Page 61 of Insidious Heart
I roll my eyes and nod. “They’re hard to miss.”
Ember snorts. “Yeah, I guess they are, but you see the biggest one? The real tall guy that won’t let that dark-haired babe out of his reach?”
Another nod.
“That’s Spider. He’s the Kings’ secretary, but his dad was the former president so what he says carries a lot of weight. Spider owns this club, that biker bar in Sabine Woods, MACs, and helps oversee a handful of other small businesses in El Paso County.”
“Ok… “ I’m glad Ember is taking the time to explain all of this, and I’m thrilled she’s here so I don’t have to sit alone and watch the Demon Seeds do what they do in these scenarios, but I don’t really knowwhyshe’s schooling me on the WKMC.
“Bear with me,” Ember says, leaning closer to me like she’s telling me all the secrets. “That dark-haired babe is Tate, she’s Spider’s old lady, and she helps him run The Dollhouse. Tate basically runs it, to be honest, because she worked here before they owned it but my point is I had no idea she had anything to do with an MC for about a week of knowing her, and now Tate and her man own the club, the Kings are in here constantly, and Elias and I are all but members even though we aren’t.”
I glance at Ember briefly because I don’t completely understand what she’s trying to tell me, then turn back to the group we’re both blatantly staring at.
Tate is a babe for sure, my new friend is right about that. Tall and curvy, a perfect body and face, with hair I am absolutely jealous of, and she seems to be humoring hermanby staying close because even from across the room I can tell Tate probably doesn’t hesitate to speak her mind when she needs to. When you don’t talk to people, you get pretty good at reading body language and Tate’s says she is staying close to Spider by choice even though she’s chatting with another very attractive woman about a foot away from him.
“That’s Harlow,” Ember says as she reads my mind. “She’s married to Marbles, the Kings’—”
“Vice President.” I get another lifted brow from my new friend and sigh. “I know that name. He has a history with my father.”
“Ah. Not a good one, I take it?”
I shake my head. “Not at all.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. Marbles is pretty nuts and I imagine he’s pissed off a lot of people over the years.” Ember chuckles. “He drives Elias crazy.”
With a small smile, I let my gaze wander over Harlow before shifting to the man that could easily turn into one hell of a conversation if I really wanted to gossip with Ember.
Beau hates Marbles with a passion.
He hates the Kings in general but that’s mostly because they run the county and my father wants to be the only one in charge, but Marbles seems to be the bane of Beau Williams’ existence. Second only to me, of course, but the two have an interesting history and I know my dad has almost killed him at least once, right along with nearly killing their current president and successfully doing so to the previous one as well as the VP. And that alone makes me wonder why the hell we’re having Beau’s birthday party on WKMC territory.
But figuring that out will have to wait because Ember starts talking again.
“Snipe, or Prez as most of the guys call him, was here earlier. He made a quick appearance to saywell wishesfor the birthday boy but he didn’t stay because he has a baby at home.”
“I’m sure Beau loved that…” I mumble as I take another sip of water.
“They were at the bar when it happened and things seemed kosher. For the most part, anyway, and when Marbles told Beau he was staying along with a few of the other guys it was fine.”
I highly doubt that.
My father probably took it as a huge slap in the face that Snipe didn’t stay, which has me wondering… “Is the entire EC here?”
Ember shakes her head. “Spider and Marbles”—she nods toward them then scans the crowd—“Jackal, who’s Spider’s cousin and sergeant at arms, his two girls…” She pushes up on her toes then points as she starts to laugh.
Following her direction, I look to see a vibrant redhead dancing in one of the cages with a brunette, neither of them wearing much in the way of clothing, and the dirtiest, hairiest blonde man I have ever seen throwing bills at them while howling like a wolf.
“Summer and Jolie.”
“So that guy is…”
“Jackal.” Ember nods. “They’re a thruple. And Jackal and Summer give Marbles a run for his money. Jolie is the rational one, loads of fun but she keeps the other two in line.”
“Really? Do they work here?” I cringe and turn to face my friend, I guess, with a look of embarrassment. “Not that working here is a bad thing, I mean. I’m sure not all of the girls in the WKMC are strippers. I just meant, I—well, she seems like she’s a little wild and… ugh, never mind.”
Thankfully, Ember just giggles. “I know what you mean, hon, and I didn’t take offense. Neither would they. The Dollhouse is different from most strip clubs, which you’ll see when the girls start coming out to perform, and all of the Kings’ old ladies actually help out around the club. Theo, Tate’s sister and Cy’s wife—they aren’t here because they also have a baby at home—but she does all of the online marketing and promo for the club. She even updated our logo and helped give the inside a little bit of a facelift after ownership changed hands.” She gives me a warm smile as I blink wide eyes at her. “Summer is an accountant and does all of the bookkeeping for The Dollhouse so things stay in order for Crunchy, the WKMC treasurer, and keeps the business legit. Jolie helps with the hiring and running background checks of everyone who works here, keeps the building up to code, and renews policies when needed so everyone stays safe. She’s a lawyer and that has been super helpful.”
I nod slowly. “I can imagine. And Harlow?”
