“Hi, I’m Raina. I’m the new bartender.”
He rubbed his chin and smiled at me. I looked around for Kane, Slider, or one of the other guys because this man made me very uncomfortable.
“Welcome, Raina.” The way he said my name sent chills up my spine. “I’m Beast, the president of the Vipers.” He stretched his hand across the bar.
His hand felt clammy when I shook it, so I quickly snatched it away.
“Oh, okay. Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. I won’t hold you up. Welcome, and I’ll see you around.” He walked toward the back, and I was glad he was away from me.
After that encounter, the rest of the first part of my shift went off without a hitch. Most people came in from work and just wanted to relax for a bit before they went home. I hadn’t seen Kane the whole day, but Tech or Slider was there for a while. At one point, Rico sat at the end of the bar, but he only hung around for a little while. I noticed he was the quieter one out of the guys. I never saw Beast again, and I couldn’t be more thankful.
“Hey, girl,” Carmen said as she sat at the bar.
“Hey. Are you drinking?”
Carmen, also known as Caramel, was the club’s secretary, and she and I had become associates over the last few days. She was petite with a caramel complexion, and she didn’t take any of the guys’ shit. I’d seen her put a few of the men in their place. She and Isis, the treasurer, were the only two women who had patches and were officers. The two of them had been nice to me and welcomed me, unlike the rest of the women who hung around.
“No. I just came to check on you. I have some paperwork to do before the boss man comes back.”
I laughed when she rolled her eyes. I figured out Kane was the main one who ran things. It made me wonder how Beast was the president, but I didn’t ask any questions.
“He isn’t that bad, is he?”
“No. Kane is cool. He just gets on my nerves sometimes.”
“I can see that.” I bit my lip because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to ask my next question. “Hey, were you friends with my brother?”
A look crossed her face, and if I didn’t know any better, she and my brother were more than friends.
“We were. It still bothers me that someone took his life.” She stood from the chair and looked around. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Something about the way she looked and said it made me think she knew something she was afraid to speak about. I wanted to ask her more questions, but I didn’t get a chance to.
“Watch your fucking mouth!”
I looked up when I heard someone shout. Tech, Rico, and Slider were all gone somewhere, so they couldn’t stop whatever happened.
I heard a chair scrape, and the other guy jumped up.
“And what the fuck you going to do?”
Multiple people looked on, but nobody stepped in to help.
Before I could blink, one of the men popped the other guy over the head with a bottle. The two went at it, while everybody just watched.
My hands shook as I watched them beat each other damn near to death. Both of them were bloody, and even one of their shirts was ripped.
“Aye!” A loud voice boomed that caused my stomach to coil.
Kane and Slider stomped over to the fight and pulled the two guys apart.
“Y’all know that shit don’t fly around here. Get the fuck out!” They tossed the guys outside.
“Somebody clean this shit up!” Kane’s voice boomed through the clubhouse when he reentered.
His eyes landed on me, and I tried to pretend I wasn’t affected, but I was.
