Page 19 of Bad Medicine
Something I was definitely not used to feeling.
I took a deep breath, wincing at the ache in my ribs from the savage right hook Enzo dealt me in the basement, and tried to shake off the uncomfortable feelings swirling around inside me.
Leaning against the bar next to Vinnie, both of us staring over the main floor ofWrath, the sports bar that acted as the legitimate front to Enzo’s underground fight club that was, quite literally, underground, I considered what, exactly, it was I was feeling.
The first thing was horny, because for some fucked up reason, I hadn’t gotten my dick wet in a week.
I mean, I knew the reason—knew it had blue eyes, a smart mouth, and an ass that rocked a pair of faded jeans—but I wasn’t quite willing to admit it yet.
But underneath that surface shit, I found things I was unused to finding. Things like annoyance, concern, curiosity, and more than a little guilt.
None of those emotions were familiar to me. I was the guy who gave no fucks...while also giving awesome fucks. I didn’t care if a chick was going for dinner with some other schmuck. I never wondered what kind of places she would like to eat, and if she would like to go to them with me instead.
And I sure as fuck didn’t feel bad if I bothered her at work and maybe got her in shit with her sort-of boss.
Even if he was a raging hemorrhoid dressed in a nice suit.
No, that was a list of things I most certainly didn’t give a shit about, and to prove it, I pulled out my phone, determined to reach out to one of my regular hook-ups. There was no way one woman was gonna fuck with my game.
But as I scrolled through the contacts, looking at one name after another, I couldn’t seem to muster so much as a twitch in my dick for any of them. Scowling at the screen, I rolled through the names a second time, just in case my dick wasn’t paying attention the first time, but still, nothing.
What a fuckin’ joke.
I was still giving my phone the stink eye when a woman came up beside me, talkin’ shit about how it was her first time in Vegas and wanting me to buy her a drink, which I fucking well was not gonna do. I lifted my head, ready to shoot her down, but my eye caught on Enzo and Francesca, making their way toward me and both looking freshly fucked.
Lucky bastards.
I mean, I was glad they were working their shit out, but give a guy a break, ya know?
My balls could only get so fuckin’ blue.
Ignoring another new sensation that I found lodging itself in my chest—which reeked suspiciously of jealously—I turned my back on the woman and made a show of having not a single care in the world while Enzo and Francesca and I talked. Vinnie was still with us, but that kid didn’t talk much, so sometimes I forgot he was even there.
When it was time to get the fights started, I took off for the basement again while Enzo walked his woman out to her truck. Vinnie was her muscle, and considering all the shit Enzo was dealing with these days, it was good to know the kid had her back. Vinnie was loyal to Francesca first, and I liked that for her.
A woman needed that kind of support when there was a hit out on her, ya know?
“Hey, Benny,” I called, raising my hand to the man guarding the door to the basement. “You ready for tonight?”
Benny nodded solemnly, his eyes serious. A complete contrast to his usually easy-going personality. Dude just didn’t seem to be the same lately, but damned if he would talk to me about it.
“You know I am.”
“Any sign of those Bratva bastards around here?” Enzo’s clubs had been plagued by an influx of Russian drug deals lately, despite the very clear truce he and Anton had come to a few years ago. Truce or not, it had been fuckin’ hilarious watching Francesca kick one of their goon’s asses atSin Citylast week.
“So far, so good,” Benny replied. “Trick has been following Anton for days and the fuck hasn’t so much as walked on our side of the street.” A deep frown formed between Benny’s eyebrows. “It’s confusing as shit, actually. He seems to be actively avoiding our businesses rather than scoping them out, which you’d think he’d be doing if he was trying to stage a coup.”
At his words, my spine went rigid, remembering the last time our crew faced off against the Russians. It was a drawn-out bloody mess, but I couldn’t deny that it had also been a fuck of a good time; it had been a while since I really had anything to stir my blood like that.
Well, anything besides one prickly doctor that didn’t seem to want to give me the time of day.
Nodding at Benny as he opened the door for me, I was about to head down, when screams came from the front of the bar.
“What the fuck is goin’ on?” I muttered, turning back to look for Enzo where I left him and Francesca at the bar.
When I couldn’t see them, a sense of dread began creeping through my veins. Making my way toward the entrance, I realized I wasn’t the only one headed in that direction. The entire bar was emptying out, people rushing out the doors in a panicked surge.
“Benny,” I said, not looking at him as I spoke. “Call the crew. I have a feeling we’re gonna need all hands on deck.” Pushing my way out the door, not caring who I tossed out of my way, I raced into the parking lot, looking around for the cause of the commotion, when I saw the thick column of black smoke rising from the far side of the lot. “What the hell?” I mused, hurrying over to see just what in the holy hell had happened.
