Chapter Two

Soul

"SON OF A bitch," I seethe out as Fetch helps Chayse, our bouncer, out through the side exit so he can take him to the hospital. The fucker who brought a knife into our club eyes me fearfully as I glare at him. "What the fuck were you tryin' to do, you stupid prick? Get to the girls? How'd that work out for ya?"

He sneers at me but before he can utter a word, I have him gripped by his shirt and against the wall, his feet dangling. "No one fucks with our girls, asshole. If I were you, I'd be worried about Chayse comin' after you for your little stunt. Our fuckin' sign out front clearly states no weapons are allowed inside. You think you're somethin' special, dickhead?"

"He touched me," he manages to rasp out, his face now a wonderful shade of red. Guess I should let him breathe; Anguish will have my balls if we get the cops involved with a dead body, more's the pity.

"Because you were somewhere you weren't supposed to be," I growl at the asshole in front of me as I drag him through the club toward our back rooms.

I'm not about to leave this stupid fucker on the floor of the nightclub despite us searching him and making sure he's got no more weapons on his body. He will not be fucking around with the crowd so someone gets hurt besides Chayse. The cops will be coming to get this fucker for us because we're gonna press charges on his ass. Chayse already said he wants him sitting in a jail cell so we know he won't try to make his way back in the club when we're so fucking busy no one can pay attention to him.

A thought strikes me as I drag this fucker to the back of the club.

"Who the fuck sent you here?" I question him, stopping in the middle of the deserted hallway and turning to face this asshole once again.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he returns, not answering my question as his face pales under the dim lighting.

"Were you sent here to go after a specific person? Is that why you're here tonight and were followin' one girl in particular as she works? I've seen you watchin' my waitress like a hawk and then when Chayse finds you, you're tryin' to follow her to the bathroom. Our staff doesn't use the public restrooms for a reason. So, again, were you sent here to go after one person in particular or are you just a piece of shit in general?" I question the twatwaffle as he looks up at me with fear starting to fill his cold, lifeless eyes.

"I'm not telling you anything," he says, his voice shaking as his entire body almost shuts down with the fear coursing through him.

"You just did. Most people don't realize that not answerin' a question is an answer in reality. Takin' in the way you're shakin' and how pale you've gone since I started askin' you questions, also answers me without you openin' your fuckin' mouth and sayin' a word in response to me. Again, you think you're holdin' back the truth so you're protectin' whoever's after my girl, but you're givin' me all the answers," I state as the idiot starts to whimper while tears fill his eyes. I swear to Christ if he pisses himself, I'm gonna rethink my position on calling the damn cops.

"He'll kill them if I talk. He knows where my wife and kids are and will take them out while recording things so I'm shown the video every day for the rest of my life. I can't tell you, the cops, or anyone else a thing," he informs me, his voice shaking with the fear coursing through his veins as tears fill his eyes and he drops his gaze to the floor at our feet.

"Where is your family?" I ask, knowing I'll get the club to pick them up so whoever this guy's working for won't be able to get to them. Since he's got kids, even though he's a piece of shit, we'll protect them.

"They're in a cabin closer to the next town over. I thought it would be a good place to hide them because it's not in a name associated with my wife, her family, or my family. This asshole still managed to figure out where I put them and now he's coming at me harder and pushing me to do more and more for him," the guy tells me, lifting his head once more as he looks at me with just a hint of hope shining in his eyes.

"When I get you in this room, you're gonna write down your wife's name, how many kids are in the cabin with her, their names, your name, and any other information I need to know. I'll turn the information over to my President and the club will decide whether or not we help them or not. We're not in the business of standin' by while innocent people are hurt. Just so you know, the woman you were sent to attack tonight is a victim of your boss. He's raped, beaten manipulated, and abused her every way possible. That's the kind of asshole you've hooked yourself to," I state, anger filling my voice once again when I think of how close Brooklyn was to being hurt once again by assholes who want to pull her down to where they are in the world instead of lifting her up the way she deserves.

Getting to the room I'll be holding this asshole in until Darren gets here, I slide over a piece of paper and pen to the guy in front of me. After handcuffing his left hand to the table so he can't try to escape, I leave him in the room alone knowing there's no way out for him. This room doesn't have a window in it, the door locks from the outside, and there aren't any secret exits from the room. There is also nothing in there he'll be able to use to hurt himself or get out of the handcuffs with. We check the room daily just for this very reason because we never know what's going to happen on any given night at Soul Escape.

After leaving him in the room, I pull out my phone and call Wheels to see if he can come in and help keep an eye on the place. I know my best friend will be in at some point in time tonight since Brooklyn's working, but we never know when. Right now, I need him here sooner rather than later to ensure no one else decides to pull some shit like the stupid fuck with the knife did. Wheels lets me know he'll be here in a few minutes. It's not surprising since we don't live that far from the club.

Heading back out front, my phone is to my ear once more as I place the call to Darren so he can come pick up the stupid fuck and get him out of my club. Once I'm done with the conversation, I go back behind the bar and start making drinks for the customers of the club while helping out Misty. She's been running around like a chicken with her head cut off and I can't leave her back here for long because she's not feeling the best tonight. Misty just announced her pregnancy and the morning sickness is hitting her hard. Still, she shows up to work and doesn't let it affect her doing her job the best she can. I make a mental note that we'll need another backup bartender once she gets far enough along to go on maternity leave. Worst case scenario, we'll bring in Fetch since he's worked all of the club's businesses so Misty won't worry about coming back to a job.

My eyes land on Brooklyn as she moves around the floor, through the bodies dancing and writhing on the floor to the music playing through the speakers. Her hair is tied up as normal and to anyone who doesn't know her, you wouldn't realize how scared she is right now. Since I've spent every single day with her for the last several months, I can see through the fake smile and how she's trying to keep her head held high in the face of someone coming at her with a knife intent on doing the maximum amount of damage to her. Eventually we'll know what the guy was instructed to do, but I have a pretty good feeling already that he was here to scar and maim Brooklyn as a form of punishment. Bennett will pay for every little thing he's done or tried to do to Brooklyn, even if we have to skirt legalities to ensure he doesn't get away with it, since sometimes, the justice system isn't as blind as we're told. With him coming from money like he does, it's highly likely they've got judges in their pockets.

After making the next round of drinks for one of Brooklyn's tables, I look up to find Wheels walking through the door of the club. He has no clue what really happened here tonight because I wasn't about to tell him that kind of shit on the phone. Now, I don't have a choice but to tell him the guy in the back came at Brooklyn and that Chayse is now at the hospital with injuries he suffered protecting her. Knowing Brooklyn the way I do, she'll take the guilt of the altercation on her shoulders and will do everything in her power to make it up to Chayse. She'll go out of her way to help him with anything that needs to be done, including making him food, cleaning his wounds, and anything else she can find to do for him. Brooklyn has been trying to pay the club back from the second she recovered for saving her that night at Cricket's. While she has nothing to pay anyone back for, we've all seen that she has more confidence than she did when she first arrived, so if it helps her keep healing, we'll let her do her thing.

"What the hell happened here tonight, Soul?" Wheels asks me when I meet him at the end of the bar to have a quick word with him.

"Brooklyn was goin' to the bathroom durin' her break. I watched as a man who'd been stickin' close to the bar followed her suddenly. We've been busy as fuck and I couldn't run after him. Thankfully, Chayse was close to her and he stopped the guy from attackin' Brooklyn. Wheels, he had a knife in his hand when he went after her. He pulled it sometime after leavin' the bar and I didn't know he had it," I tell my best friend and watch as his face morphs from the blank mask he keeps in place while out in public to one of pure rage.

"Are you fuckin' kiddin' me right now, Soul? Some fuck went after our girl with a knife and now Chayse is at the hospital to have his injuries checked out! Does Darren know what the fuck happened? Do you know anythin' about why this happened?" Wheels questions me, his voice laced with anger and fear as his eyes dart around the club until they land on Brooklyn as she heads back toward the bar.

"I'm not kiddin', Wheels. That's what happened. There's a paper in the room with him containin' the names of his wife and kids. They're in a cabin by the next town over hidin' out. Whoever sent this guy knows where they are and is usin' them as leverage to get him to do their biddin'. He didn't come right out and say Bennett is behind this shit, but we both know it's him. There's no doubt in my mind about that shit. Still, the guy refuses to talk, preferin' to protect his family," I tell Wheels as Brooklyn makes her way over to us. "Darren's on his way here now for the asshole and will come through the back door so this shit is kept quiet. That's all we know for now and I'm waitin' on a call from Fetch to let me know what's goin' on with Chayse."

"But who the fuck else could it be?" he asks. "We both know it's been far too quiet from his camp. I'm just grateful as fuck Chayse was closer, even though he got hurt for his efforts."

"It's what we hire them for, to protect the girls workin' here along with the customers who come in for a night of dancin' and drinkin', Wheels. Chayse didn't even hesitate from the look of him," I reply, thinking of the blood coating his skin and clothing when Fetch took him out of here.

"You say Fetch took him to be seen, right? Let me call him and see how he's makin' out," Wheels states. "We need to let Anguish know too, especially if that fuck has a family we're gonna be protectin'. I'll get that taken care of while you help Misty."

Wheels leaves the end of the bar and stops to talk to Brooklyn briefly. I watch as she smiles up at him and places her hand on his arm while leaning in closer. She doesn't always get physical and touch one of us, but when she does, it always sends a thrill through our bodies. By the time they're done talking, Wheels has a slight smile on his face as he pulls out his phone and makes the phone calls to get this shit taken care of while I work behind the bar.

"We need more beer, Soul," Misty informs me as we get a slight lull in customers coming up for drinks.

"On it. I'll be right back. If you need help, motion to Wheels and he'll come help out until I get back. Is it just one keg that needs to be replaced?"

"Yeah. Though, we're running low on Tequila and Jack as well. If you can grab some, that would be a good idea. I think that's all we need right now. I can make a list in a little bit so it's stocked before we get closer to closing tonight. You know that's when we get busy as hell again," she answers me, her voice barely heard over the music and various conversations taking place close to the bar.

"I'll get it taken care of," I assure her, leaving her behind the bar alone once more and heading for the stockroom.

When Soul Escape was designed, I had them install a system so we could replace the kegs in the storeroom and it will run straight to the bar where we can fill each glass for the customers. That way we're not transporting the kegs through the floor of the night club while it's busy as hell. I could see nothing but problems doing that on a nightly basis. I hate changing these fucking kegs. Sometimes it's easy as hell and doesn't give me any problems. Other times, like tonight, it's a pain in the ass and doesn't want to work the way it's supposed to. I spend fifteen minutes fighting with the damn connection before I finally manage to get it disconnected and line the new keg up in place to hook it up so Misty can keep filling drafts.

After making sure the keg is working properly, I grab an empty box we keep in here and fill it with a few bottles of alcohol. I know Misty said we were low on Tequila and Jack, but it's only a matter of time before we start to get low on a few other bottles we use on a nightly basis. I've worked behind the bar enough to know exactly which alcohol is our most popular. Those are the bottles I grab to take out with me. I'll do a visual on the bottles of beer and make another run when we get another lull, but this'll do for right now.

Walking through the club, I turn my head to find Darren leaving with the asshole in handcuffs. Darren gives me a nod of acknowledgement before leaving and I release the breath I didn't know I was holding until this moment. Having that guy in the club with Brooklyn was too much and now I don't have to worry about it because he'll be at the police station, being questioned by Darren. Wheels is behind the bar and Misty is nowhere to be found. He lets me know she had to rush off and I know exactly where she is without him saying anything else. After stocking the bottles, I get to work helping Wheels mix and serve drinks while lines form. Right now, a lot of the women in the club are lined up and I know it's because Wheels and I are the ones behind the bar. They'll take any excuse to get close to the two of us and this is a second for them to attempt to flirt with us. What they don't know is our eyes are for Brooklyn only and we're not going to give in to anyone just because they think they can flirt with us for a few minutes. The irony is they toss their tips into the jar we keep on the bar thinking they're giving them to us, but we don't take them, we leave them for whoever is the actual bartender. In this instance, it's Misty, and I know she'll be able to use the money for her upcoming baby.