Man of the House: A Dark Bad Boy Romance(155)

“Hey there, Janine,” Dow said to me. “You hear about James and Parkey?” Clutch gave him a look, and he just shrugged. “What?”

“No, Dow, I didn’t hear.”

“Got hit last night,” he said. “Me and Slip were about to take a shot in their memory. You want?”

I blinked. Parkey and James were new members, and I didn’t know them well, but they were nice enough guys and loyal to the club. They didn’t deserve to die. It was way too soon for both of them.

“Yeah,” I said softly. “Sure.”

TomTom poured out four shots of tequila, and we slammed them back.

“I’m sure they appreciate us drinking for them,” I said, “wherever they are.”

Clutch must have heard something in my tone. “You couldn’t have stopped this,” he said.

“Maybe. I know.”

Dow laughed. “Yeah, what would you have done, Janine? Rode out with guns blazing?”

“Maybe agreed to marry Jetter sooner,” I said. “Got these guys into the club faster.”

“Not something you could have predicted,” Slip said, surprising me. It was the most he’d talked all day.

“Plus, nobody wants to see you marry that f*ck,” Dow said. “We do appreciate what you’re doing for us, though.”

Clutch was silent, but I could feel the anger rolling off him.

“Thanks, Dow,” I said. “I appreciate that.”

“Well, hell, girl, you’re practically family.”

“The club is my family,” I said, “nothing less.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Dow slammed back another drink and called for more.

Suddenly there was more commotion toward the back of the room. Some of the Rebel guys were pushing each other, speaking loudly.

Clutch stood up. “Janine, go see your dad. I’ll take care of this.” He walked off.

“He always so serious?” Dow asked.

“No, not really,” I said. “In a bad mood today, I guess.” I stood up. “Thanks for the drink.”

“Anytime.”

“See you boys later.” Dow nodded and Slip waved.

I walked off and headed toward the back. I stopped and knocked on Dad’s door. “Come in,” he called out.

I opened the door. Dad was sitting at his desk, smoking a cigar. He smiled at me.

“There you are,” he said. “How was work?”

“Fine.” I took a seat in front of him. “Things are crazy here. Clutch is out there throwing more guys out.”

“Can’t be helped,” he said. “We need to weed out the bad apples before we can start patching the new guys over.”

I nodded slowly. “About that.”

“What’s up?”

“When am I officially marrying Jetter?”

“Haven’t discussed it yet. Honestly, we have more pressing matters. The claim is good enough for now.”

“I heard about Parkey and James.”

“Shit,” Larkin said. “Real shame there. Two good boys.”

“I think we should do this sooner rather than later.”

He cocked his head. “Why are you trying to move this up? I know you don’t want this to actually happen.”

“No,” I said, “but if we can end this war before anyone else dies, that’d be ideal.”

“More guys are going to get hurt,” he said. “Just the nature of this.”

“If I can do something to help it, I will.”

He sighed. “Just be patient. Listen to Clutch. We’ll work it out.”

I clenched my jaw. I’d been waiting for that sort of answer from him.

The Demons were a male-dominated gang. Most of the time they listened and respected my word, but every once in a while they pushed me aside just because I didn’t have a f*cking cock. And I knew my father was ignoring my wishes because he felt like he knew better.

Which frustrated me to all hell. I didn’t want to listen to Clutch or to anyone. I just wanted to get this the f*ck over with. Instead, he was giving me some vague answers and bullshit, putting me off.

I was sure he meant well, but it wasn’t helping.

“Fine,” I said, standing. I didn’t feel like pushing too hard. “I’ll wait.”

“Just be patient. Clutch is a good man. He’ll take care of you.”

“I don’t need to be taken care of,” I said, angry.

“Okay,” he said. “Okay.”

I turned and left his office, sick of looking at him.

I wasn’t really mad at him, and I knew it. I was mad at the situation, at the violence and the death that was happening all around me. I couldn’t control a single bit of it, and even the small part that I could play was out of my hands. All I could do was sit around and wait and hope that this marriage thing would work and actually do something.

I saw Clutch throw another guy out the door and yell something out at him. He turned back in with a big grin on his face. Nothing made Clutch smile more than fighting, beating the f*ck out of some *s. Except for maybe sex, I realized, since that look on his face was the same look he’d had as he licked my * clean last night.