FangI had put it off too long already. Going to see the new owner of The Drunken Otter. But I couldn't put it off any longer. She was hosting my party tomorrow, the least I owed the woman was a hello. Not that I wanted to. I had no time for women like her. I had no time for any woman beyond taking my fill. Not anymore.Something huge and grey leapt out in front of me, jolting me back to reality. I swerved, but my bike clipped it and sent it tumbling further into the road. Panting, I came to a stop, throwing a glance behind me to see what the hell I had just hit. A dog. A dog the size of a fucking pony got up, shaking its scraggly grey fur, and started limping towards the curb. Who the hell had a dog that big? And what the hell was it doing running free in my town?“Woofy.”Frowning, I looked down the street to see Pope’s old lady tottering towards us in her usual skyscraper heels. There was a rainbow-coloured dog leash dragging behind her. “What the actual fuck is that?” Slippi
FangI’d hit her damn dog and manhandled her all in the same day. It wasn’t quite the meeting I had envisioned, but I couldn’t bring myself to regret it. Not when she was looking at me in the way she was.She was trying to be discreet about it. Trying to catch glimpses when she thought I wasn’t looking.Unfortunately for her, I was always looking. I didn’t even attempt to be subtle about it. What would be the point?I was interested in her, and for all her fire and venom aimed in my direction, she was interested in me. It was only a matter of time before she fell into my bed. Personally I was all for speeding up the process. The chase was fun and all but there were other things that were fun that we could be doing.“Something going on between you and Gypsy?” Monster sipped his drink next to me, his face impassive. I could feel his eyes on me though.“Nope.” Slugging down the rest of my drink, I carried on staring in her direction. She was moving behind the bar with an easy kind of d
GypsyPutting on a brave face was what I did best. But I had to admit to myself that Fang's words had hurt. He was entitled to think those things if he wanted, there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about that, but to say them out loud? That was below the belt. He had been lucky that I hadn’t tipped the half-drunk pints over his head as a thank you. Not that I cared what he thought about me, he was the biggest asshole I had ever had the misfortune to meet. And I had met quite a few. Yet, there was something about the way he looked at me...a softness I hadn’t expected from him. Not that it mattered, he ruined it every time he opened his damn mouth. Asshole. “Gypsy, I think we have a problem.”I glanced up from my place on my knees. Restocking the fridges was one of the jobs I actually enjoyed after a busy shift. It gave me time to think. “What’s up?”“I think Kelly is skimming from the till.”Her words shocked me. “Do you have any proof?” We had been open for a week. One week and on
FangShe had humiliated me, called me out in front of my men and that was something I couldn't forgive. How she had handled the Kelly situation was unforgivable. Yes, the girl had been stealing and Gypsy had every right to fire her on the spot, but to drop that bag full of stolen liquor at my feet? That had been uncalled for and it had sent a clear message.Gypsy thought she was the boss of me. Part of me admired her fighting spirit. A very small part. Not that I would ever tell anyone that. “Sorry, Prez, I tried to stop her.” Pope's face was flushed as he pushed open my office door.For a moment I had no clue what the hell was happening, and then Gypsy appeared. Her face was murderous, her tanned legs hidden under a layered dress that reminded me of what Darcie had turned up wearing a few times. It was the kind of dress that covered almost every inch of a woman and yet was somehow the most sexual thing in the world.“You changed your hair?” The blonde with multicoloured streaks w
Fang“Ok, let me get this straight?” Hansel leaned back in his chair, rocking it backwards on two legs as he surveyed me. “You fucked Gypsy?”The room was suddenly quiet, more than one head swivelled in our direction. I flashed my eyes at him. Why did he have to say it so loud? Not that I was embarrassed about what had happened between us. God knows it had been a long time coming. I just int particularly like the whole club knowing my business. I wanted to shush him, to tell him to keep his fucking voice down, but instead I nodded mutely. “What the hell were you thinking, Fang?” Hansel’s anger took me by surprise. My head snapped upwards to glare at him. Hansel carried on regardless. My temper had never put Hansel off from telling me how things were. Not even my role as his president did that. We had known each other too long. Had too many shared secrets for him to hold his tongue when he thought I had done something wrong. And I could tell by his face that he thought I had crossed
Gypsy“So you and Fang, hey?” Bobby, the Drunken Otter’s former bar manager and my newest recruit, flopped down into the chair opposite me, stretching his long legs out under the table. He had a bottle of whiskey and two glasses in his hands.Usually, I would have a problem with any member of staff helping themself to the liquor on my shelves, but after what had been the shift from hell, I was just glad he was there.As much as I hated to admit it, Bobby was a good fit for us. He knew the bar, was friendly with the regulars and was burly enough to deter even the most intoxicated asshat who thought they could smash up the place.For the most part anyway.That night had been a little different. It seemed it didn’t matter whether it was a town or city, drunk college boys were the absolute worst.My legs ached, my arm was bruised where one particularly persistent man child had grabbed at me and I was in need of a very large drink. I raised my eyes to him. “Me and Fang what?” Motioning wi
FangThere was blood dripping down my fingers. Hot, thick blood. It made a scorching line as it dripped across my hand and down my arm. Like acid.And just like acid, it burnt a mark on my soul.How many men had there been before the one before me? Honestly, I couldn’t remember. Too many over the years. Hell, there had been too many in the last few months. This was just the latest in a long line.A very long line.I was tired of it. The blood and the screaming. And with each man, we interrogated my soul grew a little bit darker. Soon there would be nothing left at all.“He's not going to tell us anything more.”The deep timbre of The Judge’s voice snapped me back to reality, my eyes lifted from the blood that had snaked past my wrist. He was right of course. The man in the chair in front of us was beyond speaking now. He had probably been too far gone for the last hour at least. And we had found out nothing. Just like with all the rest of them. Every single person I had asked had
FangWatching her from the road was stalkerish as all hell, I knew that but I just couldn't seem to help myself. I hadn’t rushed back from our pointless meeting with one of The Family’s cronies to be screamed at because I had woken her up. When I knocked on the door of the bar, I wanted her to be happy to see me. Because I had come back quicker just to see her. The interrogation might have been pointless but it had made me realise one thing. Gypsy was special. I might not have known what the future held but I sure as hell wanted her part of it at least to involve her.Unless of course, she told me to get lost.That was a real possibility.I had faced down gunmen, criminals out to take my life and yet this was the scariest thing I had ever had to do. I couldn’t seem to get my body to move off the bike and towards her door.The curtains in the apartment above the bar flicked open and I held my breath. She was awake. That meant I wasn’t about to wake her up and...A man came into v