Chapter Nine Part One
Raya St Claire

Archie stops his SUV across from Geoffrey’s Club and switches off the ignition. He takes a good look at the place before he finally takes the keys out from the ignition and taking off his seatbelt. Even from the backseat where I was sitting, I could see the happiness radiating off of him. He was happy that the club has been reopened. It was good to see the club up and running again.

Geoffrey’s Club wasn’t really an ordinary nightclub. There weren’t bouncers outside ready to take in the ID’s of people who wanted to be let in because Geoffrey’s Club was a gang hangout mostly. No one really dared to come here. There were non-gang members who still came to Geoffrey’s, but they kept their distance from everyone. It didn’t stop guys trying to flirt with me, though.

I took my seatbelt off too, looking at the few people lingering outside the club, smoking their cigarettes and bobbing their heads to the music coming from inside. I recognised a few gang members from the Ravens, and I noticed Bear tensing up in the front seat.

Archie look at him. “We’re not going to have problems tonight, are we?”

Bear shakes his head stiffly.

“Good.” Archie says.

When the door to the club opened and someone stepped outside, I noticed the pulsing strobe lights and caught a glimpse of dancing bodies inside the club. I even caught a whiff of lemon and beer in the air, making my mouth water almost immediately. I’ve been craving Geoffrey’s take on gin and tonic with a wedge of lime and a touch of vodka added in to give the drink some more spice for a while now, and just thinking about having it tonight made me extra giddy.

Archie looks at me in the rear-view mirror and smiles at me. “Tonight is to celebrate the job and the club’s reopening. So have fun, you guys. Heavens know you deserve it.” He then looks at Bear seated in the passenger side, patting him on the shoulder as gently as he could. “And you should lighten up a little bit.” He says to Bear. “Life is short so you have to enjoy it while you can.”

Bear groans as a reply and Archie winks at me in the rear-view mirror.

All of us get out of the SUV and we notice the newcomer’s motorcycle parked in front of us. The other van Storm drove was parked right behind us and Nikko, Junior, Rossi and Storm got out of it too, walking towards us waiting for them.

The newcomer took off his helmet and ruffled his hair a little bit before he places the helmet onto the handlebars of the motorcycle before he joins us too.

I smile, smoothing down my short sleeveless mini dress, feeling the cold chill of the night’s breeze washing over me. I shiver on the spot, feeling it cascading down my entire back. Goose bumps erupt all over my bare arms and legs, but I just know that the alcohol Geoffrey’s about to serve me would heat me right up.

“You look good, princess.” The newcomer says, eyeing my outfit like he didn’t see me leave the mansion with it. “But you seem cold. Do you want my jacket?” The smirk on his face told me that his question was anything but sincere, so I flipped him off and fell into step beside Archie and Bear.

I only heard his chuckle coming from behind me.

As we made our way towards the club’s entrance, I couldn’t help but to sway my hips to the music. It has been a while since we’ve been here after all, and I was going to take Archie’s advice and have the best night in history, because just like everyone in the Nefarious crew, we deserved to have a little fun, too.

Life wasn’t just about doing missions and getting money, after all.

Rihanna’s song ‘We Found Love’ was playing on the speakers when we entered Geoffrey’s club. There were already a few people dancing on the dance floor, swaying their hips to the music and grounding against each other seductively.

It wasn’t as packed as I thought it would be, but at least Geoffrey had some customers again. It won’t be long until the place would be overrun by drunkards ready for a dance, or to swallow down a few drinks. It was still early, after all.

And it wasn’t a party if the NC wasn’t here. We don’t just know how to shoot guns and steal crates; the NC knows how to dance and to have a good time, too.

I smile when Geoffrey’s eyes meet mine and I flash him a wide grin.

He beckons for me to walk toward the counter where he was currently standing behind, serving beers to the people seated at the bar, and I do, beside Archie.

“It has been a while, Raya dear.” He says, sliding a beer toward the customers who was seated first. “How has my favourite girl been?”

“She has been OK,” I smile at him, seeing Archie shaking his hand in the corner of my eye, “but she’ll be better when she gets one of your gins in her system.”

“Coming up, Raya dear.” I nod and Archie stands beside me, resting his hand on the granite counter after he shook Geoffrey’s hand. “It has been too long, Geoff.” Archie says, taking an ice cold beer from Geoffrey’s extended hand.

Geoff then slides a little shot glass towards me before he filled it up with a shot of vodka to start off my night. It wasn’t gin like I asked for, but Geoffrey sure knew how to get me hyped up for the evening, and a shot of vodka did the trick.

A shiver randomly descends down my spine, causing a layer of goose bumps to erupt onto my skin. Even with a club filled with dancing people and the music playing loudly around me, I still felt the newcomer’s presence behind me. I also didn’t have to turn around to know if he was looking at me, because I just knew.

Geoffrey notices him standing behind me and lifts a single eyebrow my way. I lift the shot glass to my mouth and swallow the contents down in one big gulp.

“The club is full despite it being early.” Archie says, stealing a glance at the dancing people on the dance floor and the few customers seated at tables, and the few that were seated by the bar itself, drinking their beers and nodding their heads to the music playing over the speakers.

“They all missed the club just as much as you guys did.” Geoffrey says, making rounds for the rest of the NC standing behind me.

Bear was looking around the club too, and I didn’t miss the way his lips curved upward in a small smile. At least he smiled for the first time since we left the mansion. I was afraid that he was going to go in guns blazing seeing the Ravens here too, but he surprised me by staying calm and collected, just like Archie’s asked of him. He might not like Archie’s decision most of the time, but he respected Archie like it was his own father, and therefore he behaved himself.

“Grab a table and get comfortable. I’ll bring the beers to the table.” Geoffrey says and Archie nods before he leads the way to a table while I stayed behind, watching Geoffrey go to work behind the counter.

“Is that a recruit, I see?” Geoffrey asks, jerking his head toward the newcomer.

“Yeah.” I sigh, pushing my empty shot glass towards him. “That’s the one.”

“Say no more.” He chuckles, pouring me another shot of vodka into the shot glass until it reached the rim of the glass. “Just give me a few minutes, and then I want to hear all about it.” He says, picking up the tray with the NC’s beers before he takes it over to their table in the corner of the club.

I stayed behind yet again, glancing over my shoulder at our table. Geoffrey placed the beers on the table and greeted Nikko, Storm, Rossi Junior and Bear. He then introduces himself to the newcomer.

When Geoffrey introduced himself to the newcomer, he locks eyes with me.

I smile despite my disliking toward him and lift my shot glass filled with vodka into the air. I make a cheering gesture with the glass towards the newbie’s way and swallow it all down again in one big gulp, all that while making eye contact with him. He shifts in his chair, but a few seconds later, a smirk appeared onto the newbie’s mouth before he did the same cheering gesture with his beer bottle.

Geoffrey’s back at the counter not long after his departure to serve the beers. “So, tell me about the recruit.” Geoffrey says, looking at me as I twirled my finger around the shot glass’s rim.

“He’s an arrogant asshole, that one.” I tell him.

“And you’re stubborn.”

I smile and flick my eyebrows at him. “That is a fact.”

“I think he fancies you.” Geoffrey says and I nearly throw up the vodka that’s already settled in my stomach.

“He only fancies himself.” I correct him. “He’s a damn nightmare.”

“A nightmare dressed like a daydream?”

I glare at Geoffrey through my eyelashes. “Did you really just quote a Taylor Swift song while describing the new recruit?”

“I did.”

Geoffrey was a great guy. He really passed the vibe check and he was a really fun guy to be around despite him being in his late forties already. He can make you laugh on times when all you want to do is cry, or in my case, scowl. His hair started to grey around the edges and he didn’t shave since the last time I saw him, so now he has a bear that nearly covered his entire neck and lower parts of his cheeks. He has a wedding band on his right finger too, even after his wife’s passing—he refuses to take it off. I don’t think anyone can replace his wife because she was everything he wanted in a woman, and she was kind just like he was. I think I met her once when Geoffrey brought her here, but weeks after her visitation, she has died suddenly. I don’t think Geoffrey healed properly after that, but I was glad he had the club to keep his mind occupied.

“It’s a great song, though.” I tell Geoffrey, smiling at him.

He chuckles, jerking his head towards my empty shot glass. “You want another?”

“Do I?”

“Say no more, Raya dear.” He smiles.

When I turn my head to the table, I notice the newcomer’s eyes on me yet again.