Page 7 of Prince of Darkness

“Got it.” He gives me a firm nod.

I pocket my phone to go in search of Copper. This girl doesn’t need to be anywhere near him. I could tell she was clean. Her eyes were clear. I’d be shocked if she’s ever done any kind of drugs in her life. I know she’s hiding something, though. That much I could read off her. I’m just not sure what, but it definitely has something to do with Copper.

The smell of pot is thick in the air already as I make my way through the warehouse. This shit is really in full swing tonight, or maybe I haven't been coming out lately to see how packed these parties have been getting. I’m not sure how much longer I can hold up to doing these anymore. If I’m serious about cleaning the place up, I need to start with these parties.

I don’t understand why they want them. The last thing I want after a day of work is to come back to a full-blown party. All of this is getting to be too much. Sometimes I wonder if taking over the club had been a good idea.

My eyes trail along the three pool tables. A girl is bent over one being driven into from behind while a few people watch. The girl is getting off more on people watching than the poor schmuck giving it to her. I cringe at the idea of Olivia seeing this. Her eyes almost popped out of her head earlier when she saw the half-naked girls dancing.

I didn’t even notice them until I saw her reaction. Is it fucked up I don’t even notice that shit anymore? That it’s become so commonplace around here on nights like this that it does absolutely nothing for me.

What I had noticed was Olivia pressing her soft little body against me. Those wide, innocent eyes of hers taking everything in. That got all of my attention. The small peek of cleavage her dress was showing turned my cock rock-hard. The scene playing out in front of me now killed that erection.

An actual game is being played at the second table while the third is empty. I make my way toward the last one. A few bodies are sitting in the chairs around it. I spot Copper as I approach, sitting in one of the corner chairs. His head is dropped back while some chick is on her knees sucking him off.

“Copper.” I bark out his name over the music. He lifts his head, his glassy eyes meeting mine. “Up,” I order him. The chick on her knees seems more than happy for my interruption and to be done with the blow job. I’m guessing she’s been at it for a while. Copper is too stoned to get off. I watch as he stumbles to his feet.

“I was in the middle of something,” he protests but shuts up when he sees it’s me standing in front of him.

“You okay?” I ask the girl. She’s high as a kite too.

“Yeah.” She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. I motion for one of the prospects to come over.

“Get her home and find out how she got in here. She’s stoned.” They all know I don’t mean from weed or even a bit of coke. Anything beyond that isn’t allowed anymore, and everyone knows that. It’s part of why I keep people stationed at the door to screen who comes in. I swear I’m starting to feel as though I’m a goddamn parent around here having to watch after my teenage children.

“Got it, Pres.”

“What? I was just having a bit of fun.” I snatch Copper by the back of the neck. He shuts his mouth real quick when he sees I’m not fucking around.

“A bit of fun. I can show you a bit of fun.” I nail him with a kidney shot, my anger getting the best of me. I’m not sure if it’s because I know he’s doing hardcore drugs or if I’m still recalling the fact that Olivia lied to me about Copper being her boyfriend.

Copper’s knees give out, but I’ve got a firm grip on his neck. He yelps in pain. No way am I taking him to see Olivia now. He’s never going anywhere near her. I should spank her ass for trying to get near him.

I whistle for a couple of brothers to come over and get him. “Put him in his old man’s room for the night. He’s on lockdown.” I know it’s only a temporary solution, but at least I’ll know where he is. Tomorrow I’ll have to come up with a more permanent plan on how I’m going to deal with Copper. Tonight I need to focus on Hart.

“Got it.” Charlie takes him from me.

I didn’t even bother trying to get any information out of Copper. He was almost incoherent. Which means I’m going to have to find out from my girl why she’s here looking for him. Something tells me that she’s not going to make it easy for me.

But it still might be a bit of fun. I smile at the thought.

That is until I make it back to my office and find it empty. My office window is wide open.

“Shit, I’m sorry, Pres,” Brute says. It’s not as though he could have done anything about it. I walk over to the window, looking down. The little brat jumped. She could have damn well hurt herself.

“Is your girl gone too?” Arch comes barreling into my office out of breath.

“Yeah.” I snag Hart’s bag from Brute, dumping it out onto my desk. “She won’t get far,” I reassure Arch. For as pissed as we both are, Arch still manages to smile.

If there is one thing Arch and I could always do, it’s find what we were looking for. It didn’t matter if we were in the middle of a jungle or dropped in the middle of the desert. We’ve always been an unstoppable team. I’m not sure these girls know what they’re up against.

We sure as hell didn’t.

6

OLIVIA

Not only was last night a bust, but I’m going to have to hear it from my brothers now. Vee is still fast asleep in bed. I think it was the adrenaline of sneaking out of a motorcycle club. When we’d made it back to her place, we both shoved our faces with pizza and crashed while watching reality TV.

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