by Cara Adams
“I live in Coopersville and only work in the daytime, even though most costumes get ripped at night. The girls just change into a different one if that happens. There’s a hamper in the laundry to put damaged clothes in for me to repair, but wash and dry them first. I only work on clean garments.”
“Okay. I hope this won’t get damaged though.”
“Some men are a little rough on fabric,” Belle said, leaving Siyandra to wonder if that meant customers wanting a drink would pull on her skirt, or if it was men in a hurry to get their woman naked. Oh well, she wasn’t going to let anyone touch her, far less fuck her. In fact, if the blonde woman told her everything she needed to know, she’d be out of here without ever working a single shift.
Having walked down two levels to the costume department, Belle now led Siyandra back up past where she’d arrived and for three more flights of stairs to another long hallway. Siyandra noted the CCTVs in this hallway and followed Belle as meekly as possible right to the end of the hallway, looking around only from the corners of her eyes. The final door proved to be the entry to yet another stairwell, also with a camera facing the stairs that led up. “Shit. Haven’t you people ever heard of an elevator?” she asked.
“The elevator is only for luggage and guests,” replied Belle repressively. I wonder if the hallway is bugged? She was much friendlier than that in the costume room.
Silently Siyandra followed Belle up the stairs to a small foyer with just three doors. Belle knocked on the center one and a tiny window opened in it. There was the sound of a chain being removed and the door opened.
The woman answering the door was certainly blonde but older than Siyandra expected. Or maybe there were several blondes here. That would be perfectly logical.
“A new girl. She starts tonight,” said Belle abruptly and turned to leave.
Okay, definitely bugged. “Thank you,” she said, careful not to put too much warmth into her tone or use Belle’s name.
Once the door was shut Siyandra set down her suitcase. She was very glad to do so after carrying it up all the stairs. Fortunately it was only a small one, with not all that many things in it, but it still seemed heavy after five sets of steps.
“Hi. I’m Siyandra.”
“Aimee. Miriam’s in the bedroom. I was putting cream on her back.”
“Has she hurt it?” Is Miriam the blonde who was beaten?
“It’s healing but the cream should prevent it scarring.” Aimee left the room and Siyandra followed her into what should have been a large bedroom, but seemed small with four twin beds in it and a set of bunk beds in a corner.
“Where is everyone else?” she asked.
“There’s been a change of management. A lot of people left. Some of us didn’t have the choice of going,” said Aimee bitterly.
Wow! “I guess that’s why they hired me.”
A slender blonde was face down on one of the beds, her back bare, and a black sweater beside her on the bed. She was wearing jeans and her pale skin was—not scarred exactly—more as if she’d leaned against something just now and it’d left lines on her skin. Except that this was obviously the results of the beating she’d heard about from Shakina. Shakina and her men, Zoan and Yaro, had seen a young blonde woman being beaten by a man who’d paid big money to do it. A man, not her Dom. Shakina had been sure she was drugged, but that was weeks ago. The marks should have been long gone by now.
Siyandra took a deep breath to ensure her voice was neutral and said, “I thought your Dom was supposed to do the aftercare?”
“He wasn’t my Dom. I’m working off a debt,” said Miriam softly.
“Yeah, but you should never have let them beat you. Your skin’s too pale and delicate. Waiting tables will take longer but it’s better for you,” said Aimee.
“As soon as I’m healed, I’m going to have to do it again. I don’t earn enough in tips. My tits are too small. I’ll still be here when I’m ninety the way I’m going.”
“If that’s the problem, why don’t you join me in the party room? Lap dancing isn’t so bad. Mostly they jack themselves off and I always get twenty dollars from each one. Sometimes more.”
Siyandra stood silent and unmoving. The two blondes had forgotten she was there and she was shocked and stunned at what she was hearing. Aimee must have a debt to pay off, too, but what kind of debt? And what was Miriam paying off? College fees? If so, surely they’d be able to get higher paying jobs elsewhere. There wasn’t that much unemployment in Coopersville. Unless it was Henk who had a hold over them? That would make sense. Although, even then, wouldn’t he want them working a higher paid job to pay him off faster? None of this was making sense.
Aimee put the jar of ointment she’d been rubbing into Miriam’s back on the nightstand and turned around. “Why are you here, Siyandra? Do you owe money to Henk, too? Or are you his stool pigeon, here to tell him our every thought and action?”
“I’d never met Henk until today and I don’t owe anyone any money. I just thought it would be a different, fun, kinky thing to do to work in a BDSM club. No way is anyone going to do that to my back though, and I’m not doing lap dances either. I’m just going to wait tables and serve drinks in the restaurant.”
“A rich bitch slumming it,” sneered Aimee.
“You’re the second person here today who’s called me a bitch and I don’t like it. I’m a person and I’m not rich. I’m fortunate in that I live with my boyfriend, so I don’t have to earn big bucks, but I do need to earn something to pay for my own expenses.” It wasn’t the complete truth but it was close enough.
Miriam turned her head to look at her. “I don’t think I’d trust a boyfriend who was happy for me to work at a BDSM club,” she said slowly.
“Oh yeah. I didn’t think of that before, but you’re right. If he’s happy for you to work here, he’s got rocks in his head,” said Aimee.
Siyandra moved to one of the other beds and sat on the side of it. “Why? What’s wrong with this place? People come here, they eat, they drink, they party. Maybe they go into one of the private rooms but so what? They’re all consenting adults.”
“There’s consenting, and then again there’s consenting,” said Aimee darkly. And that was the end of the conversation.
* * * *
Justin hated that Siyandra was at the BDSM club and there was nothing he could do about it. It was all very well for her to say it would belong to the Cooper’s Farm pack very soon. But the clear fact was that it didn’t belong to them yet. They’d signed the paperwork for Tom Moore’s majority share but there was a cooling off period to wait through yet, and they were all hoping the name of the minority partner was revealed before they took control formally.
Cooper was planning to keep the pack’s ownership of the place quiet until they had taken full control but it wasn’t necessarily going to be able to happen. Once the word was out that Moore had sold his share, the minority partner would begin pushing Cooper for changes and the pack wasn’t going to agree to them. In fact, Purvis and Heath would be pushing back in the other direction to wind back the minority partner’s changes as fast as possible. It could get messy and Siyandra was going to be right in the middle of it all.
At least from eight in the morning until five in the afternoon he was way too busy to dwell on what Siyandra was doing. But after that his skin began to itch with the need to talk to her, to touch her, to know she was safe. And he couldn’t. She’d made them promise not to phone or text her in case someone else read her cell phone messages. It wasn’t like she could keep her cell phone on her when she was working.
That night he said to Nathanael, “Let’s go to the BDSM club. I want to see her even if I can’t speak to her or touch her.”
“That’s not a good idea. What’ll you do if some man does touch her? Getting arrested or sent to jail for assault isn’t going to help her at all.”
“I won’t lose my cool. You’re more likely to go apeshit than I am.” Justin stared at Nathanael. That w
as true. He as the more Dominant of the two of them, although Justin had to admit he felt very possessive around Siyandra. She belonged to the three of them and no one else.
“Okay, how about this for a plan then. We’ll go with Heath and Purvis. If we stay with them we’ll learn a hell of a lot about the club, and will be less tempted to get possessive or cause trouble.”
“Deal. Who’ll call them, you or me?”
“I will.”
Justin waited while Nathanael made the call then said, “They were just about to go. I said we’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
He and Nathanael went into their own rooms and got changed. For some reason Justin always felt the clothes he’d been wearing all day at work weren’t right to wear to go out. And yet the clothes he changed into were ones he also wore to work. It was crazy, but he had to change when he was going somewhere. Besides, he might see Siyandra. His dick jumped at the thought. Down boy. No fucking for you today, unfortunately. But even seeing her will be good.
Once they’d arrived, Heath and Purvis moved through the various rooms at the BDSM club with smooth confidence and Justin realized just how much effort they must have been putting into learning everything about the place. The building seemed reasonably large from the outside, but not huge. Yet it covered five levels with staff workrooms and a laundry on the lowest level, then dungeons, party rooms, and bedrooms. When he stopped to think, it was a huge enterprise with dozens of staff to keep it running. He’d been thinking of it as a sort of community party, but it was a lot more involved than that. He was glad Cooper had chosen Purvis and Heath to learn all about it and manage it, rather than him.
But that just proved how well Cooper knew all of his pack. He knew where each man’s talents and abilities lay, and that was why he was such a good leader. He matched the person to the task and the results proved he’d gotten it right.
Justin kept his hands in his pockets as he followed the other men from room to room. He watched Heath and Purvis drift around each room, looking at everything, yet speaking seldom. He stood by the wall with Nathanael, trying to understand what they were looking for.
There were no signs of fighting or illegal activities. Were they looking for drugs? For women—or even men—here against their will?
A couple of times Heath and Purvis exchanged cryptic comments, but Justin had no idea what they were talking about. He wondered if it was some kind of code they used. Speaking in code would be good, so anyone misbehaving wouldn’t have any warning that Heath and Purvis had found them out.
I wonder if the rooms are bugged? Surely not. There’s so much noise in some of them no electronic listening device would have a hope of recording anything meaningful. All the public rooms did have CCTV. He guessed the managers and security guards would be watching the TVs for any signs of illegal activities or trouble.
When they finally reached the restaurant and bar Heath headed one way and Purvis the other. Nathanael followed Heath, so he trailed after Purvis to a distant corner of the restaurant. The busiest tables were the ones overlooking the stage and dance floor, but from where Purvis sat he had an excellent view of the customers. Justin moved his chair so he was looking out at the room as well. Once again the tables had been packed very close together and the servers had a lot of trouble getting between the chairs with their trays of food and drinks.
With a shock, he realized one of the women was the blonde who’d been beaten. She was the only one there whose uniform had fabric covering her back. He tried to remember when Zoan and Yaro had visited the club and seen her being punished but he couldn’t pinpoint the date. He did know it was weeks ago. Possibly even a month. Her back should have healed long ago. Had she been beaten again? Or had the damage been so bad she was scarred? Dammit the man who whipped her should have been jailed for abuse.
A very thin male server made his way back to them and took their order. Purvis asked for a light ale and Justin for a virgin Mary. This wasn’t the time to lose his concentration. They sat and sipped their drinks slowly. Justin could tell Purvis was making his last for a reason. Justin just hoped he would catch a glimpse of Siyandra before Purvis decided it was time to leave.
His attention was caught by a loudly argumentative short, fat man. He’d grabbed the arm of his server and was red-faced with anger about something, but they were too far away for him to hear what was being said. Or likely shouted. Then Siyandra joined the group, standing right in the angry man’s personal space and batting her eyelashes at him. She loosened his hold on the blonde and pushed the girl behind her, then spoke to the angry man again. He pulled out his wallet and handed her some money but Siyandra just kept staring at him. His face reddened farther as her handed her more money and she smiled happily at him and walked away.
The blonde was standing by the bar. Siyandra handed her the money and gave her a gentle shove. The blonde shook her head, but when Siyandra pushed her again, she disappeared behind the counter.
“What the fuck was that all about?” Justin asked.
“I’ll tell you later.” Purvis stood up and slowly made his way between the crowded tables. Justin left the last of his drink and followed him. By the time they reached the angry man’s table those people had left and Justin could see them skirting the dance floor on the lower level. Heath and Nathanael were right behind them.
Ooo-kay. That man must have caused trouble before. But who the fuck is he?
Chapter Six
Nathanael had been watching Siyandra for a while. The tables she was serving were on the lower level, behind the bar, and she had to walk up and down the stairs every time she took an order or collected a drink. He just knew she’d be thrilled about that. He knew his woman wasn’t a fan of stairs at any time. Still, she was smiling and looked happy, so he guessed she was enjoying herself so it was all good.
He saw her glance at the upper level from time to time, but assumed she was just watching to see when her orders were ready or something, until he saw her move quite quickly and walk between the tables to stand beside a slender blonde woman server. Oh! The one who was hurt perhaps.
He watched the entire scene and was filled with pride in her courage at standing up for her colleague against the argumentative man. And then getting a tip from him as well. He had to bite his lip not to laugh at that.
“Let’s go,” said Heath softly. Hastily he stood up and dropped a tip on the table before following Heath away from the tables to the edge of the dance floor. What the fuck? I’m not dancing with anyone.
But no. Heath was just waiting it seemed. When the argumentative man and his companions appeared, Heath wandered along behind them, following them until it was quite clear they were leaving the club.
Nathanael had a dozen questions hovering on the tip of his tongue but knew this was definitely not the place to ask any of them. He also had a desperate need to pull Siyandra into his arms and beg her to stay there all night. However, his heart was bursting with pride for his woman who had rescued her colleague from a potentially embarrassing situation with nothing more than the flutter of her eyelashes and brazen self-confidence. If he was a woman wearing a skimpy outfit in a BDSM club, he wasn’t at all sure he’d have had the balls to do what she’d just done. And she’d made it look so ordinary and easy. His woman was truly someone very special indeed. And it seemed she was enjoying this new job of hers, dammit. But her absence from his bed was an ache in his soul that would only be assuaged when she was back where she belonged—with her men—again.
Nathanael wondered if they’d be going home now, but it seemed not. They wandered through the public rooms again, had a plate of nachos each in the restaurant, watched the late show, then finally left to go home. He caught glimpses of Siyandra from time to time, carrying drinks and food to patrons, smiling, laughing, and tucking tips in her bra. She seemed perfectly happy and relaxed. But he saw no sign of the blonde at all.
Once they were all in Purvis’s car and heading back out of town Nathanael asked the question th
at had been burning inside him for hours now. “Who was the argumentative man and what happened?”
“The short answer is we don’t know,” said Heath who was driving.
“And the long answer?” asked Justin.
“Heath and I have been wondering if some of the club’s clients have been promised extended privileges with some of the staff but either the staff have changed their minds or the clients ask the wrong staff members.”
“I see. And then they get angry when they don’t get their blow job, or lap dance, or whatever.”
“Yes.”
That made sense. They talked about it some more on the way home but he had a lot to think about and he was too tired to tease out thoughts and ideas right now. When they all arrived back at the farm he was more than ready for bed. He had to be at work in less than seven hours and he missed Siyandra. She’d been with them such a short time, but her absence was like an open wound in his heart.
* * * *
By the time the club closed at 3:00 a.m., Siyandra was so tired she could hardly walk up the last flight of steps to the women’s apartment. “Fucking stairs,” she groaned as she began the final staircase.
She tapped on the door, the little window opened and Aimee let her in. “I’m sorry you had to stay awake for me,” she apologized, dropping to the floor, pulling off her shoes and massaging her toes.
“Not a problem. How did it go?”
“I must have walked up those steps between the dance floor and the bar a thousand trillion times.”
“The newbie always gets those tables to serve.”
“Well, the sooner a newer newbie joins up, the better. Though I did okay in tips. At least, I think I did. I haven’t counted it.” She let go of her foot and began pulling the money from her bra, rummaging around under her breasts for the last few notes before uncrumpling them and counting them. There were a lot of ones and twos and handful of fives and a single ten. “Shit. That’s almost sixty dollars. Sixty dollars!”
