She shrugged and pushed me back into the backseat. “Spill about why we’re going to the strip club.”
She wasn’t going to let this go. “I met a girl, we dated, we broke up. Roman thinks he can fix it.”
“But why are you fixing it at a strip club.,” Molly asked.
“Because she works there,” Dante mumbled.
“You’re dating a stripper?” Molly blurted.
“And Ryker’s aunt.”
“Would you just shut the hell up, Dante. You’re not making this shit any clearer,” I drawled.
“Wait, so you were dating a stripper, and Ryker’s aunt?” Kellan asked.
“Who is Ryker?” Sage questioned at the same time.
“You know Ryker,” Molly replied. “He’s the kid that is helping out at the studio.”
“Ah, you’re right, I do know Ryker. For some reason, I thought his name was Ronnie and you just called him Ryker because it was more of a ninja name than Ronnie.”
Dante leaned around me to look at Sage. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
She shrugged. “I mean, you guys all have ninja names. I just thought if you do karate and don’t have a kick ass name, you make one up. I mean, have you ever met a badass ninja named Bob or Clarence?”
“Bob, yes. Clarence, no,” Dante replied.
Molly waved her hand, silencing us. “You were dating two chicks, and you are trying to get the stripper back?”
“She’s not a stripper, she’s a waitress, and she’s Ryker’s aunt.”
Sage and Molly both ‘ah’d,’ and Kellan smacked his hand on the steering wheel. “I fucking knew something was going on with Hadley. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
I ran my hand through my hair and shrugged. “She didn’t want anyone to know, and as long as I could be with her, I was fine with it.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Sage cooed.
“It was sweet until she kicked him to the curb,” Dante mumbled.
Kellan laughed under his breath, and Sage patted me on the knee. “You’ll get her back. We’ll help,” Sage promised.
Good Lord. This was all I needed. Not only was I part of Roman’s plan, but I also had Sage and Molly helping.
This was going to be interesting.
**********