“We’ll see about that,” I quipped, watching as the woman exited the room with her nose held high in the air. Hollender followed her out, which left me alone with Duncan.
My eyes briefly glanced his way, a mistake I would not be making again because the second I make eye contact with him that smirk reappears on his face.
“Guess I’m yours for the next fourteen days,” he said, shrugging.
“Yeah, and I’m going to make those fourteen days a living hell for you.”
His grin widened. “Umm, if living in purgatory means I get to wake up every morning to your beautiful face, then I’ll gladly endure whatever hell you want to put me through, Beautiful.”
I rolled my eyes. “Ugh, will you stop calling me beautiful! You know my title, fucking use it.”
The corners of his lips lifted in amusement. “Whatever you say, Deputy Beautiful.”
I hated that damn smirk even more than I hated him.
He didn’t seem to care that he was currently being held on murder charges, nor the fact that it was my personal goal to put him away for life. No. Duncan Buchanan was a cocky, self-assured asshole that believed he was untouchable. And despite my betraying body being annoyingly attracted to his smug face, beefy muscles, and eyes that glimmered like blue ice, I was about to show the handsome biker that Juliette Rooker wasn’t someone to discount.
He was going down, and I didn’t care who I had to bury to get him there.
Chapter Three
Scorpio
I knew they didn’t have shit on me, at least not the evidence they were looking for. I had nothing to do with Brooklyn’s murder, and I sure as hell was going to make whoever did pay for taking her life. Brooklyn didn’t deserve to die. It’s one of the many reasons I tried not to get close to her. She had a pure heart, one that had been through way too much in too little of time. I still remember the day she showed up on the strip club’s doorstep.
It was raining that day and she was drenched to the bone, her clothes clinging to her skinny, shivering body. I remember her face vividly because it was so streaked with running mascara and makeup that I thought she looked like an 80s glam rockstar. She didn’t look like the normal woman who would want to work at a strip club, but we weren’t the kind of club to turn a woman away just because she was too skinny.
“Can I help you?” I asked, standing next to Bull who had called me over from the door.
“I--I” her voice broke. “I need help.”
“We’re not a charity,” Bull grumped from beside me. “This is a strip club, lady, not a soup kitchen.”
Bull was right, but I could see the fear and desperation in her eyes. The Celestial Sons MC was all about helping women and children, and I knew if my father was still there, he would’ve gladly taken her in.
“Bull, bite your tongue. Everyone is welcome at Stars and Strips.”
Bull shot me a ‘you gotta be shitting me’ glance, before turning his head to spit.
“Come inside, you look like you’re freezing,” I told her, guiding her through the doorway. Her eyes immediately widened when she saw all the men flashing dollar bills at London who was currently on the stage shaking her tits at them and gyrating across the dance floor. She dropped into a split, her pussy pounding the ground a few times, making the guys get even hornier. London was great at turning guys on. Hell, she had caught the club’s prince’s eye, and despite my warnings, Aries still went after her. I caught them more than once fucking around with each other.
Archer was sitting at the table chatting with Paradise, who was our current bartender at the time. She was okay at slinging beers, but when it came to mixing drinks she lacked the finesse a real bartender possessed.
“Hey, Archer, what’s up?” I asked, guiding the girl to the seat next to him.
“Little Paradise is leaving us,” he said with a frown. “She’s off for bigger and better things.
I shot Paradise a look, and she shrugged. “Finished my Bachelor’s degree in finance, gonna become an accountant. We all know my bartending capabilities are lacking.”
“When do you leave?”
“In about three weeks. I just put in my notice. Hope that’s okay, Boss?”
The wet girl beside me looked up at me, her eyes searching me from head to toe. “You’re the boss?”
Archer chuckled beside me. “Yeah, sweetheart. He may look young, but Scorpio knows how to run a business, he has a strong head on his shoulders just like his father.” The second the words left his lips, he frowned. “Sorry, man.” That haunted look returned to his eyes, and he quickly got up from his chair. Archer still wasn’t comfortable talking about my father. I hope one day he will tell me what actually happened that day. “I’ll see you later. Welcome to Stars and Strips, little lady.”
He stalked off, joining Bull outside where he was manning the door.
