Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“It’s not like that. Anyway, don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. I’ll be in and out of that club in ten minutes, and those guys will be sorry they ever woke up this morning.”
“Guys?” Jason asked, alarmed. “There’s more than one?”
“Only two. I said don’t worry about it.”
“I am worrying about it, and I’m coming with you.” I glanced back at Jason and discovered that while I was getting dressed, he had also gotten dressed.
“Jason, you can’t, man. You’re one of the closest friends I have, but I can’t let you come with me.”
“Why, too dangerous?” he asked.
“No, too complicated.”
I hurried to the circular drive and unlocked the doors of my Vette with the remote. Before I could stop him, Jason had climbed into the passenger seat and shot me a look that dared me to make him get out. “I’m going,” he said.
I sighed and slammed the door. “Alright, man. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. There’s just some stuff about me that maybe you don’t want to know.”
“Quit talking shit,” Jason said as we hurtled down the highway toward the club. “You knocked my fucking tooth out of my head, Kage. That’s the only thing I wish I didn’t know about you. Everything else I can handle.”
The drive only took fifteen minutes, but I knew a lot could happen in that amount of time. I was worried for Jamie, and I was also worried for Steve. Now that there were two guys involved, things had officially moved to a whole new level of fucked up.
As we neared our destination, I started mentally preparing Jason. “Okay, when we get in this club, I want you to stay focused. Don’t let any personal feelings get in your way, okay? I’m counting on you. Hopefully, I can take care of the situation myself, but there are two roid heads involved here. We’re talking big guys who probably have egos as big as their biceps. No telling if they can fight, but they’re enormous. They dwarfed Jamie in the pictures.”
That thought of those two big guys getting hold of my little Jamie made me sick to my stomach. God knows what they might do to him. He was just so fucking naive, so willing, and so eager to please.
Why hadn’t I called him? A little hurt pride wasn’t worth all this. What if something really bad happened to him?
“They probably can’t fight if they’re that big,” Jason pointed out. “Probably a couple of muscle-bound gym jockeys.”
“Well, just be prepared anyway,” I told him, sounding a lot calmer than I felt. “They may not want a fight, and even if they do, I can probably handle it on my own. I really don’t want to get you involved, but since you forced yourself on me, I guess you can make yourself useful as backup. But only just in case.”
Jason rummaged around in the duffel I kept in the floorboard with an extra set of workout clothes. “You don’t have another hoodie in here?” he asked.
“No, sorry. But there should be a beanie in the center console.”
“Alright, it’ll have to do,” he said, pulling the black beanie all the way down to his eyebrows. I brought my hood over my head, hiding my face in shadow. If we’d walked into a convenience store looking like we did, the clerk would have hit the silent alarm.
“Bet you’re rethinking that tattoo on your neck right now, aren’t you?” I asked.
“Shut up.”
I paid for valet parking as close as we could get to the club, and we hopped out and ran the rest of the way. I’m sure Jason thought I had lost my mind, but he hung with me. I couldn’t help wondering how he was going to react when we got inside that club and he learned my secret. Would he still have my back?
The club was dark and cool inside, and I had to wait for my eyes to adjust before I could see well enough to make out individual faces. I scanned the walls first, because Jamie had been standing near the wall that separated the dance floor from the private rooms. I’d been in the club plenty of times, so I’d recognized his position from the photos Steve had sent.
“Kage!” Steve’s voice rang out from a corner booth, and I rushed over to him.
“Where is he?” I demanded.
He pointed toward the private rooms. “All three of them are back there. Third door. I followed them and tried to stop them, but they just pushed me out. It’s only been a few minutes. I’ve got a bad feeling about—”
But I was already running. I could sense Jason close behind me. So far, so good. I wondered fleetingly if he’d noticed yet that we were in a gay bar.
I hit the third door running. I had no idea what I’d find on the other side of it, but I wasn’t going to wait one second to consider it. I knew from experience that the rooms were just glorified cubicles, each containing a bed-like platform with a waterproof mattress. They were designed for privacy rather than security, so the door gave easily with a loud pop.