Page 60 of Vengeance

Shaking her head, Lex turns and walks towards her car. “You all can do what you want to do, but I’m out. I’m not doing this, and I’m going on record to say you shouldn’t either. Not unless you have a death wish.”

She climbs into her car and drives off, never looking back. Something has to change, but leaving the men isn’t the change to be had. Not if they want to stay breathing.

Chapter Nineteen

Griffin’s Beach

Jennings

Jennings sits with most of the Griffin’s Beach charter, their women, and a handful of Black Valley members at the soft re-opening of the Puffy Taco. How they got lucky enough to have an entire staff of dancers walk in, ready to get up on-stage, he’ll never know. But he’s glad, and they’ll make sure never to let this club fall to the wayside again.

Tess sits on his lap wearing a low-cut top and tight jeans with her hair pulled to the top of her head. She always looks good, but she dressed up for this outing, and he can’t wait to get her home. The constant view of her cleavage has him shifting uncomfortably every few minutes. The minute she turns to smirk at him, knowing what she does to him, all desire washes away. Instead, his eyes lock on the stitches on her face.

She instantly knows what he thinks, and she pushes his hand away before it can make contact with the wound. “Stop it.”

“Tess-”

“I’m fine, Jennings,” she says. “Really.”

He shakes his head. “I can’t believe we let it get this bad.”

“You didn’t exactly have a choice, right? This is a fight that didn’t start with you. But I know you’ll end it.”

“I don’t know what we’re going to do, Tess,” he says, his voice low for only his wife to hear. “Every outcome we have available has a very non-favorable aspect. We’re not strong enough to take on the Irish alone, and the Russians don’t seem like they really want to help. Instead, they might become a second enemy.”

Turning in her seat, she straddles his lap, and her hands cup his face, forcing him to look into her eyes. “You’ve got this. It’s going to work out, and we’re going to be okay. I have faith in you.”

“I’m starting to lose faith in myself, baby,” he says, swallowing the lump in his throat. He hasn’t spoken the words aloud, but he needs her to understand how dire the situation has become. “Lex became a target because of all this shit, and I don’t know where to go from here. How to fix things without getting in bed with another fucked up ally. Maybe it’s time to step down.”

“Lex is fine. I’m fine,” she says. “You’re the right man for the job, baby. And you have Psycho to help now.”

Her eyes glance towards Autumn on Rocco’s lap, and Jennings doesn’t quite know what happened with the women. There appear to be sides drawn, and Tess shoots a few of them angry glances every time she sees them. The one who surprises him the most is the anger Tess seems to have for Felicity. He’s not sure what Ky’s wife did, but she’s earned angry looks from multiple women tonight.

“Lex, can we talk?” Felicity asks the blonde sitting on Colt’s lap three seats away from Jennings and Tess.

Jennings watches Lex look up at her and says, “Has your stance changed?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then, no.”

“Are you serious? You won’t even have a conversation with me?”

Cracking her knuckles, Lex says, “Blood not marriage, Felicity.”

Tess narrows her eyes at Felicity, who stomps away. Jennings tugs on her hand gently. “What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“Lex?” Colt asks. “What’s going on?”

Her eyes lock with Tess, and she simply says, “Nothing.”

“Something’s going on with the women of the club, isn’t it?” Jennings asks Lex.

“Yep.”

“And you aren’t going to tell us?”

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