Page 47 of Hell Bent

Grabbing her to him, Vicious laughed. “You’re already sounding like the VP’s ol’ lady, babe.”

“Well, that’s what I am, right?”

“Damn straight.” Turning around, he ran straight into Croon and Squatch.

“Where the fuck have ya been, Vicious? We started without ya.”

“Waiting on my ol’ lady.” Vicious nodded at Sway. “Sway, this is Croon and Squatch. They're two of our brothers from Provo, Utah.”

Sway wasn’t a handshaker. She was a hugger. Looking at Vicious for guidance, she got a wink, which translated to her that she could give the two men hugs. When she did,she made sure to not touch their back patch, which Vicious said was disrespectful. When she leaned back, Sway smiled at both men. “It’s nice to meet you both.” Turning her attention to Vicious, she reminded him he had the bag. “Babe, you have the bag for Croon.”

Vicious glanced down for a second then lifted the small, brown paper bag. “Here ya go, brother. I’m not sure I want to know what you need these for, but I can only imagine.”

“I’m sure we’ll post the shenanigans on our social media,” Croon commented, trying not to say too much.

“Can we get you two a couple of beers?”

“Why don’t you shove your way to the bar, and we’ll keep watch over your woman,” Squatch suggested.

“Sounds good. Both of you behave yourselves.” Vicious watched Croon and Squatch feign shock. Giving a hard stare, he left them to grab a round of drinks.

When Vicious disappeared into the crowd, Sway turned her attention to the two men. “We don’t have a lot of time. Has Player set you up with everything?”

“Yeah. That cake is outstanding. We might need to load it on the flatbed and take it back to Provo with us.”

“The guys had Vicious buy the dress and the lipstick.”

Croon and Squatch laughed at Sway’s comment. Before she could continue, Croon pointed to Vicious making his way back to them, drinks in hand. “Let me help you with those,” Squatch said, taking two of the beers. “Vicious, we promised two of the brothers we’d shoot a game of pool.”

“Yeah, go ahead. We need to find Teller and check in with him.” Vicious handed Sway her drink as Croon andSquatch wandered off. He thought the pair would visit for a minute, so he’d catch up with them later. A loud round of cheers from outside reached their ears. He saw white smoke billowing from the parking lot—someone had done burnouts. Sure enough, he heard the distinct sound of a tire blowing. Fools.

They made their way through the crowd, talked to more than their fair share of folks, and finally settled by the sitting area, talking to some of the other brothers. Vicious glanced around, searching the crowd for the Provo brothers. Being the VP, he needed to make sure their quest was being taken care of. “Any of you seen Croon and Squatch?”

“They’re around here somewhere,” Player said, half paying attention to his VP.

“They’re probably dipping their wick in something sweet,” Joker added.

On cue, the music changed tempo as the lead singer made an announcement. “I think we have a birthday boy in the house tonight,” the female’s husky voice purred through the speakers. “Where is Vicious?”

Vicious looked at his brothers and then at Sway, who was all smiles. “Damn it.”

When Vicious held up his beer, the singer laughed sinisterly. “There he is. Well, big man, we’ve got a surprise for you. Now, you guys need to make sure Vicious is nice and comfortable for this next song.”

Sway shoved a chair up behind him and nudged him into it. She almost got away, but at the last minute, he pulled her onto his lap. The lights went out, then a spotlight cameon. The band started playing “Happy Birthday” as the hallway door swung open and Squatch rolled out a giant three-tiered birthday cake. He rolled it right to the middle of the floor in front of the chair where Vicious sat. “What the fuck is that?”

“Happy birthday, babe,” Sway said, kissing his cheek. Easing off his lap so she could videotape the surprise, Sway tried not to laugh.

“Okay, big boy, make a wish and make it a good one,” Squatch told Vicious as he moved aside.

Vicious stood up, scratching at the stubble on his mug.Make it a good one, he thought. The candle sparklers were probably rigged, so he stood back a bit to be safe. Leaning in, he blew and got the surprise of his life.

“Let’s help him out folks.”

“One . . . two . . . three,” everyone shouted.

The cake top burst open, revealing a burly Marilyn Monroe. Shocked was the word he was looking for as he laughed. Then Marilyn kicked her way out of the cardboard cake, getting one size fourteen stuck in the framework, and almost fell down. Marilyn’s blonde wig slipped off, making the crowd laugh louder. “Marilyn, don’t lose your wig,” someone yelled.

Squatch scooped up the wig, tossing it back to Croon, who tugged it back on. Brushing blonde curls from his face, he tried not to laugh as he did his sexiest walk toward Vicious.

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