Page 71 of The Denver Alpha
People push in against us from all directions, but by some miracle, we all manage to stick together, making it to a door in the rear that leads to a hallway. There’s an office on one side, a store room on the other, and an emergency exit door ahead at the end of the hall. Adrenaline pumps through my veins, relief flooding me as we jog toward the exit.
Tayla pushes through the door first and we all pile out behind her- Tobias and Bryce, then Ashlyn and Mike, Kylie and Eddie, and me and Shay. We emerge in dimly lit alley behind the building, the door swinging closed behind us with a thump.
Then a deep voice cuts through the quiet.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I whip around to see two officers standing in front of a police cruiser, blocking our exit.
“We’re going to need to see some ID.”
Shit shit shit.
I look around wildly, my heart sinking.
This is bad. Really, really bad. Where’s Cole?
28
“This must be some kind of misunderstanding.”
The cop shakes his head, shoving a piece of paper in my direction. “I’m sorry, Mr. Bauer, but it’s all right here. Your liquor license has been suspended until further notice.”
He flinches as I snatch the paper out of his hands, my eyes skimming the words upon it. It looks fucking official, I’ll give him that- but there’s no way this can be legit. I run all of my businesses cleanly. Not only that, but my relationship with the chief of police all but ensures that things like this aren’t sprung on me.
I continue scanning the document, reading the reason listed for the suspension and jerking my head up to lock eyes with the cop again. “Serving minors?” I ask in disbelief, my composure slipping as my agitation rises. “Are you fucking kidding me with this shit?”
The officer- Banks, according to the name badge on his uniform- flinches again, a bead of sweat trickling down his temple. He may not know what the alpha energy rolling off me truly is, but he clearly feels it and it makes him nervous.
“We’ve had reports come in recently, so some of our officers checked ID’s as people left the club over the weekend and confirmed that there were underage patrons…”
“Bullshit,” I interrupt, and the jumpy cop falls back another step on instinct. I swing around in search of the nearest bouncer posted up by the door, snapping my fingers to get his attention. “Rudy, has there been any issue checking ID’s lately?” I bark out.
Rudy’s eyes widen and he shakes his head vigorously. “No, boss. We’ve been checking everyone’s ID before they enter, just like always.”
“See?” I turn my attention back to Officer Banks, leveling him with an annoyed glare. “Clearly a misunderstanding. So why don’t you boys just move along, and I’ll stop by the station tomorrow to have a chat with the chief about this and straighten it out.”
“I… I’m sorry, Mr. Bauer,” the cop stutters, pointing feebly at the paper still grasped in my hand. “It’s already done. We have to follow protocol and shut you down. If there’s some sort of mistake, you’ll have to sort that out after…”
“Damn right there’s a mistake,” I snap, my blood starting to boil as I rapidly lose my cool.
This monthly event is one of our biggest money makers- shutting it down now will be a huge blow to our profit margins; profits that our pack relies upon. Not only that, but Club Zodiac brings in the most revenue of all the pack-owned businesses, and we can’t operate without a liquor license. Even shutting it down for a week would be a huge blow to the pack’s monthly coffers.
Another officer approaches, shouldering Banks out of the way. “Sir, if you don’t let us in willingly, I’m afraid we’ll have to arrest you for interference with official acts,” he states. This guy is a lot more self-assured than poor Officer Banks, who looks like he’s about to piss himself.
“This is ridiculous,” I grumble. Nonetheless, I step aside, not wanting any more trouble than what’s already on my doorstep. “I’m calling the chief,” I announce to the officers as they begin to file inside, pulling my cell phone out of my pocket to do exactly that.
He answers on the third ring.
“Cole Bauer!” the chief greets, strangely chipper in context of what’s happening at Club Zodiac right now. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Want to tell me why your officers are here to shut down my club?” I ask sharply.
“They’re what?!” From the tone of his voice, the chief seems genuinely surprised- which is the only thing that’ll save him from my wrath right now.
I take a deep breath, shoving my anger down to speak calmly. “Your boys in blue are here with an order to pull my liquor license, effective immediately. If you want to keep our arrangement going, I’m gonna need you to call them off. Now.”
“Shit,” the chief hisses quietly. It’s followed by a long pause, then the clicking of what sounds like a computer keyboard. “I didn’t know anything about this,” he murmurs as the clicking continues. “Listen, Cole, I’ll do what I can… but unfortunately, it’s not gonna happen tonight. I’ll see if I can get it cleared up by morning…”