Page 17 of For the Night
Eventually, everyone gathered in the club area, and I perked up at the sight of the setup in the seating area. The chairs and sofas and tables had been pushed closer to the wall, and two long tables with white cloths now occupied the space. And with it came a chef. August King was dressed like the chef he was, and he’d prepared stuff on the table, all of which was hidden underneath those silver lids you lifted off a plate at a nice hotel.
The doors leading to the deck were closed, and Jack and Lucas stood there as guards, so I assumed we weren’t allowed to be out there.
The cacophony of voices grew louder as the club area filled up, and Reese yelled over the din for everyone to gather at the stage.
My contribution to the brat reveal was done; I’d helped out with the audio, but I saw some others getting ready to finish their part. Tate accepted Macklin’s phone and went behind the bar, to the confused look on Kingsley’s face. Noa and Corey whispered to each other, and I could tell they’d hidden something under their T-shirts. Most of the other male participants went shirtless.
Last but not least…
I watched with a dumb grin on my face as Macklin left Walker’s side and strode up on the stage.
Gah! This was going to be so fun! And also, I had front-row seats to watch Ash’s reaction.
“Boy, what do you think you’re doin’ up there?” Reese demanded. He was instantly on high alert, and I could imagine why.
“Get that brat off the stage!” Colt hollered.
“Now what?” Ash folded his arms over his chest.
Macklin switched on the mic and tested the sound. “Testing, testing. Do we have any scared Sadists in the house?”
“Motherfucker,” Greer cursed somewhere behind me. “He picks today?”
My cheeks hurt from smiling, and I wanted to catch all their reactions. River with his scowl, Reese with his death stare, Colt and Greer with their readiness to get even, and all the brats beaming with excitement.
I found Penelope in the crowd, only to see she was already watching me with a playful warning in her stare.
I blew her a kiss.
“Before the event starts, I would like to take a quick moment to show my appreciation,” Macklin said. The crowd piped down one by one, and Macklin paced casually along the length of the demo stage. “As one of the founding members of Mclean House, I’ve had the privilege of practically growing up with some of you. I remember when I came out here for the first time, just legal enough to buy my own drinks. This was long before Colt grew a mustache.” Laughter all around. “Reese and Lucas showed me around the house, and they spoke of the plans they had. Founders’ cabins, guest rooms, playrooms, interrogation rooms, this club right here… A lot has changed over the years. For instance, do you know what color the house used to be?”
“Do you know what’s happening here?” At the sound of Ash’s voice, I glanced up at him, and he could not look more suspicious.
I cranked up my sweet innocence. “No clue whatsoever, Sir.”
He snorted, not believing me for shit, and looked back at the stage.
“Every now and then, I like to take a trip down memory lane to remind myself of how far we’ve come,” Macklin went on with a smile. “And of course, some things never change. Like—” He chuckled and shook his head. “A few years ago, for instance. I don’t remember if it was after an event, or we were just doing a chill barbecue, but I do recall we had quite the crowd out on the deck.”
Oh, here it comes, here it comes, here it comes!
“Reese and Ash, in particular, were in a great mood,” he added. “They’d had a few.”
Reese and Ash exchanged a look, and Greer leaned forward to speak for only Ash to hear.
“Innocent till proven guilty. Deny, deny, deny, my friend.”
Ash nodded once and stood straighter.
I smirked.
Macklin sought out Reese and Ash in the crowd and spoke to them. “Do you remember, Sirs? How you stood out there and soapboxed your asses off? You said things like, don’t worry about brats. They get distracted by everything and can barely string a coherent sentence together.”
“Whoa!” Noa got huffy.
“The nerve…” Corey chimed in.
“And you said no brat in the universe was bright enough to outsmart you,” Macklin chuckled. “Do you remember?”