I’m sure the drive is hell for the twins but Law doesn’t once touch me. He has to damn near sit in Lyn’s lap to do so but he’s laughing and joking the whole time about it.
I try not to feel bad about it.
Poe looks fucking thrilled to be coming with us to The Boulevard, dancing around Rue and laughing like pure sunshine. He doesn’t smile at her but some of the shadows in his face clear a little and when he gets a helmet out of the pack on his hog for her it has flowers on it.
My heart clenches a little at the sight of it.
Rue walks us in and talks to Axe about his plans for the night. Poe sets up all of her homework on Tomi’s desk, ignoring the state of it because there’s still paperwork everywhere, and Law ducks into the bar to grab beers before the place opens. Rue scowls at him but the smiling twin just talks his way out of trouble.
I’m dancing up first so Rue and Axe keep their debrief in the hallway where they can keep an eye on the office and the locker room. I get dressed into a corset and a thong, keeping one of Tomi’s hoodies zipped over myself so I’m not walking around in front of his family and friends bare.
I’m so fucking glad this is my last night.
I think I’m going to quit tomorrow morning to Tomi so I don’t ever have to speak to Diamond again. Fuck, it’d be amazing to just… never show up again and never tell the bitch but this place is Tomi’s and Rue’s responsibility so I can’t get away with that shit.
But it would be fucking great.
I get my bag locked up and walk over to where the guys are.
Rue gives me a nod. “I’ll be back around three to take you guys home. Are you gonna drink with them?”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to leave my truck here and… I’d rather not drink without… Tomi around.”
I don’t want to admit that but I don’t want to drink with guys around, even if they are family. I could drink with Poe but not the twins.
Lyn hates me too much.
Okay, maybe it’s not hate exactly but he definitely doesn’t trust me and that makes me fucking nervous.
“Good, I need one of you keeping your fucking head. Stay with Axe and call me if anything happens. Nod your head, Angel, I need to know you’re gonna stick to the rules tonight. Too much fucking rogue shit going on this week.”
Axe shares a look with him and my stomach drops. “Is everything… okay?”
He shrugs. “Speck’s a dickhead and there’s not much I can do about keeping his ass in a hospital bed without beating him and Keely will slit my throat if I so much as slap him right now.”
I nod, but the unease in my stomach doesn’t go anywhere. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll keep an eye on Poe, I’ve got you on speed dial… I’ll stick to the rules.”
Rue nods and a smirk starts up. “I don’t know what Tomi’s problem is, you’ve been nothing but good since his bitch-ass left town.”
I blush and duck my head when Axe cracks up laughing. “Yeah, well… maybe I just needed a minute. A girl can’t just fall into line, y’know?”
Rue chuckles and heads out, ducking his head into the office to growl one last threat at the three high schoolers already getting rowdy in there.
Oh, to be young and loved enough to live that free.
Axe strips off his cut and leaves it in the office with them before locking the door on them. I jam my feet into the hellish pair of heels I’ll be glad to burn the second this night is over and he walks me out to the back of the stage.
“Diamond only put you on this dance tonight, she sure does have her panties in a twist over you,” Axe mumbles and I shrug.
“Can you keep a secret, Axe? You seem like the type of man who can.”
He raises an eyebrow at me right as the doors open, the sounds muted but there’s clearly a big crowd streaming in. “Is this the type of secret that will get me dead when Tomi gets home because you're a nice enough girl, but no thanks.”
I chuckle and try to fight the giddy feeling in my stomach at saying it out loud. “Nah. Tomi is happy about this secret, he just doesn’t know about it yet. If Diamond only has me up here once tonight then… this is my last dance. I’m done here, college is paid for.”
Axe grins at me, his eyes only dropping away from me when I unzip the hoodie. “Well, look at you! Doing that hustle to pay your own shit, girlie, Tomi’s gonna nut himself in joy over that news. Plus the rest of us might actually fucking live to tell this tale. He’s been a fucking nightmare about you, I hope you know that.”
Oh God.
I mean, I already know he has been. Law showed me the messages and Rue made it clear but… I guess all of the bikers know about it.
It’s so fucking embarrassing.
“Yup. This is it and then I’m done so… wish me luck, I guess?”
Axe grins and waves me off, taking the hoodie from me and staying backstage as I go out there and finish my career as a fucking stripper. It’s hard to keep the smile off of my face, men want sultry and seductive not a grinning psycho, but I work that pole like my life depends on it one last time.
When the song ends I grab my cash and walk out the back, slipping the heels back off and tossing them in the trash. Axe laughs at me and hands over the hoodie again.
I’m laughing and trying to stuff the cash into the pockets when the sound of gunfire breaks, so loud it completely drowns out the music playing over the speakers.
Axe grabs my arm and drags me down the hall, intent on getting me into the office and I thank my lucky fucking stars I’ve got the heels off already.
When we get to the open doorway to the bar we find the entire front of the building flooded with bikers, all of them armed and screaming at the girls and patrons, fights breaking out everywhere, some bodies already bleeding on the ground.
“Angel, get your ass into the office. Go, right now before they see you and stay there until I come get you,” Axe says, his gun already in his hand.
I nod and start to move but then the back door bursts open and we’re fucking trapped.
Axe instantly shifts to stand in front of me.
Just blocks me completely, no way any of the guys can see me let alone shoot me and I’m so fucking terrified that I could burst into grateful tears right now. He moves to discreetly hand me the gun, pressing it into my belly until I grab it.
My dad taught me to shoot but it’s been nearly ten years since I last held a gun.
The lights cut on and there are bikers everywhere. All of them have cuts on, the Chaos Demons scrawled across their shoulders proudly.
My stomach drops.
There’s shouting and gunshots and I try not to panic but when I see Law and Lyn both get shoved into the bar my heart starts to race. There’s a small gap in the crowd and I can just make them out.
Poe is jammed in between them with her head down.
She’s not shaking, no crying or screaming like the other girls are all doing, she’s just keeping her face covered.
Our conversation comes back to me.
Her dad is the Prez of this club.
Christ.
Axe pushes me back into the wall when more of the guys come around.
They start pulling the Unseen around, getting the men who are wearing their cuts into the middle of the bar and securing them. Every last one of them fights back but they’re outnumbered, five-to-one.