Page 45 of Protected by the Biker (Grim Reaper MC)
I smiled and put the cup to my lips again, swallowing a few more gulps from the glass. Soon after, we climbed into her car and headed for Luzano’s. It was a popular bar in downtown Chicago that most people in their twenties spent their weekends.
The music pumped as soon as we got in. The base vibrated the walls. Lights flashed on the dancefloor as hookah smoke clouded the air. Freya grabbed my hand and pulled me close, yelling into my ear so I could hear her above the music.
“Stay close,” she said.
The liquor had already gotten me to a place I needed to be. My tolerance wasn’t extremely high because I hadn’t been a heavy drinker since my college days. Jade, Rhea, and Margo were seated at a table on the side of the room.
“Oh, my god! Look who Freya pulled out of the fucking dungeon!” Jade shouted as she stood up, smiling from ear to ear. “You look good without that fucking school teacher shit on,” she said as she wrapped her arms around me.
Jade was much shorter than the rest of us, even with her high heels on, but she was cute as a button. Long, black hair flowed to the middle of her back, and two dimples engulfed her cheeks as she smiled.
“Not you too,” I said,
We laughed out loud as the music thumped around us. I nestled into the booth next to Margo as she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. We all worked together at Madison Prep and had formed a good bond over the last couple of years.
I glanced throughout the room. People held drinks in their hands as they danced on the main floor. Smiles flashed onto their faces as Freya and Jade spoke between each other. Just then, a waiter approached our table with drinks on a platter. He slid them in front of us as we all made eye-contact with each other.
“Um, sir? We didn’t order any drinks,” Freya spoke up.
“Yeah, I know. These drinks are on that group of gentlemen over there.” He pointed to a table of three guys. One of them waved at us as the waiter tucked the platter beneath his arm and walked away.
“Well, ladies,” Freya smiled. “Cheers to our first drinks. But, as soon as they come over here and try to talk to us, I am married because they look like shit.”
We all laughed and tapped our glasses together. I took a sip of my drink, but as soon as the liquor touched my tongue, I knew that as soon as I finished it, I would be as drunk as I’d been in years. I quickly sat the glass down. My eyes wandered around the room until they landed on a man seated at the bar. His hair was cut low, and his muscles bulged from beneath his white t-shirt. Even at my distance, his arms looked like boulders. The chatter around me seemed to fade. The words within the music was barely distinguishable. All I could do was look at him.
Chapter 4
Harrison
I sat at the bar inside of Luzano’s, downing glasses of coke and rum. Captain O’Malley gave me my assignment earlier that day, and I picked up the keys to my new place, but I wasn’t expected to go undercover until the beginning of next week. My story was that I was the son of an Italian mobster looking to make some connections in the U.S. I had been living in Miami for the past few years, but as soon as I got wind of the Dellucci family, I wanted to come this way and talk business. I could play that façade with no effort involved, but for now, I just wanted to relax and take my mind off things before I went undercover because as soon as that happened, my life as Harrison was over for the time being.
The bartender smiled at me as she leaned across the bar. Her shirt fell forward as she leaned, allowing me to see the black bra that kept her breasts in place.
“Can I get you another drink?” she asked, lifting her voice above the music.
After I nodded my head, she gently grabbed my glass, brushing her hand against mine in the process. I watched her walk away from me as more people filed into the bar. I didn’t go out much, but when I did, I was always alone. I didn’t have many friends that I would hang out with on a regular basis.
For some reason, I was always more comfortable by myself. I chalked it up to my childhood. I was always a loner, and I know it had a lot to do with the fact that I was an only child. For most people, it would push them into the arms of others, but for me, I had become comfortable in my solitude.
Seconds later, the bartender slid another glass of coke and rum in front of me. I nodded my head and just as she fixed her lips to speak to me again, another patron grabbed her attention. I could tell she was annoyed, but with as much patience as she could muster, she held up one finger towards me, then went to assist the other customer. I took a sip of the dark liquor, mixed with a hint of coke. It was strong, but I could drink alcohol like a fish and still not feel the effects of it. My tolerance was that of a giant, and for that reason, I always spent more than I wanted to when I went out.
I felt someone bump into me from behind. I spun around with daggers in my eyes to see who it was.
The man held up his hands, “I’m sorry,” he slurred over the music, “I’m sorry, man.” He put his hand on my shoulder and leaned closer to me. The liquor escaped his breath with each intoxicated word he spoke, “I can barely fucking keep one foot in front of the other. I’m sorry, man. Please don’t fucking kill me. You look like you would kill someone. Don’t… don’t kill me, alright?”
I swiped his hand off my shoulder, and moments later, one of his friends walked to his side and pulled him off me.
“I’m sorry,” he yelled. “He walked off on his own. He has had one too many drinks. Please forgive him.”
He draped his friend's arm over his shoulder and then the two of them walked away from me. Beyond them, I saw a woman sitting at a table with a trio of other women. As soon as I looked her way, she fixed her attention elsewhere. I squinted in her direction as hookah smoke billowed into the atmosphere around me, but through the fog, I could still see her clearly. Her long brown hair cascaded over her shoulders and her red dress snuggly fit her body. I grabbed my drink and took another sip, and watched her intensely. She looked my way again, and as soon as she saw that I was still fixated on her, she quickly averted her attention again. I smirked. Her bashfulness intrigued me. Not many women were built to catch my eye, but for some reason, I couldn’t take mine off her.
The bartender tapped me on my arm, regaining my attention. I turned towards her as she smiled.
“Let me know if you need anything else,” she spoke in a voice that was lou
d enough for me to hear over the music, “I will be sure to take care of you, sweetheart.” I winked at her and nodded my head, then spun back around to find the woman again.
In no time, three men approached the girl’s table. I could tell they were trying to pick them up, but at the same time, she came off as uninterested. I could read facial expressions like a book. That was one of the things they taught me when I went through the academy. Non-verbal communication meant everything. I finished up my drink, then parted my way through the crowd to her table.
The three men stepped to the side after I tapped one of them on the arm.
“Excuse me,” I said as I stepped closer to the women. “I’ve been looking all over for you,” I said as I glared at the woman I came to the table for. Her eyebrows folded together in confusion. I extended my hand to help her out of the booth.
“Come on. We can talk somewhere a little quieter.”
Her friends looked curiously in her direction, then back towards me. “Um, excuse me?” one of them said. “I don’t think–”
“No, no,” the woman spoke up. “It’s alright. I was looking for him, too. I um…I told him I was going to be here. Scoot. Let me out.”
One of the guys looked at me as if he wanted to throw a punch my way. My jawbones clenched inside my mouth, silently begging him to take his shot. Two women stood up to let her out of the booth, and when she got to the edge, she took my hand.
“Wait,” one of her friends said as she stood up. We walked a little further from the table, away from the men that gathered around them like vultures. “Listen, I know she doesn’t know you, and I also know that she has had a few drinks tonight. So, I will be keeping an eye on you, and if I see her disappear, I will be calling the cops.”
“The cops?” I said, smiling. “Don’t worry. We will be in full view all night.”
The woman looked at her friend, “are you sure you’re alright?”
