Page 3 of Prince of Darkness

“What? We can totally get dolled up.” Even as she says it, she doesn't seem so sure herself.

It’s not that we don’t enjoy getting all dressed up; we just never really had a reason to. We weren't in the cool cliques when we were in high school, so we never really went to any of the parties. After we graduated, we haven’t really gone anywhere since we aren’t old enough to drink.

It’s now or never. We get in and out. It can’t be that hard. I can do this. I’m going to prove to my dad and brothers I’m worthy of this bounty hunter license. That I can work in the field too.

“Do not say ‘what’s the worst that can happen.’” I point my finger at Vee when she starts to open her mouth to reassure me we can do this. She quickly closes her mouth.

This is a terrible idea, and we both know it, but at least we’ll go down in flames together.

3

JASON

“Do I even want to know why he’s out on bail?” I grab the back of my neck and squeeze. I think I already have a good idea. The glassiness I’ve been seeing in Copper’s eyes is from more than him having a few beers.

“Drugs. I’m not sure what they caught him with, but I’ll find out.” I shake my head.

What is wrong with this kid? The only reason I haven’t put him out on his ass already is due to the fact that his old man had ties to my dad. It might be good for him to get tossed in jail for a while. Straighten him out some.

I’m actually thankful for getting busted all those years ago. Who knows how I would have turned out? I wasn’t on a good path back then. I couldn’t stand my old man for how he treated my mother, but I’d been on a road to follow in his footsteps. Getting tossed into the military was the best thing that could have happened to me, truth be told.

“This is not good. We can’t hand him over to the police. That will not go down well with the veterans.” It’s a hard line I have to walk while trying to clean this place up. The first thing I did was go legit with our drug operation. My father may have done illegal activities out of this place, but I want no part of that life. I promised my mom I’d be a better man.

If everyone wanted to keep running drugs, then we’d do it the right way. Thanks to Arch and the money I’d put away while I was in the Marines, it was possible.

Arch was the biggest help. You’d never know it from looking at him, and most of his family might want nothing to do with him, but he’s still a trust fund baby. We had no idea when we started our little weed growing business that we’d actually strike gold. I thought people struck oil. I had no idea they could strike gold, but we did.

“We don’t want that shit blowing back on the club. We’ve been working on getting our name clean. We might not be making a huge chunk of money on the marijuana, but he could jeopardize our licenses and have our permits stripped from us.”

Both of us have worked way too hard to get this shit on the straight and narrow to allow that to happen. We were only able to go into this line of business in the first place because our records had been sealed when we were kids. We’d done what they asked us to.

Hell, we went beyond what they asked for and signed up for a few more years of service. Arch and I won’t lose that because some little shit enjoys sniffing shit up his nose. We need to figure out how we’re going to handle this situation.

I nod in agreement. It’s a very small margin of profit compared to mining, but I enjoy having my hands in both businesses. I don’t need some junkie fucking that up while trying to make extra money on the side to cover his own habit. I’d bet my ass he’s using the club's name while he’s doing all this.

“This has to be why he’s been hanging around here so much. No bounty hunter is going to show up here looking for him.” I push back from my chair.

Copper’s dad might be a full-fledged member, but his son is still a prospect. Has been for years. He’s done nothing to earn himself a patch. There’s little chance he will. That doesn't stop him from crashing here all the damn time. He gets away with it because he crashes in his old man’s room.

“Not a chance in hell.”

“We need to go make a round and be seen at the party. Might as well see what the little shit is up to.”

Arch comes to his feet to join me. He tosses his half-full drink into the trash can. I know the last thing Arch wants to do is go hang around the party. Women tend to be like moths to a flame when it comes to him.

He’s really done it to himself. Not that I have room to talk. The more you push them away, the more of a challenge these girls see it as. It doesn’t help that the girls also know Arch is loaded. He doesn't throw his money around, but he doesn't hide it either.

When I took over, I was struggling, barely getting the club by. It took time for me to build a nest egg. A very big fucking nest egg that keeps on growing. More so after we found that gold. It will be expanding even more once I get my hands on the McGuire land. It will be smooth sailing after that.

The music hits us the second we step out of my office. We make our way around the party that’s already in full swing. A couple of girls are up on the bar dancing, and the three stripper poles that have been there since I was a kid have girls swinging from them. Off to the side, there is a line of girls waiting for a chance to get their turn on the pole.

“Don’t,” I say when two girls step in front of Arch and me.

I keep my face hard and filled with warning. I’ve never laid my hands on a woman before. I tend to be able to scare them off easily with a look alone. I don’t have the pretty boy handsome face like Arch. They see him and think he helps old ladies cross the street. They have no fucking clue.

“But—”

“You heard him.” Arch cuts the one with red hair off. They start to try and make pouting faces.

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