Page 1 of Wicked Attraction

PROLOGUE

Jasper~ Before the Shooting

I looked out at the opening night crowd of wall-to-wall, sex-crazed bodies bumping and grinding ecstatically to the music, and visions of dollar signs danced in my head.

As much as I hated to admit it, Sadie was right.

The new and improved Lucky Lopez was a success. An unmitigated fucking success. All three floors were packed with horny men and women eager to watch the young and beautiful strip for cash.

Others came to bump and grind on the newly installed dance floor, and most were here to just get fucked up. Opening night had brought out damn near all the residents of the Green Zone, not to mention the people we’d done business with for years.

Yeah, Sadie did it. Again.

I never doubted her. Sadie wasn’t just my mother; she was my mentor, the woman who taught me everything I needed to know about running the Ashby Organization for decades to come.

At her side, I’d learned how to negotiate deals in the legit world and underworld. She taught me the difference between being tough and being just plain mean.

Well, my father Colm also had a hand in that lesson. A heavy hand, usually balled into a fucking fist.

I shook off thoughts of my bastard of a father and pushed away from the desk inside the tiny office in the back of Lucky Lopez and made my way through the throngs of sweaty, drunk bodies to the bar.

“Velvet Fire. Make it a double,” I barked over the din to the bartender.

One of the new girls Sadie and Thomas hired, I didn’t know her name, flashed a toothy grin and shoved her tits out to great effect. She had a great pair of tits, big and meaty, more than a handful and best of all, they were perfectly round and full.

The Lucky Lopez t-shirt she wore was cut into a low vee, ripped and tied into a knot at the waist to show off her hot young body.

“Here ya go, Mr. Ashby.” It was a smart move, hiring hungry young college girls to sling drinks. They would bring in more cash which meant we could clean even more money.

“Thanks.” It might have been a smart business move, but I didn’t like having all these new people around. I didn’t know these people, so I couldn’t trust them.

I didn’t know who was in their lives or who those people knew and loved, hated or owed money to, and that was why I was on edge as I walked through the club, sipping on some damn good whiskey.

“Jasper!” Hulu smiled at me over the crowd and waved me over to the perimeter of the dance floor. He was big as fuck and spent a few hours almost every day in the gym, which made him the perfect deterrent for people looking to cause trouble.

“What’s up?” I stood beside the overgrown man feeling like a child at six-foot-two.

“Lots of people here tonight.”

“Yep.”

Arms crossed, Hulu’s eyes never stopped moving, scanning the crowd or looking over his shoulder. “Confiscated lots of weapons.”

“What’slots.”

“Enough that I sent Provo out to get some lock boxes. I think you need lockers if this will be your clientele here.”

I arched a brow at him. “Clientele? I think you’ve been working the card games too long if you’re gonna sound like an asshole.”

Hulu chuckled and shrugged. “Between the players and Nessa, I’m definitely growing my vocabulary.”

“Lockers are a good idea but run it by Sadie. This is her baby now.”

“Got it.”

“Anything else?”

“Nope. I’m good.”

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