Riot(86)

“King used to own this club before Henry bought it. He has expensive taste in alcohol.”

As the bartender set down their two baskets of wings and fries, Grace nodded, looking across the room to the large flight of stairs, which led to a closed, gold door. Her curiosity was aroused after seeing several men coming and going.

“Where does that go?”

“That’s the private part of the club,” Penni answered. “I don’t know for sure since I haven’t been up there before, but Vida told me that’s where the strippers give private lap dances.” She rolled her eyes. “There are bedrooms up there, too. Vida wouldn’t admit it to me, but I’m willing to guess that a private dance isn’t all men can pay for.”

As they were talking, a familiar figure came out of the door, going down the steps.

“Damn,” Penni muttered.

Grace lowered her eyes and lifted her glass to shield her face as Jackal skirted the bar and took a table at the back of the club.

“I’m screwed,” Grace said, panicking. “Ice will be furious at me that I’m in here.”

“Why?” Penni said, picking up a wing and tearing into it with her teeth. “He comes in here all the time.”

“What?” Grace asked.

“Yep, this is a regular hangout for the Predators.”

Grace’s hands flattened on the counter.

When she remained quiet, Penni threw the bone back into the basket. “I thought you knew. You drive past the bar on your way home from work. Haven’t you ever seen his bike parked outside?”

“No.” But then again, she hadn’t been looking, too preoccupied thinking of what she was going to cook for Ice’s dinner. Penni was right; she was a doormat.

The bartender took away their empty baskets.

“Give me a shot of tequila.” Grace laid some cash down on the bar.

“Now we’re talking.” Penni said enthusiastically, smiling flirtatiously at the handsome bartender. “Make it two.”

* * *

Jackal sat in the shadows, watching the women who thought he hadn’t seen them. They obviously had forgotten the mirror they were sitting in front of reflected their image to the room behind them. He took out his phone, texting Ice as he leaned back and took a drink of his beer. He then watched Penni flirt with the bartender who doubled as a male escort. Ice wasn’t the only one getting pissed at the moment.

When Max, Fade, and Buzzard came downstairs, the women picked up a bar menu to hide their faces.

“What are they doing?” Max asked as they filled up the table.

“I think they’re trying to hide,” Jackal answered.

“Ice isn’t going to be happy,” Buzzard said in anticipation.

“I already texted him,” Jackal told the brothers, knowing they would hang around to see the fight.#p#分页标题#e#

The brothers were on the fence about accepting Grace. Jackal was aware of the predicament it placed Ice in; however, personally, it didn’t bother him. Ice hadn’t softened. If anything, he was being a bigger hard-ass, trying to prove that living with her hadn’t changed him. Jackal wished they would get settled down so things could get back to normal. If Ice was smart, and Jackal knew he was, Ice would use the opportunity he had just given him.

* * *

Grace was about to ask for another shot of tequila when she saw Ice coming toward her in the mirror.

His hand attached itself to her upper arm in a hard grip. “It’s time to go home.”

Her hand held onto the bottom of her barstool, refusing to be budged, so Ice quit pulling at her, trying a different tactic. “I left the dogs waiting to go out for their night walk.”

His attempt of persuasion backfired as it dawned on her how she would feel if Ice someday used their children in the same way. What if she wanted to leave him and he used their children to keep her? She needed to rethink things before it was too late and both their lives were destroyed.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Ice’s face turned harsh.

Grace realized she must have spoken her thoughts out loud. “If you don’t love me enough to stay out of a strip club, then you’re not ever going to change your mind about getting married.”

“Is this about wanting a ring? If it means that much to you, I’ll buy you a damn ring,” Ice snapped.

“I did, but now I don’t,” she said, reaching for her drink, but Ice snatched it up before she could, setting it out of her reach. Penni picked it up and tossed it back like a pro.

“If you want to talk, we can do it at home.”

Grace laid her head down on the bar. “I don’t have a home anymore. I sold it three months ago,” she reminded him in a slurred voice. “You have a home, and I live with you. There’s a difference.”