by Jamie Begley
Vida glanced up when the door opened and Seth entered, wearing a sheepish expression on his face.
“Hi, Vida.”
“Seth.” Vida’s voice was cool. The hurt she had experienced when he had left after learning she was a stripper was evident.
Vida watched as he blushed at her cool reception.
“I know you’re angry, Vida, but I’m hoping we can go out to lunch and talk, please. We don’t have to go far, just across the street. I’d like to explain.” Seth’s apologetic gaze had her hesitating in giving her refusal. She had liked Seth and thought they had become friends. She hadn’t thought that he would have been the type to turn his back on someone because they might not live up to his standards.
“I don’t know,” Vida tried to prevaricate.
“Please, Vida. If not lunch, then how about a cup of coffee? My treat. I really would like to explain why I was a jackass.”
“Let me tell Colton I’m leaving for lunch,” Vida gave in.
Carlito, escorting his customer out of his room, said he heard her. “I can watch the desk. I’ll tell Colton when he comes out.”
Vida hesitated, thinking she should tell Colton, but knew he didn’t like to be interrupted during a session. “Okay. Thanks, Carlito.”
Vida and Seth walked across the street to the coffee shop where Vida sat at the table while Seth braved the long lunch line to get them a couple of coffees. Vida wasn’t hungry and didn’t want to be away from the shop too long. Something told her Colton wasn’t going to be too happy to learn that she had left the safety of the shop to be alone with Seth. She actually wasn’t too certain it was a smart idea herself.
Seth sat down across from her, giving her the cup of coffee she had asked for with packets of sugar.
Vida took a drink of the sweet coffee, looking over the brim of the cup at Seth who was staring at the customers sitting at tables surrounding them. He looked back, catching her eyes on him. He seemed different since leaving the shop. More assured and confident, his shyness was gone and he was meeting her gaze directly.
The cautious feeling Vida had was becoming a definite twinge of fear as she could see the dramatic change in Seth.
“Don’t be afraid of me, Vida. I’m here to help you.” The self-assured voice trying to calm her was a far cry from the diffident tone she usually heard from him.
“How can you help me, Seth?” Vida tried to loosen her tight grip on her cup, afraid she was going to burn herself if she wasn’t careful.
“I’m an undercover agent, working to get back Sawyer and several other women like her that have been taken against their will.” Seth reached into his pocket and as best he could, without drawing attention to what he was doing, showed her his badge.
“You’re with the FBI?” Vida stared at him in disbelief.
Vida couldn’t believe that Seth was a FBI agent. He looked like he was still in high school.
“The FBI has been trying to shut down Digger for years. Every time we get close, he manages to wiggle his way out of it or get information he’s about to be arrested, and moves the women to another location. He’s responsible for a pipeline, not only of illegal drugs, but he also uses that same route to sell women.”
Vida was sick to her stomach that she was ever in the vicinity of the man that Seth was discussing, becoming even more thankful to Colton and the Predators for saving her.
Seth leaned closer, lowering his voice. “We’re getting closer. We managed to shut down his informant on the force so, if we could find the location where he’s keeping the woman, we can get a conviction this time.”
“Thank God.”
“That’s why they wanted me to make friends with you. To find out what you and King know. The day in your shop, I recognized the friend of Colton’s that came in. I think I got out of there before he recognized me, but I don’t know. Max is a hard ass and not much gets by him. After I talked to the task force, we decided it was worth letting you know about the operation so that we could ask for your help in finding the women.”
“Me? How can I find out where the women are? I really, really don’t want to play bait and have you following me. I don’t think those scenarios turn out too well.”
Seth laughed while still retaining his serious expression. That convinced Vida more than his badge that he was telling her the truth.
“You’ve been watching too much television. I wouldn’t place your safety in danger to that extent. What we need from you is to do what you have been doing until recently, go to King’s and try to get what we need out of Briggs.”
“How do you know what I’ve been doing with Brigg’s?” Vida’s asked.
Seth remained quiet, taking a drink from his coffee.
Realization dawned on Vida.
“You have King’s place bugged?”
“I can’t reveal how we know what you’ve been up to, only that we know. It’s because of your prying that we’ve learned as much as we have.”
“I was scheduled to dance tonight, but Colton cancelled with King.”
“We know. That’s why we want you to call King and tell him that you want to work tonight. Briggs is expecting you there, and after they kidnapped you, he’s going to try to convince you to trust him. We’re hoping he tries to convince you by letting a little too much slip with your probing,” Seth said tactfully. Vida understood that his tact with using “probing” actually meant “while you’re grinding your ass on his lap”.
“I’ll tell Colton…”
Seth shook his head. “No, he has several connections that aren’t trustworthy. If he isn’t careful, he could let information out that leaks back to Digger. Digger has a few friends left in the Predators, not many, but a few that would warn him. You’ve managed, hopefully, to get Sawyer back, but you don’t know for sure. This gets us closer and will help those women that aren’t ever going to get found without your help.”
Vida only had one recourse, and that was to do as he asked. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if Sawyer wasn’t returned, and she had an opportunity to help other women in the same horrific situation.
“I’ll help, but I don’t know what I’ll tell King or Colton,” Vida agreed.
“Think of something, anything, but keep the focus off Briggs,” Seth told her.
“All right, I’ll do my best. I better get back,” Vida said, standing up.
“Thanks, Vida. You have my number if anything happens, and if you need my help, just call. Be careful. Don’t underestimate, Briggs. He’s as dangerous as Digger.” His warning had her pausing at the concerned look on his face.
“I know.” Vida still remembered Briggs’s reaction when Digger had told him to take her to his bedroom. He had planned to use her also.
Vida shuddered at the lucky escape she’d had. Sawyer hadn’t been so fortunate. Vida prayed against all odds that whoever had her wasn’t treating her badly.
Vida crossed the street, leaving Seth at the coffee shop while she tried to decide what to do because she was afraid that, if she chose wrong, Sawyer’s life would be the price of her failure.
Chapter Fifteen
Colton was staring out the window when she entered the tattoo shop, making no pretence that he had been watching her, or that he was angry with her.
Taking her arm, he led her into his room and then closed the door.
“What were you thinking of leaving the shop without telling me? One of Digger’s men could have grabbed you.” His hard voice left no doubt in Vida’s mind of his concern for her safety. It convinced Vida of what the best course of action she should take.
“Colton, calm down. I need to tell you something.” Quickly as possible, she told Colton about her conversation with Seth, including the part about Digger still having friends in the Predators.
Colton sat down on his stool, deep in thought. “He’s right, I know of a couple and a few more might even be in with him and are just playing it cool so that no one knows of their involvement with Digger’s acti
vities. The Predators are not exactly law abiding, but they don’t go for selling women against their will.”
“What should I do? I don’t want to jeopardize Sawyer’s safety, but I can’t simply not help those other women, either.”
“Did Seth say my shop is bugged?” Colton asked.
“I didn’t think to ask,” Vida confessed, angry with herself.
“I don’t think it is, but I don’t want to tip the FBI off to what we’re going to do.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Talk to King.” Colton wrote the words down on his drawing pad. Vida agreed. King had offered his help before anyone else, including the police.
“Go back out front,” he said while he continued to write. “I’ll call King and set up a meeting,” he wrote.
Vida started to open the door, but Colton’s voice had her pausing and looking back towards him.
“Don’t go off alone again, Vida.” Hearing the threat in his voice, she nodded her agreement before slipping out the door and closing it behind her.
The rest of the day was slow. Tessa and Carlito left early when no other clients came in and they had finished with their scheduled appointments.
“Let’s go.” Colton was leaning against the counter. “Reverend said he would close up the shop.”
Vida rose from her chair when Tessa came back in the door. They both tensed, expecting the woman to pick up where the argument ended this morning. Instead, she walked directly to Colton and handed him a sealed envelope.
“I signed the divorce papers. I took them by your lawyer’s office. That’s a copy of them.” Her face was expressionless, but Vida could tell by the pain in her eyes how badly she was hurting.
Colton’s hand gripped the envelope. “Thanks, Tessa.”
Tessa shrugged. “It’s obvious you’re moving on with several women.” Turning around, she left them, leaving them in the silence of her sudden departure.
Vida started to say something then closed her mouth, not knowing exactly what to say. The end of a marriage was never a good thing. It was the ending of a dream that two people shared in that moment, Vida could tell that Colton had cared for Tessa at one time and had tried to save his marriage. He’d even gone to prison, still trying to hold it together and protect his child.
Vida came to the conclusion in that moment that he wasn’t like the men her mother had attached herself to. Colton, when he had decided to marry, had committed himself and given it every chance. It was Tessa who, despite her last harsh words at parting, had turned her back on their marriage.
Colton unlocked the apartment door, holding it open for Vida to enter. Vida came to a standstill when she saw King sitting on the chair in the room.
Colton’s brow rose as he came in the door, closing it behind him.
“How many keys to this apartment are floating around?” he asked King.
King gave him a smile. “I didn’t use a key.”
“Figures, you might not want to draw attention to your talent of B and E with the cops listening in to your every move.”
The smile disappeared in a flash. “What do you mean by that remark?”
Colton and Vida both sat down on the couch and went over the talk that Seth had with Vida earlier in the day.
Vida watched as King’s impassive face turned angry when he found out his club had been bugged and was under police surveillance.
“What do you think we should do?” Vida asked before he could become too angry, wanting him to focus on how to keep Sawyer safe. King rose from the chair, going to the window and staring out for several minutes before turning back to them.
“I’m afraid they’re right. The only way to stop Digger is to let the FBI have him.” King put his hands in his pockets and stared at Vida. “Looks like Trouble will be taking the stage one last time.”
Vida looked unhappily back at King. She had known all along it was the best course of action to take, but it wasn’t going to make it any easier going on that stage to perform.
“Do you think Briggs will slip up?” Vida asked.
“I don’t know. He’s pretty loyal to Digger,” Colton told her.
“Let’s see if we can’t help that along then. He likes to drink while he watches you on the stage. I’ll make sure his glass doesn’t stay empty, so that, by the time he gets his lap dance, he might not be in a clear-headed frame of mind.” King plotted Briggs’s downfall.
“That might help. You could also get a couple of the shot girls to pay him some extra attention, have him worked up.” King’s mouth twitched into a grin at Colton’s suggestion.
“How are you going to keep him under control when you want to get away? The worst thing you could do is let him know he slipped up, and realizing it when one of the men have to pull him off you,” King asked Vida.
“Let me handle that. I have an idea that might work,” Colton answered for her.
“I’ll leave that in your hands then. Good luck, Vida.” King walked towards the door. “I need to get back to the club; I have to find someone to debug it tomorrow. When I find out who placed them in the first place, they are going to be fucked up,” he stated ruthlessly.
“King, they couldn’t find anything to get you for, could they?” Vida would feel terrible if King ended up in prison when he had offered to help. Vida didn’t know how many of his activities were illegal, yet she was sure that he didn’t always stay within the limits of the law.
“Don’t worry about it, Vida. They have bigger fish to fry besides me.” Vida wasn’t so sure, however she had to let it go. King wasn’t about to discuss his business with her, now or ever. Vida didn’t know if anyone knew the complexities of King’s business other than the man himself.
Colton locked the door behind King, glancing at his watch. “You need to start getting ready.”
“All right.” She gathered her clothes, trying not to be upset that King had looked more upset about her having to strip again than Colton had. He had claimed to care about her, yet he didn’t seem the least perturbed about how she would be giving a private lap dance later that night.
Vida showered, making sure she shaved and moisturized her skin with the expensive smelling lotion that Sherri had told her drove the men crazy. Vida thought it was a little heady, but Sherri said that men found it sensual. Her boyfriend always provided her insights into a male’s point-of-view and she had passed on the information to Vida.
Blowing out her hair until it lay straight and silky against her back, Vida dressed in a thick pair of sweats and a long sleeved t-shirt as the night would be cool on the back of Colton’s bike. Deciding to wear the red outfit for the last time, she packed her bag and left the bathroom.
The living room and kitchen were empty. Fixing herself some soup, she heard Colton go into the shower. Pouring the hot soup into bowls and making a couple of fresh salads she sat down just as Colton came into the room, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. Vida spooned some of her soup into her suddenly dry mouth. It wasn’t fair that he was so sexy without the least effort. He had grown a small goatee and it only made him appear more like a bad boy biker, especially since the t-shirt was short sleeved and showed off his tats.
He sat down at the table and began eating, seeming as preoccupied as she did. Vida couldn’t help wondering if he was regretting his divorce now that it was final. Not liking the feeling in her stomach when she discovered that she cared that he might regret his decision.
“Feeling nervous?” Vida smoothed out her expression at Colton’s question.
“Not really. It’s not like it’s my first time.” Vida blushed when she realized her choice of words.
Colton tried to smother his laughter. “Was it bad?”
Vida shuddered, remembering. “It was a joke. I’m surprised the men didn’t ask for their cover charge back.”
“It couldn’t have been that bad.”
“It took my dance, and two other women’s turns on the stage to just get my top off. It was a nightmare. Wh
en it was over, I cried for two hours straight. You don’t even want to know about my first lap dance. King did have to refund the man his money for that one.”
This time Colton couldn’t hold back his laughter. Rising to his feet, he took their dirty dishes to the sink.
Vida stood up, going to get her bag, but Colton forestalled her by taking her hand. “I’m not happy letting you do this, but I know you feel that you need to do this for Sawyer and the other women. No more after tonight, though,” Colton forewarned her.
“Maybe the club won’t be busy tonight.” Vida hoped she was right.
“It’s Friday, and all the horny men with no dates who want something to jerk of to will be there,” he said sarcastically.
“Gee, thanks, I’ll have that picture in my head now while I’m dancing.”
“You better not be thinking of any of them fuckwads jerking off. I’ll be there. Pretend it’s just me you’re dancing for.”
“I don’t think that will make it any easier,” Vida said under her breath, not wanting to confess his presence would make her even more nervous.
“What?” Colton asked with a smile.
His arrogant attitude reminded her of the addition to her tattoo. “Why did you put your initials in my tattoo?”
Colton lost his smile becoming serious. “Because when other men look at you, both of us will know who you really belong to, Vida.”
“I don’t belong to you,” she protested.
“Baby, when you’re on that stage tonight and I want to kill one of those motherfuckers staring at you, the only thing holding me back will be when I see my mark on you.”
“Oh.” Vida stared at his composed expression, sensing the lethal intent buried just below the surface.
“We done?” Vida nodded her head. “Let’s go.” She followed Colton out the door, dreading the next few hours.
It was going to be hard to go back on that stage when she had been so overjoyed that she was free from the humiliating experience. The lap dance she looked at with even more trepidation of having to be so close to Briggs. She really hated him and knew if he thought he could get away with it, he would take her, with or without her consent.
