Page 9 of Casualties

The shady shit tasked to us by Denny is worth the mindless fuck sessions we get with our membership to the club.Sex aside, the pay is great.No college sophomore is making the cash we are.We don't know all the specifics of our jobs, like the reasoning behind them, but we know enough to realize they aren't exactly legal.

When someone applies to be a member at the club, it is our job to vet them before Denny gives his approval.Background checks may be the main job for most potential members, but there are a select few that Denny wants extensive research done on.Pretty much any red flag we can dig up, he wants it for insurance.

Getting dirt on elite people in power requires us to hack into security systems… personal and corporate.When I said the tasks are borderline illegal, what I meant to say was they areillegal as hell.Lucky for us, we are good at what we do.The chances of anyone uncovering our part is highly unlikely.That way, if Denny ever needs a favor from a client that doesn’t want to cooperate, he has blackmail in an encrypted file that only he, Morgan, and myself have access to.

“Bro, why are you in such a fucking mood?Your shit has been off since we left the girl's' dorm.”Morgan pops an eyebrow in question, and my grip tightens on my steering wheel.I can’t tell him why I am so pissed.No way.I need to tread lightly with how I approach the topic of his sister.

What the hell is going on with her?Where is the kind, quiet girl who would follow me around asking me to proofread her short stories and fanfiction?I miss that girl.I don’t understand what happened at Stanford.If I’m being honest, I felt her pull away even before she left.I wish she would talk to me, I need to understand why she's angry with me.Morgan is my best friend, but Ainsley is my friend, too.We used to talk, and not just about small shit—we shared things.

I thought we had an unbreakable bond, much like mine and Morgan’s.It has always been the three of us, plus Cassie.I mean, Morgan and I had friends in all groups at school, but our main focus was hanging out with the girls.They were our ride or dies.They kept everything real when the fake people would do or say anything to get in our pants or be in our circle.

Ainsley’s only friend was Cassie, so Morgs and I would include them in almost everything.Obviously, parties were a no-go; there was no way we were letting her party.We partied and knew what was going on.Lots of drinking, smoking weed, and a lot of hookups.The parties were always in ritzy neighborhoods, so plenty of rooms for irresponsible teenagers to get reckless.She never asked to come, as it wasn’t her thing.She made our job as her protectors easy, and thank fuck for that.

I can’t comprehend how the girl I once considered one of my best friends is now a stranger.She looks different, and her demeanor has done a complete one-eighty.She has always been gorgeous.She may have hidden under baggy clothes, but I was always aware of her ethereal beauty that's had me in a chokehold for years.

Words cannot describe what a fucking smokeshow she is now.Her jeans have gone from baggy to tight as fuck, hugging every curve.Her ass is perfection in them.I could tell she wasn’t wearing much of a bra, because her nipples were poking through her once-loose band tee, now cut and form-fitting.Jesus, I need to stop thinking about her like this, my cock is starting to hurt straining against my zipper.

“What the fuck is going on with your sister?”I blurt out.

“I don’t know, man; she's older and was bound to grow out of her tomboy phase.Mom already warned me about the difference in her appearance and scolded me to avoid busting the new and improved Ainsley bubble.Just let her be.I want to loosen the reins where she feels free to be her, but also watch her like a hawk to make sure she is safe.”

I get Morgan’s strategy, but I would rather her know what she can and can’t do.She’s going to a party!Fuck!We never had to worry about this.I know, I know, it’s a double standard.Morgan and I did whatever the fuck we wanted during our high school years and still do, but Ains is different.She doesn’t need to be part of typical college life.She is better than parties and meeting random men.Fuck.She is going to be meeting men looking like that?They are going to pounce on her the second they see her.

Why do you care, dude?She is Morgan’s little sister, and your friend.Well, maybe not friends anymore.What the fuck could I have done to make her hate me?

“I get what you’re saying bro, but she is different.The guys at this school are going to try anything and everything to get into her pants.We need to shut that shit down before it happens.”I rub my forehead, frustrated that he is so accepting of this new version of her.

“We will still keep an eye on her, and make sure she isn't talking to anyone she shouldn’t be.Fuck, bro, is it wrong at this point for her to find a boyfriend?She's eighteen, and it’s about time she gets some real life experience.”

Why does what he is saying grind my fucking gears?He’s right, just shut the fuck up and let her be.

I know at this point I have taken my protector role to another extreme.If her own brother thinks this shit is okay, then why shouldn’t I?

Maybe it’s because you've thought about her 24/7 since she left for California.Not to mention the shower jerk-off sessions where you…

Fuck.I need to stop, and get out of my own head.She is Ainsley, Morgan’s little sister, and apparently now the bane of my existence.

I turn the stereo up to drown out the inappropriate thoughts of the little sister to the man sitting passenger.As Steel Dragon’s "Wasted Generation" pounds through the speakers, I tune out the girl who is consuming my thoughts for reasons I can’t explain.

* * *

We pull up to the club and make our way inside the three-story industrial style brick building.Entering the club, we are greeted by one of the hostesses.She’s cute, and I probably would have hit that if she was a member of Sanctuary Upstairs, but she’s not.I stick to members only, and choose to not fuck around with women outside of the club.I find that my needs are met more with women whose tastes match my own.

“Hey, babe.The boss around?”I flash her a lazy, half-cocked smile.Babeworks just fine—I’ve never bothered to remember her name.I may not fuck her, but I can still lay on the charm.She bats her overly long eyelashes at me.“Yes, he's in his office waiting for you guys.”I can tell she’s trying to hold on to some kind of professional demeanor—but she fails miserably when that pink flush creeps up her cheeks.

Walking upstairs, Morgan decides this is the perfect time to insert his two cents.“Dude, have you hit that yet?She fuckin' wants the D, and by D, I mean yours.”He smacks his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into a side embrace.

"Knock it off.She's like that with you, too," I say, brushing his arm off my shoulder.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t know blonde hair and big tits weren't your type anymore.I would hit that myself if she had eyes for anyone other than you.”

I smirked, flipping him the bird for good measure.She was hot, I’d give him that, but she wasn’t what I was looking for.

We knock on the door and enter Denny’s office.

“What’s going on boss?New job?”Morgan asks as he drops into one of the chairs in front of the desk.Denny’s office screams sophistication.A large dark mahogany desk takes up the main part of the office, a matching bookcase and bar cart sit off to the side.Denny is perched in his oversized office chair looking like the OG he is.

“Boys!I don't have a lot of time, so let's get into it.I have a potential client, and need the full check done.I need dirt on him, and all of it.The dirtier, depraved, and scandalous, the better.”We nod in unison, both knowing this is an easy ask.Denny may think he is asking a fuck-ton from us, but we never let him in on the fact that most of this work is child’s play.

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