Page 26 of Sully
I shook my head, settling more comfortably in my chair.“Nah.Not unless it turns ugly.She needs to establish herself here.”I glanced at the other man.“Besides, aren’t you curious to see what she’s going to do?”
A slow smile spread across Tonio’s face, transforming his severe features into something almost approachable.“Good point.”
I held out my bottle and Tonio clinked his to mine.“Your daughter’s about to teach someone a lesson they won’t soon forget.”
We watched Darby lean against the bar, her body language a lazy deception.To the club girls eyeing her like wolves, she looked vulnerable.The newcomer, the outsider, still sporting the fading yellow-green bruise on her cheek.They’d likely see her battle scars as weakness.Like she’d been bested in battle, when the reality couldn’t be further from the truth.I swear I saw calculation in her gaze as she surveyed the room, though she looked like she didn’t have a care in the world.Her expression was pleasant.Not inviting, but not a clear warning to stay away.The bottle in her hand should have been empty.I’d watched her turn it up and drain it earlier, but somehow it still seemed to be full.I’d watched her carefully since she’d sat at that fucking bar.No one had brought her a second bottle, yet now she seemed to be sipping from the beer again.
“What is she doing?”I muttered, more to myself than to Tonio.
Beside me, Darby’s father watched with equal intensity.“Creating an environment she can control.”
I nodded, recognizing the truth in his assessment.Darby had spent most of her life controlling uncontrollable situations.It was how she’d survived.A clubhouse full of pampered club whores would be no match for Darby.Hell.I wasn’t sure anyone in this entire compound was capable of containing Darby if she didn’t want to be contained.
It didn’t take long for the women to surround Darby.I noticed more than one of the brothers with old ladies having to restrain their females.Darby had made an impression on everyone.Now it was time to see how she fared in the wild.
Darby took a pull from her beer bottle, her eyes never leaving the women as she lowered it.Her posture remained relaxed, almost bored, but I could see the tension in her jaw, the slight tightening around her eyes.She was scanning, calculating, preparing for whatever came next.
A blonde, Kat, I thought her name was, stepped forward, a shot glass in one hand and a bottle of Jack in the other.She was the most aggressive of the club girls, with a reputation for marking her territory and defending it viciously.
“It’s rude not to drink with the rest of the whores,” she said, loud enough for half the room to hear as she shoved the shot glass into Darby’s hand.She poured the whiskey with deliberate slowness, amber liquid catching the dim light.“Unless you think you’re too good for us?”
Neither me nor Tonio liked that, but as I was about to rise and go tell a bitch to get the fuck out, Gunnar sat on one side of me while Knuckles sat next to Tonio.
“Good to see you boys.”Knuckles’ voice boomed good naturedly.Tonio looked ready to kill, but Knuckles clamped a hand on his shoulder.The gesture looked like some form of male bonding, but I recognized it for what it was.The same thing Gunnar’s hand on my shoulder meant.Wait and watch.
“I hear ya,” I muttered.“I know she can do this.I’ve seen her in action.Still don’t like it.”
“Makes two of us.”Tonio’s normally civilized tone had shifted to a baser, less cultured growl.
The insult was clear.Kat was forcing Darby to either accept being called a whore or reject the drink and look like she was setting herself apart.It was the kind of no-win situation that would have started a fight with most women.
But Darby only gave them a small smile.She accepted the glass with a steady hand, raising it slightly in acknowledgment.“To new friends,” she said, her voice carrying just the right note of sincerity to make them pause.Then she downed the shot in one smooth motion, not even flinching as the whiskey slid its way down.
Kat looked momentarily thrown, like she’d expected more resistance.She recovered quickly, pouring another shot for Darby and then for herself and the other women.They all drank, watching Darby over the rims of their glasses as if waiting for her to break character, to show weakness.
She didn’t.Instead, she chased the whiskey with a pull from her beer, her expression neutral.I knew that look.It was the same one she’d worn when I’d first seen her atThrottle.
“Girl can hold her liquor,” Gunnar observed quietly.
“You have no idea,” I replied, unable to keep a note of pride from my voice.I’d seen Darby drink men twice her size under the table that first night.These women had no idea what they were getting into.
Another shot appeared in Darby’s hand.Then another.Each time, she took it without complaint, following it with a careful sip of beer.The club girls matched her drink for drink, their voices growing louder, their movements less coordinated as the alcohol took effect.Laughter soon replaced the hostility from earlier.Mostly because Darby basically put on a show.She got everyone talking and telling embarrassing stories about guys in the club, dropping my name in there as if casting bait and waiting for something to bite.Only she was rapidly getting drunk, so there was no way she was thinking that clearly.It was impressive as hell but also concerning.I’d seen her take a dozen shots now without showing any effects.Either she had the tolerance of a seasoned alcoholic, or something else was going on.I leaned forward, studying her more closely.
“Well, I’ll be Goddamned,” I muttered.
“That’s my girl.”Tonio sat back in his chair, grinning from ear to ear.
“What am I missing?”Gunnar looked from us back to Darby, squinting as if to get a clearer look.
“When she downs a shot, she chases it with beer,” Tonio explained.
“Right,” Gunnar said, still looking confused.“I get that.But what’s so odd about that.Maybe she doesn’t like the taste of straight whiskey or something.”
“Nope.”I shook my head in disbelief.“You have to admire the simplicity of it.It’s literally the oldest trick in the book and she does it so fuckin’ easily it’s like a natural movement.”
“Yep.”
“Still not following,” Gunnar admitted.
