“I’m good, thanks.” I turn back toward my brothers.
Her hand slips to my thigh, then moves higher. “You sure?”
I grab her wrist and hold up her hand. “I said, I’m not interested.”
She yanks her hand out of my hold. “Well, fuck you, I’m just tryin’ to make a buck.” She flounces away, ass cheeks in full view.
Scratch points in her direction. “That is something that never would’ve happened when I was in charge. My women were classy even when they were selling tits and ass.”
“Truth, brother.” I laugh around my words ‘cause only Scratch could make a compliment sound sleazy.
“Don’t do any good just talking about all the shit that’s gone wrong.” Ace reaches for the bottle of tequila, then holds it up. “Like selling this shit tequila nobody ever heard of at table service.” He fills his glass, shoots it, and makes a face. “Tastes like piss water.”
“What the fuck are we gonna do about it?” Shady asks.
“We need cash, or some kind of collateral.” Scratch’s brain for numbers kicks in. “Without that, we got no leverage.”
“When I get The End, at least we’ll own some property, even if it’s in shit condition.”
“Ifyou get The End.” Ace throws me a pointed look.
“I will,” I say with more confidence than I feel.
“I was thinking.” Scratch throws back another shot. “What if we have a talk with the preppy manager? Explain to him the advantages of letting us run this place, for a fee, of course, then we straighten it all out. Make suggestions to increase profit.”
“Giving this dump a good cleaning would be the first step,” I say. “Then hiring women who don’t look like they’re half asleep or jacked up on blow.”
“Right,” Scratch motions around the room, “and we use their money to make these adjustments, then when the place is humming again, we negotiate a price. By that time, we should all have some money socked away.” Scratch flips a look to Speed and Shady. “No more pissing it away on bad bets and bimbos.”
“Shit, you never were any fun,” Speed mumbles.
“Just one thing,” Ace says. “What if our golf-shirt-wearing jerk-off or his investment company doesn’t go for it?”
I lean into the table. “I think we all know certain ways to make people change their minds and see our point of view.”
We all exchange a smirk when a heavy hand hits my shoulder.
“What the fuck are you losers doin’ in Rabid Dog territory?”
Chapter Eleven
DEUCE
Fist and Shady jump to their feet, but Ace and I just glare at Viper.
He throws up his palms. “Take it easy, boys. I’m just asking a question.” Bullet, his VP, and Crank, his enforcer, flank him, but they’re no match for Fist and Shady.
I push out of my chair, purposely bumping it into Viper’s VP. “This ain’t Dog territory, and you damn well know it.”
Viper shrugs. “Looks to me like all of AC is up for grabs and has been for the last five years.”
My brain spins with all the ways I’d like to end this moron, but now’s not the time. “If that’s true, what’s taken you so fuckin’ long?”
“Just waiting for the right time.” Viper looks to his brothers, and they all nod. “And since you fucked everything up for the Kings, I figure there’s no rush, and we can take whatever we want whenever we want.”
I get in Viper’s face and glare down at him, enjoying my three-inch advantage. “Well, you figured wrong.” I motion to my brothers behind me. “‘Cause, as you can see, the Kings of Anarchy are back in AC, and we’re here to stay.”
“The Rabid Dogs and I see it different.” Viper waves his hand around the dingy room. “Since you’ve been gone for so long, I’ll school you. What we say goes here, and we say you better move your sorry asses outta here.”
