Page 157 of Dirty Like Jude
“Brother—”
“She wasn’t trash. She was seventeen. I don’t wanna hear you say an ugly word about her, ever. She’s with me now. She’s not public property and she’s not some club slut you think you can pass around. She’smine.”
“Youdone?”
“Fornow.”
Piper tossed his joint into the shadows. “Am I allowed to take bets on how soon she ditches your crankyass?”
“No.”
“Then I guess I’ll see you both at the table nextChristmas.”
“Yeah. If your ungrateful ass gets aninvite.”
His eyebrows went up, and amusement flickered over his face. Piper always came to the Orphans’ Potluck, and no way Mom was gonna ban him on Christmas Day, so it was an empty threat. He knew it. But he got mymeaning.
“How ’bout I apologize to her for bein’ a dick. That increase myodds?”
“Be a start,” Igrumbled.
Piper grinned, his dimples slicing into hischeeks.
What the fucknow.
I turned to follow his line of sight… where Roni had just popped out the back door to talk to Con and Bane, looking hot as hell in her silky blouse and tight skirt and highheels.
“Just surprised you managed to lock that down, little brother. Wild Card Webber,” my brother mused. “She get prettier? Or did I just get moresober?”
“Christ, you’re an asshole,” I muttered, starting to walk away. “And don’t go smilin’ at her. Keep your damn dimples toyourself.”
* * *
11:58 pm.
“Come on! Are you kidding me?” Roni scolded me, waving me over as I strolled toward her. “I thought you were gonna missit.”
“Nochance.”
I’d just walked into the VIP room, where she was waiting on me. It was an enclosed room with a giant one-way window overlooking the nightclub floor and the stage below. The lights were off so we could see everything down in the club, and we were the only ones in the room. Because that was part of Roni’s deal when she planned out thisevent.
The VIP room wasclosed.
When Dirty went offstage, they’d go park their asses in the club right alongside the fans. We’d roped off some tables for the band members and their dates and a few other guests, a seriously limited VIP section, right down beside the dance floor, and I had a whole team of guys down there, some in security shirts and some in plain clothes. So it would feel like everyone in the room was partying with theband.
All Roni’s idea, and it was a goodone.
As I approached the window where she was waiting and practically bouncing up and down, Dirty had just rocked out the last notes of their final song of the night. A Dirty classic, “DeadCrazy.”
Some lights had come up over the stage, illuminating the band as they put aside their instruments and hugged each other. Dylan tossed drumsticks into the crowd. Zane peeled off his sweaty shirt and tossed it to hisadmirers.
The show wasdone.
The crowd was goingcrazy.
Totalsuccess.
I glanced at my girl, who was applauding even though no one could hear her or see her but me. The lights spilling over us from the club lit her up in a sexy red, violet and blue glow, flickering over her pale skin and dark hair. And the world’s happiest grin curved those sexylips.
