He saw sadness in King’s face until he turned through most of the book then joy filled his expression. Then Lily said something to King which had the man practically in tears.
Shade figured he had given them enough time. Besides, if he didn’t break it up, King was going to have every brother in the backyard making fun of him.
King closed the scrapbook as he approached.
“Are you ready to eat?” Shade asked Lily, frowning when he saw King wipe his tears away.
Maybe he should take another look at the scrapbook. The pictures inside shouldn’t be causing that kind of reaction from her father.
“No. Would you mind going to the car? I left a pack of diapers on the backseat. I thought we could…” Lily began mischievously.
“No. I am not making another diaper anything. I don’t care who it’s for.” Shade broke off his rant, taking a good look at King’s face. “Is Evie…?”
Hell, he felt bad about making fun of King’s crying.
“No.” King smiled widely at him.
Shade looked back and forth between Lily and King. His face broke into a smile as he lifted Lily from her seat, twirling her around in his arms.
“What’s going on?” Evie asked as she came to stand next to King. “Have you been crying?”
Shade heard her when he placed Lily back on her feet, kissing her then picking her up to twirl her again.
“Yes,” King admitted.
“Why?”
“Lily called me Dad.”
“Do you know why Shade’s crying?” Evie asked.
“Yes, because he’s going to be a dad.”
* * *
Bernard used his cane to hold the door open for the man entering the bar. He nodded toward the same card he had in his pocket.
“I see you won one, too.”
“What?” The man stopped as he was about to enter.
Bernard walked in, looking around. There were about twenty men watching the stripper shake her tits at the men in the bar.
“I got one. It’s for a free lap dance, isn’t it?”
“Yes. You won, too?”
Bernard nodded, losing interest in the man he was talking to.
“We must be on the same mailing list,” he said, taking a seat at an empty table.
“Maybe.” He shrugged, taking a seat at the same table.
“Here you go.” A server placed two whiskeys down on the table in front of them.
“We didn’t order these—”
“Don’t worry; they’re on the house.”
“Damn, why haven’t I come here before?” He smacked the table before picking up his drink.
“Name’s Jason.”
“Mine’s Bernard.” The two men shook hands.
The stripper walked off-stage as the door at the top of the stairs opened, and a huge man walked down the steps.
“He must be the bouncer,” Bernard wise-cracked. “Damn, those are some mean-looking fuckers in the corner by the door.” Bernard nodded at the group of bikers.
Jason turned his head, his expression growing pale when he saw the men. Hastily, he turned to face forward when the one with the scar stared at him. The creepy fucker made his skin crawl.#p#分页标题#e#
“That’s the Predators.” Jason lowered his voice.
Bernard turned to stare at them again rudely. “I’ve heard of them. They don’t look as badass as I thought they would. In my day, me and a couple of friends of mine could have taken the whole bunch of them,” Bernard bragged loudly.
“Sh … I don’t want any trouble with them,” Jason muttered.
“You a pussy?” He hit the table. “You’re in the right place. Jump on the stage.”
Jason looked around the room at the men sitting at the tables and standing at the bar. Some of them looked vaguely familiar.
The door to the outside opened, and another group of bikers entered. They looked just as lethal as the ones sitting at the table.
“Fuck, how many free coupons did they give away?” Bernard muttered.
Jason ignored him, staring at their cuts.
“The Last Riders,” Bernard answered his unasked question.
Jason had never heard of them, and he didn’t intend to get caught in a turf war. He finished his own drink, setting the glass down on the table.
He was about to stand up and leave when the last biker came in. When the door closed, he locked it and stood in front of it. He was as big as the bouncer, but he was bald. He crossed his arms over his chest, blocking the door.
Bernard slammed his empty glass on the table. “Where did that waitress go? I need another drink. Think they’ll give me another free one?”
“I don’t think the first one was.” Jason sat on the edge of his chair. “Where did all the waitresses and strippers go?”