Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
I could feel it.
It had been a rowdy night, even by The Vault’s standards.
The club was packed, and the drinks were flowing. It was only a matter of time before trouble found its way into the crowd. I was starting to feel the itch when I spotted two drunk guys near the stage. They’d been hooting and hollering at Candace for the past hour, and the blonde bombshell was giving them everything she had. But they were growing more obnoxious with every drink they downed, and their comments had gone from crude to downright disrespectful.
She was a seasoned dancer who’d dealt with men like them on many occasions. She knew how to handle herself, so we gave her a bit of leeway. But as I stood there watching the scene unfold, I could tell her patience was running thin.
When one of the guys reached out and grabbed her arm, things took an immediate turn. She jerked her arm back as she snapped, “Watch it, asshole. We don’t play here.”
Her cheeks were red with anger when he slurred, “Come on, baby. Give Daddy what he needs.”
He swayed back and forth, and once he got his footing, he reached for her again. That’s when I’d had enough. I bolted towards the stage and signaled for Rusty to follow. We were getting close when the second asshole took his drink and tossed it towards Candace.
It splashed across her chest, and all hell broke out.
Candace was a petite little thing, but she had a temper and wasn’t the type to back down. With a fierce glare, she hopped off the stage and shoved the guy backward. “I said, hands off!”
The drunk stumbled, but he caught his balance just before crashing out on the floor. His face was flushed with anger as he took a charging step toward her. “You little—”
He started after her, but he didn’t get far before I grabbed him by the collar, jerking him back and lifting him off his feet like he weighed nothing. I tossed him to the ground and placed my knee across his collarbone, making it impossible to move.
Rusty came up behind me, and in a blink, he had the second guy pinned against the wall. My guy started to squirm as he whined, “Come on, man. We were just having a little fun!”
“Fun’s over.”
I jerked the guy to his feet and started dragging him toward the entrance. Rusty followed close behind with the second guy, and when we reached the front door, we tossed them out onto the sidewalk. I towered over them as I said, “Consider yourselves banned.”
“Aw, man. You ain’t gotta be like that.”
“Banned,” I repeated. “You come back, and you won’t be walking out of here.”
Without saying anything more, I turned and headed back inside. I’d barely stepped through the door when Candace came rushing over to me. She batted her long eyelashes as she said, “Thanks, Ghost.”
“Just doing my job.”
“Yeah, well, I still appreciate it.” She took a step closer. “I’ll be glad to thank you properly after we close.”
“Yeah, I’d be down for that.”
“Great.” A smirk tugged at her lips as she turned. “See ya in a bit.”
Rusty and I exchanged a glance, then made our way back to our place at the door. Grim came over, and he had his usual stern expression when he asked, “You boys good?”
He was the club enforcer. It was his job to make sure the club and everyone in it was safe. Rusty sounded irritated as he answered, “The next motherfucker who comes into this fucking bar wanting to start some bullshit, I’m gonna give them what they're looking for.”
“Think you already did that,” Grim teased.
“Hell naw. We let ‘em off easy and you know it, but that bullshit’s over. Anyone who tries to put their hands on one of our girls is gonna get my foot in their ass.”
“Booze and hard-ons aren’t a good mix,” Grim explained. “They’re always making people do stupid shit.”
“Yeah, but putting your hands on a woman is crossing the line.”
I knew where Rusty’s aggravation was coming from.
Whitney and Toby had made an impression on him, too. It was hard not to. They’d been through hell, and all at the hands of someone who should’ve been looking out for them. It was impossible not to feel something—compassion, pity, rage. They all came in waves, each one hitting harder than the last.
It must’ve been on Grim’s mind too because he turned to me and asked, “How are our guests making it these days?”
“They’re hanging in. Goose is with them now.”
“Good.” His brows furrowed. “Has Shep made any progress with the ex?”
“Yeah, you could say that.” Shep was the club’s computer hacker, and since the day they moved into the clubhouse, he’d been monitoring the ex, making sure he wasn’t making a move to come after them. “His address, the precinct he works for, and who he’s been running with. Nothing to make him think that he might be up to something. At least, not at the moment.”