I shoved Duke back a step and yelled, “Shotgun!” before sprinting to the car. Immature as it was, my big ass was not riding in the back seat. Granted, Duke wasn’t much smaller than me, but hewassmaller.
“They’re both fine, but they’re in jail. Phoenix wants us to go by there and get Shaker’s keys so one of you can ride his bike back to the lake house. After that, he said to go on about enjoying our weekend. They likely won’t be out until later tomorrow, and he said he would take care of getting them from the jail to the lake house,” Dash informed us.
“What were they arrested for?” I asked.
Dash shifted in his seat, “From what Phoenix said, the police said they received a call about a girl being raped on the side of the road. When the cops showed up and found Shaker balls deep in Hilarie bent over his bike, they went nuts.” He started laughing and took a few moments to get himself under control before he could continue. “Sorry. So, Hilarie tells them that it was consensual and that she’s a bit of a screamer. By doing that, she saved Shaker from getting slapped with a rape charge, but her admission got them both arrested for a slew of charges including indecent exposure, committing a lewd act in public, disturbing the peace, something about obstructing the flow of traffic, and littering.”
“Littering?” Duke and I asked in unison.
Dash managed to get out, “The condom wrapper,” between laughs.
When our laughter finally died down, Dash added, “One more thing, Phoenix doesn’t want the girls to know about it unless Hilarie decides to share it with them.”
“Fuck. I was looking forward to a weekend of busting his balls about this,” Duke grumbled from the back seat.
***
Walking into the lake house, the sounds of loud music and boisterous laughter coming from downstairs filled my ears. I quietly retreated and closed the door. “Let’s go around back and see what they’re up to,” I suggested. Peering through the sliding glass doors, words failed me as I took in the scene before me.
Duke hissed, “What the fuck are they doing?”
Dash snickered. “Looks like Harper is teaching Reese and Ember how to give a proper lap dance.”
“Oh fuck no,” Duke spat.
“Hey, my sister is in there, too. Come on, let them have their fun,” I said, walking back to the front of the house.
Duke dropped into a rocking chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t believe my little sister was working as a stripper and I never knew it. If she needed money, she should have come to me.”
I sat in the chair beside him and considered his words. “I don’t know why she was doing it, but I don’t think it was for the money.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because she didn’t do private dances. Hell, I had to pay $2,000 to get one with her. After the second one, she started charging me the standard price. If she was in it for the money, she would have ridden me all the way to the bank.”
Duke growled and narrowed his eyes at me. I held up my hands. “Look, brother, I love your sister. I know how we met was less than conventional, but it all worked out in the end.”
“I still don’t like it,” he grumbled.
“Now you know how I felt.”
We sat outside on the front porch shooting the shit until Harper sent a text to my phone asking if everything was okay and if we would be back soon. We walked around back while I replied telling her we had been back for over an hour and were well aware of what they were up to downstairs. All three girls turned to the sliding glass doors, blushed, and promptly turned away. That was when I saw the red mark on Harper’s arm that looked suspiciously like a hand.
“What happened to your arm?” I asked her, moving into the room to get a better look.
She slapped my hands away when I reached for it. “Calm down, caveman. Ember taught us some self-defense moves, and we were practicing on each other. I’m fine. Anyway, did you find Shaker and Hilarie?”
I grimaced. She was not going to be happy with my answer, but there was nothing I could do about it. “Yes, we did, and they’re fine. They’ll be here sometime tomorrow.”
“What? Where the hell are they?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips.
“It’s club business, Harper,” Duke said, shooting a quick glance at me before stepping closer to his sister.
“Don’t give me that shit. It might be club business for Shaker, but Hilarie is my friend, and I want to know where in the fuck she is,” she yelled.
“Sorry, Sis, she was with him, so that makes her part club business, too. They are safe and will be here tomorrow, I promise. Please don’t let this ruin your weekend. I know how much you’ve been looking forward to it,” he said softly.
She sighed and dropped her shoulders. “Fine. I don’t like not knowing the details, but as long as they are safe, I can let it go for now. But if she tells me that Shaker was still being a complete asshole to her, I will not be held responsible for my actions,” she said, then promptly turned and pranced her sexy little ass to our bedroom.