Scout: Devil's Rose #11

Chapter 26: Violet Monroe

Major and I stand in front of Club Palace, a small line before the door for people to get their IDs checked by the massive bodyguards outside. Major catches eyes with a man I haven't seen before in line, and I think that's the prospect that he was talking about when he told me one of them would be planted inside.

The prospect is waved on after a brief look at his ID, so I'm pretty sure the only reason he's getting inside is because Devil's Rose MC paid the bodyguard off. The two of us get in line and speak softly to one another about nothing that we're doing here.

We want to keep our presence low key, and if we were to talk about anything to do with talking to the owners and sneaking around the place, our presence would definitely be noticed.

We hand our IDs to one of the bodyguards outside, and the second he reads my name, we are ushered into the club. So Harper wasn't wrong. We didn't even have to talk him into letting us in.

Major banked on Harper being right, which was kind of insane of him, instead of having the Devil's Rose pay the bodyguard off for us too. Apparently, it was a pretty damn expensive ask.

Although, I wasn't brave enough to ask the exact figure, I think it was a big one.

The club is much nicer than I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be a pretend boujee place that wasn't that great, but it's actually very nice. It smells good, the music is electronic but also not overwhelming, and no one is pushing anyone around.

I mean, it's still a club, so there's big groups of people, it's loud, and people are bumping into each other, but Club Palace is much more respectable than any other Grove Heights club probably.

I think it's about time that Major and I figure out why that is. And why is Kai coming back to this place when I'm sure he knows that there are security cameras?

He's risking getting a scene for whatever or whoever he needs here.

Major lays a comforting hand on the small of my back and guides me deeper into the club. We go by the bar picking up two glasses of the house red wine. It isn't that good but drinkable enough.

We make ourselves seem as if we are regular guests, drinking and chatting without causing too much attention but making it known that we are there. I'm unsure why Major thinks that's the best we handle the situation, but I'm following his lead.

He's way more knowledgeable in this area of business than I will ever be, thankfully. However, he can't name every Agatha Christie book so we each have our strengths.

I watch Major as he watches everyone else. With one hand on me at all times, he walks through the crowd, blending it but also being enough of a presence to get people to move over as we walk by.

We go up to a higher platform, and he takes a slight glance at a darkish hallway over my shoulder. He has me sit with my back to the hallway so that he can keep an eye on it and see what type of people are going down it or if anyone is at all.

Usually I would feel uncomfortable having my back to the danger or at least something that's sketchy, but Major's keeping an intense eye on it.

We talk about random things to make it look like we aren't doing anything we shouldn't be doing, but it's hard not to feel like someone is watching us. And it's highly likely someone is.

After about ten minutes of sitting, Major finally gives me the go-ahead to get up and start going down the hallway. He holds me close, his fingers dipping underneath my crop top.

He moves his hand down over my butt, and as soon as we get into the dark hallway, he presses me against the wall, leaning his head down to kiss my neck lightly. His teeth nip at my skin and a soft sigh exits my mouth as my fingers run over his shoulders.

I tilt my head back and give him more access to my neck, and as his fingers dig into my hips, he sucks on my soft skin, marking his territory. I can barely breathe as one hand goes up my skirt and underneath my biker shorts.

His lips make their way to mine, our tongues stroking one another, a deep grumble leaving his throat as my fingers drift into his air.

"Baby," he whispers against my mouth, "I'm so gonna fuck you when we're done here."

I shiver under his hot touch, my knees weak.

"Then, let's get this done," I whisper back.

"Fuck," he groans but pulls himself away from me.

No one is around, and I suddenly have a bad feeling the Major just did all that for looks. I would understand that, I think it's smart, but I would have liked to know that that was the plan. We're working as a team here.

And we're sorta dating now? I want to know what he's thinking, especially when it comes to doing things we that we do because we like each other. Making out for one.

"What are you thinking about, love?" he asks me as we sneak down the hallway, opening doors to mostly storage closets and bathrooms.

"Was that just for looks or did you actually want to make out with me?"

"I always wanna make out with you. If it helped with looks, then that's a side note."

"Will you communicate with me, if we ever do something like this again, if it's for looks or cause you want to do it?"

"Yes. Hopefully, we will never be doing something like this again, so I won't have to. But yes, of course."

And then the conversation is over.

The last door at the end of the hallway gives us everything we need to know. Illegal activity connections from the past owners and every detail about their dealings. Major snaps pictures of every piece of evidence, even the name of the past owner, Andy short for Andrew.

When he sees the name Andrew, I can tell that things just sort of click into place, as if the clue and Kai coming here makes complete sense. I'm totally lost until we get back onto Major's motorcycle.

He starts explaining to me who Andrew is, Kate's father who ran a huge illegal organization for drugs, weapons, and all of that. Kai must have been involved in that organization in some way.

It doesn't explain why Kai would hurt me specifically, but the aggressive tendencies fit, and the fact that he continues to come to this club. Major thinks he's trying to restart it or get some money that was left over from all of Andrew's dealings.

Club Palace was a front for a ton of illegal shit.

We pull into a random alleyway close to the club where we're meeting Harper, Clara, and Spencer. Major and I both pull off our helmets, meeting eyes.

"So wait, what do we do with this information? We still need to get Kai," I point out, confused as to why Major thinks this is all over.

"I know exactly where he is. I just need to get backup and this can be over tonight."

"Wait, what? Stop...what?"

"Don't you want this to be over, Violet? It can be over. It can be done," Major states harshly.

"I know! I get that. But it's a lot. I think we need to think this through. You don't want to go in there and get hurt. Take a step back and come up with a good plan."

"We don't have time. Kai could know that we know now. This could be our last chance. People are getting hurt because of this guy, and if he ends up doing anything with Andrew's money, he could get away with anything."

"I get that, but it's not worth your life," I snap back.

"Yes, it is. That's what I do, Violet. I put my life at risk for others, for you. I wouldn't do a fucking thing about it. If you can't handle that, then this isn't going to work."