Bec shook his head. “If you don’t know, then I guess it really is time to leave.” He turned, pausing in the doorway. He spoke without looking back.
“You’re not going to make it alone, Jax. You need us, as a pack.”
“I don’t need anyone. Close the door on your way out, Bec.”
The door slammed, the sound echoing in the room. Jax sat wearily on the bed, head in his hands. This was so much harder than his father had made it look. But his father hadn’t had a little brother dogging his every move. He found himself lost in a sea of memories for a long time, finally rising, pulling on jeans and a t-shirt before padding downstairs to see exactly what he had left with for a pack, knowing he was now left without a family.
Chapter Three
Nikki usually had Wednesday nights off, but by early evening she’d found herself either restlessly wandering around her apartment, or just as restlessly flicking through television channels. She was distracted and irritable, and annoyed with herself. With a frustrated sigh, she tossed down the remote, grabbed her bag and headed to the club.
“Hey, thought you were off tonight.” Lori was in her usual place on the couch, smoking her usual cigarette.
“I was, but last night was slow…so, you know…” Nikki hoped Lori would back off, but she wasn’t counting on it. Lori knew her better than anyone, and saw through her like a pane of glass.
“So, you’re picking up an extra shift because last night was slow? Yeah…they were packed in like sardines out there. You, however, were in a private room with your new man.”
Lori leaned forward, stubbing out her cigarette, blowing smoke toward the ceiling. “But, you know, it’s just as well. That Neon chick didn’t show up tonight and Mack’s just about busting his balls. He’ll be glad you’re here.”
“So the tattooed light-show chick baled after one night?” Nikki shook her head. Girls came and went here all the time, but she knew if Mack invested money in her in any way, he must have thought she had some kind of longevity, at least be around long enough to make the lights worth his investment.
“Yeah, well, so goes the game.” Lori got off the couch, stretching. Her perky br**sts pushed against her filmy robe and even though Nikki knew she was here for other reasons, that little glimpse of her friend set off a little thud in Nikki’s stomach.
Lori walked over to Nikki’s locker, standing behind her, hands on Nikki’s hips, fingers gently caressing her, sliding up beneath her sweatshirt. “I know what the look means, princess.” She lifted Nikki’s thick, dark hair, her lips on her neck and then sliding up to nibble at her ear.
Before Nikki could think, she turned into Lori’s embrace, their lips meeting in a familiar kiss. There was a raw need in Lori tonight, a vulnerability Nikki sensed that was rarely evident. Lori’s tough-as-nails exterior dropped as their kiss deepened.
Nikki felt the rising sense of arousal being with Lori always brought, but in the back of her mind images of Jax rose up of his taut body beneath hers in the brief lap dance, his mouth hot and hard against her lips. She lost herself for a moment in the memories, thoughts of Jax competing with Lori’s kiss for Nikki’s attention, eventually winning. It wasn’t long before Lori broke away, shaking her head.
“You’re a million miles away, kid. And I’m not going that far tonight.” She took a step back, head tilted to the side, her eyes narrowed.
“Lori, I…I’m not…it’s not you.” Nikki fumbled for the words, but she knew she couldn’t explain.
“Hey, don’t sweat it.” Lori walked to her locker, dropped her robe and reached inside for a black lace teddy, tugging it up roughly over her long legs, shimmying herself into the scrap of fabric.
Nikki watched her friend, aching to reach out but unsure what to say. Lori looked up, her face now set in a careful mask of indifference, but Nikki could see the hurt in her eyes.
“Hey, I said drop it. Guys are guys. I’d do the same if I were in your shoes. He’s a hot guy, even if he’s…whatever he is.” She slammed her locker door, the sound echoing in the small room. Nikki winced. She hated fighting with Lori. And she knew Lori would never throw her over for a man.
“I’ll see you out there.” Lori was through the door, her heels clicking on the scuffed linoleum floor, still tugging at the straps of her teddy before Nikki could speak.
Nikki let out a sigh, pulling out a red camisole and panty set she’d planned to wear. She held them a moment, fingering the satiny material. Was a guy really worth losing her best friend? Nikki shook her head, shoving the clothes back into her locker.
“Hey! You’re here. You must be psychic, we’re short tonight. You’re on in five.” Mack was already gone by the time Nikki looked up, the protest on her lips dying unsaid.
“Shit.” She yanked her sweatshirt off, tugging the camisole over her head, static crackling through her hair. She shed her jeans, pulled on the red satin panties and the ridiculously high red heels that completed the outfit.
The lighted mirror cast a harsh light over her face. Most of her make-up was in place, done at home, but she added another coat of mascara and slicked a slash of red lipstick across her mouth. The hair she couldn’t care less about right now. It would be a snarled mess by the end of her set anyway.
Nikki looked at her reflection, not really liking the girl looking back at her. She was rarely given to deep introspection, but right now she wondered what the hell had gotten into her.
She took a deep breath, held it for the count of three and blew it out sharply. Somehow she’d make it up to Lori. Now she needed to go do her set, work the crowd, and try to at least pretend she wanted to be here. The last thing on her mind was Jax.
Mack had put on some odd music for her, not her usual. But her moves still worked and she was still down on all fours by the end of the song, pretty much on tempo and with the beat. The guys didn’t care as long as she ended up more or less nak*d, gyrating and shaking what she had. And she could do that in her sleep.
The music ended and she knelt to retrieve her camisole, snatching it away from some guy in the front who thought he’d get away with a freebie. She’d lost more items if clothing that way. She shook her finger at him, pasting what she hoped was a flirtatious smile on her face.
She stood as the lights flickered briefly, making her blink. They came up, and she saw him. Standing in the back, as still as a statue, the only man in the room not shouting drunkenly or trying to drag a girl into a private room.
Even though the lights were in her face, she knew he was looking into her eyes, probably the only guy in the room who wasn’t staring at her nak*d body. She hesitated briefly, then turned too quickly, almost stumbling as her heels slipped on the stage. Music suddenly blared and Eden came dancing onto the stage, colliding with Nikki.
“Out of my way, bitch. You’ve had your turn.” She brushed past and the catcalls and hoots of the men swelled, the sound washing over Nikki. And then, this was the last place she wanted to be. She fled to the dressing room.
Who was this guy? Was he anyone to her, someone she really wanted to see now? Her hands were shaking and she sank weakly down onto the couch. He was here for her. There was no doubt in her mind. But did she want to be there for him?
Screw the costume, Nikki pulled on her sweatshirt, tugging her jeans over the satin panties, her sweatshirt over her head. It had been a mistake to come here, to look for Jax. He was trouble, like he said, all kinds of wrong. She was foolish to try to make something more out of just a guy who thought she was a good dancer, just because he cleaned up better than the normal crowd.
Cool night air washed over Nikki as she opened the alley door. She hated the alley more than anything, but Mack didn’t want them coming through the club in street clothes. She usually tried to leave with another girl or Sam, if he was headed out. Being alone in the alley gave her the creeps, no doubt.
She turned toward the street, clutching her purse against her body. The sound of a car horn ahead made her jump and in that instant a hand reached out from between the dented dumpsters that lined the alley, closing around her wrist.
She turned, half a scream forced between her lips, looking into a pockmarked face of a man crouched in the dark.
“Let go!” Nikki twisted her wrist, but his grip was like steel. He pulled her toward him, her heels skidding on the damp pavement.
“Where is she? She’s in there, right?” The man’s voice rasped out between parched lips. Nikki’s eyes widened as she saw the glint of a knife blade in his other hand. He waved it at her, skimming it at her throat. She jerked back hard, the bones in her wrist grinding together.
“Who? I don’t know what you mean.” Panic was bubbling up inside Nikki and she had the surreal sense of everything slowing down. The man’s voice dropped in pitch, garbled and indistinct. And then she was falling forward, in slow motion, as he pulled her into the darkness between the dumpsters.
Then the world grew very loud and things were moving too quickly for her to understand. She was in the alley, head down and stumbling backward, feeling like she’d been catapulted from the space between the dumpsters. There was a strangled cry, a loud clang as something crashed into the dumpster and then quiet. She finally fell to one knee, looking up in time to see a man on his hands and knees, the man who’d grabbed her, another man standing over him.
Nikki’s eyes went wide as she realized it was Jax. He grabbed the man, hauled him upright and held him by the neck with one hand, as if the man weighed nothing at all. Nikki noticed the man’s feet weren’t touching the ground.
“Jax!” She found her voice, as she fell forward, her hands scraping against the grimy alley, her wrist throbbing. Jax turned toward her, and in the faint light of the alley, she swore his eyes were glowing red. She blinked but then he had turned back to the man in his grasp, his face held very close to the struggling man. There was a noise, like a low growl, and then Jax dropped the man like a sack of garbage.
Jax turned to Nikki, striding across the alley. Behind him, she watched the skinny man scuttle from between the dumpsters on all fours, scrambling to gain his feet, finally breaking into a shambling run as he turned the corner onto the street.
Nikki was trembling as Jax’s hands closed around her arms, lifting her from the pavement.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” Jax was looking at her intently, his eyes roaming quickly over her face, down over her body.
“No…just my arm.” She held up her hand, an ugly bruise beginning to form around her wrist. She stared at the purpling marks, and her trembling turned into violent shaking, her teeth clicking together.
“You’re in shock, Nikki. Let me take you back inside.” Jax took a step back, toward the door to the club, his arm around her shoulder. But Nikki shook her head, her voice barely audible.
“Take me home…with you.”
*
Jax opened the door to his room. The house had been quiet, Bec gone and his room empty, with several other members apparently having left with him as well. Jax knew they were friends of Bec’s, guys he’d grown up with, and a few of their mates, some of them he and Bec had known forever. But that wasn’t important now.