by Alison Mello
She nods again. “Good. Are there cameras hidden in this room?” She smiles and nods. I smile back. “Pretend you’re giving me a lap dance.”
She laughs. “I’m not very good at it.”
“Honey, I don’t need you to be good at lap dances. I need you to be good at pretending.”
She bites her lip. “There are no microphones in here, just video. I can pretend.” She starts rolling her hips on my cock as she leans back on her hands shoving her tits in my face. “Why are we pretending?”
“Because I want information, and if you call this pretending, I hate to see what you do when you’re doing it for real.” All this woman needs is to believe in herself. If she only realized how sexy she truly is, she would kick ass at this.
“What do you mean, you want information?” She leans forward, pressing her breasts to my face.
“I know Higgins is selling drugs and sex out of the club. Can you tell me anything else?” I slide my hands up her legs, encouraging her. She smiles at me and stands, swinging her leg over my head and sits back down on my lap so her back is to my front. “Like the fact he takes money from his girls?” She presses her back to my chest and whispers into my ears.
“Yeah, stuff like that. Do you have any proof he’s selling drugs?”
She chuckles. “No, some of the top girls do though, I’m sure. From what I’ve heard some of them use with clients.” She leans forward on my knees and bounces her ass on my cock as if she’s riding me. “I’m willing to bet they’re far too scared to sell him out, though.”
I wrap my hands in her hair and gently pull her back to me. “Does he threaten you?”
“This girl Platinum is the head dancer. She does the threatening for him. You either agree to shut up or you end up seriously beaten. I heard one girl was nearly killed.”
I pick her up and spin her around so she’s facing me again. “Why aren’t you scared?”
“Oh, I’m scared. I’m actually trying to figure out how to get out of this place without getting myself killed. I have a kid at home and am more than halfway through med school.” She licks her lips seductively. Now that she’s in the groove she’s stopped trembling. “I heard this was a great way to pay for school, and it is, but it won’t mean shit if he kills me. I happened to pick the wrong club.”
“We’ll help you. Finish up your dance, and when you’re done, I want you to contact Detective Cooper. Tell him who you are, and that we spoke, and what you know. He’ll help you out.”
“Are you sure?” She climbs off my lap.
“I’m positive. By the way. That was an awesome lap dance.” I wink at her and she blushes.
“Why, because I gave you the info you wanted?” She looks at the floor. I stand and step up to her.
“I’m not sure why you lack so much confidence for a girl in this field, but you need to believe in yourself. That was an awesome lap dance.” I stick forty bucks in her string and she chuckles.
“You know he’s going to take that. You’re better off keeping it.”
My brows furrow. “He takes it all?”
She licks her lips and looks down. “Sixty percent.”
“Bastard. I’m going to nail this fucking guy.”
“I hope so.” She walks out the door. My time in the room is up and I don’t want to get her in trouble, so I walk out behind her.
When I get out of the room, the hostess is there ready to prepare the room for the next person. I thank her for taking care of me and walk into the main club. That’s when my night goes to shit. Noah is standing in the club with Higgins, and he spots me. “Fuck,” I whisper, trying to figure out how the hell I’m going to get out of here. He taps Higgins’ shoulder and points me out. I’m so screwed. A creepy grin spreads across his face. I start to move into a crowd of people. I need to get the fuck out of here and now. I’m about to make it to the door when two guys grab me, pinning my arms behind my back. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” one of them growls in my ear.
“Home. I’m a paying customer. I paid for my VIP room, paid for my drink, and tipped everyone.” I shrug. “It’s time to call it a night.”
“Yeah, well, Mr. Higgins wants a word with you. That means he decides when you can call it a night.” They drag me off toward the back of the club. I could probably take these guys, but God only knows what they’re carrying, and I don’t want to get attacked by too many of his goons at once. We head down a dark hallway at the back of the club. They open a door to a small, empty room. There’s a chair in the middle of it with nothing else. “Welcome to our very own private VIP room. This is where we get to treat you the way we feel you deserve to be treated.” They shove me down into the chair, zip-tie my hands behind my back, and my legs to the legs of the chair, and tell me to relax while I wait for the boss. The room looks like a secret room. The hall leading to it was extremely dark. I’m so fucked there’s no way anyone is going to find me here. I need to focus. I need to figure out how the hell I’m going to get myself out of this mess. Not that it matters, Kara is going to kill me when she realizes I’ve been caught.
After what feels like forever the door opens, letting in a beam of bright light. It’s so bright I can’t see who’s walking through the door. A dim light turns on and the door closes, revealing four people walking toward me. Two guys I recognize from the club, Higgins and Noah. “Hey, man, help me out. Tell these guys I’m just here to enjoy the girls.”
Noah looks at Higgins. Higgins grins and nods at me. Noah steps forward, and as he does, I can see his eyes are dilated and glazed over. He’s high as a kite. “Fuck you.” He backhands me. I lick my lip, tasting the tang of my blood.
“You hit like a pussy.” I laugh as he shakes his hand, pissing him off more. I think he hurt his hand more than he did me. I don’t know what I’m thinking, antagonizing this fucker. I’m about to get my ass kicked, but I can’t help myself.
“What are you doing in my club?” Higgins steps closer. I study the floor and say nothing. He’s not happy with my lack of response. He grabs me by what little hair I have and yanks my head back so I’m forced to look him in the eye. “I said, what are you doing in my club?”
“Enjoying the show?” my tone expressing that it’s common sense.
“Bullshit. I know you were Miranda’s body guard.” Fuck, the dude remembers me. My expression must give me away. “Yeah, that’s right, I remember you. You and your boy were in my club with Stone and Miranda. How’s my sweet piece of ass doing? I miss her.”
I growl and fight against my restraints, causing them to bite into my wrists. Fuckers tied them tight. “Fuck you. You’ll never get to her.” I turn to Noah. “And you will never have Kara again, she’s mine now. You had your chance and blew it.”
“I don’t know about that. It seems we have the upper hand in this situation.” Higgins laughs. “If we make you disappear, I’m willing to bet Kara’s going to be pretty upset, and when Noah is there to pick up the pieces and take care of her, she’ll be his again.”
“Not a chance in hell. She’ll blame him for me disappearing and she’ll want nothing to do with him.” I see a hint of panic flash through his eyes. It was a quick slip, but it was definitely there.
“You’re a liar. We have it all worked out.” Noah’s voice is a bit shaky despite the fact he’s trying to be tough.
It only makes me laugh harder. “You sound very confident in your plan, Noah.”
“Fuck you,” he spits.
“Calm down, Noah. Our boys here are going to show him what happens when unwanted guests make an appearance in our club, and then we’ll set our plan in motion.” Higgins puts his arm on Noah’s shoulder, trying to calm him down.
“So, you’re going to escort me out.” I have laughter in my voice but he doesn’t find it funny.
“Fuck no. We’re not pansies like Logan and his boys. You fuck with my club, you fuck with me. This will be a great message to Stone and the rest of the crew at Heat.” He pauses. “The only thing
I haven’t decided yet…” he trails off for a second, “…is if I should kill you or send you back to them beaten within an inch of your life.”
I say nothing as Higgins and Noah walk out the door, because now I have two guys in front of me. One is about my size, and the other is larger in height and bulk. “Maybe if you tell us what you know, he’ll spare your life.” The bigger guy cracks his knuckles.
“All I know is Club Heat has way sexier dancers.” Bad idea. That cost me a nasty punch to the side of my face. Fuck, that hurt.
Chapter 15
Kara
It’s been a long night at the club and I can’t wait to get home to snuggle up to my man. Shane and Cole walk me to my car. Cole is parked behind me and will follow me back to Slade’s house. Once I’m safe inside, he’ll head home and get some sleep until I need him again on Monday. I’m off tomorrow and Slade and I were planning to enjoy a quiet day at home.
We pull up to the house but something’s not right. Slade’s car isn’t in the driveway where it usually is. Cole pulls up with me and jumps out of the car, noticing the same thing. “Give me your key.” He holds out his hand. I grab it from my purse and hand it over. We walk in together and he clears it, but Slade is nowhere to be found.
With my hands shaking, I dial his cell phone. It rings twice and goes to voicemail. I try again and this time straight to voicemail. “Something’s wrong. He would never ignore my call. I know he wouldn’t.”
I’m trying to remain calm as I dial my father’s cell number, but I’m panicking. “Baby girl. What’s wrong?”
“Daddy, I got home from work and Slade is missing.”
“What do you mean, missing?” I can hear he’s even more awake now.
“He’s not here, and when I called his cell phone, it rang a few times and went to voicemail. I tried again and it was turned off.” A tear escapes me. “You know he wouldn’t ignore me, Daddy.”
“Has anyone heard from him?” he asks. I can he hear him get up, and my mother’s voice in the background. He muffles the phone and tells her what’s happening. “Are you alone?” he comes back to the line.
“No, Cole is with me and he’s on the phone with Shane now.” Cole is shaking his head no. “Cole said Shane hasn’t heard from him.”
“I’m on my way. Text me Slade’s address.” He cuts the call and I do as he asks. Cole has hung up with Shane and is now calling Logan, who we discover has not heard from Slade. I’m pacing the house, the tired feeling I had replaced with fear for my man. I can honestly say I hadn’t had a clear understanding of what love felt like until this moment. It’s more than all the fun times it’s the fear you feel when you’re worried you’ve lost the one you love.
There’s a knock on the door. I freeze where I am, waiting for Cole to open it. When he does, I see my father’s face filled with worry. My mom is with him, and they both run in and wrap me in a hug and it’s my undoing. “Daddy, you have to find him. Please.” Cole steps outside, shutting the door to give us some privacy while keeping us safe.
“I will do my best, baby girl.” He rubs my back, trying to console me. “Did he tell you where he was going tonight?”
I shake my head. “He said he was going to work while I was at work. He didn’t even say if he was going to the office to work or if he was doing it from home. I know he just started working with a new client and he had a lot to do to get there building secure. It was a decent size project. I assumed that’s what he was working on.”
“I need to call his boss, Zane.”
“I have his number in my phone. Slade told me if I were ever in trouble or needed help, I could contact him and he would help me out.” I pull his number up on my phone to show my father.
“I’m calling from your phone. He may not answer if it’s a random number but he’ll answer for you.” He presses the call button and I can hear the ring.
He picks up after on three. “Kara, are you okay?”
“This is her father, Detective Cooper.”
“Is she okay?” He has panic in his voice. I can hear it.
“She’s fine. Slade is missing, though.” My father begins to pace, but despite his distance, I can hear Zane yell through the phone. He’s pissed. A minute later my father cuts the call. “Zane is on his way. He knows where Slade is but he thinks he’s in trouble.”
A short time later, Slade’s living room is filled with cops, family, and friends. Shane came over straight from the club. Sky and Logan are here. Sky is sitting on one side of me and Miranda is on the other. I told her she should have stayed home to rest. The baby is due any time now and she doesn’t need this stress, but she insisted on being here with me. Although I’ve done nothing other than sit with a blanket wrapped around me, I’m freezing, and I can’t stop my body from trembling. I can’t stop thinking about him.
I glance over to see the guys are talking in the kitchen around the table. Logan, Stone, Shane, Zane, Cole and my father haven’t left the table since Zane got here to fill him in on what’s happened. I’ve only heard bits and pieces, but from what I got of the story, Slade went to the club to talk to a dancer they were sure would give more info. They’re now afraid she gave info, but bad info, and then ratted him out and now they have him.
My father’s cell rings. “Detective Cooper,” He growls into the phone. His brows shoot up. “Are you serious?” He listens for a second. “I’m set up at Slade’s house with my partner and his security team. Bring her here so we can figure out how to handle this.” He cuts the call. “The dancer didn’t rat him out. She was just at the precinct asking for me. He told her to go down there and that I would help her get out of Higgins’ club alive.”
My mother walks over with a cup of tea for me. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, dear. How are you holding up?”
I sigh. “I’m scared. I’ve fallen for him, Mom. I can’t lose him. I haven’t even told him how I feel about him yet.”
She smiles at me. “Anyone who spends five minutes with the two of you can see how happy you are. He’s a fighter, he won’t give up easily. I can see he loves you.”
I give her a small smile. “You think so? I’ve been so afraid to admit how I feel for him. It kills me to think I may not get the chance to tell him.”
My mom gives me a warm smile. “I know so.”
When the girl finally shows up, it’s four-thirty in the morning and my eyes are burning. My mother has been making coffee non-stop for the guys, and now she’s making muffins in the kitchen so she can feed everyone. Thank God, Slade keeps this place well stocked. When my father walks her in, I stand in front of her. My tired, worried eyes must tell her who I am, because a look of sympathy flashes over her face. “I’m sorry. If it helps, I heard he was still alive when I left the club an hour ago.” I nod and take my seat as my father takes her into the kitchen to question her. He tells the two cops to stay stationed outside my door.
She tells my father everything that happened, from the first night they met to when she walked into the room and found Slade there asking her questions, to the time she left and heard Higgins tell the head dancer to keep an eye on her. “Platinum asked him if Slade was still alive and his response to her was for now.” She looks sad. “I left and went straight to the station. I had to take the long way to make sure I wasn’t being followed, but he was looking out for me. I had to return the favor.” I see a tear escape her as I walk into the kitchen. She swipes it away. “I told him I started dancing so I could pay for med school. I got pregnant with my son at a young age and his father left us. I swore I would do what I had to do to finish medical school and this was the quickest way to pay for it.” She takes a calming breath. “Of course I had to walk into the wrong club. All I wanted to do was to be able to take care of my boy.” She begins to cry.
I wrap my arm around her. “You didn’t know. You can’t beat yourself up over this. You did what you thought was right for you and your son.”
“Kara’s right,” Logan adds.
“When this is all done, come see me. You can work in my club.”
“You guys are sweet, but I don’t know if I can go back to stripping now.” She shakes her head.
“Fine, you can serve drinks. I’ll find something for you to do, but we’ll help you finish your degree.”
She laughs. “You guys don’t even know me and you’re being so sweet to me.”
“Slade means a lot to us, and anyone is who is nice enough to take the risk you did to help us find him deserves it in return.” Logan pats her shoulder.
“You and your son will go into protective custody until Slade is found and we can put Higgins in jail. I’m going to be honest though, we’re going to need your testimony to help put him away and close down the club.”
She nods her agreement. “My son is at my place with my sister.” She jots down the address on a piece of paper that my father handed her and he calls in, ordering a detail be put on them right away. Once that’s done, he calls into his Lieutenant to get a search warrant for Vixen and Higgins’ home.
“What now?” I ask him.
“We wait. We should have the warrant in a few hours. As soon as we do we’ll go straight to the club and won’t leave until we find him. The club will be closed, so we just have to hope that they haven’t moved him.” My mother puts a huge plate of fresh muffins on the table and everyone begins to eat, but I can’t. My stomach is sick with worry for my man.
Katie shows up and runs right up to me. She wraps me in a hug again and the tears I beg to stay at bay start flowing. “Come here. You look so tired.”
I nod. “I am. I haven’t slept in almost twenty-four hours.” She sits with me on the couch and rests my head on her shoulder. She runs her fingers through my hair the way she used to when we were small. I was always afraid of thunderstorms as a little girl. I would jump in her bed and she would run her fingers through my hair until I fell asleep. It’s a comforting thought and just what I need to doze off.
My father approaches me with a look of defeat. “What is it, Daddy? Did you find him?”
