Page 18 of Filthy Hot

Dennis leans forward, placing his elbows on the table as his eyes find mine. He holds my gaze, his expression growing a bit serious, and then he clears his throat.

“Because Bren won’t let you. That girl will bring you out of whatever shell you got and unravel any wall that you have built up around yourself. Known her my whole life. Her mama was the same before she got all fucked up on drugs and shit.”

I bite the inside of my lip as my brows knit together while I think about poor Bren having a mother and a childhood like mine. I hate that for her because she’s been an absolute ray of sunshine since the moment I met her.

“She’s a good girl, that one.”

“Are you dating her?” I ask.

Instantly, his cheeks turn bright red. “No,” he grumbles.

“But you’d like to?” I ask.

He doesn’t answer me, mainly because the front door opens, and the group that walks through is, without a doubt, one of the bachelor parties. I open my mouth to ask them how I can help them, but Sal appears from his office again and personally approaches them before he guides them down the dark hallway I’ve yet to venture down.

I know I’ll see those guys again. Anyone who goes down that hallway ends up back in the main floor of the bar. And with that first group, the bar is open. And I am swamped every single second of my shift. I don’t even have a chance to pee.

It’s amazing.

The closer it gets to closing time, the less I can wipe the smile from my face. If I thought the tips were good last night, they areat least double that tonight. I haven’t counted, but I can just tell by the weight of my apron.

I can’t believe my luck with this place. I should probably be waiting for the other shoe to drop, but I can’t because I am so happy.

Making my way to the bar, I throw out the empty bottles that were on my tray and gather a few full ones to take back to the table I am waiting on when the door to the bar opens.

It’s late. The last call was just called.

Turning my head, I watch as four men in leather make their way through the door, and one of them is him—Gnaw.

“Shit,” Dennis hisses from beside me.

“What?” I ask.

He hums. “These are Sal’s new business partners, and they are fucking dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” I whisper.

He doesn’t answer my question. Instead, he hisses, “And one of the worst ones has his eyes on you, Kyle.”

“Gnaw?” I ask.

“Oh fuck.”

He doesn’t say anything else because Gnaw is just a few feet away. I watch as Dennis slips down the bar to get the rest of thosedangerous business partnersdrinks. Gnaw smiles, leaning against the edge of the bar.

“Umm, let me get these to their owners, and I’ll be right back,” I murmur before hurrying away from him.

GNAW

Dennis wasa little too close to Kyle, although I can’t really say shit because I haven’t even asked her out or anything yet. That doesn’t mean I had to like that moment they were sharing.

Atomic wanted to come by tonight, bringing King and Clink to discuss the ideas and take a look at the place. Clink is our treasurer, so he wanted to get an idea of what we needed to bid out and figure out exactly what we needed as far as contractors.

I wanted to come by tonight to see Kyle again.

I watch her deliver the beers on her tray. She smiles and talks to the men at the table. She’s not flirting that I can tell, but she’s smiling and chatting to them. They are focused on her, which is easy to do—she’s captivating.

They all hand her some money, and I know she’s probably making a damn killing here. Good for her. I don’t know much about her life before she came here, but I make it my mission to fully research her.

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