She didn’t display any attitude, but the look in her eye showed her displeasure. She served him another.
He watched her ass as she walked away.
I wasn’t impressed. Both her tits and ass weren’t all that great, not when I had a woman who had the whole fucking package.
“Fuck, she’s hot.” He drank from his glass then looked at me. “Where did you find her?”
“I didn’t. She’s a friend of one of the girls. Needed a job.”
“Good. I’m glad our girls have hot friends.” He slouched on the bench, his fingers around his frosted glass. “You don’t seem impressed.”
“Because I’m not.”
“Why is that?” he asked. “Did it work out with your lady friend?”
I didn’t talk about my personal life much. “We’re seeing each other.”
“Glad she came around.”
And I was glad she came around my dick all the time. “Anything new I should know about?”
Steel was about to answer when his eyes quickly darted to a different part of the room, somewhere behind me. The look lingered for a few seconds before he turned back to me, choosing to drink his beer instead of answering the question.
I knew something was up.
Then Vox approached, walking slowly with his eyes on Steel. He was a burly guy with midnight-black hair and a noticeable scar over his left eyebrow. He stopped next to Steel and stared down at him, silently commanding him to vacate his seat so he could speak to me in private.
Steel took the hint. “I just remembered I have to do something…” He grabbed his beer and walked away.
Vox watched him go before he lowered himself into the seat, his heavy body making the bench creak slightly because the wood was worn out from our weight over the years. With his arms crossed on the table, he stared at me with two wide eyes, his brown gaze vicious.
I ignored his display of intimidation by drinking from my beer. “Yes?” Vox had been a member of the Skull Kings long before I was. I was relatively new, only initiated when my brother brought me in. But I’d proved my worth in a short amount of time, and I was the only man Balto thought could handle the job in the current climate. Clearly, Vox was still pissed off about it.
“I don’t like the changes you’re making around here.”
“Oh.” I took another drink. “That’s too bad.” My voice remained sarcastic because I refused to care about what he wanted. I took the opinions of my men into consideration for everything that I did, but not this man.
His expression was hard like the face of a cliff, his grimace etched years ago in a permanent setting. “They aren’t going to work, and you know it.”
“If I knew they weren’t going to work, why would I do it?” I asked in a bored voice.
“I don’t know.” He leaned forward a little farther. “But I’m going to find out.” He held my stare, letting heartbeats pass. The rest of the men who were in the hall excused themselves so we could have complete privacy. Vox could be a good leader if he weren’t so cruel. He saw the world in black and white, couldn’t think about more complicated issues. Maybe that made him a better leader, but he seemed more ignorant to me. “You should work every minute of every day like someone’s trying to take your job away from you. Because there is.”
Thirteen
Catalina
My father stared at the chessboard, his fingers gliding across his lips as he tried to think of the best move to take me down.
I’d been kicking his ass so much lately that I’d decided to throw the game, so whatever move he made, it didn’t matter.
He finally grabbed his piece and made his move.
I forced a concentrated expression before I moved my piece, effectively setting me up for failure.
But he didn’t seem to notice and took a different route.
Wait, was he throwing the game on purpose?
“You seem distracted, sweetheart.”
“Me?” I asked in surprise. “No. I’m fine.”
It was his turn, so he looked at the board as he thought to himself. “So, Damien is gonna ask Anna to marry him.”
“Yep. I’m very excited.” I’d thought my brother would never settle down, let alone with a cool chick. He was so obnoxious that he seemed like someone who would pick a crazy-ass bitch, but thankfully, he’d fallen for someone I liked. “What do you think about her?”
“Anna?” he asked. “She’s lovely.”
“Yeah, I like her too.” We kept playing.
“What about you?”
“I said I like her.”
“No,” he said firmly. “Anyone special in your life?”
I kept my eyes on the board so I wouldn’t have to hide my reaction. “No.”
“You’re a beautiful woman, sweetheart. That surprises me.”
My dad never asked about my personal life, but since Damien was about to get engaged, he’d probably started to wonder if I was next. “Just taking my time finding the right guy…” I tried not to think about the Heath, the beautiful man in my bed who was definitely not the right guy. He was my dirty secret, the man who gave me what I wanted for the time being. But one day, he would be a good memory.