Page 25

He hadn’t followed me in. This wasn’t his problem.

Despite my inner dialogue, some part of me hoped he had. That he would stand next to me while I doled out punishments. I was questioning my sanity with that thought. Did I want to let Gunner witness my darkness? Sure, he’d watched me fight, but that was socially acceptable violence.

He hadn’t seen me be outright violent yet. What would he think of me then?

I shook my head. When the fuck had I cared what a man would think about my violent tendencies? Right as I was about to turn away, green eyes caught mine. My mouth went dry as I watched him move smoothly through the crowd, hands tucked into the front pockets of his black jeans. He looked relaxed and at ease, but I could see how he was scanning the club—looking for the threat I had yet to fill him in on—hand close to his Glock, ready to put a bullet in someone at a moment’s notice. He reached my side right as Nikki rushed up, her cheeks flushed, and beads of sweat dotting her forehead.

“There are three reapers here,” she said in a harsh whisper, looking like a deer in headlights.

I felt Gunner stiffen beside me at the mention of the rival MC. I was sure he was trying to figure out if they had been invited or were trespassing. The wrong answer would make Los Muertos and The Skeletons enemies rather than partners.

My hands came to rest on Nikki’s shoulders. I rubbed small circles on her skin with my thumbs, trying to help her control her erratic breathing.

“Nikki, where are they?” I asked, making sure to keep my voice calm.

“They’re sitting at a table in the back corner and are demanding to speak to Mario. I told them he wasn’t here and didn’t even run the club. But they didn’t like that answer. They want whoever is in charge.” Nikki’s words came out rushed, and there was a slight quake in her voice. She hung her head and absently rubbed her wrist. The movement drew my attention. I reached to gently grab her hand, wanting to confirm what I was suspecting.

“Ryan…” she stammered, concern laced in her tone.

The look I gave her silenced her.

“Ice it, Nikki,” I answered coldly, “and tell Robert to prepare my office before meeting me at the table. I’ll be working tonight.” I turned and headed toward where Nikki said the MC members would be. I didn’t have to check to know Gunner was following. His presence was like a solid wall of support at my back. It wasn’t lost on me that he hadn’t pushed me for answers or rushed forward to meet the MC members—he’d let me lead.

I spotted the three men sitting in a partially hidden corner on the main floor. The fuckers even dared to wear their cuts in my club. Sure, MC members lived and died in those damn things, but the Reapers had been expressly banned from Lotería. And here they sat, not even trying to be discreet. Well, if they wanted attention, they’d gotten it. Nikki joked that I should get fuck around and find out tattooed on my body because I said it so often, but it wasn’t my fault that I constantly had to put weak men in their places.

The moment I reached the table, my fingers wrapped into the greasy blond hair of the man whose back was to me, and I slammed his head forward into the table with enough force to break his nose and knock him out. The fact that the asshole didn’t think he needed to watch his back in my club pissed me off. Thank God for Pitbull because Mr. Worldwide made sure none of my welcome patrons heard the crunching sound of cartilage and bones breaking or the startled yelps from his club brothers.

“Gentlemen. I have been informed that you want a meeting with the person in charge,” I said coolly. My body shielded the regular club-goers from seeing the pistol held to the unconscious man’s head. “Unfortunately for you, you’re getting one.”

The Reapers may be scum, but they seemed to have at least a tiny amount of loyalty to their fellow club brothers. So they wouldn’t attack while I held a gun to dumbass’s head, especially since they weren’t on their turf. The man across from me was snarling like a rabid dog. A smile split across my face; he was the one in charge.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” His voice rose with each word. “We want a meeting with Mario.”

The asshole beside him made the mistake of opening his mouth too. “Run away, little girl, and we won’t bend you over and fuck you right here for your disrespect,” he mocked.

Faster than my eyes could track, Gunner had the man’s face pressed to the table, hand splayed out on top.

“Which finger should I take first? Huh? Because I’ll cut them off and then shove them up your ass until you learn some respect.” Gunner’s voice was cold and menacing, and there was no way it should have turned me on the way it did.

The head reaper went to move on Gunner, but Robert, who had just appeared at the table, shook his head, making him reconsider.

“Fuck yo—”

A scream rang out and Gunner slapped a hand over the man’s mouth to muffle it. A bloody middle finger lay on the table.

“Look, now you can fuck yourself,” Gunner said, deadpan. The guy struggled to get away.

Excitement skipped through my veins, which was the opposite reaction someone should have when watching a finger be hacked off. Yet here I was, biting my bottom lip and resisting the urge to take Gunner to my upstairs office and fuck on the desk. A groan from the man whose hair I was still gripping brought me back to the present problem I was dealing with.

“Get your sorry ass up and follow Robert,” I said sharply.

The one I was betting was the leader gave me a scathing look before moving to get up. I wasn’t intimidated. None of these pendejos had a weapon on them. My doormen knew well enough not to let anything in the club, and they would have triple-checked a reaper. That line of thinking had me wondering how they’d even gotten in.

“Robert, how did these fuckers even get into my club?” I asked.

Robert raised his hands. “No fui yo, jefa. Geraldo said they told him they had a meeting with Mario,” he answered before quickly adding, “we’ve been swamped tonight, and Mario called earlier. I guess Geraldo just assumed what they were saying was legit.”

I nodded my head, taking in the new information and dismissing Robert to take the reaper to my office. It seemed they did want something—specifically from Mario. I finally untangled my hand from the third member’s hair and signaled to one of Lotería’s bouncers.