Predators MC: Stand Off Part 6

Chapter 8.

Casey stared around the crowded clubhouse. Music was blaring in the background as she watched her mother and stepfather dance. Moving her eyes away from Renee's flamboyant moves, she saw Max playing pool with Jackal.

She didn't recognize most of the women, as the men liked to change them frequently, but several faces she did know kept their distance.

"Hi!" Casey smiled at Grace's friendly greeting. She dropped down in the overstuffed chair next to the one she was sitting in, nearly spilling her drink.

"I saw you dancing with Ice. You're very good," Casey complimented her, feeling self-conscious next to the stylish woman. Both of them were wearing jeans and T-shirts, but Grace had a scarf draped around her neck and a pair of boots that Casey wasn't ashamed to admit she was envious of.

"I love to dance. Unfortunately, Ice doesn't." She made a face at her husband, who raised a brow at her as he began to play an undefeated Max.

"CeCe couldn't make it tonight?" Casey questioned, trying to appear uninterested.

"Her and Max broke up," Grace told her, frowning at the man in question.

"I'm sorry. Is she very upset that he broke up with her?"

"She broke up with him, actually. CeCe isn't afraid of a little compet.i.tion, but at this stage in her life, she wanted more of a commitment than Max wanted to give her. She's already dating someone new and is very happy."

"I'm glad. I like her. Max brought her to several of the dinners at the Pizza Shack. She probably broke up with him so she didn't have to eat there anymore," Casey joked, and both women burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Their laughter died at Max's question.

The two women only shook their heads.

"I thought you were playing pool with Ice." Casey said, trying to change the subject, then wished she had kept her mouth closed. Her words showed she had been watching him.

"I decided I felt too good after beating Jackal to take an a.s.s-whipping from Ice."

Grace stood up. "I guess I should make sure he has some compet.i.tion, then."

"You play pool?" Casey asked in surprise.

"My father taught me. I'm pretty good." She gave a saccharine smile.

"She's a pool shark," Max stated bluntly.

"I wouldn't go that far." Grace shook her head at the big man.

"I would. I lost two hundred bucks before I was smart enough to stop."

"A smart man would have figured it out after the first fifty," Grace taunted as she left the two alone.

Max took the chair Grace had vacated, relaxing back into the comfort of it. He was in his element, surrounded by his friends and the party atmosphere.

Casey stared around the room, seeing her mother and Mugg had started taking shots. She couldn't imagine wanting this kind of life for years on end. Grace must really love Ice to want to make a place for herself among the group.

"Mugg is enjoying his new bike," Max began, twirling the beer he was holding, his eyes not meeting hers. "I'm sorry about mouthing off the night you gave it to him. I shouldn't have. I was p.i.s.sed off at myself for not thinking about how much he needed one."

"He would have been able to buy one himself if it wasn't for Renee's spending habits." They had never discussed the problem of their parents' marriage, even when they had temporarily separated.

"She's doing better."

"Not from the haul I saw in her car the other day."

"Mugg will get her under control."

"Then he'll accomplish what her other husbands couldn't," Casey replied grimly. "I shouldn't have brought up your child support payments, either. I'm sorry. It was none of my business."

Max tilted his beer to his lips, emptying the bottle. "Want to dance?"

Even when she was younger and had been around countless parties of Renee's, she had never partic.i.p.ated, keeping to herself.

"I'd like that." Casey stood.

Max's expression betrayed his shock as he slowly got to his own feet.

Casey moved to the part of the club where several of the members were dancing. It took several seconds for her to loosen up and relax into the music. She saw her mother pause with a shot gla.s.s to her lips when she saw her dancing with her stepson. Casey glanced away, and her eyes were caught and held by Max's. She pasted a smile on her lips.

"Why is everyone surprised I know how to dance?" she quipped.

"Maybe because it's the first time anyone's seen you shake that a.s.s other than to stomp off. What's changed?"

"I'm in the mood to have some fun for a change." Casey smiled wider, reminding herself not to be too flirtatious, or he would become suspicious.

Max was a good dancer. She had seen him dance several times with the women he was invariably with. Most men his size would be clumsy or self-conscious, but Max was neither. He was s.e.xy, and his size made a woman feel safe until she looked in his eyes and saw the menace he kept carefully hidden.

After a couple of dances, the members gathered to cut the cake that Grace had made for Mugg.

Casey moved to the side as the cake slices were handed out.

"You don't want a piece?" Max asked.

"No, thanks," Casey said, watching as Max shook his head at the small slice Grace handed him.

"You know me better than that. Give that piece to Snake. Cut me one twice that size."

Grace handed the maligned slice of cake to Snake before cutting Max a much larger slice.

"If you're not careful, you're going to get fat," Casey teased.

"I have to get it when I can. Ice doesn't let Grace make cakes for anyone but him."

"Why?"

"Because he's a stingy b.a.s.t.a.r.d," Max said before taking a large bite of cake.

"That's not why, and you know it," Grace b.u.t.ted in. "He's still mad you all ate his birthday cake and didn't save him any."

"It was his own fault. Brother went off and left it alone with a group of men who hadn't had anything homemade in years."

"You didn't even save him a slice of his own cake?" Casey asked, watching as Ice placed his arm around his wife's shoulders.

"I tried to. Cut him a real nice piece, too. Left it sitting on the counter. Never could find the b.a.s.t.a.r.d that stole the last piece," Max said, finishing the last of his cake, then going back for another slice.

"He stole it, didn't he?" Grace looked at Ice for confirmation.

"f.u.c.ker couldn't buckle his belt for two days."

Casey laughed, surprised to find she was actually having a good time. When Max came back, she couldn't help teasing him.

"You better be careful, or you won't be able to buckle your belt in the morning." Her eyes went to his big, shiny belt buckle.

As Max paused with his forkful of cake halfway to his mouth, Casey felt the heat of her blush as everyone within hearing stared at her.

She cleared her throat. "Ice said, the last time you ate too much cake, you couldn't buckle your belt," she tried to explain amid the laughter. She wanted to slide to the floor in embarra.s.sment.

"Leave her alone," Grace said. "Come on, Casey. I'll teach you how to play pool."

Casey followed her gratefully. Grace showed her how to play, and she studiously avoided Max's eyes as she tried to hit the b.a.l.l.s the way Grace was. The felt on the table was becoming gouged from her attempts.

"It's your turn." Grace tried to sound encouraging, but Casey knew she was terrible.

She leaned over the pool table, lining the pool stick up with the ball she wanted to hit.

"Here, let me show you," Max said from behind her. His hand slid down her arm, moving the pool stick a few inches, showing her how to hold it.

Casey could feel his breath against her ear as he told her how to make the shot. She shivered at the closeness of his body as he leaned over her. The ball sank into the corner pocket.

"I did it!' Casey yelled, looking over her shoulder at him.

"You were holding the pool cue wrong," he told her, straightening up and taking a step back.

"Thanks."

"No problem," he said, moving away.

Casey frowned at his abrupt departure.

Once she turned back to Grace, they finished the game, which she lost dismally.

"You'll get better."

"No, I won't, but it's okay. It's not like I'm going to be playing it again anytime soon," Casey told her, seeing Max dancing with an attractive woman.

What had she done wrong? The whole reason she had come tonight was to become friendlier with Max, who now had a sensuous brunette wrapped around him.

With time running out, Casey couldn't wait for Max to show an interest in her. She thought seriously about ditching her plan and using Grace to find the information she wanted, but she wouldn't be able to gain the access to the clubhouse she needed. Casey seriously doubted Ice would leave any incriminating evidence where Grace would find it. The way everyone was acting in her presence exhibited how carefully the members behaved around her. The club wh.o.r.es and the men weren't acting as raunchily as they did when she wasn't present.

When Renee had been with Mason, she'd had several parties which the Predators had attended. She had never been a club wh.o.r.e, but they had partied hard, and no one could say her mother was overprotective. It was a miracle she hadn't grown up to be like her mother; instead, it had the opposite effect, making her as withdrawn as Renee was flamboyant. She had hidden out in her room, studying, trying to ignore the sounds coming from the rest of the tiny house they had lived in. As soon as she had graduated high school, she had moved out and hadn't stepped a foot back inside since.

"Something wrong?" Grace asked, seeing Casey's troubled gaze was directed at Renee who was obviously intoxicated and talking too loudly. Mugg seemed the more sober of the two, though not by much. He was standing unsteadily at the bar, bragging about his new bike.

"Nothing I haven't seen before," Casey answered in a disgusted voice. "It's time I leave. It was nice talking to you tonight. I appreciate you trying to teach me to play pool despite me being hopeless at it."

"I wouldn't say that. I just don't think I was the right teacher," Grace teased.

Casey shook her head as she told her goodnight. Although she was tempted to leave without saying goodnight to her mother or Mugg, she made herself weave through the crowded clubroom until she stood by their sides.

"I'm leaving."

Renee blinked at her rapidly, trying to straighten her shirt which had slid down her shoulder.

"Aw... come on, stay a while longer. You finally got that stick out of your a.s.s. Stay and have another drink. We're having a celebration! It's not every day my man turns sixty-one."

"His birthday was yesterday," Casey reminded her.

"And it's been one long party ever since. Make her stay, Mugg," Renee whined.

Mugg turned from the bar, taking a look at Casey's cold face. "Darlin', she's probably tired. Let her go home."

Reluctantly, Renee nodded, reaching for another drink.

"Night, Mugg. Happy birthday." Casey lowered her voice so no one would hear. "Do you need me to stay and give you a ride home?"

Mugg patted her arm awkwardly. "No, we're spending the night here. We're going to live the night like we're young again." He gave her a wink.

"h.e.l.l ya!" Renee tossed her drink back, nearly falling backward, but Max came up from behind and caught her before she could fall.

"Be careful, Renee, or you're going to spend the night in the ER instead of the back room," Max warned.

Renee giggled, draping herself against Mugg. "I'm fine."

Casey shook away the futile wish that her mother would one day change. It was never going to happen.

She left the clubhouse, taking a deep breath once she was outside. The night had been a failure. Sighing in frustration, she took a step toward her car.

"You don't like your mother much, do you?"

Casey spun around, unaware until then that Max had followed her outside and had mistaken the reason for her sound of frustration.

"No, I don't."

He stared back at her in shock.