The entire bar waited to see what she did next.
The power was a rush.
It had surprised her at first. She’d learned to walk a very fine line. Too far in one direction and she would become just as bad as the man she had replaced.
She crouched down to his level, never releasing his arm, just moving carefully so she didn’t do permanent damage. He would never understand how much thought she put intonothurting him. Guys like him never did.
Still gripping his hand—hard—she leaned close, her face inches from his. “You dismantle your business or I’ll do it for you.” She gave him her nicest, most terrifying smile.
He wet himself.
So glad that it still worked. She’d learned an awful lot from the previous Jack. Most of it bad. “I’ll be watching you. I’ll know whether you did. Or not.”
Ignoring the smell of piss rising from the floor, Taryn leaned closer. “You don’t want to see what happens if it’s ‘or not.’”
“I got it.” He gasped. Anger flared in his eyes.
She released him and stood in one fluid movement.
The pimp lunged for her knees.
She’d been expecting it. Counting on it, even. Her booted foot met his chest and knocked his ass back down. He landed in a puddle of urine.
“You done?”
He scrambled to his feet. “I’m gonna make you pay, bitch.” He kept talking but didn’t make another move.
That could be a problem. Little assholes like him fed on their self-righteous anger. Her actions could make things worse for the girls he still had. She really hoped that wouldn’t happen, but she’d keep an eye on the situation.
She turned her back on him, letting everyone in the bar know that she didn’t consider him a threat. She waved Daryl and another bouncer over. “Get this trash off the floor. And escort anyone with him out of my bar.”
Daryl clamped his hand on the pimp’s shoulder—the one Taryn had used for her arm bar—and the man whimpered.
Dani slid a shot over to Taryn while she watched the trash get taken out. “That was pretty damn impressive,” she whispered.
“Thanks,” Taryn whispered back. She tossed back the shot and studied the bar. As soon as the pimp and his boys were tossed out and the puddle on the floor cleaned up, sound returned to the bar. Murmurs of approval and a smattering of applause told Taryn that the Jack’s reputation was still intact.
Chapter23
“Everyone good?”Taryn surveyed the bar, taking in the regulars and the other patrons. Mostly, though, she was concerned about her people.
Adrenaline and excitement still ran high. The thick tension that had filled the air when she’d entered the bar had dissipated with the pimp’s removal, replaced with a celebratory buzz. Her patrons were buying drinks and talking about what they’d seen. Dani was bartending and she and Jenna managed the chaos like the pros they were.
The story would spread, mostly through word of mouth. It might bring a bump of patrons, so she made a mental note to adjust the schedule, add an additional waitress. Maybe another bouncer in case the fight brought lookie-loos or wannabe challengers through the door.
During the fight, Rhonda had slipped behind the bar. Thank god. It would have been too easy for someone to take advantage of the chaos. They’d have to be idiotic when the Jack was in ass-kicking mode, but people were gonna people. Now she watched the door with concern on her face.
Taryn followed her gaze but didn’t see any problems.
“It’s okay, Rhonda. I don’t think he’ll be coming back.” Taryn didn’t have a solid plan yet if he did. She might have to consider more permanent solutions. She didn’t like those.
“What?” Rhonda whipped her head around. She looked like she hadn’t heard a word Taryn had said.
That wasn’t like her. Was Dani right?
“You’d let me know if something was wrong, right?”
Rhonda nodded.
