While having a drink at the VIP bar one Friday night a few weeks on, Jenna frowned when the music suddenly stopped and she heard screaming and shouting from the public area. Rushing to the balcony, where a lot of the celebrities were already gathered, she gasped when she saw a mass brawl going on all over the lower floor. Rushing down the stairs, she’d just reached the bottom when Fabian came through the door.
‘What the hell’s going on?’ she asked.
‘Nothing to worry about,’ he said, relieved to see her. ‘Just go back upstairs and stay there. I’m going to lock this to make sure nobody gets at the celebs. I’ve already called the police.’
‘I’m coming with you,’ Jenna said when he started backing out of the door.
‘I’d rather you didn’t,’ he said. ‘Someone’s supposed to have seen a knife.’
‘Oh, my God,’ she gasped. ‘Nobody’s been—’
‘Not as far as I know, but I don’t want to take any chances. Please, Jenna. Just go back upstairs and let me deal with this.’
Just then, Tony and Eddie came thundering down behind her.
‘Need a hand?’Tony asked, cracking his knuckles.
‘No!’ Fabian told him quickly, sensing that things would get far worse if these two got involved. ‘I’ve got it in hand. The police are on their way.’
Shrugging, Tony said, ‘Okay, well, I guess they can handle it, huh?’ Looking at Jenna then, he frowned. ‘You ain’t going out there, are you?’
‘No, she’s going back up where it’s safe,’ Fabian said before she could answer.
‘Good.’ Tony gave him a nod of approval. Looking at Jenna then, he said, ‘Come on, I’ll get you a drink – we can watch what’s going on from the balcony.’
Feeling a little railroaded, Jenna reluctantly agreed.
The fight had turned into a full-scale battle now; feet and fists flying every which way, and chairs and tables being used as both weapons and shields. Thankfully, it was reasonably short-lived, because as soon as the police sirens cut through the screams and grunts the perpetrators booted the emergency doors open and took off into the night.
It took a while for the rest to realise that they were fighting fellow victims and quit, and then they stood around in panting, confused groups, trying to figure out how it had started in the first place. But nobody had seen it coming, so it was impossible to make any sense of it.
Several of the customers were taken by ambulance to the local hospital to be checked over, but, fortunately, there were no serious casualties. And with all the guilty parties gone already, the police couldn’t make any arrests. So, after advising Jenna to put her doormen on alert to stop it happening again, they left her to clear up the mess.
And what a mess it was. Furniture overturned, the floor littered with shattered glass, blood everywhere. But at least it was all cosmetic, so Jenna supposed it wasn’t too bad. At least she wasn’t facing a huge bill to replace fixtures and fittings.
Piecing it together from what had reportedly been seen and heard, they knew that at least four fights had broken out simultaneously around the room, each started by groups of at least four men who had, their victims claimed, been drinking and chatting quietly together before it kicked off. But at exactly midnight, each of these groups had suddenly jumped up and started laying into anyone and everyone. And because nobody was sure who they were defending themselves against, they inevitably ended up fighting whoever was closest to them.
Sitting with Fabian at the bar when the last of the customers had gone, Jenna shook her head. ‘I’ve never seen anything like that.’
‘Me neither,’ he admitted. ‘I didn’t have a clue what was happening. One minute everyone was dancing, the next they were screaming and fists were flying. I was waiting to see if Jacko and the guys could handle it, but when I heard someone say they’d seen a knife, I was straight on the phone.’
‘Good job you did call the police,’ Jenna said. ‘I dread to think what might have happened if it had gone on any longer.’Taking a sip of the coffee that Kalli had just made her, she sighed. ‘Remind me to call the hospital tomorrow to make sure that pregnant girl was all right.’
‘She should be,’ Fabian said, covering a yawn with his hand. ‘Probably more shocked than anything. I don’t think anybody actually touched her.’
‘I hope not,’ Jenna murmured. ‘Do you think this had anything to do with those guys who were hassling Melody that time?’ she asked then. ‘You did say you thought they’d come back after Eddie beat them all up like that.’
‘Could be, I suppose.’ Fabian shrugged. ‘No way of knowing for sure, though.’
‘Hi, guys,’ Bubba said, coming over just then. ‘Good night, huh?’
‘I hope that was a joke?’ Jenna frowned up at him. Not that she thought he meant it nastily. He was actually quite nice when you looked beyond the garish clothes and in-your-face banter.
‘Would I joke about a thing like that?’ he teased, flipping her a wink. ‘You look tired, Babes.’
‘I am. And I thought I told you not to call me that.’ Giving him a mock-stern look, she finished her coffee and stood up.
‘Not going, are you?’ Bubba asked, squeezing onto her stool before she’d even moved away from it.
‘Want me to reserve you a place in my grave?’ she quipped, stepping back so that he could get his legs straight.
‘Only if we both drink the elixir of everlasting life, so we get to make love for all eternity,’ Bubba said, grinning.
‘What, and have nothing to look at for all eternity but your disgusting hair?’ Jenna shot back playfully. ‘I don’t think so.’
Frowning, Fabian pursed his lips. Jenna had hated Bubba to start with, and it really bugged him that they had such an easy relationship now. Bubba talked to her as if they were flirty mates, and she didn’t seem to mind – which really pissed Fabian off, because he could never imagine himself talking to her like that and getting away with it.
‘Right, I’m going,’ she said, sighing now as she looked around the room. ‘It’s going to be a hell of a morning clearing this lot up.’
‘Leave it to the cleaners,’ Fabian told her, reasserting his own place in her life as the caring, take control, relieve-her-of-her-burdens manager that she could trust above all others. ‘I’ll be here early, so I’ll make sure it gets done properly. You just have a lie-in.’ Kissing her on the cheek then, he said, ‘Don’t worry about tonight. Fights are inevitable when you’ve got so many people drinking in one place. But we don’t tend to get more than the odd scuffle, so this was probably a one-off.’
‘Thanks,’ Jenna said, smiling gratefully for the reassurance. ‘Night, Bubba,’ she said then.
Saluting her, Bubba said, ‘Night, boss.’ Turning to Fabian when she walked away to get her coat and bag from her office, he grinned. ‘When’s the wedding?’
‘What are you talking about?’ Fabian asked, going behind the bar and tipping his coffee down the sink.
‘You lurve her,’ Bubba teased. ‘I know you, my friend, and them hots have turned into a burning flame of red-hot lust.’
‘Don’t talk shit,’ Fabian snorted, pouring two doubles and handing one to Bubba. ‘I like her, but there’s no way I fancy her. She’s way too cold. I prefer them hot and heavy.’
‘Not if you’re talking about that tart with the huge tits I saw you sloping off with the other night,’ Bubba said, chuckling softly. ‘A pure case of who let the dogs out. Where did you take her for the big bang, anyway. Up to your office?’
‘I wasn’t talking about her,’ Fabian said dismissively. ‘But how did you know about that, anyway?’
‘You’d be surprised how much I can see from the pod,’ Bubba told him, smirking now. ‘I’ve counted seven different tarts in the last two weeks getting your dubious pleasures. You must have a kennel club up there by now. What do you do, lure them up with your big meaty chews?’
‘Fuck off. They’re not all ugly.’
‘Most of ’em are.
Man, you’ve got to start looking at their faces instead of their tits, ’cos you’re in serious danger of losing your babe-magnet rep if you keep going for any old barker.’
‘Yeah, well, you wouldn’t say that if you knew who else I’ve shagged,’ Fabian said, adding smugly, ‘and dumped.’
‘Go on,’ Bubba said, sighing exaggeratedly. ‘I know you’re dying to spill.’
‘Melody Fisher,’ Fabian told him, watching his face carefully.
Shrugging, Bubba said, ‘Am I supposed to know her?’
‘You know her,’ Fabian insisted. ‘Blonde, absolute stunner, best tits in England. Sits in the corner of the VIP lounge, surrounded by the stars.’
‘The Mafia moll?’ Bubba laughed. ‘Fuck off! There’s no way you’ve had that.’
‘She’s not a Mafia moll,’ Fabian said, frowning again. ‘She’s an actress.’
‘She might well be, but them blokes she hangs with are pure Mafia,’ Bubba declared. ‘Haven’t you seen The Sopranos, man? He’s Tony Wotsisname through and through.’
‘His name is Tony, as it happens,’ Fabian said. ‘But he’s not Mafia. He’s just a thug.’
‘You think what you like,’ Bubba snorted. ‘But I knows what I sees.’ Shaking his head now, he grinned at Fabian. ‘So, you reckon you’ve shagged her, do you? And when was that, then? In your wildest wet dreams?’
Before Fabian could answer, Jenna came back. Calling, ‘See you tomorrow, guys,’ she waved and made her way behind the bar to leave. Popping her head back in after going into the kitchen, she said, ‘Everybody’s gone from back here, Fabian, so can you just check the toilets again before you lock up? I don’t want to come in tomorrow and find some injured person got locked in and died.’
Assuring her that he would check, Fabian waited until he’d heard the back door close, then went and got himself and Bubba another drink. ‘Want to see something?’ he asked, handing Bubba’s glass across the bar.
‘Only if it comes with something white and buzzing,’ Bubba said, pulling three twenty-notes out of his pocket and slapping them down on the bar.
Picking them up, Fabian slipped them into his pocket and, grinning, gave a mock bow. ‘Care to accompany me to my office, sir?’
‘Not if you think you’re gonna shag me when we get there,’ Bubba laughed. ‘I’m not one of those easy girls, you know,’ he said then in a feminine voice, getting off the stool and putting a hand to his breast. ‘I am a laydee. And it takes more than a couple of drinks to get my bloomers orf.’
Up in the office a few minutes later, Fabian took his stash out of the safe. Then he reached for the DVD of him and Melody that he kept there for safe keeping.
He hadn’t needed to play the insurance card yet – and probably never would, because Melody seemed to have lost all interest in him lately. But he still couldn’t bring himself to destroy it, and he sometimes took a look at it just to remind himself of those fantastic tits and that beautiful pussy. Maybe one day he’d get rid of it. But not just yet.
‘What’s it about?’ Bubba asked, picking it up and turning it over in his hand as Fabian sorted him a wrap from the stash bag. ‘It’s got no title.’
‘Let’s just call it Bubba eats shit,’ Fabian said smugly, handing the wrap to him. Laying out two lines from his own stash then, he snorted one and pushed the mirror across the desk.
‘Better be good,’ Bubba said, watching as Fabian went and unlocked the cupboard housing his DVD player and small monitor screen. ‘I’m not getting all hyped up on this to watch Mary fucking Poppins. I want action, man.’
‘Thought you’d have given the dolls up a long time ago,’ Fabian quipped, slotting the disc into the machine.
‘Eh?’ Holding his breath, Bubba squinted at him.
‘Action Man,’ Fabian repeated. Shaking his head when Bubba just shrugged, he said, ‘Never mind.’ Going to his chair then, he sat down and pressed play on the remote.
The screen lit up and Bubba frowned when a shot of the office came up. ‘What’s this, dude?’
‘Watch,’ Fabian said, licking his lips, his eyes taking on a beady coke glow.
Exhaling impatiently, Bubba licked his fingertip and dabbed at the traces on the mirror. He’d got it halfway to his mouth when Fabian walked into shot on the screen, quickly followed by Melody Fisher, looking hot as hell in a red satin dress, cut up to here and down to there, her long legs amazing in glossy flesh-coloured stockings.
‘Oh, man,’ he said huskily, leaning forward for a closer look. ‘I’ve only seen her from the distance before, but she is fit.’
On screen, Fabian laid out two lines of coke and snorted one. Handing the straw to Melody then, he came up behind her as she leaned down to snort hers and ran his hands over her body.
‘Jeezus!’ Bubba drooled. ‘Look at the arse on that.’
Back on screen, Fabian was rubbing up against her.
‘Oh, that’s good,’ screen-Melody moaned, rocking back against him when he slipped his hand between her thighs. ‘Oh, yeah . . . keep doing that.’
‘You dirty fucking dog!’ Bubba chuckled as he watched screen-Fabian free his hard-on and slide into her, holding on tight to her hips, his face a mask of restraint. ‘Yeah, that musta took some doing, guy. I’d’ve been ramming it home by now. I’m hard enough just fucking watching it.’
On the screen, Melody arched her back and put her hands flat on the table, bucking against Fabian, crying, ‘Oh, God, now!’
And Fabian obliged, pounding into her for a while, then pulling out and sweeping everything off the desk with the back of his hand. Flipping Melody onto her back, he tore off her panties and tossed them aside, then pushed her dress up over her breasts and bit down on her nipples as Melody wrapped her legs around his waist and sank her nails into his back.
Looking at Fabian with admiration in his coke-glazed eyes when the screen went blank, Bubba grinned. ‘You’re hung like a fucking elephant, man! How come you never let on about that when we was doing the summer gigs? I could’ve earned a sweet little backhander selling your services to the ladies.’ Laughing now, he added, ‘And I bet a good few of the lads would’ve paid for a bit of you, an’ all. We could have been minted.’
‘All right,’ Fabian said, smiling. ‘You were supposed to be watching her, not me. So, now do you believe me?’
‘Oh, yeah, I believe you,’ Bubba said, reaching out across the desk to stroke Fabian’s thigh. ‘But I think I love you. Oh, take me now, hot boy! I need you. Oh . . . Oh!’
‘Pack it in,’ Fabian laughed. ‘Or I might just sell this tape to the Sunday papers.’
‘You what?’ Bubba squawked. ‘Don’t tell me you’re taping us now?’
‘You’ll find out if you keep messing about,’ Fabian warned, getting up and taking the DVD out of the machine. Locking it back in the safe, he said, ‘Fancy going on to somewhere else? I’m too wired to go home, and there’s a new all-night pussy club just opened in Salford.’
‘Bring your dick and I’ll think about it,’ Bubba said, grinning for the camera in the corner as he added, ‘We always had such good sex when we were a couple, didn’t we? Shouldn’t be so different now we’re just friends.’
‘We were never a couple,’ Fabian said to the camera, playing along.
‘Oh, how could you deny me like that?’ Bubba wailed, pretending to cry now. ‘I thought I was the one.’
‘Get out,’ Fabian laughed, shoving him towards the door.
The rest of the week passed without incident after the fight, and everybody had forgotten about it by the time Friday came around again. But in an almost exact replica of the previous week, midnight hit and suddenly there was mayhem on the lower floor.
‘I don’t believe this!’ Jenna gasped as, yet again, Fabian told her to stay in the VIP lounge with the stars, and locked the door to keep them safe.
And yet again, Tony and Eddie offered to help, only to be told that the police were on their way.
‘You think you’ve got a pro
blem?’ Tony asked Jenna, sipping his drink beside her as they watched the fight from the balcony.
‘Well, obviously,’ she snapped. Throwing a hand over her mouth then, when she saw three men kicking another in the head as he lay on the floor, she said, ‘Oh, my God! They’re going to kill him!’ Spotting her head of security wading through the crowd below, she waved her arms and pointed the victim out, yelling, ‘JACKO . . . Help him!’
Shaking all over when Jacko and Flex yanked the men off the victim, Jenna backed away from the balcony and sat down heavily on a chair.
Coming and squatting down beside her, Tony took her hand in his. ‘You okay?’
‘I think I’m going to be sick,’ she muttered.
‘It’s gonna be all right,’ he assured her, his voice quietly confident. ‘Soon as the police come, the bastards who started it will take off like last time.’
‘Do you think it’s the same people?’ Jenna asked.
‘Could be.’ He shrugged. ‘Anyone been putting the screws on you lately?’
‘What do you mean?’ Frowning, Jenna gazed at him.
‘Seems a pretty typical trick to me,’ Tony said. ‘Had it happen once in my place back home. Some guys came in and started a ruck. Did it again the next week. Then the next, some dude comes in and tells me he can sort it all out for me – for a price.’
‘You mean like a protection racket?’ Jenna asked.
Chuckling softly, Tony said, ‘Yeah, I guess that was the intention. But they didn’t figure on me being the owner.’
‘What happened?’
‘Enough that they never bothered me again,’ Tony said, his eyes dark as he peered into hers. ‘But I’m a man.’
Frown deepening, Jenna said, ‘What difference does that make.’
‘Unfortunately for you, quite a lot,’ Tony told her quietly. ‘I mean, face facts, Jen. What are you gonna do if some guy comes threatening to break your legs unless you pay up?’
‘Call the police,’ she replied indignantly.
The Club Page 23
