Page 23 of Bourbon Kingdom
There were three girls, two with brown hair and one with the same color hair as me; they were distinctly different from one another, though. One of the girls had short brown hair that fell to her chin. Another girl had long honey-colored hair same length as mine and she was blessed with bright green eyes, and the girl who had enough courage to speak to me was the other one with brown hair. She was very exotic looking, quite gorgeous.
Looking around, the girl who spoke looked me in the eyes and said, “I’m Evangeline, but everyone calls me Eva. This is Bizzy,” Eva said, pointing to the girl with the short hair, “And this is Mercy,” she finished, pointing to the girl with the bright green eyes.
“Well, have Mercy,” I said, channeling my inner John Stamos while waving my hands in the air, garnering not even one smile from any of them. “Okay,” I cleared my throat, “You guys are kind of boring, but we’ll fix that. Mercy, Bizzy, nice to meet you. Eva, thank you for having the courage to speak. I promise I’m not here to report you three. I’m here to help, okay?”
They nodded their heads, still acting a little standoffish. This was going to be so much harder than I thought. Where were Babs and Francy with the shot glasses when you needed them?
Chapter Seven
“My Sundown”
JETT
“Why are we sitting around the stage? Shouldn’t we be practicing?” Pepper asked Kace.
“Jett has to talk to us, so quit your bitching and hold still until he gets here,” Kace replied abruptly.
They all sat in silence, listening to Kace’s direction, while I watched them from the doorway.
Ever since Goldie’s departure and Lyla’s arrival, there had been a lot of questions running around, and it was time I settled them before things got too out of hand and rumors started to float around the club.
I straightened my tie and walked into the room, noticing all the girls in their uniforms. Lyla fit in perfectly with the other girls, wearing her shirt well. She was quite beautiful, gorgeous actually, but even though she was very pleasing to the eye, I felt nothing for her. I felt nothing for anyone except Goldie.
My soul ached for her. My body pleaded with me, begged me to go over to Rex’s house and take her away, but my brain stopped my body from acting on its needs.
My little one was in danger; I could sense it. She was with an evil man, someone who would take what he wanted and would have no qualms about who he hurt in the process. Rex Titan was just like my father, maybe even worse, because he enjoyed gloating about his victories.
Needing to put on a strong façade, I pushed the thoughts of Goldie’s circumstances out of my mind and addressed the girls. I cleared my throat as a cue for them to direct their attention toward me. Kace was sitting on the stage with a somber expression on his face, while the girls looked slightly confused. I could tell he was hurting just as much as I was. Even though I hated the fact that he had feelings for Goldie, I understood how he was feeling, because my heart was going through the same battle.
“Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to meet with me,” I said to all the girls.
“You know you don’t have to be so formal with us, right?” Babs asked with her legs swung over one of the arms of the chair she was sitting in.
I ignored her and continued. “As you all know, Goldie has left the Lafayette Club, and we replaced her with Lyla—”
“Stop,” Francy said, while standing up, shocking me a bit. “Can you seriously just talk to us, Jett? I can tell you’re hurting; I can see it in your eyes, even though you’re trying your hardest to hide it from us. We know how much Goldie meant to you, we saw how she made you feel, how she lit up your room when she walked in. You love her, Jett.”
I pulled on my cufflinks and studied the floor as I listened to Francy. I love her, yes, that was an accurate statement, a feeling I never thought I would succumb to, but somehow Goldie made me feel, she made me fall for her; I had no choice in the matter.
Once again, ignoring Francy, I looked back up and continued. “Lyla will be staying with us in the meantime, making sure the members stay happy until we can find a permanent replacement. Lyla has made it quite clear she is just helping us out temporarily.”
As I spoke of Lyla, I watched Kace scan her up and down. He might be hurting about Goldie, but he sure as hell wasn’t having a hard time making himself feel better. There was heat in his gaze when he eyed Lyla.
“What about Goldie? Aren’t you going to bring her back?” Pepper asked, looking a little angry.
“Goldie has made her choice,” I swallowed hard.
“Bullshit,” Pepper spat at me. “You’re such a coward, you know that, Jett? You’re just going to let her walk out of your life? What the hell is wrong with you? I thought you were the kind of man who took what he wanted and didn’t let anyone get in his way. Never did I think I would see the day when you would just roll over and play dead. Frankly, it’s disgusting.”
“What do you want me to do?” I cracked, as my voice roared. “She thinks she can save the world by going back to Rex. I can’t do anything about that.”
“Yes, you can,” Babs cut in. “You can walk up to Rex’s place and take back what’s yours.”
“It’s not that simple,” I said, as I ran my hand over my face. “If I’m not careful, they’ll harm her. I can’t have that, even though she left me, I can’t fathom the thought of her getting hurt.”
The room fell silent as there was a knock on the door. Jeremy, my assistant, popped his head in and said, “May I come in, sir?” I nodded my head and he entered, holding his iPad close to his chest.
He sidled up next to me and practically whispered, “I have some news you might be interested in.”
