Sacked (The New York Nighthawks 1)

“Are you okay with riding over to The End Zone with me and then meeting up with Prentice in the parking lot so he can walk you inside the club?” he repeated.

Slanting a glance at Prentice, I nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine with me.”

“You gotta pay attention if you’re coming to the club with us.” Nixon rolled his eyes and gently tapped my forehead. “No getting wrapped up in those daydreams of yours when we’ll be around guys I don’t know.”

“Especially when they’ll be drinking,” Prentice growled, crossing his muscular arms over his broad chest.

My brother beamed a smile at him. “It’s a good thing you’ll be with us. You can help keep an eye on my baby sis. I love the guys, but you know how they can sometimes get when we’re out partying. It’ll be good to have your level head there in case some dude decides to hit on Naomi. You can keep me from killing anyone.”

“No worries there,” Prentice assured him with a grim smile. “I promise that you won’t need to kill someone for getting too close to your sister.”

Beyond irritated, I planted my fists on my hips and glared at both men. “First of all, stop talking about me when I’m right here.”

Nixon quirked a brow. “That’s not fair, considering you weren’t even paying attention to what we said before. You totally missed what I was asking you just a couple of minutes ago.”

He kind of had a point, but I was too annoyed to give him credit for it. Instead, I narrowed my eyes and continued, “Secondly, I’m the one who gets to decide if some guy deserves to get his face smashed in for hitting on me. Not you.”

“Like that’s ever stopped me before.” Nixon snorted and shook his head.

“And I’ll be the one to do the smashing, thank you very much.”

Prentice’s dark gaze drifted down my body, sending goose bumps along my skin in its wake. “I don’t want to get on your bad side, but I think you should let us handle anyone who’s bothering you.”

“Nah, she was right about that, at least.” Nixon flung his arm around my shoulders again. “I made sure my sister knows how to defend herself. Naomi might be small, but she’s tough.”

Sliding out from his hold, I huffed, “I had to be, growing up with you.”

He shrugged as he flashed me a sheepish grin. “Hey, someone had to help me practice in the backyard if I was going to make it to the pros someday.”

“And look where you are today,” I murmured, pressing my lips together to stop myself from smiling at him. “The least you can do is give me a little credit.”

“Don’t be silly.” He tweaked my nose. “If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be coming to the club even though you’re underage.”

“If we’re doing this, we’d better get going,” Prentice grumbled, sounding about as happy with my brother as I was.

I had a feeling it was going to be a long night. I just hoped I’d get to spend most of it with Prentice.

4

Prentice

When we arrived at The End Zone, the line to get in stretched around the block. But when Racer, the bouncer on duty, saw me, he grinned and waved us over.

“Great game tonight!” We shook hands, and he detached the velvet rope, gesturing for us to enter.

The other players and their girls entered first, with Nixon and Naomi behind them, and me taking up the rear. I wanted to make sure that Naomi was as protected as possible.

“And who’s this sexy pussy?” a man to my right asked, eyeing Naomi in a way that made me want to smash his face in.

“I can make you purr all night.”

“Hey, baby,” another man leered. “Why don’t you show me your moves on the dance floor?”

Naomi glanced back at me, and when she saw my face, worry filled her pretty blue eyes.

Concerned that she was afraid of me, I closed the gap between us, anxious to reassure her that she was safe with me. “You know I’d never hurt you, right?”

Naomi snorted and rolled her eyes. “Of course.”

Her immediate response filled me with relief and warmth.

“I’m worried you’re going to hurt them and get yourself into trouble,” she added.

I chuckled and put my arm around her, pulling her close against my side. “Nah, I have enough connections around here to keep me out of trouble. Especially if I kicked their ass for disrespecting a woman.”

Nixon had slowed his pace at the slimy comments from the drunk patrons. When he turned slightly to check on his sister, I imagined that his expression was similar to the one Naomi had seen on mine.

“Take it easy, rookie,” I said, just loud enough for him to hear me.

He pressed his lips into a straight line, but as his eyes swept around again, he noticed how the men were now avoiding Naomi.