Page 43 of Chaos Luck Wrath

Interrupting his flashback, one of the men flagged Gage down like it wasn’t obvious where they were all seated in the otherwise unoccupied joint. All of them were raucously chattering away with one another like a bunch of frat boys after a night of drinking and debauchery.

Once one of his friends noticed his arrival at the edge of the table, the rest of them all greeted him. Several of them shouted out, “Vlad!” welcoming him with giant smiles and laughter.

Rolling his eyes at his nickname that persisted over the years, Gage shook his head and took a seat at the unoccupied end of the booth as several guys scooted over to give him more space. After his pals found out about the three swords tattooed on his dick, he never was able to live down the nickname of Vlad the Impaler.

In total there were five of them seated here, Gage included.

Everyone had their own beverages and plates in front of each of them. Flagging down the waitress sitting at the counter for a cup of coffee, Gage shared in a few laughs at the jokes casually being tossed back and forth.

Jax, the friend he had known the longest, was sitting across from him. He caught Gage’s attention. “How’s business, man? I’m surprised you switched things up from the titty bar to just another nightclub.”

Cradling the lukewarm cup of bitter coffee in his hand, Gage leaned back and shrugged. “It was time to switch things up.” He lifted the mug to his lips, drawing in a mouthful of the stale beverage. Maybe it was just another nightclub to outsiders, but he liked to think that its kinky spin carved out a uniquely valuable spot for itself in the Big Apple. So far, the rebrand was paying for itself in spades.

The man to his right, Devon, shook his head and jumped in on the conversation, “Damn, dude. You were surrounded by pussy all day long, why would you give that up? I couldn’t do it; I live for that shit.”

All Gage could do was shrug. He knew damn well that he could have been drowning in women and it still wouldn’t have satisfied him the way Layne did.

“I know that look,” Jax said as he smirked at the revelation. “Fuckin’ bastard found himself a keeper.”

Isaiah, the guy at the far end laughed, “Nah, no way. Our Vlad? Pssh, I’ll believe it when I see it. She’d have to be one of those innocent and naive starry-eyed aspiring actresses that move into the city every summer.” Mockingly, he spoke in a high-pitched feminine tone, “Do you really think I have what it takes? Will you practice this kissing scene with me?” His voice dropped the imitation as he laughed.

Trying to deflect the inquiries into his personal life, Gage fired back at his friend. “Yeah, and when was the last time you got laid, assbutt?”

That got a series of elbow jabs, snorts, and chortling all around the table.

Jax’s eyes drifted back to Gage. It seemed that everybody else was easily tossed off the scent by Gage’s switch in gears, but not him. Though kudos to Jax that he had the good sense not to steer the conversation back.

After a few more minutes of bullshitting, Gage was prompted by his former roommate, Hunter. “So, you told us to meet you here to talk about business or some crap. You going to clue us in or what?”

Gage ran his fingers through his short blonde locks, it was now or never. “I’m having a Grand Opening party for the nightclub. I need extra security, people I can trust with my life.” His eyes stared at every one of his friends there at the table with him. The heaviness of his gaze communicated just how serious he was.

While Gage knew people who were willing to help in this unsavory business and had helped him previously with Layne, this was different. Things were too close to home and hell if he was relying on just anybody to keep his girl safe.

All the guys shared looks amongst themselves, but it was Jax who spoke up first. “Whatever you need. You just tell me when and where.”

The rest of his friends nodded in agreement, echoing the same sentiments. Isaiah was quick to reassure Gage he would be there to have his back, “If it weren’t for you, my ass would have gotten jumped by those bikers at that bar in Atlantic City. I got you, bro.”

Knowing he had to come clean with a few more important details, Gage shoved his now empty coffee mug away from him. “It’s not me I’m worried about.”

Jax declared his now confirmed suspicions, “I fucking knew it. It’s a piece of ass, isn’t it?” Feeling smug about his intuitions being on target, he smiled proudly.

Gage’s eyes narrowed at his friend’s assumption that this was over a one-and-done lay. “She isn’t a piece of ass, and she can’t know that you’re there to keep tabs on her.” He would never hear the end of it if Layne knew he was bringing in fresh faces to keep watch over her at the party in addition to himself and Joey. He’d like for the three of them to actually have a night to enjoy themselves without worrying about Liam’s sick games.

Devon lifted his brows curiously. “It’s one chick. No offense, Vlad, but it doesn’t look like you’ve skipped the gym recently. So why do you need four of us to watch just one of her?”

That made Gage chuckle. Fuck, if these guys even knew how he would have difficulty trusting a goddamn army to keep Layne safe these days.

“It’s complicated, just trust me when I tell you I will need you all on your A-game,” he explained.

Slapping his hand on the back of Gage’s shoulder, Hunter joked, “Aw, trying to make sure the little woman stays in line? You’re getting soft on us.”

Gage groaned; at this rate, he was going to need to protect his asshole friends from Layne if they behaved like this at the event.

He pulled out his phone and brought up a picture of Layne, laying it down on the center of the table so they could all lean in to see who needed the added insurance of safety.

The photo was a selfie he had snapped of them together while in the hot tub in her backyard one night. Her brown hair piled high on top of her head with a few strands hanging down loose around her face. The fluorescent pink straps of her bikini top contrasted sharply against her pale skin. Her left hand rested on top of his chest as she leaned in against him, pressing the side of her face up against his for the snapshot.

Each of the guys gawked as they stared at the beauty in the picture, a couple of them giving whistles of appreciation.

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