“Dammit.” Casey shoved her hair behind her ear.

Why had he taken off like that? Max fucked everyone! Everyone in Queen City knew it. That was what she had counted on. Was there something wrong with her?

“What am I supposed to do now?” she asked herself out loud, her mind trying to find another plan. She needed Max if her plan was going to succeed.

She bit her lip, coming to a decision. Her stepbrother wasn’t the only Predator. If she wasn’t going to get what she needed from Max, it was time to move on. Actually, it might work out better. Last night, when she was at the clubhouse, she had met a couple of the Predators she hadn’t known. One in particular didn’t seem to have any problem flirting with her. She hadn’t responded, having already decided on Max, but now she would put her efforts into him.

Casey was kind of relieved. She had her doubts about whether she would have been able to keep the emotional distance from Max enough to succeed, enough to betray him when the time came. She had to remember at the end of this whichever man’s bed she ended up in didn’t matter. It was about giving someone their freedom and taking care of someone who belonged to her. She was going to make good on a promise she had made a long time ago, even if her pride and life were forfeited in the process.

Chapter 10

Max waved a twenty in the bar girl’s direction. She immediately weaved through the crowded strip club toward his and Jackal’s table.

“Anything else, Max?” she asked, leaning over the table and flashing a gorgeous view of her tits as she did.

He grinned up at her. “That’s it for now, maybe later,” he said, taking her up on her invitation to stuff the twenty between the luscious breasts that he had sucked on more than once in the past.

The woman’s mouth dropped in a pout as she placed Jackal’s drink in front of him. “What about you, Jackal?”

“Busy right now.”

She raised a brow but left the two men at the table. Max lifted his drink to his mouth, becoming aggravated at the brother who was late.

“What’s keeping him?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you call and ask him?” Jackal said.

“I’ll wait,” Max grumbled.

“What’s the hurry? It’s not like you have anywhere else to be. Last night was Casey’s last night, so you don’t have to hide out and watch her anymore.”

“You knew?”

“Brother, we all know. The only thing we don’t know is why?”

“I don’t know.” Max shrugged. Maybe he felt responsible for her now that they were related by marriage. The man she was dating was gone more than he was in town, and he never saw her out on the town with friends. She had no one to look out for her. A few hours a night was no skin off his back, and it might make the difference between life and death to her.

“Well, that explains a lot.”

The door to the strip club opened, and a large man entered the club wearing jeans and a leather jacket with a patch of a rival biker club that was trying to encroach on the Predators’ territory.

The dark-skinned man wore his hair braided away from his face to lie against the back of his neck. His sharp features bothered Max. No brother in a biker club should have a face that didn’t bear the look of having been busted up a few times.

He didn’t look at Max or Jackal as he made his way toward the stairs across the bar, going up the steps and keying in the code to the private room above.

Max and Jackal both rose slowly, making their way across the same path and going up the steps, keying in the same code. They entered the room to find the man they had followed already sitting at a table, being taken care of by one of the women working the VIP room.

They sat down at the booth with him.

“Why are you so late?” Jackal questioned.

“Couldn’t get away from X. He gets more paranoid every day.”

“He should. Challenging the Predators for territory isn’t smart if your brothers want to keep breathing.”

KC flashed them a smile. “You’ve got to be kidding me. When are any of the Bandits ever going to be considered smart? Fuck, they couldn’t tie their bootlaces if they had to. Tell Ice he can take them down anytime he wants. I want to come home.”

Jackal’s mouth twitched into a sinister smile. “You sure? If we battle them, I don’t want any surprises just because you’re tired of riding with them.”

KC leaned forward in the booth. “Those wannabes are as lame as you can get. Most of them can barely ride, much less know how to fight. I can’t figure it out. Why are they challenging the Predators when they won’t stand a chance? Thankfully, it’s not my job to figure it out; it’s yours.” KC gave them a pleading glance. “If I have to stay there another six months, I’m going to lose it. Their club whores couldn’t suck a dick if they had to. If I didn’t have this club, my dick would never have any relief.”

“The bitches aren’t fucking the brothers?” Jackal asked sharply.

“If they are, they’re leaving me out. Think it’s because I’m black?” KC joked.

“No,” Jackal stated as they both stared at the handsome man who had all their club bitches begging for his attention.

“Then what do you think’s going on?” KC asked.

“I’m thinking the Predators are getting set up to make a move. The cops are still upset we walked away from those prison sentences, and one of their own ended up behind bars.” They remained silent as drinks were placed in front of them. Jackal waved the attractive waitress away then continued, “I need you to try to search a couple of their rooms.”

KC shook his head. “You trying to get me killed?”

“I’m trying to keep that from happening to all of us. If any of them are undercover cops, they’ll have something hidden somewhere to identify them. Find it. Take a few pictures of anyone new hanging around the club. Maybe a couple of our informants can identify them.”

Max felt bad for the brother who was younger and less experienced than most of the other Predators. What Jackal asked was dangerous, and if he was caught, he would be without back-up.

“All right.” KC lifted his drink toward Jackal. “If anything happens to me, make sure they fix my pretty face before they bury me.”

“Fuck, you’re too pretty, anyway. Women prefer men who look like they’ve been in a fight or two.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll take your word for that,” KC said, staring back into Jackal’s face at the scar that ran down one side of his face to the side of his lips. “But I would prefer to keep mine the way it is.”

Max slapped him on the back, nearly knocking the whiskey out of his hand. “I don’t blame you. I like my pretty face, too.”

Max and Jackal hung around a while longer before leaving and going back to the clubhouse. He was tired after watching Casey from the parking lot across the street and wanted nothing more than to get back to a normal schedule of sleeping and partying again. He would pick one of the club whores for the night and go to bed. He even planned to sleep late and take whichever lucky bitch he had picked out to breakfast as thanks for taking the pounding he was prepared to give them. He hadn’t sunk his dick in a pussy in two weeks and was determined to give his aching dick the relief it needed.