Club Thrive: Predator

by Alison Mello

  “Are you good?” Slade asks and I nod. “Here’s my card. You call me anytime. I’ll be back in the morning to be sure you get to the office okay.” I take the card and tuck it into my pocket. “Do not leave this house without either Cole or I. If you need to go somewhere, shoot me a text and one of us will escort you.”

  “Thanks, Slade.”

  “You’re welcome. Be sure all of the locks are engaged and have a great night.” He walks out the door and I instantly lock the door.

  “Come on, dinner is almost ready, and I promised Ryker we could play some cards tonight after we’re done.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me.” Brea and I head into the kitchen to finish dinner and Eric tells us he’s going to finish up the work he’s doing until we’re ready to eat. We’ll definitely be spending nights in until I can figure this out.

  Chapter 12

  Shelly

  I haven’t spoken to Mikey much since I walked out on family dinner night. It’s been a rough week, but I needed some space to think about the situation I’m in and how I feel, not only about Mikey, but what he did. I walk into the club and am relieved when I don’t see him here. I need to focus on work and making some kickass tips. We open in about twenty minutes, and as usual, the guys are on stage running through their routines and stretching while Shane is at the bar talking with the staff. He always gives us a pep talk before we open. He will only be here a short time longer and then he’s taking a week off to help Katie with their baby that is due anytime now. Logan and Mikey have been helping him run the place until he gets back. One of them is almost always here, so if Shane gets the call, he can run out of here and get to his wife. I think it’s amazing how good they are to their employees.

  “Hey, Shelly.” He gives me a quick hug.

  “Hi, Shane. Sorry I’m a few minutes late. I had to wait for Slade.”

  “I know the situation. It’s all good.” He gives me a supportive smile.

  “Boss’s bitch gets special treatment,” this girl Kayla mumbles. I give her a dirty look and she realizes she’s busted.

  “Kayla, I’ll see you in my office after this meeting,” Shane growls. She just screwed herself because the staff here do not take kindly to people messing with the family, and I’m considered family. She rolls her eyes and Shane continues on with his meeting. Clearly I need to watch my ass around this bitch. As soon as the meeting is done, I shoot a text to Slade, asking him to get there a few minutes earlier for my next shift so I don’t have to worry. I don’t want anyone thinking I get special treatment, because I don’t. In all honesty, if it were her, he would have said the same thing, but she’s new here and has yet to see how this crew runs.

  Kendra comes over, pulling me from my thoughts. “Don’t stress her. We have your back.” She rubs my arm.

  I give her a tight smile. “Thanks. It’s hard. That was one of my concerns with dating Mikey to begin with. I didn’t want people to think I was treated any better than the rest of the crew.”

  “I know, and those of us who really know you know that you’re not. You know that you’re not, and that’s all that matters. Fuck her and her opinion.”

  I chuckle. “Ready to kick some ass tonight?”

  She puts her fist out. “You know it.”

  The music kicks on, the doors open, and people start flowing in. I see a clique of girls that always sit in my section come strolling through and that’s when I know I’m going to have a good night. “Shelly, what’s up, girl?”

  “Not much. You ladies ready for some more action?”

  She looks at her girls and then back at me. “Hell yeah.”

  I escort them to their table and wait for them to get situated. I already know their drink order because they’re regulars, but wait just in case they decide to switch it up, but as I suspected they order the same thing they always do. A Blue Hawaiian, Strawberry Daiquiri, a Mudslide and a Vodka Tonic. “Be right back, ladies.”

  Kendra whips up my drinks, and while I’m waiting, I can’t help but look around. I have this eerie feeling I’m being watched, but I don’t see anything out of place. In my situation, I’m glad I work in a male strip club because it would be extremely weird for a guy to walk in and take a seat at the bar or take a table. I think we’ve only had one or two tables of men come walking in and they were gay—at least that’s what they told me. I had to believe it, why else would men come to a male strip club. They didn’t stay long, they had a few drinks, and told me they were off to a gay bar where they actually had a chance of hooking up with the men. They were actually a funny crew.

  Kendra loads my tray and I deliver it before I walk off to take care of my other tables that are now full. I still feel like I’m being watched and it’s messing with me. Kendra must sense that something’s off, because when I get back to the bar to place my next order, she says, “What’s up?”

  I shake my head. “Something feels off. I feel like I’m being watched.” She bursts into laughter. I give her a dirty look. “Why is that funny?”

  “Because Mikey is here. He’s probably following you on the cameras. You must have some sixth sense.” She laughs again.

  “That’s not funny.” I look up to one of the cameras and flip him off. That makes her laugh even harder, but she shakes it off and gets busy making my drinks.

  It’s a Saturday night and the place is jam packed with people. Every table in the place is full and ladies are standing all over trying to enjoy the show or grab their chance at a lap dance. I never understood that, though. Why do you want some sweaty half naked guy shaking their junk all over you? You can’t touch it and you can’t take it home, so unless you have some hot guy at home to have rocking sex with, there’s no point in getting yourself all worked up. The thought makes me realize I miss Mikey and his hot body. I had a great man to come home to and I pushed him away—rightfully so, but I miss him nonetheless.

  I’m pulled from my thoughts of Mikey’s ripped abs when I see some chick’s hands all over one of the dancers. She’s not just rubbing his abs or squeezing his ass, she’s grabbing his junk. He takes her hands and pulls them from his cock, gently placing them back in the free zone, but she wasted, so she’s not hearing it. She says something to him, he shakes his head no, but she’s not listening. She pulls her hand from his and runs them back down over his cock. I press my finger to my earwig. “I think we need security on White Chocolate. A chick is getting out of control.” It’s part of our job to keep an eye out for the dancers. It wouldn’t look good for our dancers to report a woman for getting out of control, plus they have nowhere to clip an earwig to their body since they’re pretty naked.

  One of the bouncers appears and he takes over watching as I walk off to check on my tables. By the time I get back to the bar to place my order, she’s pissed he won’t let her touch him and she’s escorted out for trying to pull what’s left of his clothes off. I’m watching from the bar as the bouncer has a conversation with White Chocolate. He nods his head and walks off.

  It’s getting late and they’ve finally announced last call when Mikey comes out. “Can we have a drink after work?” he asks, leaning against the bar while I wait for a round of drinks.

  I shake my head in response and walk away with a tray full of drinks to deliver to my tables. I know we need to talk about this, but I’m not sure I’m ready to discuss us moving forward, but again I have the feeling I’m being watched. This time when I turn back, it’s not Mikey standing there staring at me, it’s Kayla. This fucking douche canoe needs to get off my fucking ass or she and I are going to have words. Fuck her. I deliver my drinks and the final tabs to each of the tables. When I get back with an empty tray, Kendra tells me that Mikey wants to see me in his office as soon as I’m done collecting my tabs. I let out an exaggerated sigh because this man is so damn stubborn. He did the same thing to me months ago when he asked me to have a drink with him and I refused. When I walk in, he has a Malibu and pineapple waiting for me.

  “He’s stubborn.
” Kendra shakes her head.

  “Don’t I know it. He thinks I don’t know what he’s doing.”

  She shrugs. “It worked the first time.”

  “I need to go collect my tabs so I can get this over with.” She laughs at my eye roll and I get back to work.

  As soon as I’m done I walk straight to Mikey’s office and knock on the door. I barely hear him shout for me to come in, but I open the door, and as I suspected, there are two drinks sitting on the desk. “Have a seat,” he says, all business-like.

  “What’s going on with Kayla?”

  My brows shoot up in surprise. I can’t believe he’s acting like this is the reason he called me in. “Really, Mikey? Kayla is the reason you called me in here.”

  He licks his lips. “Okay, you’re right. That’s not why I called you in here.” He pauses. “I called you in because you won’t to talk to me and I needed to talk to you. I miss you so much.”

  I sigh. “I miss you too, but what you did was wrong, and it not only pissed me off, but it hurt me.” I stood up to leave. “I need to get home. I promised Ryker we would do something tomorrow and I need to get some sleep.”

  “Shelly, please wait. I get that I hurt you and I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention and I’m not sure what to do or say to get you to realize that. I need you back in my life.” He sounds so sad.

  “I need you too, but I also need some space.” I start to open the door, but he jumps up, pushing his weight on the door and leans in. “I love you,” he whispers in my ear. The warmth of his breath sends shivers down my spine.

  I look up at him. “I love you too. I’ll call you tomorrow. Maybe we can do dinner this week,” I say, softening slightly.

  A small smile plays at his beautiful lips. “I’d really like that.” He presses his lips to mine in a soft, sweet kiss, and then he opens the door for me, but before I can step through he says, “By the way, I told Kayla if she fucks with you again she’s fired.”

  I roll my eyes and shake my head. “Give her a chance to see how good she has it here.” Then without waiting for a response, I walk out of his office and find one of the bouncers so he can escort me to my car. Slade is parked behind me, and despite having him there, I can’t help but look around. All seems quiet, so I head for home exhausted from another long night at work.

  Chapter 13

  Shelly

  “Mommy, it’s time to get up. We’re going to the park today!” Ryker shouts as he shakes me.

  I can’t help but laugh. “Okay, buddy. Mommy is getting up.” I climb out of bed to find my sister sitting at the kitchen table with her breakfast and an empty plate that I assume is Ryker’s. “Did you eat, buddy?”

  “Yeah, Auntie made me an egg sandwich.”

  “All right, then go get dressed while Mommy gets ready to go.” He skips off to his room. I need to pack us some snacks, but first I need coffee and something to eat.

  “I already made you an egg sandwich, it’s in the microwave,” Brea calls out.

  “Thanks, sis.” I open the microwave, grab my egg sandwich, and take a seat at the table with my coffee.

  “How was work?” Brea asks as I’m digging in. I’m starving.

  I nod as I chew. “It was good. Mikey came in, of course.”

  “What do you mean? I thought he always worked there.”

  I shake my head. “He bounces between the two clubs, but I know he only came in last night because he wanted to see me. He tried to talk to me, but I walked away, so in his usual stubborn way he called me to his office at the end of my shift.”

  She chuckles. “He’s your boss.”

  “Yeah, well, I wanted to tell my boss to fuck off, but I couldn’t because I’m in love with him.” A huge grin spreads across my face. “I told him to call me and we’ll make plans for dinner this week.”

  She grins and shakes her head. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away long.”

  “Yeah, well, when you’ve gone three years without getting any and then you get to have Mikey…it’s hard to stay away.” She bursts into laughter and I join her. It feels good to laugh after spending a week upset. I need to set some ground rules with him and get my relationship back on track because it’s not just the sex I miss. I miss my man.

  “Go get ready before your son starts getting antsy. I’ll pack you guys a cooler.”

  I grab our plates from the table. “Thanks, sis.” I walk into the kitchen, load our dishes into the dishwasher, and head to the shower.

  It takes me thirty minutes to get ready, and it’s a good thing, because my son is bouncing up and down, excited to get out of the house. I grab my phone to text Slade. I need to make sure he’s ready. They’re following us to the park and standing at a distance. I told him I didn’t want him to freak out Ryker or to be worried, so they needed to stay out of sight. The last thing I need is to confuse him, not to mention I want some time with my son. A minute later I see the text saying that they are good to go. “Ryker, we’re ready to go, buddy.” I grab the small cooler bag and his bag of toys in one hand, and grab his hand with my other before proceeding downstairs. I find Slade parked right next to me with Cole in the passenger seat. He never gets out of the car, but gives me a nod letting me know he sees me. He sits watching as I get Ryker settled and put our stuff in the back, so far so good.

  When we pull up to the park, I purposely park where Slade can park near me. He’s so excited he has his seatbelt undone before I’m even out of the car. “Ryker, I need you to take the toy bag, buddy.”

  “Okay, Mommy.” He takes the bag from me while I grab the cooler and the blanket from the trunk.” Taking Ryker’s hand, we walk into the park, looking for a place to set up. It’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and there’s a slight crisp breeze in the air.

  “Mommy, can we set up by the swings?” He points with his little finger.

  “Sure.” It actually works out nice. There’s a picnic table there. We can line the bench with the blanket since they’re usually so dirty anyway, and we’ll have it if we decide to move. I set up our stuff and tell Ryker he can go swing. I scan the park to see if I can spot Slade or Cole, but they are nowhere to be found and it’s making me edgy. I turn my eyes back to my son, nervous that we’re alone, but my phone chirps from my purse.

  Slade: Relax, we see you.

  Shelly: Thank you.

  I let out a slow, deep breath and walk over to the swing to push Ryker. He knows how to swing himself, but it’s nice to be with him. No one is around us and he has the set to himself. After a few minutes he asks me to stop him so we can play with his ball. We go to the other side of our table and begin kicking it around. He looks like he’s deep in thought though. “What’s wrong, Ryker?” He shrugs. “Talk to me, buddy.”

  “How come we haven’t seen Mikey?” He sounds so sad and it melts my heart. In my selfishness I hadn’t realized how much Mikey has come to mean to him.

  “Why don’t we go sit and talk?” I take his hand, leading him back to the table.

  He takes the seat next to me on the blanket. “Don’t you still like Mikey?”

  “I do, buddy, and I’ll tell you what…Mikey likes us very much, but sometimes people make mistakes. Mikey made a mistake and it hurt Mommy’s feelings, and just now I realized that I made a mistake too.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah, I was upset with Mikey, and instead of fixing it, I ignored him and it’s clearly upset you. I didn’t think about how this would affect you and I’m sorry.”

  “Does that mean we’ll see Mikey again?”

  I can’t help but chuckle. “You know, I promised him just last night that we would get together for dinner this week. Would you like that?” He smiles and nods his head.

  “I wish Mikey could be my daddy,” he says, sounding so sad. He wraps his arms around me and my eyes begin to well. “I know, buddy, and I’m also sorry your dad isn’t here for you.”

  “But I am.” A man approaches us. I can
’t believe he’s standing in front of us.

  “Eli, what are you doing here?”

  “Come on. You knew I was out of jail. You have an entourage following you around.” He looks so angry, and that’s when I realize Ryker is squeezing me tightly. His little body is trembling—he knows who this man is.

  “What do you want?”

  “To see my son.”

  “No. Absolutely not.”

  “You can’t keep him from me,” he shouts, losing control of his temper.

  Both Slade and Cole come running over. “I think it’s time you leave.” Cole steps up to him while Slade stands by Ryker and I.

  “You can’t make me leave the park,” he demands. “This is public property and I have a right to be here.”

  “No, but the lady asked you to leave her alone, and she has a right to do that. You need to go.” His fists ball at his sides.

  “And I have a right to see my son,” he shouts in Cole’s face. I can see Cole is really starting to get angry.

  “You gave up that right the second you put your hands on that kid, you piece of shit. Now you have two choices. You can leave, or I can call the police and tell them you’re harassing citizens in the park,” Cole threatens.

  I can see he wants to say more, but he gains some control first. “Fine, I’ll go, but this isn’t over. I’m fighting for visitation with my son. Mark my words, Shelly, I will see him one way or another.”

  Cole steps even closer. “Was that a threat?” He looks him dead in the eye.

  “No, a fucking promise.” He gives me one last evil look and walks away.

  “We need to get you two out of here,” Slade says, but Ryker is frozen in his seat. He won’t let go of me.

  “Ryker, look at Mommy.” Still he doesn’t move. I close my eyes and let out a deep breath. Slade has a look of concern etched on his face. I hold up my finger, telling him one moment, and then I lean down and whisper into his ear, “You can count on me like one, two, three…” I continue singing our little song in a whisper. He finally looks up at me. “I will not let him hurt you again. I know you’re scared, but I need you to let go of me so we can go home.” He nods and climbs into my arms for me to carry him. He is extremely shaken up, as am I.