Page 9 of Bad Medicine
I pushed off the railing, prepared to go to bat on behalf of Enzo’s woman, but Vinnie-boy beat me to it, pulling back a fist the size of a Christmas ham and cold-cocking Jerry before he even knew what hit him.
For a second, no one moved, the whole thing so shocking that I wasn’t even sure anyone was watching the fight in the cage anymore. Then an ear-splitting whistle came from behind me, and I spun to see the grinning face of Fox, the biker president who looked like a damn Viking, grinning from ear to ear.
“Well, holy shit, Rock.” He laughed, coming up and slapping my back with a heavy hand. “Too bad that one wasn’t on the card tonight.” Lifting his chin, he nodded in Vinnie’s direction with a smile. “You get in that cage and swing like that, I’ll place a bet on ya. You could make some money.” Fixin’ the kid with a serious look, Fox dropped his voice and continued. “You lookin’ to make some real money, you let me know.”
Vinnie’s eyebrows went up, but before he could answer, I cut in. “Give the kid a break, Fox. He’s already got a job, enforcing for us.” I could see Lexi smile wide in my peripheral, but I pressed on. “And right now, he’s gotta take out the trash.” I nudged Jerry with the toe of my boot, curling my nose.
With a grateful nod, Vinnie ducked down and scooped Jerry over his shoulder, hauling him away like the sack of shit he was.
“Damn.” Fox stared on appreciatively. “Deadlifting that much weight? You sure I can’t steal him? Could use some muscle like that in the club.”
“He’s big, alright,” Lexi cut in softly, her eyes following Vinnie as he headed for the exit. “But he’s not built for the kind of life you lead, Fox.” Blinking, she turned to look at me and I could see something in her eyes, something that told me the kid had already wormed his way into her heart, right alongside Francesca.
Good. Lexi needed more people in her life she could count on.
Breaking our stare, she smiled at the biker, placing her cocky mask back on like it had never slipped.
“Now,” she went on, turning Fox to look down over the crowd with her. “Show me which of your boys I should take home with me tonight. I want someone who rides as good as his Harley.”
Leaving them to it, I turned my attention to Enzo and Francesca again, listening as Anton introduced his goddamn nephew, like bringing a new player into the game was as easy as changing your socks.
Goddamn old school assholes, always trying to stir shit up.
Enzo caught my eye, and I glared at the little Baby Bratva standing behind his uncle like a good lap dog.
He’d need to be watched; Enzo was probably already thinking about bringing Trick on, so I figured I’d text him first, get him down here to start recon on this douche right away.
The sound of glass breaking caused me to look up from my phone mid-text, and I smirked, knowing the cat was finally out of the bag about Enzo’s quickie marriage. Sure enough, Amber, the woman with whom Enzo had previously dipped his wick, was standing behind them, wearing her broken heart like a sweater. But seeing the horrified look on Amber’s face didn’t give me the satisfaction I had thought it would only half an hour ago.
The thing was, Francesca was starting to impress me, and knowing what I knew about Amber, she wasn’t about to go down without a fight.
I watched her as she stomped back to the bar, but my attention was drawn back to the scene in front of me when Anton and his nephew started bickering like a couple hens in Russian. It only took a minute for Anton to lay down the law, but whatever was said pissed the nephew off somethin’ fierce, because he glared at Enzo and Francesca like they killed Elvis or some shit.
God, what a crazy night.
I leaned against the railing, tryin’ to act casual while still listening to Enzo and Anton carry on, doing my best to pick up all that was being said between them—and everything that wasn’t—but my attention was stolen once again when the crowd started to roar over whatever was happening in the pit.
Almost the entire VIP booth was on their feet, cheering as Fox’s guy, Scratch, raised his arms in victory with a manic smile on his face.
We were gonna rake in the fuckin’ dough tonight, that was for damn sure.
I turned back to Enzo, wanting to see the look on his face as he did his mental math for tonight’s profits too, but what I saw was Amber, her face twisted with hatred, as she swung a champagne bottle in a backhanded arc that collided heavily with Francesca’s head.
Amber’s expression morphed from anger, to shock, to feigned innocence, before she turned to Enzo with a very unbelievable, “Oops.”
I moved—ready to hold Enzo back from killing the woman in plain sight of everyone in the booth if the look on his face was any indication—but before I made it even a step, Francesca looked up at Enzo, her eyes full of confusion, then she dropped like a stone.
Enzo caught her, her small body looking frail as he scooped her up against his chest.
He turned to me, his face like thunder even though his eyes showed a hint of panic, and I hurried to his side, pleased when I saw Vinnie was right behind me.
“Get her outta here, man,” I said, my hand on his back, guiding him to the exit, even as my eyes were scanning the crowd, looking for additional threats.
The only thing that stuck out was that both Amber and that junior Russian fuck were both gone. Anton was still in his seat, the look on his face sayingI told you so, but I didn’t have time for that shit.
“Take my ride,” I said, stuffing my hands in my pocket to pull out my key. “I’ll make my way over when shit is calmed down here.”
“I’ll take them,” Vinnie cut in, his voice sure, but his eyes were full of misery. “She’s—that is, Mrs. Argenti, is my responsibility. I’ll drive.”
