Young Love Dies Hard: The Young Brothers, Book 1 Nikki Lane (books for students to read .TXT) 📖

The doors to the club opened, and the room swelled with another large group.

“Damn,” I said to Marissa. “What’s going on tonight?”

“Full moon,” she said, pouring a few shots. Her boobs were spilling out of the black corset she was wearing. “Brings them out of the woodwork.”

I spotted Sal surveying the room. Standing still was forbidden when the club was extra busy. So was eating, drinking, or using the bathroom. Basically, anything that wasn’t making him more money.

I walked around and tried to gauge who to approach first. Who wasn’t too drunk yet or who looked like they had some money to spend.

“How you doing tonight?” the only guy wearing a black Stetson said with a southern drawl. He took a swig of his beer, his eyes barely opened.

His clothes were clean, and he didn’t smell too bad, other than the usual tobacco and alcohol odor. He definitely ranked low on the gross scale. Nothing was worse than trying to give a lap dance to someone who smelled like they hadn’t taken a shower in a week. If my night hadn’t been going so well, I wouldn’t have been able to be so picky. But any money I made for the rest of the night was just icing on the cake.

“Can I help you with something?” I said. Playing coy usually paid off.

He gave me a lopsided smile. “I don’t know, can you?”

“What are you a cowboy or something?”

“What makes you say that?”

I gave him a onceover. “I dunno. The cowboy boots? Or maybe it’s the hat.” I tapped my chin.

He chuckled. “You don’t miss much, do you?”

“No, I reckon I don’t,” I said, attempting to mimic his accent. “So where are you from?”

“Drove all the way here from Texas. You ever been to Texas?”

Something about that accent had me strangely drawn to his mouth.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Never been anywhere really.”

“Me, neither. I’m here visiting my cousin for a few days.” He nodded toward the small group behind us. The waitress was handing out their drinks as they watched the football highlights on the flat screen. “It’s his birthday.”

“Well, it looks like you guys are looking for some fun.”

He took another swig of beer. “I reckon you’re right.” His dark eyes swept over my body. “You look like a girl who knows how to have fun.”

I smiled. “And you look like a perfect southern gentleman.”

“Well, I did promise my mama I’d keep out of trouble as best I could.”

“Troublemaker, are we? You don’t seem like the type.”

He smiled a little harder. “Well, little darling, the night is young.”

“I’m Maeve,” I said, reaching out my hand.

“Randy.” He took my hand and gave it a few good pumps.

It didn’t take long to convince Randy that he wanted a private dance. After he’d done another round of shots with the group he was with, I led him to the back room.

His already alcohol-flushed cheeks reddened even deeper when I started to dance. His hands glided down my thighs a few times, but I didn’t mind. Guess I was a sucker for a cowboy.

“Damn, girl,” he said after the dance was over. “You sure do know how to move.”

I adjusted my lingerie and smoothed out my hair. “Glad you enjoyed it.”

He remained slumped back in the plush seat. “How about you join me for a drink at the bar?”

“Oh, I don’t drink.” I leaned over and brushed my lips over his ear. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”

I left the room with him still in his seat, on the lookout for my next target.

* * * *

I hovered over Donny as he lay on the floor, cupping his nose. Blood seeped through his thick fingers.

“Donny?” I said, trying to keep centered as the red liquid trickled down his hand. “Can you hear me?”

He nodded and peeked his eyes open.

The room had erupted in complete chaos within a few minutes. Donny and the new bouncer—Joe, I think, or John—had been trying to keep the peace all night. The mood had been teetering between relative calm and all-out bedlam for most of the night. All it took was one table full of drunk assholes to collide with another group of drunk assholes to disrupt the delicate balance.

My gaze darted around the room as I tried to assess the situation. The new guy was nowhere to be seen and a bunch of chairs and a few tables were flipped over and scattered around the room. I squinted, my eyes trying to adjust as someone brightened the lights. It was funny how different the place looked when it wasn’t covered in darkness.

A couple of girls rubbed their elbows or shoulders, probably from having been in the middle of it when the fights broke out. Other than Sal and a few other dancers, the room had cleared out.

“Where are the hell are the cops?” I shouted at Sal. “And the ambulance?”

Donny was wincing in pain. “My chest,” he sputtered. “I think I broke my chest.”

“Just…don’t move,” I commanded. “They’ll be here soon.”

Sal stomped around the room, cursing at the mess, no doubt silently adding up all the money he’d lost.

“Sal!” I said.

He stopped mid stride and looked over his shoulder at me.

“Did you call the cops?” I asked.

“No cops,” he said in a stern voice.

“But look at this place.” I held up my arms like the damage wasn’t obvious.

“No. Cops.”

I let out a huge sigh and crossed my arms. “Fine, then call 911. Donny’s hurt really bad.”

He snapped his fingers at the new bouncer, who’d magically appeared from the back room. “You…take Don to the hospital.”

The new guy’s frown settled deeper in his face when he spotted Donny bloody on the floor.

“You can’t do that,” I yelled. “He could be seriously hurt!”

“Remind me again why you’re still here,” Sal said. “All of yous, get the hell out of here!”

A few girls jumped at the tone of his voice and scurried back to the dressing room.

I joined the new guy by Donny’s