“Sounds fun.”
“You’ll have to come with us next time. By the way, I’m going out tonight.”
“Okay. Have fun.”
“That’s the plan.” I looked at my watch. “I’m going to change and then head over to Simon’s. He’s driving. In fact, Sam is going with us too. Maybe see if Julia is free tonight and the two of you could hang out.”
“Maybe I will.” She grinned.
I went upstairs, changed my clothes and walked over to Simon’s house where my other two brothers were already waiting.
“Let’s go get this over,” I said.
We pulled up to the 4Play Club and Simon handed the keys to the valet guy.
“Did you tell Julia where you were going?” Sebastian asked Sam.
“Of course, I told her. I don’t lie to my fiancée.”
“Good. Then we can hit the strip clubs in Vegas for your bachelor party.” I grinned as I patted his back.
“Let’s not go that far. She knows why we’re here.”
The club was crowded. Men alone and in groups sat at tables and drank while watching the beautiful women wrap themselves around a pole. I’d been here before for a few birthday parties. It was more upscale than your average strip club.
“Simon, what are you doing here?” An attractive woman wearing black leather stopped us.
“I have a little business to attend to, Sabrina. Is this guy here?” Simon asked as he pulled out his phone and showed her a picture of Ryan.
“Yeah. He’s here every Friday night. He’s sitting at a table by the stage.”
“Thanks, doll. Do me a favor and get us the table next to him. Tell the guy that’s there his next three drinks are on me.”
“Will do, Simon.” She smiled.
“And you know that woman how?” I asked.
“A lot of shit happens in this club. I know the people here.”
Sabrina moved the guy to a different table, and we walked over and took our seats. I couldn’t stop staring at the scumbag that played Alex the way he did. He was with two other guys. Simon had found out this was his hangout every Friday night. Not that he spent Friday nights with his grandmother like he told Alex he did. Our waitress walked over and the four of us ordered a scotch.
“Send a round of drinks to that table and put it on my tab,” I told the waitress.
“Bro, why are you buying him a drink?” Sebastian asked.
“Figured I’d be nice before I beat the shit out of him.”
Our waitress set down our drinks and walked over and delivered Ryan and his friends theirs. After the waitress told him the drinks were on me, he got up from his seat and walked over to our table.
“Hey, man. Thanks for the drink. Do I know you?”
“No. But I have a few questions for you. Do you know this woman?” I pulled out my phone and showed him a picture of Alex I secretly took when she wasn’t looking.
He stared at it and the look on his face told me everything.
“Nah. I’ve never seen her.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yep. Why? Did something happen to her?”
“Yeah. Something happened.” I stood up from my chair, grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him outside while my brothers stayed inside the club guarding his friends.
“Dude, what the fuck? I said I don’t know her.”
“Bullshit! I pushed him. “You do know her. She was on her way to see you, and then she got lost. But you didn’t care and gave her some bullshit story about having to take your grandmother to the hospital. You sent her on a wild goose chase.”
“Fuck off, man. You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”
“I know exactly whom I’m dealing with. A fucking coward who’s so bored in his marriage that he has to prey on innocent women online.” My right fist met his jaw and he fell back.
“Okay. Okay.”
He stood up and when he went to swing at me, I ducked and nailed him in the face again, knocking him to the ground.
“Do you get off lying to women online?” I grabbed his shirt and held him up.
“It got out of hand. It was just for fun.”
“You give her a bogus address and that’s fun for you?” I shook him.
“Not my fault she was stupid enough to believe me.”
I held onto him with one hand and punched him with the other.
“Okay, bro. That’s enough.” Simon and Sebastian pulled me off him.
“Get in your car and get the hell out of here before I can’t stop him anymore,” Simon told him. “And if you do to another girl what you did to Alex, I will know, and I’ll be the one coming after you next. Got it?”
“Yeah. I got it.” He stayed down on the ground.
“Now that it’s done, can we go back inside?” Sebastian smiled.
“No!” The three of us said at the same time.
As we drove home, I held my fist to try and stop the pain.
“You didn’t break anything, did you?” Sam asked.
“Nah. It’s just bruised.”
“You better get some ice on that when you get home,” Sebastian said.
“And you better come up with a good story to tell Alex,” Simon spoke.
Chapter 17
Alex
I was sitting on the couch watching TV when Stefan walked through the door.
“Hey.” I smiled. “Did you have fun with your brothers?”
“Yeah. I didn’t think you’d still be up.” He walked straight to the kitchen.
Getting up from the couch, I followed him and saw him standing over the sink holding his hand under the steady stream of water.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Nothing. You can go to bed. I’ll turn everything off.
“Don’t tell me ‘nothing.’” I walked over and pulled his hand from the water. “Oh my God. Did you get into a fight?” I stared at his swollen and bruised hand.
“It’s no big deal, Alex.”
“Yes, it is.”
I walked over to the freezer and pulled out a bag of frozen peas.
“Give me your hand.”
“Alex, stop.”
“I said give me your hand.” I grabbed it and put the bag of peas on top.
“Ouch. Come on.”
“What happened, Stefan?”
“My fist got in the way of someone’s face.”
“I figured as much.” I gave him a smirk. “Want to tell me why?” I asked as I held his hand with bag of frozen peas.
“No. I don’t want to tell you. Can I have my hand back?” The corners of his mouth curved upward.
“No.” I gently squeezed it.
“Ouch!”
“Not until you tell me whose face messed up your hand.”
“Fine. It was Ryan’s face.”
“What?” I let go of his hand and the bag of peas fell to the floor.
“I’m not sorry either.” He bent down and picked up the bag off the floor.
“Jesus, Stefan. What did you do?”
“I wasn’t going to let him get away with it, Alex. What he did was wrong.”