Tough Guy: A Hero Club Novel, Jamie Schmidt [best books to read now txt] 📗

should have died with him, but I was more than prepared to take the fight to some of them out of revenge as well as self-preservation. The local gang was the Rivs and, after a rocky start when I first opened Dalton’s two years ago, we’d come to a mutual agreement. However, I had to put about half of them in the hospital first. It almost came down to gunplay, but my reputation saved me. Leonidas, the leader of the Rivs, had a few Eurotrash cousins who owned some clubs I had worked at. Once I made a few phone calls, they told him to lay off Dalton’s.

My entire life savings was sunk into this place and I had loyal employees who relied on me to provide them a paycheck and a safe place to work. I couldn’t let them down. Taking the back entrance out of my office, I got into the elevator and keyed it for the top floor. After letting myself into my apartment above the club, I took a quick shower. I probably should have brought Jackie up here instead of fucking her on the couch in my office, but we would have never gotten out of bed. My cock still twitched from her touch and I would be hearing her eager screams in my head for a long time.

I threw on another pair of black jeans and a matching T-shirt. It was our club uniform, but it would be passable for a night on the town. Going back downstairs into the club area, I did a walk-through. It was getting busier and if it kept up, we were going to have a good night.

Chance was still missing and I could only hope he was enjoying himself with any other stripper than Jackie. Sienna gave me a nod as she gave one of the Aussie soccer players a lap dance. She had ten-dollar bills sticking out of her bra and thong. Say what you want about the Australians, they weren’t afraid to tip the girls.

Later on, that might piss off the Americans who wanted the most bang for their buck. Little did they know it took a lot more than a few dollar bills to buy the kindness of the dancers. On stage Lavender was giving it her all to George Michael’s “I Want Your Sex.”

Highway raised an eyebrow when I walked up to him. He exaggerated an inhale.

“You smell pretty, sunshine. Want to fuck?”

“You’re a charmer. I’m taking the night off. I’ll see you tomorrow. Lock up and don’t take any shit.”

“This isn’t like you.” He looked over my head at something. “But I can see why you’re doing it.”

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw a freshly scrubbed Jackie weaving through the crowd toward us. She wore a sundress with big purple flowers on it and sensible shoes. Her hair was back in a slick ponytail and she didn’t look anything like La Vie Bohème in her street clothes. I wondered if she was back to wearing granny panties and her white cotton bra. I couldn’t wait to find out.

“It’s good to see you smile. You deserve some R&R,” Highway said.

“I wasn’t asking for permission,” I retorted. “Besides I’m not completely off the clock. I want to make sure these disappearances aren’t the harbinger of something more serious.”

“You’ve got to stop using that word-a-day dictionary calendar. I don’t know what those big words mean.”

Like hell he didn’t. Highway often pretended he was a dumb goon because it was easier.

“Give me a call if the shit hits the fan. I won’t be too far away.”

“I can manage it.”

Jackie linked her arm through mine when she was close enough. She smiled up at me and I couldn’t resist a kiss. Her leaving my office in a blanket and me leaving with her now was going to be all over the bar by tomorrow, but I didn’t give a shit. I was staking a claim and sending a message. The dancers wouldn’t think she was an outsider if they thought she was with me. They’d probably even suck up to her, hoping to get in my good graces. Ha, the joke was on them. I didn’t have any. Or it could go the other way, if they thought she was getting special treatment because we were fucking. That’s another reason I didn’t want her dancing again.

I was determined to protect my bar and Jackie from people like Ginny and the criminals that killed my uncle. And unlike Uncle Johnny, I wasn’t going to hope that the police would handle it. I planned to bring that shit right to the door of the motherfuckers who thought they could mess with what’s mine.

Chapter Ten

Jackie Mitchell

Miles drove a Ford Mustang that had seen better days, but the muscle car suited him. I rolled the windows down and enjoyed the early evening sights on the Las Vegas strip. It was a dry heat because we were in the middle of the desert, but the breeze from the moving car made it worth it to forgo the AC so I could stick my head out the window and people watch. There was a part of me hoping to see Lisa in the crowd, even though I knew how delusional that was.

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to Zeke’s house first. Highway said he hung out with your sister.”

“Why didn’t he tell me that yesterday? I could have talked to Zeke.” I ran an exasperated hand through my hair.

Miles shrugged. “What’s done is done.”

It was because yesterday I had been an outsider. I had always been on the sidelines all my life. This was the first time that dancing made me fit in. I was going to miss the adventure of stripping, but I was glad not to have to spend time in the VIP room. It was much more enticing to think of spending time with Miles. Like later tonight. Digging my toes into my sandals, I replayed how he took me