Page 8 of Maverick

The woman squirmed out of Marco’s grip, and he reached for her again. This time, he grabbed her around the waist and whispered in her ear. At first glance it looked like an intimate gesture, one of close friends or lovers, but the telltale sign of impending tears glistened in her eyes.

It’s not my business and I shouldn’t get involved, I told myself. I already had enough shit on my plate. But I knocked back the whiskey and stood, knowing I couldn’t just sit by when a woman looked scared and let it go. I wasn’t wired that way.

Then again, maybe this was just what I needed.

Chapter 4

Grace

“He’s drunk, Marco.” I didn’t know why I was trying to rationalize with him, it was impossible where money was concerned.

“They’re all drunk, Ruby.” He flashed a wide smile that gave his teeth a nuclear white glow under the red and black lights.

“He’s too drunk to be anything but a problem.” I didn’t like the private dances because the men—all of them—expected more than a private dance, and the drunk ones tried to take that more.

“Look, Ruby.” I hated the way he said my name, emphasizing that he knew I had a secret. “This is your chance to make more money on top of what you’ve already made tonight. Now,” he gripped my arm tight enough to draw a whimper from me, “rub those gorgeous tits in his face and take him for all he has.”

I looked at the man holding the wad of cash. He swayed on his feet, his glassy eyes raking over my body in a way that wasn’t just gross, it was alarming. “Give it to someone else. He’s too drunk to know the difference.”

“He asked for you, so you’ll do this. Don’t disappointment me, Ruby.” He shoved me towards the man like I was his to give away.

“Marco!” A tall man with broad shoulders, thick auburn hair, and a leather vest shouted over the music, drawing my attention and Marco’s, as well as my would-be customer.

“Hey, Maverick. Sorry, but Ruby is busy right now. She’s great, though, isn’t she?”

I shuddered at the way he talked about me, like I was some prized heifer, and looked away from the man. I didn’t know why I felt ashamed in that moment, only that I did.

“Here you go, honey.” Brandi handed me a shot of clear liquid and offered up a sympathetic smile. “It’ll take the edge off and give you the courage to kick ass if it comes to that.”

“Thanks,” I whispered, and looked away again, feeling silly for being close to tears. I took the shot and pushed my shoulders back, walking a few steps towards the drunken customer.

As soon as I was within reach, he grabbed my arm and pulled me flush against his chest. I gasped loudly and shoved at his chest, but he had at least sixty pounds on me. “Oh boy, you’re a ripe little thing, aren’t ya? I’ll give you an extra three hundred bucks if you open up that cunt for me to do whatever I want.” He laughed, the stink of cheap beer wafting towards me and making me sick. “Good thing for you, probably won’t take me too long to fill you up.”

I opened my mouth to tell him thanks but no thanks, when the broad-shouldered biker clapped a hand—a very big hand—on his shoulder.

“Fuck off, asshole. This one’s mine. You can have her when I’m done with her.”

“She doesn’t look like yours,” he said in a smooth, even tone. His voice was baritone deep and thick like honey. It was a nice voice. “In fact, she doesn’t seem into you at all.”

“For three hundred bucks she can sure as fuck pretend. Now fuck off before I make you.”

The man in the leather vest laughed, but there wasn’t a trace of humor in the sound. “Right, I’m sorry. I didn’t make myself clear. The woman wants nothing to do with you or your money, so it’s you who should fuck off. Or else.”

That finally got his attention off my tits and on the giant of a man behind him. His eyes widened instantly as he looked up and up into angry blue eyes. But he had drunk courage and laughed. “Or else what?”

He smiled at me and kept on smiling when he looked down at the man. “Or else you’ll see what it’s like to do some shit you don’t want to do, like shit out your teeth.”

I heard his swallow over Tyrone’s latest dance track while Bunny and Heather danced together on stage. “I paid for the dance.”

“Not yet you didn’t, so why don’t you get the fuck out of here while you still can?”

He was so calm even though his anger was palpable, and it was fascinating to witness. Trent had a hair-trigger temper that he couldn’t hide if his life depended on it.

But like a true drunken bully, the man pulled his arm back and swung on the redhead, who easily ducked the shot.

He didn’t just duck the shot and retaliate, oh no, he smiled at the man like he was happy he’d swung on him. “Okay, the hard way, then.” Amazingly, he gripped the man by the throat and lifted him clean off his feet, leaving his feet dangling a few inches above the floor. “You can either walk out of here on your own two legs or get wheeled out on a gurney. Your choice.”

Holy shit. This was a man who didn’t issue idle threats.

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