Page 39 of Fifty

“I seriously hope you’re joking,” he smirks, quickly standing and squaring off. He actually thinks he has a shot.

“You knew Jade worked here and you didn’t say shit,” my body vibrates as the words pass my lips.

“Wasn’t my story to tell, brother,” he answers, and his words are true but also annoying as fuck.

“You watched her?” the question burns like acid coming out and he tips his head, giving me confirmation, no words needed.

“I don’t know who put a bee in your fucking bonnet, but you should know she’s not even dancing anymore. She quit that shit for you,” he tries to appease me, but it’s no use. He’s not watching her tonight, but he did and so did every other motherfucker in this place.

“Did you touch her?” I spit out, my stomach twisting in a tight knot.

“Are you fucking serious right now? No. I never fucking touched your girl. I mean, she’s fine as fuck, but she doesn’t want me and she never did. Poor girl had her eyes set on you from the second she saw you,” he answers with an easy chuckle, like this is all a big fucking joke. “Honestly, Jade is just a friend,” he adds.

“Not anymore,” a low growl spills from my chest.

“Fuck you,” he spits back, starting to turn away, but I’m not done with him yet. I lunge forward, knocking him to the floor and before I can think, my fists are flying.

“Holy shit! Fight!” random voices begin to fill my ears, chanting and shouting as my knuckles connect with his ribs.

I pull up slightly, intending to jab him again, but his elbow flies back, hitting me square in the mouth and splitting my lip. My tongue swipes at the fresh blood, fueling me to keep going. I’m on him again in a second, but just as I take another swing, a hand lands on my shoulder pulling me back and I’m unable to make contact.

“Alright, break it up boys,” a harsh voice announces and the crowd starts to quiet. I shake loose and find a bulky guy, dressed all in black. He must be club security.

My eyes move to Shark as he stands, straightening himself. I wipe the back of my hand over my lip, seeing the bright red smear across my skin. He smirks at me before giving me a nod, and I tip my head in return before reaching out my hand. Before anything else, we’re brothers, and now we’re square.

“You good here, boys? Or do I have to escort one of you out?” the security guy questions.

“We’re good, Marco. Just a little brotherly love,” Shark answers, obviously familiar with the guy.

He glares at us both for another second, clearly not happy with the situation, but I know he’s seen our cuts and he knows better than to fuck with us. We may have had a little scuff, but that was nothing. Shark and I working together would destroy this asshole.

“God damn, brother. That was fuckin’ fun,” Shark grins as the dude finally turns and walks away. “Come on, take a seat and I’ll buy you a drink,” he offers. And I have to agree, that really was fun. I haven’t had a fight like that in a while and letting off a little steam felt pretty damn good.

Twenty-Five

Jade

It’s pouring when I open the door and step outside. The last thing I was expecting tonight was a call from Jimmy telling me that I had to get over to the DDen.

“Some guy is here, with Shark. They’ve mentioned your name, and they threw a few punches. You probably want to get down here,” he had told me.

My stomach sank because I knew. The only person who would challenge Shark is Fifty. He knows.

His eyes when I finally walked through the door, were worse than I ever imagined. All those times I wanted to, and tried to tell him, I never thought he’d look at me with that level of disgust. But I couldn’t deal with him right off the bat, I was getting escorted to Charlie’s office. I knew my time at the club was over.

I stand for a second under the canopy, Marco by my side.

“Sorry, doll,” he offers.

“It’s okay, Marco. This job is the least of my concerns right now,” I answer as I pull my hood up over my head and prepare to make a run for my car.

“He’s still here, you know?” he questions softly and I pause.

“Where?” I ask and he points to a big silver truck with the headlights shining. I push out a breath and let my feet carry me over the wet parking lot, weaving around the puddles.

I keep my eyes set on my car, trying to ignore the fact that his truck door has opened and he’s now standing in the rain watching me.

“Jade!” he hollers loudly and I freeze, the cold rain soaking me. I can’t bring myself to look and face the judgement in his eyes again.