Broken (Soldiers of Darkness MC Book 1) (16 page)

In one quick movement she whips off her bikini top before she turns around and grabs the pole, sticking her beautiful ass out for all to see as she swiftly loosens the tie sides of her panties, pulling them away, leaving her naked bar for those porn-star shoes, and I’m seething. I want to lay out every guy who’s leering at her tits, wishing their dicks were inside her hot, wet pussy.

‘Hey… what we got going on…?’

I tear my eyes away from the stage and turn back around to look at Viper. His expression is curious, his eyes narrowing as he focuses on Izzi. She’s sliding down the pole like every man’s living wet dream, and I hate the fact that Viper’s staring her down more than anything.

‘What the fuck…?’

His expression changes again, and traces of anger are starting to show themselves now, and I frown. What the hell’s up with
him
?

‘I told that bitch my girls are exclusive. So what the
fuck
is she doing up there?’

I’m confused now. What’s he talking about?

‘Why’s one of
my
girls stripping in
your
fucking club?’ He tears his eyes away from Izzi and looks at me. And I’m still confused.

‘One of
your
girls? I think you’re mistaking her for someone else. That’s Izzi. She’s one of my…’

‘Izzi?’

Now it’s Viper’s turn to look confused.

‘Who the
fuck’s
Izzi? That’s Destiny. I hired her a few days ago.’

Jesus Christ, how fucking stupid have I been? Am I really that fucking naïve that I actually believed her lies? I’m seething for a whole other set of reasons now, but I can’t let Viper see I’m rattled. How weak am I gonna look if he finds out I’ve been distracted by a pretty face? A beautiful face.
Shit!

‘I’ll deal with it.’ I keep my voice steady, I have to.

‘Like fuck you will…’

I throw an arm out in front of him, stopping him from doing something stupid. He’s angry, and he probably has every right to be. But she’s
my
fucking problem. ‘You’re in
my
club now, OK? And I said, I’ll deal with it. You need to get out of here.’

He stands his ground for a few more seconds, his expression tight and restrained as he takes one more look at Izzi, all naked and beautiful. A beautiful, manipulative liar. ‘Yeah, well, I ain’t done with her.’

He is. He’s so fucking done with her.

‘Odi. Make sure we take care of Viper’s check. He’s leaving now.’

Viper looks at me, and his eyes are blazing. Understandably so. He don’t like being made a fool of. Neither do I. Izzi’s played us both. And she has no idea of the dangerous game she’s playing. No fucking idea.

‘I’ll deal with it.’ My teeth are gritted now, because I want him out of here. I need to sort this; I need to see her and make some sense of the mess she’s caused. But if he gets his hands on her first…

‘Tell her, Mack… tell her, I ain’t finished with her. Something ain’t right here, and I’m gonna find out what game that bitch is playing. Because something ain’t right.’

I turn away from him. I’m done now. He needs to leave.

‘Tell her, Slayer.’

Yeah. I’ll tell her. I’ll tell her plenty.

I wait until Odi comes back inside. I need to know Viper’s gone before I go find Izzi.

‘Has he left?’ I pour another shot of whiskey and down it in one, slamming the glass down so hard on the counter it shatters.

Odi watches as I pick up the bottle and swig straight from it. ‘Something up, boss?’

‘Has Viper gone?’

‘I watched him ride off myself.’

‘Put some men on the doors – front and back. Make sure him and none of his crew get back in here.’

‘Is something…?’

‘Just do it!’

Odi holds up his hands in surrender and backs away.

I take one last swig of whiskey, and try not to think about the shit-storm that could be heading our way…

Izzi

‘You were good out there tonight, darlin’. You done this kinda thing before?’ Cora smiles at me, and I return it. I like her. She’s nice, and I’m still kind of gutted that Mack’s put a stop to our girl-on-girl performances.

‘Not really, no.’

‘Well, you’re a natural, honey. And watching you out there…’ My eyes drop as she lets the robe she’s wearing fall open, and she’s naked underneath. Of course she is. She’s about to go on any second and give those guys out there the show they’re expecting from her; the show they expect from all us girls. ‘You got me wet, girl.’ She sets her feet wider apart, and I raise my gaze, her eyes burning into mine. ‘Go on. Feel how wet you got me.’

I reach out and slide a hand between her legs, sinking my fingers into her slit, and she’s soaking. Her quiet moans cause my thighs to tingle, and I want to sink to my knees and lick her dry, but I don’t. She needs to be pumped to give them out there her all. But I really, really want to lick her dry, and I silently curse Mack for taking that pleasure away from me. Or has he? Maybe fucking a woman would take my mind off what I should be steering clear of – him.

‘Y’know, just because Mack’s called time on our
public
performances, don’t mean to say we can’t still play in private.’

It’s like she’s read my mind, and I smile as I carefully maneuver two fingers inside of her. ‘Yeah. I think I’d like that.’ I feel my stomach contract as she clenches her muscles, gripping my fingers tight.

‘I
know
I’d like it,’ she murmurs, pushing down so my fingers sink deeper into her, and I want to finish this job, so bad. I want to bring her off then let her do the same to me. ‘But it’s gonna have to be later, honey. I’ve got work to do first.’

I pull out of her, and I watch as she ties the robe back around herself and sashays towards the dressing room door. What I’ve become over these past few months still sickens me slightly, because I don’t recognize who I am anymore. All I know is I need to keep focus and get the job done. Sam’ll sort out the rest. He’ll help me. I just need to make sure I leave as soon as it’s over. Which is why I can’t let myself become involved with Mack. I thought it could work, I thought it might be OK, but it isn’t. I have to go home. And I will. Soon.

The sound of the door slamming and angry footsteps echoing around the room makes me look up, and my stomach’s suddenly knotted with nerves as I see Mack striding towards me, his face contorted into a mask of anger.

‘What the
fuck
do you take me for, huh?’

It takes a second before I realize he’s talking to me. He has to be talking to me, I’m the only one in here now Cora’s left.

‘You’re dancing at
Viper’s
bar? He fucking saw you, Izzi. He saw you, and he’s fucking angry, sweetheart.’ He grabs my arm and pushes me back against the wall, his eyes burning into mine, and I’m scared. I’m terrified, because this is my worst nightmare. I didn’t think this through, and I wish Sam were here. He’d be angry, too; angry that I ignored everything he told me and tried to be clever. But he’d save me. He’d help me. ‘But he ain’t half as angry as I am, darlin’. You fucking lied to me, Izzi. You stood there and told me you weren’t gunning for Viper’s crew no more…’

‘And you believed me?’ I have to hold my nerve, keep calm, and play this out. I can do it. I can. ‘More fool you.’

I try to push him away but he’s got me trapped. He’s too far into my space for me to feel comfortable, but this is
my
fault. And only I can fix it.

‘You fucking
bitch!
’ he spits, and it’s taking every ounce of strength I have not to break down. Because I really am scared now.

I flinch as he punches the space right beside my head, his cries of anger and frustration bouncing off the walls, turning my stomach as the fear intensifies. I don’t know how this is going to play out now. I’ve got no fucking idea. I think I might be in way over my head here.

‘You’ve got no idea what you’ve done,’ he says through gritted teeth, and his expression still scares me. I haven’t seen him like this, and I guess I’m now witnessing what men like him are really capable of. Sam warned me, and I ignored him. I thought I knew best. I thought I could do this my way. I was wrong. I was so fucking wrong. ‘You’ve got no fucking idea…’

He punches the wall a second time, and another cry of frustration echoes around the empty space, filling my head; feeding the fear.

‘Why’d you do it, Izzi?’

His tone is calmer now, and that takes me by surprise. ‘I… I came here to…’ I can’t get the words out, they’re stuck in my throat and I can’t seem to dislodge them. ‘I can’t walk away from here without finishing the job.’ I finally manage it, and my voice is much calmer and steadier than I thought it would be, given the circumstances. ‘I can’t do it, Mack.’

‘Shit! Izzi…
Jesus!
’ He lets go of my wrist and steps back from me, running a hand backwards and forwards over his head. ‘
Shit!
’

I can’t believe I’ve been this naive. After everything I went through to turn me into this person I needed to be, I go and blow it on some stupid, rash decision. Did I really think I could handle this alone? Yeah. I did. And now I don’t know if I can handle it at all.

‘OK. OK, we can sort this.’

I fold my arms across my chest, my eyes following his every move as he paces the floor, running a hand almost constantly across the back of his neck, his eyes down on the ground.

‘We need to get you out of here. Get you somewhere safe.’ He stops pacing and his eyes dart around the room until they fall on my clothes thrown over a chair by the dressing table. He grabs them and throws them at me before he takes his phone from his pocket, flicks his fingers over the screen a couple of times and presses it to his ear. ‘Get dressed.’

 
He turns away from me and I can hear him talking into his phone but he’s bowed his head and lowered his voice so I can’t make out what he’s saying. Or who he’s talking to. But even with his back to me his body language is agitated.

I quickly pull on my clothes and drag my hair back into a ponytail as he turns around to face me. His expression’s still angry, and my stomach is tied in so many knots now I can’t even breathe properly, but I have to do as he says. I fucked up, and right now he’s the only one who can help me. I have no one else.

‘Come on.’

He grabs my hand and drags me out of the room and down a corridor that leads out through the back of the club. There’s a small black truck outside, and Mack pulls me towards it as Duke and another club member I recognize but whose name I still can’t remember, but I think he’s Mack’s VP, open the back doors.

‘Get inside.’

I look at Mack. ‘What’s happening?’

‘They’re gonna find out who you are, Izzi, you know that now, don’t you? Viper’s crew, they’re gonna want to know what you were playing at. Why you did what you did, and they’ll find out. Believe me, darlin’, this ain’t a game…’

‘I didn’t…’

‘They’ll find out what you were planning to do and they’ll come after you, and Viper, he ain’t gonna settle until he’s finished this. And I can deal with him, I’ll help you, Izzi, but we need to get you out of here…’ He drops his gaze and runs a hand across the back of his neck. ‘Duke and Odi are gonna take you to our safe house…’

‘Safe house?’

‘Look, sweetheart, I ain’t got time for this, just get in the fucking truck.’