Page 9 of Seeking Vengeance
CHAPTER THREE
Sean left the pub with more questions than he’d had going in. The only real knowledge he’d gained was that Nick wasn’t telling him everything, and the parts he was omitting smacked of something dark. The kid was good at keeping secrets, but Sean’s training had made him an expert at detecting when someone was withholding information. It was in the defensive body posture and the deliberate swagger injected into Nick’s voice. Mostly, it was in the eyes, and Nick’s were nothing less than haunted.
Sean had seen that look enough in his tours. It was the kind of look a man had when he was forced to watch something awful play out and was unable to do anything about it.
A sudden chill crept down his spine. What the hell was going on? And why were his protective instincts flaring to life with such ferocity? Nick was an employee. Sean cared about the kid, wanted him to do well, maybe even felt a personal stake. But that didn’t explain the intensity he was feeling, the strong sense of warning, or the clawing need to get involved.
That left … the sister? Hadn’t his sense of unease peaked right before he encountered her? The possibility hit him like a brick to the temple.
Oh, hell no.He shook that thought free before it had a chance to take root. He wasn’t going there.
She was smoking hot, sure, but this was no time to be thinking with his dick, no matter how strong the ache in his balls was.
No, he told himself. He needed to get a grip, stop acting like some horny adolescent, and figure out what the hell was going on in his town.
He decided to start with Nicki’s reason for being in Pine Ridge. What was this “family stuff” that had brought Nick’s sister into town? Nick had spoken the wordfamilyas if it left a bad taste in his mouth. Was there more to their little unit than brother and sister? And why the uncertainty over how long Nicki would be in town? What kind of situation was open-ended like that?
Nick’s reaction to Nicki’s temp job had also raised a few warning bells. Sure, any brother would have issues with his sister working in a place like that—and they’d be well-founded ones too. But Nick’s concern was too intense to be explained away by simple brotherly concern over his sister’s rep, especially one whose nine-to-five—p.m. to a.m., that was—had been as a showgirl in Vegas. Angels could be hard core, but Sean knew the owner, and Jason Michaels took very good care of his employees—menandwomen; even Nick should have been able to pick up on that. No, there was a decided undercurrent there, one that had nothing to do with false modesty or suggestions of a little OT between the sheets.
Sean firmly refused to consider the biggest question of all: why did he care so much?
Angels was dark and smoky, just as he remembered. The music was so loud that he felt the bass reverberating through his bones. And there were pole dancers. Sexy, lovely strippers on the semicircular stage, doing their thing. He shouldered his way through the standing-room-only crowd, made his way toward the front, and sat his big frame down at the table that had just conveniently opened up in the VIP seating area. There were definite bennies to having the boss owe you a few favors.
He accepted a drink from the pretty young server. It was on the house, but that didn’t stop Sean from giving her a generous tip. The smile she gave him was genuine, probably as much for the size of the tip as the fact that he hadn’t attempted to grope her.
Sean waited, steeling himself against the nearly unbearable ache that had settled in his balls since some crazy-ass female had crawled out of his pit and cupped him there. Shit, he still felt her hand on him, like a fucking brand. That made about as much sense as the fact that he was even here.
Eyes and ears open, Sean tried to relax. It was simple recon. It sure as hell beat the rainforest he’d found himself facedown in a month ago, covered in mud and crawling with bugs.
He smiled at the thought, but that smile quickly faded when he realized that something inside him was changing. Some fundamental shift he couldn’t quite identify. Since when had alcohol and sexy, beautiful women started to lose their appeal for him?
He knew the answer, but he didn’t have to like it.
Ever since his brothers had started settling down, it was the beginning of the end. Before then, none of them had really considered the possibility of a soul mate. Hell, not one among them could comprehend the monotony of a single woman, let alone a lifelong commitment. Lifelongsentencewas more like it, and the Callaghan boys had no desire for incarceration without possibility of parole.
Others laughed at their total disregard for settling down, citing divorce or annulment as a way out if things became unbearable. But the Callaghan men took their oaths—allof their oaths—seriously. They believed that if they pledged before God, family, and friends to love, honor, and cherish till death, then that was exactly what they would do.
Then, Taryn had come into their lives, and Jake was lost. Lexi had returned to her roots and ended up right where she belonged—in his brother Ian’s arms. And Maggie … well, if she hadn’t been custom-made for Michael, then the sun wouldn’t rise tomorrow.
They were all changing, realizing that maybe there was a chance for each of them. The only one not thrown by the last two years’ worth of upheaval was the clan patriarch, Jack Callaghan, who had known the truth of it—that Callaghan men, when they fell, they fell hard and completely. He’d married the love of his life, and they’d had seven sons together. Even now, two decades after her untimely death, Jack Callaghan swore he was still as much in love with her as the day he’d first laid eyes on her.
That was what Sean wanted. That was what they all wanted. Until recently, none of them had believed it possible.
Sean took a long, slow sip from his glass and exhaled. When—if—it happened, he wouldn’t have any control over it. He had to make damn sure he was ready, just in case.
The first set of dancers was good but nothing special. Jason usually had three girls on each set—one to the left, one to the right, and one center stage. The first trio was the tamest, meant for those out for a little taste and nothing too hard core. Standard moves, predictable music, traditional costumes. Cute but definitely not his style.
Sean used the time to pound back a few cold ones and give himself over to the music, trying not to think too hard about any of the serious shit that kept niggling at the back of his mind. He wished he could go back to just enjoying himself. Get drunk, watch the girls, hook up afterward, and then go home, sated and alone.
Yep, that was exactly what he wanted. Simplicity. Independence. Freedom.
The next set of girls was more risqué. The music was harder, the costumes more daring, the moves more suggestive. But still, no sign of Nick’s sister. He checked his watch. Almost midnight.
The lights dimmed, and the fog machines created a rolling mist as the stage was prepared for the final act. The minutes ticked by until, finally, a hush fell over the crowd, and men across the room found themselves leaning forward in anticipation. Looking around, Sean noticed that the crowd had grown considerably since he’d first arrived—quite a feat since it had been packed then.
It started with a low-pulsing bass. Black and red lights illuminated the dance floor, eerily shining up through the fog. For a few seconds, the lights went out, and when they came back on, three of the hottest women Sean had ever seen were positioned beside gleaming silver poles.
Now,thiswas what he was talking about. Black leather held together with the skinniest of cords and shiny metallic rings. Suicide heels. Silver chains.Oh, fuck yes.Sean found himself shifting in his seat too.
