“She won’t open the door. I banged on it and banged on it.” He grabbed Alex’s hand. “Would you talk to her? Last time you did, she let me in.”
Alex glanced at Ramon and rolled his eyes. “Someday the man’s gonna learn how to treat a woman.” He pried Spider’s hand away. “Come back when you’re not drunk and we’ll talk.”
“Thansh, Heart Man. Love ya, dude.” Spider stumbled off.
Alex grinned at Spider’s retreating back. “Dude’s crazy but harmless.” There wasn’t a member of any club that frequented Aces & Eights that hadn’t adopted Spider as a sort of mascot. Alex had his doubts that the man was as clueless as he let on.
“Maybe we should come back some other time,” Ramon said.
“Nah. You’re good. My brother cleared out a back table for us.” There was a roar from the crowd surrounding the arm wrestlers, and Alex glanced over to see Four Leaf raise a victory fist. Black Jack wasn’t going to like that, but Nate seemed to still have control of the gang. Nate gave him a nod, letting Alex know he’d get with them when he could.
Sometimes he wondered what they were thinking when they decided to open a biker bar as a cover for their operations. It was the perfect front, but there were days when he got damn tired of dealing with the gangs. They weren’t the doctors and lawyers weekend riders, but the real thing, and there was always trouble of one kind or another. Frankly, it was getting old.
He got Ramon and Trina settled, taking a seat across from Trina, and Court pulled out a chair, turned it around, and straddled it. “This is Court, my middle brother. Big brother’s busy keeping the peace right now, but he’ll join us later. Court, Ramon and the lovely Trina.”
Court eyed Trina. “You weren’t lying, bro, when you said she was hot. Nice to meet you, Trina.” The woman actually simpered, and Court winked at her. He held out his hand to Ramon. “Good to finally meet you, too.” After they shook, Court said, “What’s your flavor? Beer, wine, something harder?”
“I think you should guess, see how well you know me,” Trina said.
Court chuckled. “I don’t know you at all, but we could work on that.”
Nate had walked up behind Trina, and Alex sat back to enjoy the show. Up until now, she had totally forgotten him in favor of Court, but that was about to change. All he cared about was that her attention was off him.
“I know you, beautiful,” Nate said, reaching over her shoulder and setting a lemon drop martini down in front of her. “Tart and sweet, the way I like my women.”
Alex swallowed a laugh as Trina lifted her face, her eyes widening at his oldest brother. Alex had overheard her ask for the drink at Jose’s birthday party and had mentioned it to Nate in passing, along with Ramon’s beer preference. And it was only because he knew his brothers so well that he caught the relief in Court’s eyes at Nate’s appearance. Court didn’t want to be any closer to the woman than Alex did.
Following behind Nate, John Boy—their cook-dishwasher-waiter—placed a mug on the table in front of Ramon. “A Cubanero Fuerte for you, sir,” he said in his best waiter voice.
When had they started carrying Fuerte beer? Alex raised a brow at Nate, getting a one-shoulder shrug. Sometimes Nate was full of surprises.
“Make sure his mug stays full,” Alex said.
“Yes, boss.” John Boy bowed as he backed away.
It was still noisy, but not as loud as earlier since the bikers had moved to the back room for a game of pool. Nate pulled a chair over, putting it next to Trina. “Nate Gentry. You must be Trina, and you’re Ramon, right?”
“Interesting place you got,” Ramon said. “Is every night this busy?”
Alex could see Ramon calculating just how much money the bar could launder. “No, some are busier.” He shrugged. “It’s a popular biker hangout.”
Ramon set his mug on the table after downing half the glass. “How much you think you can pass through here?”
“How much you got in mind?” Alex countered. It was a relief to finally see the operation moving forward. If it weren’t for Madison being an Alonzo family member, he would be enjoying himself, but that little fact was stealing his fun.
“Keep in mind that we have some other side businesses we can utilize,” Nate said.
“Such as?” Trina stuck her finger in her martini and then sucked on it, her eyes locked on Nate’s.
Nate winked at her. “None of your business, beautiful.”
John Boy appeared, setting down another mug of Fuerte, then he picked up Ramon’s empty one and slipped away.