Unleash the Night Read Free

across the floor that reminded her of a barn.
    The bar area to her right was occupied by rough-looking men drinking beers and yelling at one another. She could see a wooden stairway before them that led to an upstairs area, but she had no idea what was up there. Trouble came to her mind. A person could probably find a lot of trouble up there.
    This place was definitely rustic.
    But what held her attention most was the high concentration of handsome men working in the bar. They were everywhere. The bartenders, the waiters, the bouncers … She’d never seen anything like this. It was a testosterone smorgasbord.
    Elise leaned over to whisper in her ear, “I think I might have just died and been sent to heaven. Have you ever seen so many gorgeous men in your life?”
    It was all Marguerite could do to shake her head. It really was unbelievable. She was stunned that the news media hadn’t caught wind of this and sent in a team to investigate what was in the water to make so many hot men in one place.
    Even Whitney was gaping and ogling.
    â€œWhat kind of music is that?” Blaine said, twisting his lips into a sneer as a new song started over the stereo that was piped through the length and breadth of the bar.
    â€œI think it’s called metal!” Todd shouted over the loud guitar solo.
    â€œI call it painful myself,” Whitney said. “Did Nick really hang out here?”
    Marguerite nodded. Nick had loved this place. He’d spent hours telling her about it and the odd people who called this place home. “He said they had the best andouille sausage in the world.”
    Blaine scoffed. “Highly doubtful.”
    Todd indicated a table to the back with a tilt of his head. “I think we should sit and have a drink in memory of old Nick. You only live once, you know?”
    â€œDrink out of the glasses here and you probably won’t live through the night,” Blaine said. He looked less than enthusiastic as they followed Todd to the table and took a seat.
    Marguerite shrugged her backpack off, dug her purse out, then placed it under the table. She hung her purse on her chair, then took a seat. The place was very loud and yet she could easily see Nick in here. There was something about it that reminded her of him. Aside from the rather tacky decor, which he’d always preferred. She often suspected that he dressed tacky just to nettle people.
    To her it had been one of his more endearing traits. He was the only person she’d ever known who truly hadn’t cared what other people thought of him. Nick was Nick and if you didn’t like it, you could leave.
    â€œCan I get you guys something?”
    She looked up to see an extremely beautiful blond woman around her own age. She was wearing a pair of skin-tight jeans and a small T-shirt with the Sanctuary logo of a motorcycle parked on a hill that was silhouetted by a full moon. Underneath the picture was the tagline Sanctuary: Home of the Howlers.
    Blaine gave their waitress a hot once-over that the woman wisely ignored. “Yes, we’ll all have the Westvleteren 8.”
    The waitress frowned at his choice of beer before she cocked her head as if to listen more carefully. “What was that?”
    Blaine got that familiar smug look on his face and used his do-I-have-to-talk-to-the-simple? voice. “It’s a Belgian beer, sweetie. Please tell me you’ve at least heard of it.”
    The waitress gave him a peeved glare. “Boy, I was born in Brussels and the last time I checked, this was my new homeland, America, not my birthplace. So you can either order an American-made beer or I’ll bring you water and you can sit there and act all superior until you puke, okay?”
    Blaine looked as if he were ready to choke her. “Does your manager know that you talk to your customers like this?”
    The waitress gave him a snide, indulgent smirk. “If you’d like to talk to my mother, who