Benny Read online

  Benny

  Club Crimson

  Terry Bolryder

  Copyright © 2019 by Terry Bolryder

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Author’s Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Sample of Felix

  Also by Terry Bolryder

  Author’s Note

  Wait! This is the third book in the Club Crimson series, so you may want to read the first two books before you continue. Each of my books has a new couple and a happy ending, but some plot points will make more sense if you read them in order!

  Here are the first two books:

  Max (Club Crimson Book 1)

  Lock (Club Crimson Book 2)

  Happy reading!

  Terry

  Chapter 1

  Club Crimson had never been so crowded.

  Nights like this always set Benny on edge because fights could break out, and with people packed elbow to elbow across the dance floor, they could be hard to break up.

  Even with the addition of Felix—also known as Fifi—their newest employee, things felt a bit out of control. Then again, maybe Fifi was partially to blame for the crowds. He had a way of drawing people to him, entertaining them, charming them.

  But Benny couldn’t focus on Fifi right now. Or Max or Lock or any of the other employees. For the most part, they were shifters and could take care of themselves. No, Benny’s main focus was on the person he cared for more than anyone else. His best friend and co-owner, Harley.

  Thankfully, he’d insisted on her working behind the bar with him where he could keep an eye on her.

  She pushed errant, bright-red curls behind her ears and smiled at him, freckled cheeks flushed from exertion, bright-green eyes sparkling. “Crazy night, right?”

  Benny smiled back at her, loving the easy chemistry between them. She was the person he was most comfortable around, and—

  “Do you think you can handle things on your own for a minute? I need to use the ladies’ room.”

  Benny hesitated. “Why don’t you use the staff bathroom?”

  Harley shook her head. “I want to check on things while I’m at it. It’s good to go in there once in a while, and the rest of you can’t. You remember what happened with Dare’s mate.”

  Benny’s brows lowered. “That was one time, and we’ve stepped up security since then. Besides, that happened in the men’s bathroom, and you are absolutely not going in there.”

  Harley folded her arms and cocked a hip, and it took all of Benny’s self-control not to let his eyes wander down her gorgeous, curvy figure encased in a belted blue dress she wore sometimes at the bar.

  “Benny, I’m sorry, but I’m your partner and I’m going to check on the women’s bathroom. If it’s not safe for me, it’s not safe for them either.”

  “It’s safe,” he muttered. “Lock’s nearby. He’d hear if anything happened.”

  “Then it’s fine for me to go as well.” She tapped one black high heel.

  Benny sighed. “Fine, but keep your walkie on so I can hear everything.”

  She raised an eyebrow, shaking her head with a laugh, making her curls bounce. “I’m not going to let you listen to me going to the bathroom. I know you’re overprotective, but that’s insane, even for you.”

  “No, I’m just the right amount of protective,” he said quietly, more to himself than anything. “Because you’re beautiful.”

  “What was that?” she yelled over the noise, having already walked a few steps away from him. “Couldn’t hear you.”

  Benny shook his head. “It was nothing. Go ahead. But call if you need something.”

  She rolled her eyes at him as she turned to push her way into the crowd, but her affectionate smile told him she wasn’t too bothered by his smothering behavior.

  He had always been like this with her. She was all he had, and he was all she had. Sure, they had new friends now, had built a little group around themselves, but no one would ever mean as much to him as Harley.

  He forced himself to focus on his next drink order but stopped when he heard a raised voice over the crowd. It wasn’t so much louder than the others, but it was a timbre he recognized immediately and it was more than a little annoyed.

  Harley.

  He abruptly stopped what he was doing and rushed around the side of the bar, trying to push his way out onto the floor without hurting anyone.

  He skidded to a halt when he saw her a few feet away, trying to get around a tall blond man who didn’t want to take no for an answer.

  Seeing that the man hadn’t touched her, Benny focused on keeping himself calm. There was something awful inside him. Something that he always had to be careful not to awaken. Something that could do terrible things if he got too upset.

  It was why he tried to be so friendly and placating with everyone.

  But it was hard to be diplomatic at times like this.

  “I’m sorry, but as I said, I can’t dance. I’m on the clock,” Harley said impatiently, trying to move to the side as the man blocked her way once again.

  “Come on,” the man said. “That just means you shouldn’t say no to me. I’m a paying customer.”

  “For drinks,” Harley said dryly, stepping out of his way as he tried to reach for her. “I don’t recall seeing my name on the menu.”

  When the guy reached for her hand again, Benny saw red and stepped forward. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  The man whirled on him, and a sneer lit his face as he looked Benny over. “Ah, the pushover bartender. Why don’t you go back to smiling at everyone and leave the real men to work?”

  Benny fought back the urge to knock him over. He’d smile all right. He’d smile when this jerk was unconscious, beaten to a pulp by Benny’s fists. He rolled up his cuffs, taking a step forward.

  As Benny got closer, the man paled slightly. Could he sense that there was something wrong inside Benny?

  Benny hoped so. It would save them all time if he just peed himself and ran.

  “I got this,” a calm voice said as a tall, muscular man with dark-red hair stepped between Benny and his prey. “You take Harley back to the bar and cool off.”

  Lock, the third co-owner, was one of the few people who understood what Benny was.

  Benny felt both relief and frustration at being interrupted as Harley grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction of the bar.

  Lock would be sure to throw the guy out.

  When they were back behind the bar, Harley turned to him, irritated.

  “You didn’t need to come over. I was handling it.” She grabbed a glass and started making a cosmo.

  “Nope,” Benny said. “Better safe than sorry. Can’t let anything happen to you. I care about you too much.”

  She put a hand to her forehead, and Benny realized she was flushing slightly. “I know. Thank you for checking on me. That dude was really something.”

  “Some shifters are entitled,” Benny said. “Some of them just think aggressiveness is
the way to win someone over, but it’s usually not that bad. Anyway, at least for tonight, use the staff bathroom, okay? Lock is keeping an eye on the women’s room.”

  Harley looked like she wanted to roll her eyes but nodded. “All right, but only because I don’t want to worry you.” She blinked up at him. “Wait, you’re not going to keep me from taking drinks out, right? Nothing’s ever happened while I’m carrying the tray.”

  “We’ll talk about it,” was all Benny could say, knowing how stubborn Harley was.

  It was going to be a really long night.

  Harley let out a sigh of relief as she finished washing the last shot glass before hanging it on the full drying rack.

  It had been a crazy night. Benny had almost been in a fight because of her, and she just wanted to go home and curl up with her cats.

  The club, now empty of customers, was lit by normal yellow lighting as the employees got ready to head out.

  Lock and Tasha left, giggling about something amongst themselves. Shortly after, Harley heard the roar of Lock’s Ferrari as it sped off into the night.

  Max and Jackie followed after, waving good night before Max wrapped his arm around his mate, giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head as they disappeared out the door.

  Harley glanced around, looking for the enigmatic newest addition to their crew, Fifi. But he was nowhere to be seen.

  Fifi was just kind of like that, though. He was Tasha’s brother and came and went as he liked, still adjusting to a life outside the wolf Tribunal.

  He had probably already gone home.

  Which left only Benny…

  Harley glanced over at her best friend as he stacked stools on top of tables two at a time. His constant flannel wardrobe did nothing to hide his impossibly wide shoulders and built chest.

  He had a few days’ worth of unshaved scruff, which only added to his rugged, outdoorsy look.

  His thick, dark-brown hair always looked adorably ruffled, and she desperately wanted to run her hands through it.

  His warm hazel eyes seemed to smile patiently at everyone, though they were different when they looked at her. Kinder. More genuine.

  Beneath his cheery attitude and mantra of always helping anyone he could, his life wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

  Having grown up with him, she knew that more than most.

  But there were also things she knew he was hiding. Things that seemed to weigh heavy on his heart.

  She’d pretty much given up on him telling her about them at this point.

  “I’m going to head out,” she said, hanging up her towel and waving at him.

  Benny glanced over at her, brows lowered. “Hold on. I’ll walk you out.”

  Most nights she said yes when he offered. But she was already stirred up about what had happened tonight. It made her hope for things she had no business hoping for, so it was best if she got some space.

  “No thanks,” she said quickly. “I appreciate it, though. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She grabbed her purse and hurried out the main exit before he could argue.

  She needed to clear her head.

  Harley’s footsteps echoed rhythmically on the pavement in the still-dark night. Old brick and fresh air intermingled as she kept to the light of dim streetlamps on her way across the street toward her vehicle.

  She walked slowly, feeling exhausted. Not just by the physical work of a Club Crimson shift, but because of her confusing relationship with Benny.

  It felt like she was always waiting, but she didn’t know what for.

  She knew she had long held feelings for him and that everyone seemed to realize it but Benny. Every time he came to her rescue like a friend in shining armor, it brought those feelings to the front.

  Harley didn’t know how Max and Lock had managed to settle down first, though she was happy for her friends.

  Max had never had even two words for any human before he met Jackie, and Lock had been a consummate philanderer until he found Tasha and discovered he liked commitment after all.

  Everyone at Club Crimson was an outcast in their own right, but Benny seemed to be the only one denying himself—and her—any happiness.

  What could possibly be holding him back?

  Harley sighed, reaching the sidewalk and making her way through the mostly empty parking lot across the street from the club.

  She took one more look at the club, its bright neon sign casting the street in an ethereal red glow.

  Then she rummaged in her purse, pulling out her keys and unlocking her truck, which was still twenty feet away.

  Just as she started walking again, a shadow appeared from behind her truck, standing between her and her driver’s side door.

  Immediately, Harley stepped back. It took her eyes a second to adjust, but when they did, she recognized the shifter from earlier that night on the dance floor.

  Even in the dim light, his shaggy blond hair and red jacket were fairly distinct. But his drunk, casual smile was gone, replaced by a more intense, expectant expression.

  “Hey,” Harley said carefully. “What… what are you doing out here?” She wondered if she could text Benny without the man across from her seeing what she was doing.

  “Hey, gorgeous.” His hoarse voice pierced the still, breezeless night.

  “Did you need something?” She was hoping to keep him calm, not escalate anything while she was alone in the dark.

  He paused for a second, rubbing one hand over the other like he was slightly manic. “I wanted to say sorry about before… in the club. I might have come off wrong.”

  Harley took a slow step backward, feeling on edge. He was coming off wrong now by trying to corner her in the parking lot.

  Still, she thought saying that wouldn’t do much good.

  “It’s fine. I wasn’t offended,” she said. “But I’m kind of on my way home now, and…” She trailed off as he got a bit closer.

  “Also, I wanted to ask you out. On a date. I’ve seen you around. I really like you.” He was still fidgeting with his hands, but it did nothing to make him look less intimidating, given the fact that he stood a good six inches taller than she did and weighed a whole lot more in sheer muscle.

  “Uh… thanks for offering. But no, I don’t date clients. Just personal policy,” Harley said, trying to sound unbiased to the fact that this guy was being a total creep.

  His hands dropped to his sides, no longer fidgeting. “That’s bullshit. Come on, I promise you’ll be glad you said yes.” His lips were slowly turning down in a way that didn’t bode well for her.

  “Sorry, but my answer’s still no.”

  He paced angrily, glaring at her and getting more agitated. “What the fuck? First, I just want to dance, super harmless, and you turn me down. And now I’m here, being a perfect gentleman, and you can’t even explain why you won’t go out with me?”

  Harley began rummaging through her overstuffed purse, reaching for her phone so she could call someone. But just as she’d thought, it drew his attention and seemed to step things up a notch.

  He advanced on her, eating up the distance with his long legs. “It’s that guy from before, isn’t it? That dumb bear on the dance floor. Well, no one says no to me. I’m going to show you what you’re missing, whether you like it or not, you—”

  He stopped as a voice boomed out from behind Harley.

  “What about that dumb bear from the dance floor?” Benny’s voice echoed around her, filling the parking lot.

  She didn’t have time to even turn to look before Benny was running past her, clearing the distance between her and Sir Creeps-A-Lot in an instant.

  The man let out a snarl but didn’t even have time to put his hands up as Benny cranked his arm back and slammed it into her stalker’s jaw.

  The guy collapsed like a sack of rice onto the hard, wet asphalt, and Harley let out a sigh of relief.

  But Benny wasn’t done with him apparently. He was practically growling as he grabbed the guy by his jacket and yan
ked him off the ground.

  “You come within even a thousand feet of this place or my girl Harley again, and I’ll ram your face into the ground so hard not even your mother will recognize you.” Benny’s voice was unhinged, feral in a way she’d never heard before.

  The dude’s eyes lolled back in his head in response, barely conscious as Benny held him upright. Benny pulled his arm back, fist clenched tightly, muscles so taut against his flannel shirt it looked like it could tear like tissue paper.

  He sent Harley a glance over his shoulder, and she could swear his eyes seemed darker. Like his pupils covered his irises, making everything black as he took deep, heavy breaths that punctuated the otherwise eerie silence.

  Harley hurried forward, placing a hand on Benny’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. He didn’t do anything bad. You stopped him.”

  The muscle beneath her fingers was so taut it felt like stone, and she massaged it gently, trying to calm him.

  Finally, Benny took a long, relaxed exhale, and his fist dropped to the side. A second later, he dropped her stalker, letting him fall to the ground limply.

  “Sorry,” Benny said, running his hands through his hair as he stood facing away from her like he was hiding something he didn’t want her to see. “I couldn’t think straight, seeing him come after you.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about. You saved me.” She rubbed her hand a bit on his back soothingly, and he turned to face her, jaw tensed.

  It was a different kind of moment for them.

  No distracting, booming music playing. No meetings to arrange, schedules to set up, or clients to make happy.

  Just him and her, with only cool air between them while a lifetime of wants and wishes and memories hovered like fireflies.

  “Next time, I’ll walk you out.” His voice had returned mostly to its normal calm state, but Harley felt anything but calm at the moment.