Ridin' Dirty: An Outlaw Author Anthology (OAMC Book 1) (43 page)

Unfortunately, Spray-tan Dan had shit for brains. He grabbed Mary’s arm. A mistake he’d live to regret.

“The lady is staying here.”

Shane decked him with one powerful punch to the jaw that sent the man sprawling to the floor, and then he moved to stand over his prone body. “You don’t ever touch an Evil Dead ol’ lady. Got that, motherfucker?”

Not waiting for an answer, Shane clamped his hand around Mary’s upper arm and pulled her through the crowd and out the bar. His bike was parked up front, so they didn’t have far to go. He released her, spinning toward her. “What the fuck, Mary? What the hell are you doing here?”

“What do you care?”

“Dog cares. Therefore, I care.”

“To hell with Dog. And to hell with you, too.”

“Christ, Mary, cut me some slack. I don’t like being in this situation any more than you do. But here we are.” They stared each other down. Seeing he was going to get nowhere with her, he swung his leg over the bike and fired it up. Handing her his helmet, he ordered, “Climb on. Now.”

She was fuming, but she took the helmet from him and complied, her short dress hiking up her thighs. When he felt her arms wrap around him, he gunned the throttle and roared out of the parking lot, cursing himself for picking the wrong bar to stop at for a drink.

***

It was 7:00 a.m. when the boys finally made it back to San Jose and rolled up at Red Dog’s house. As they cut their engines and the rumble faded, Cole lifted his chin toward the front door, calling all their attention to it. “Dog.”

Red Dog swiveled his head, his eyes hitting the entrance. It stood wide open. “What the fuck?”

All four of them immediately dismounted, pulling their handguns.

“After you, bro,” Cole whispered to Dog as they approached the entrance.

They followed him inside, pausing just clear of the door to scan the room, guns lifted.

“Mary!” Dog called out, but received no response. “Billy!”

All that greeted the four men was dead silence.

Red Dog made his way down the hallway to the master bedroom, Cole followed. The rest spread out through the house, searching for an intruder. Dog and Cole took in the trashed bedroom. Dresser drawers stood open, empty of all contents. A glance into the closet revealed that most of its contents had been emptied as well.

“What the fuck, Dog, you been robbed?”

Dog moved into the doorway of the walk-in closet. “Suitcases are gone.”

Cole watched as he yanked his phone out. A moment later, Dog bit out, “Where the hell is she?”

“I took her home. Dropped her off at 2:00 a.m., bro,” Shane replied over the speaker.

“She ain’t here.”

“Well, that’s where I left her. Swear to God, Dog.”

Wolf strolled in taking in the room. “Looks like she packed her shit up and left you, man.”

“What the hell did you do this time?” Green smirked, following Wolf into the room. He was holding up a piece of broken dinner plate. “She took a hammer to your wedding china. It’s smashed all over the kitchen table like she was making you a fucking divorce mosaic.”

“Just shut the hell up,” Red Dog snapped. He tried calling Mary, but it went straight to voice mail. Then he tried his son’s phone, but got the same. His mind searched for a reason she’d leave him. He could think of nothing he’d done that would warrant this kind of reaction from her. Hell, he couldn’t even think of what he’d done that would piss her off at all. Not recently anyway.

Red Dog collapsed down onto the foot of the bed. Running a hand over his face, he tried to make sense of it all. She’d never done anything like this before. From the moment he’d met her, she’d never shied away from telling him how she felt, telling him her mind or telling him off, for that matter. It was one of the things he loved about her. It had surprised him when he’d first met her, that spunk of hers. Hell, most women he’d met in his life were afraid of him, either of the cut he wore or just his six-foot-four size. With his red hair and beard, he reminded most people of a Viking. So, he wouldn’t have been surprised when he met the petite china doll, as he called her, if she would have been even more intimidated than most. But was she? Not his Mary. Nope, there wasn’t a shy or timid bone in her body.

His mind drifted back to the first time he’d ever laid eyes on her. It had been like a freight train running him over. That’s how much she affected him right from the very first instant.

Fourteen years ago…

Red Dog walked into Sonny’s Gentleman’s Club. It was a strip club that the Evil Dead had an investment in. He was there to pick up their cut of this week’s profits. It was a job that usually fell to Wolf. Red Dog hadn’t actually been up here in a long time. He glanced around. A few updates had been made since he’d last been there, new carpet, new lighting and an updated stage. The place was doing well.

Red Dog moved to the end of the bar and caught the eye of the bartender who lifted his chin at Dog and moved off to let Sonny know he was here. Dog leaned against the bar and waited, his eyes sliding to the stage where a voluptuous blonde was working the pole.

A minute later, the bartender returned. “Sonny knows you’re here. He’s dealing with a problem backstage.” The man nodded towards the stage. “He said to make yourself comfortable for about twenty minutes, and he’ll be with you as soon as he can. Drinks are on the house.”

Dog nodded and ordered a whiskey, then headed over to the end of the stage and took a seat at the rail. The blonde saw him and abandoned the patron she’d been getting dollars from and crawled seductively over to him. Maybe it was the cut. Or maybe Wolf was a big tipper, but apparently she thought Dog would be throwing more her way than the guy in the suit she’d just abandoned.

Knowing it was proper etiquette to tip if you took a seat at the rail, Dog pulled out a five and tossed it at her. She gave him a little attention, but soon returned to the suit, who began upping the amount of bills he showered her with. Dog grinned, content to sip his drink and wait for Sonny. Blondes had never really been his type anyway, although he had to admit she had a nice rack. Her show was soon over, and she exited the stage to move through the crowd selling lap dances.

The music changed, and the flashing light show dimmed as another dancer took the stage. This one had a different style, and Dog could tell at a glance her show wouldn’t be about any acrobatic pole work. She was a petite Asian beauty with long silky dark hair that hung to her waist. She was holding two large fans made of peacock feathers that hid her body. She danced and twirled, giving a teasing glimpse of different body parts, but never showing everything at once. It was erotic as hell, and Dog felt himself falling completely under her spell. As her dance continued, bills flew on to the stage from all directions, but she ignored them, totally caught up in her dance. She had a graceful way of moving that enticed and seduced. Unlike a lot of strippers, this dancer had skills that hinted at years of training. Ballet would be Red Dog’s guess.

She made no eye contact with any of the men, which was another thing that separated her from the rest. Until toward the end of the dance as she did her floor work, laying on her back, writhing and moving her body in a sensual way that called out to every man there.

And then she rolled her head, and her eyes opened. They connected with Red Dog’s, and he was blown away by the vivid green shade that stared back at him. Holding his gaze, she slowly twisted toward him, and then her shapely leg extended, her delicate bare foot landing on his chest. No tacky stripper shoes, another thing that set her apart. Dog had to admit he found her bare foot a thousand times sexier. His eyes fell to the pretty painted toes sliding up his leather cut as she arched her foot, then they climbed slowly up her leg, over the pearlescent skin of her slender body, to those vivid green almond shaped eyes. And she had him, hook, line and sinker.

As he watched, feeling like they were the only two people in the club, the pink tip of her tongue came out to glide over her lip.

Fucking hell.

She twisted and moved to her hands and knees, and crawled seductively toward him. Picking up one of her folded fans, she teased it over his chest, neck and the side of his face. And then tossing it aside, she sat back, kneeling before him, her heels tucked under her ass, and her back straight. She bowed her head, her palms flat on top of her thighs. And in that moment, Dog could think of nothing he wanted more than to have her kneel like that at his feet.

Jesus H. Christ what was this woman doing to him? He’d never had a reaction to a stripper like this before.

As he watched, her palms slid slowly up her body over her hips, her waist, to close over her small but perfectly shaped breasts. And then her head lifted, and her eyes connected with his as she squeezed and played with her tits.

Dog held two fingers out, a folded hundred-dollar bill between them. She moved toward him, her eyes getting big when they landed on the denomination. Her gaze snapped to his eyes as she reached for it. He held on to it a moment as he leaned forward to whisper, “Worth every penny, China Doll.”

She moved on and soon finished her act.

Dog felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Sonny. The man jerked his head, indicating Dog should follow him. He stood and moved off as the next dancer’s pounding beat filled the room. They moved through a door and down a hallway, the music fading several decibels.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Sonny said over his shoulder.

Dog glanced in an open doorway to the right and saw a bunch of dancer’s changing. “No problem, Sonny.”

“Things get crazy at the end of the night. Had to deal with some shit.”

Sonny moved through another doorway into a small office. He bent and opened a safe and pulled out an envelope, handing it to Red Dog. It was stuffed thick with bills.

“We had a good week. Mack should be real happy,” Sonny remarked, referring to the club’s President.

Dog tested the weight of the envelope before tucking it into his vest. “Good to know. Always like to keep the Prez happy.”

“Things going well with the club?” Sonny lifted his chin toward Red Dog’s Evil Dead cut.

“Always.”

“Good to know.” Sonny grinned, giving Red Dog’s words back to him. “You parked out back?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Tell Tony the girls will be out in a minute.”

“Will do. Take it easy.” Dog moved down the hall to the door at the end that led to the back parking lot. Sure enough, Tony, who worked security for Sonny, was standing out there. “How’s it going, man?”

Tony nodded to the puddles dancing with raindrops. “Storm’s blowing in.”

“Fucking El Niño.”

Tony grinned. “Guess it sucks to ride in the rain.”

“Yup.” Dog folded his arms and leaned against the wall under the eave. “Maybe if I wait a few minutes, it’ll ease up.”

Tony eyed the sky. “Maybe.”

“Sonny said the girls will be out in a minute.”

“Yeah, it was kind of dead tonight. They’ll be eager to go home.”

About ten minutes later, two dancers came out the door and headed to their cars. One was the blonde; the other was the pretty little Asian girl he’d given the hundred bucks to, his little china doll. 

“Goodnight, Tony,” they both said as they dashed through the rain to their cars.

“Goodnight, ladies. Drive safe.”

Dog ignored the blonde, his eyes only for the other dancer. The blonde got in her vehicle and pulled out. The other girl got in her car, but didn’t start it.

“I hate when she does that,” Tony muttered.

“What’s that?” Dog frowned toward the white Mustang that just sat there.

Tony lifted his chin at the car. “Hangs around, texting or making calls. I’ve told her repeatedly that’s not safe to do at night. She goes to her car, whether it’s here or anywhere, she needs to get inside, lock the door, start it up and go, not sit around. But does she listen? Hell, no.”

“You had problems here?”

“You never know when a patron is going to hang around, thinking he can hit on the dancers when they finish their shifts, or follow them home.”

“You get many of those?”

“More than I’d like. The worst are the ones that get obsessed with one girl. They practically stalk them.”

It was Dog’s turn to lift his chin toward the Mustang. “She got any of those?”

“One guy lately. That’s him over there in the blue sedan.”

Dog’s brows shot up. “You’re shitting me, right? You let him just hang here?”

“It’s a fine line I’ve got to walk. Can’t be running them off. Those types can be some of these girls’ best customers. The girls themselves would string me up if I came between them and their income.”

“You’re here to protect them. That is your fucking job.”

Tony nodded. “I make sure he doesn’t approach or follow her out of the parking lot.”

“Well, since he’s not getting out of his vehicle, I’m guessing the latter.”

“Yup. Guess I better go have a talk with him.” Tony moved to step out from under the eave and into the rain, when the back door opened and a brunette stuck her head out.