King(54)

“You going to strangle them with the cord?” Jackal asked, amused. Her car keys hung from a nylon cord with a tiny ball at the end, wrapped in the cord.

“May I?” Penni asked him. King nodded, interested to see if she would try to use it to strangle Jackal, who was still laughing at her.

After Penni held the car keys in her hand and swung the ball at the table, Jackal quit laughing. King grabbed his drink at the thump the ball made against the table.

“If someone tries to bother me, I’ll hit them with this. It’s supposed to knock them out.”

King closed his mouth, looking at the innocuous ball. It could be a deadly weapon if used by the right hand. King narrowed his eyes on Penni. The exuberant woman hid a vicious streak. She reminded King of a pet one of his strippers had several years ago. Sheena had a pet chimpanzee she had trained to take off her top during her act. The men had loved it. Everyone thought it was adorable right up until the moment the little fucker had bitten off two of Sheena’s fingers.

“I can see that.” King reached out, picking up the ball from the table. It was a metal ball bearing underneath the wrapped cord. If swung with enough force at a man’s temple, the damage could be permanent.

“So, like I said, you can tell Evie I don’t need the gun,” Penni said happily, picking her keys back up from the table.

King started laughing, unable to help himself. He should have known that if she was related to Shade, she would have a hidden side to her.

“What’s so funny?” Penni asked suspiciously.

“Nothing. I’ll give her your message.”

“Thanks. Give Lily a kiss for me.” When her facial expression changed instantly, King knew the two had a deep friendship.

“I want to thank you for being such a good friend to her.”

“She’s like a sister to me, King.”

“Has she—” King cleared his throat. “Does she ever talk about me?”

“King, if you need answers from Lily, the best person to ask is her.” Penni wouldn’t betray any of Lily’s confidences, but he had hoped to find out if she had discussed her feelings of him being in her life.

“I’ll do that.”

“Good. She’s a special person. I’m happy she’s my sister-in-law.”

Penni moved to get out, yet was forestalled by Jackal, who was blocking her exit.

“Who did you go out with?” Jackal’s question took the smile off Penni’s lips.

“No one you would know. He’s a gentleman and a law-abiding citizen, something you would know nothing about,” she snapped.

Jackal gave a menacing glare. “Why would I want to be either one? The only pussy a gentleman sees is when he’s staring in a mirror. Are you throwing up my record when your own brother—”

“Don’t you dare say anything about my brother!” She leaned forward, putting her face in his. “He’s a better man than you could ever be, you goon!”

Jackal’s face darkened with fury. “Did you just call me a goon?”

“Something wrong with your hearing? Yeah, I called you a goon. Do you do everything Ice tells you to?” Penni blasted Ice with a furious glare. “Do me a favor and tell Jackal to go fuck himself.”

“How about I stick my—” Jackal snarled, getting back in Penni’s face.

“Jackal!” King gave him a warning look. “Perhaps you and Ice should go have a drink on me.”

For a minute, King thought Jackal would ignore him, yet when Ice took his arm, Jackal got up, moving away. To add insult to injury, Penni wiggled her fingers “bye” at his being forced to retreat by Ice.

“I wouldn’t antagonize him,” King advised.

“I can handle Jackal,” she said, gripping her keys tighter in her hand and then shrugging, letting the tension leave her face. “And if I can’t, there’s always Shade to back me up.”

“He’s in Kentucky,” he reminded Penni. “Jackal is here in Texas.”

“Don’t worry, King. I plan on staying away from him.” She stood up. He was startled when she reached over the table, giving him a brief hug. “Talk to Lily. Maybe she’s just as nervous as you are.”

“I doubt that,” he said wryly.

Her bubbly laughter filled the dark club, bringing smiles to several faces.

“Take her some Chinese food. She loves it.”

“Thanks for the tip.”

“No problem.” With that, Penni left him with the first smile he’d had on his face since before Evie had left Queen City.

Glancing over, he saw the predatory look on Jackal’s face as the blonde weaved her way out of his club. The experienced biker and womanizer had no idea who he was stalking. King briefly thought about giving him a heads-up, but Sheena hadn’t listened when he had warned her about that crazy chimp she had pampered and spoiled until it was too late. Therefore, if Jackal thought he was man enough to take on that woman, King could only hope he had 911 on speed dial.