Page 115 of Silent Damage

The bouncer with the teardrop tattoos welcomes us in.

“Well, look who it is.” He holds out his hand to give it a shake. “Mac’s the name. In case you’d forgotten.”

“Jason,” I reply.

Mac raises his brows. “Oh, everyone knows who you are. A lot of HellCats lost some big money when you kicked Puma’s ass.”

His name was Puma? That’s fucking hilarious.

“Tell Angelique to put a drink for you on my tab. You’re gonna need it—the whole gang is here tonight.”

Mac steps aside, letting Gabe and me enter. I lean closer and ask, “Are you sure about this?”

Gabe ponders that for a moment, his eyes scanning the HellCats laughing and taking shots. “This is a smart move,” Gabe assures me. “Trust me.”

I shake my head, not convinced, and the two of us walk into the bar—

The room goes silent, as everyone breaks their neck to look at me.

You know those moments in a movie when a record screeches and the whole cast looks at some idiot who just walked in?

I’m that idiot.

The whole bar stares at me, and the cramp in my gut nearly knocks me over. I’m gonna get my ass kicked tonight, and no amount of scrappiness is going to measure up to over a dozen—

A hand lands on my shoulder, and I almost jump out of my skin. I turn to find Torren Kay standing there. Torren’s hand remains on my shoulder as he says directly to me, “Good to see you, old pal.”

I’d greet him, but my throat has closed.

A slender guy with brown hair wearing a neon green halter top and matching booty shorts approaches. “I’m Felix.”

“J-Jason,” I nod.

“Let’s grab a drink,” Torren says while guiding me to the bar, never taking his hand off my shoulder.

The HellCats part, giving Torren and me a clear path. Each one nods, showing respect to Torren and eyeing me with either disdain or curiosity.

When we reach the bar, Angelique grabs both sides of my face and kisses me. “Now that was an entrance, baby.”

She reaches into Torren’s insanely cool leather jacket and grabs his smokes. “You know what to do,” she says to him with a cigarette wedged between her lips.

Torren lights it for her and asks, “Will the lady of the house pour me a whisky neat?”

“Anything for my favorite Kay brother,” she sings before exhaling circles of smoke.

Torren turns to the three of us. “Let’s get some drinks and snag a table.”

The rest of us order, and Gabe asks me to get him a ginger ale.

He normally doesn’t drink, so it’s not unusual, but this whole thing’s got me in my head, so I ask, “Should I not drink?”

Gabe leans closer and whispers, “You should definitely drink. Not a ton, but don’t look like a teetotaler, either. Everyone’s watching.”

I subtly scan the room to find that Gabe is correct. Everyone is watching me, making my skin prickle.

I try to play cool as the four of us take a seat at a high-top table, but I’m tense as hell, knowing everyone is judging me.

My fists clench, ready to bitch out the next guy who sneers at me, when Torren holds out his pack of cigarettes to me. “Smoke?” he asks.