Tough Guy: A Hero Club Novel

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  Miles texted when I was in the car. My phone read the text to me over the rental car’s speakers.

  Good Morning, beautiful. Can you get here around three and we can drive up to Pahrump?

  It was ten a.m. now.

  Instead of texting him back, I called. I needed to hear his voice. He was the only one I could tell this to without dealing with backlash and baggage. The hands-free dialed out for me.

  “Hi,” I said when he picked up. “Do you have a minute?”

  “Is everything all right?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Do you need me to come over?”

  I smiled. “I needed you last night.”

  “I’m sorry. The jerks at the gas company took their sweet-ass time. It was after dawn by the time they cleared the place.”

  “I wouldn’t have minded being woken up by you.” At a stoplight, I stared at my nails critically. I should have gotten a mani-pedi the moment I arrived. Hopefully, no one would notice.

  “I wouldn’t have been at my best.”

  I shivered at the rough tone of his voice.

  “You could come over now,” he said. “I’ll make you some breakfast.”

  “I’ve already eaten.”

  “Perfect. Then I’ll have you for breakfast.”

  Swallowing hard, I shifted in the driver’s seat. “Sounds great, but I’m going to have to take a rain check.”

  “You better not be in Pahrump already,” he growled.

  “I’m not. I’m actually going to the Odyssey casino right now.”

  “I didn’t think they were open.”

  “They’re not, but they’re auditioning for their new show Travesty and . . . I’m going to give it a shot.” I had to lower the volume at his whoop of encouragement.

  “You’re going to blow them all away,” he said.

  “That’s the plan. If I can stop shaking.”

  “I wish I could be there to cheer you on.”

  Damn, had anyone ever said that to me? “I’m scared.”

  “You’ve got nothing to worry about. You know how these things go. You’ve done auditions before. Just go out there and show them that star quality that you showed us last night. Only keep your clothes on.”

  I had to laugh. “They wouldn’t blink an eye if I went out there naked.”

  “I doubt that. You’re going to slay them, sweetheart. What are you going to do if you get the part?”

  “I won’t. They’ll do a callback.” At least, I thought they would. “Anyway, I can’t think about that right now. I just have to get through the audition first.”

  “I’ll be here waiting for you. You can do this, Jackie. You’re an amazing dancer.”

  If I didn’t throw up or trip or break an ankle learning the combination.

  “Say something, gorgeous, so I know you’re still breathing.”

  “I’m here.”

  “You’ve got this. Put Lisa and all the other bullshit out of your mind and take the stage like you did yesterday.”

  “I’ve got to be Las Vegas Jackie, not New York Jackie,” I muttered.

  “Right. Whatever that means.”

  “Okay, thanks Miles.” I took a deep breath and straightened my shoulders.

  “Thanks for what?”

  “For talking me off the ledge. I needed that.”

  “Always.”

  Always. I’d known him less than a week and he’d supported me more than my family had my entire life. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to fall for him hard. Who was I kidding? If bouncers had wall calendars like Australian soccer players, Miles would be my Mr. February.

  “I can’t wait to see you today,” I said.

  “Come as soon as you’re free.”

  “I hope to,” I said as flirtatiously as I could.

  “Mmm, you will,” he promised and then hung up.

  Great, now I was all hot and bothered. Following Mags’s instructions, I parked in the Odyssey’s employee parking lot. I checked my makeup. I was wearing dark lipstick and went light on everything else. I didn’t want to risk looking like a raccoon or sweating my foundation all over my white T-shirt.

  “Just another audition,” I told myself in the rearview mirror. “It means nothing. It’s not like you’re going to take the job. You’re here to cross something off your bucket list.” I looked up at the casino. “Even if they don’t call me back, I can still say I danced on stage in Vegas.” Of course, I’d done that last night. But this was a little more official. I wouldn’t have to take my clothes off.

  Getting out of the car, I made my way to stage door C and met up with a bored-looking man wearing a headset and carrying a clipboard.

  “Name,” he droned.

  “Jackie Mitchell from the Zimmerman Agency.” I held my breath as he frowned at his list.

  “Got a Lisa Mitchell.”

  “Lisa?” I deliberately raised my voice. “Oh no. That’s my sister. They sent the wrong file.” I put an edge of hysteria in my voice.

  He held up a hand and winced. “You have your portfolio?”

  “I can e-mail it.” I showed him my phone.

  “Fine,” he droned again. He crossed off Lisa and put Jackie on his list. “Send it here.” He pointed to the address at the top of the clipboard.

  “Sent,” I said breathlessly. I hoped this was going to work.

  He opened up his own phone and after a moment nodded. “Down the hall. Third room on the left. Stash your bag and phone in the locker and then head out to the stage. Take a right out of the dressing room and keep going. You’ll find it.”

  I was in. My knees wobbled as I went to the locker room. Time for Las Vegas Jackie to shine—or fail.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Miles Carvello

  I was happy for Jackie. It was pure selfishness that I hoped she got the job and stayed awhile in Vegas. The past week had been the best I’d had in a long time. She made things seem fresh and fun again. She reminded me that there was a world outside of Dalton’s. I was looking forward to seeing her reaction to the Moondust Cherry Ranch, but brothels weren’t really my thing. While I could see the appeal of the lack of strings attached when quick sex was a transaction, I imagined it got old really fast. I could save myself a grand by jacking off to online porn and get the same satisfaction.

  In my experience with cathouses and the women who worked them, there were three types of hookers. The ones there to make as much money as possible in a short period of time gave good customer service, but nickel-and-dimed everything. The damaged ones looked for love and acceptance and got what they could from pleasing the customer. They did whatever it took to give the client a good time and keep them spending money because it made the house happy and it made her feel valued. And then there were the ones that liked sex and getting paid for it. They got paid for having fun. The last type were few and far between, no matter what hype the madam and her girls told you. And after listening to their mothers, I’d put Dee as a number one and Jackie’s sister as a number two—if she had made the jump to prostitute.

  Grier was late and, while I appreciated that his undercover status made his schedule flexible, I wanted our business over and done with by the time Jackie came back from her audition. I knew she would be eager to get on the road to find out about her sister, but I was eager to spend some time making love to her first. And it seemed like she felt the same.

  Liu and his cousins were in the kitchen making something delicious and I hoped Jackie wouldn’t think I was a cheapskate if I recommended we eat here before heading out. I wanted more intimate moments with her, like being in my apartment alone instead of surrounded by a hundred other people in a restaurant.

  Miranda was lazily swaying around the pole when I went out to check on things. Grier was there at the front table, nursing a beer and a plate of nachos.

  “You could have texted me that you were here.”

  “I wanted to enjoy the show,” he said, not taking his eyes off Miranda.

&nbs
p; Miranda couldn’t dance worth a squat, but her body was banging. The music was low, and the lights were high because it was early in the day.

  “You might want to have a talk with her, though. She’s flashed me the goods a few times.”

  I glared up at Miranda. She was looking at a two-thousand-dollar fine if she didn’t keep her bits covered. “Dip you tip her?”

  “A twenty both times.” He grinned at me. “So you know I won’t bust her because that could be entrapment.”

  “Stop leading my dancers into temptation.”

  “I think I’m in love. Lighten up.”

  “I can’t. Did you hear what happened last night?” I thanked Jilly, his waitress, when she came over with my usual club soda and lime.

  “Yeah, from what I gathered some asshole sprayed something that smelled like gas and people panicked and you got shut down.” Grier couldn’t take his eyes off Miranda. I was pretty sure she wasn’t going to flash him again while I was sitting there.

  “Let’s go back into my office and I’ll tell you why I think that might be related to a few findings I’ve had this week.”

  Grier held up another twenty and Miranda hopped down from the stage. It never failed to amaze me that she did that in five-inch heels.

  “Do you want a lap dance?” she purred.

  “Later.” He tucked the bill into her G-string and if his fingers lingered a bit, neither one of them minded.

  I headed over to my office. Grier knew the way. I had a moment to wish Jackie were here as I sat behind my desk. Grier walked in a few minutes later and closed the door behind him.

  “Why am I here?” he asked, sitting in the armchair across from me. He still had half a beer, so I tossed him a coaster while I told him about Ginny selling drugs to frat boys in the dressing room and finding the stash in Paulie’s locker.

  “Let me see the haul.”

  I opened the safe and handed over the pistol and the drugs. “This was what I found in the locker.” Grier frowned and turned the bags over and over while he looked at them. He opened the one with the pills and squinted at the capsule. Then he took the powder and tentatively sniffed. Turning away, he sneezed into his shoulder.

  “You made me come out here special for this shit? At least Miranda made it worth the trip,” he said.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “There’s not enough weed here to make a profit. The powder could have traces of coke in it, but it’s mostly talc and I’m pretty sure these are over-the-counter allergy meds.” He waved the bag of pills.

  “What the crap?”

  “I’ll run a trace on the pistol, but I don’t think it will give us anything. Someone was either setting Paulie up or is fucking with you. Let me see Ginny’s stash.”

  Getting the smaller baggies out of the safe, I looked them over and then tossed them to him. It seemed like the same shit to me. “Why would they be setting Paulie up?”

  “To get heat taken off of them. Because Paulie pissed them off. There’s a whole host of reasons.” He pocketed the pistol.

  I watched as Grier compared the two sets of drugs.

  “This shit is real. I’ll see if I can trace them back to a known batch.” Leaning back in his chair. “You shouldn’t have fired Ginny.”

  “I wasn’t thinking. I was pissed.”

  “Is there any way she’d come back?”

  I made a face. “Maybe if I kissed her ass and begged.”

  “Do it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she’ll behave for a few weeks and then get right back into it. And then I’ll send a frat boy of my own choosing to buy from her and we’ll see if she’ll make a deal.”

  “You can pick her up right now based on this stuff, right? I caught her in the act. That’s possession and intent to sell right there.”

  Grier held up a hand. “Settle down, Columbo. It’s not that easy. It would be your word against hers. You didn’t actually see money exchange hands, did you?”

  “No,” I admitted.

  “Did you get the little frat asshole’s name and number?”

  “No.”

  “Then a competent lawyer would argue that the drugs were his and she’d walk.”

  “Fuck.” I rubbed my hand over my face.

  “Get Ginny back here and we can try again.” Grier got up to leave. I walked him to the door. Scrolling through my phone, I hoped I had deleted Ginny’s number so I wouldn’t have to call her. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that organized.

  Opening the door for him, I said, “I’ll give her a call and grovel.”

  “Do that. And if you get any more like this,” he shook the baggies, “give me a call. Oh, excuse me, Miss.”

  I looked up from dialing Ginny and saw Jackie standing there, stunned as Grier moved around her and went back into club.

  “How did it go?” I asked.

  She turned on her heel and stormed away.

  “Jackie, wait!”

  Ginny took that moment to answer the phone. “I knew you’d call.”

  Fuck. I wanted to go after Jackie, but I needed to get on Ginny’s good side first. “Yeah, look. I’m sorry. I was a dick that night. If you still want a job, you got it.” That ought to be enough, right?

  “Just like that?”

  “Don’t break my balls.” I watched as Jackie stormed past Grier and out of the club. Fuck.

  “I don’t want to work Sundays. I want prime time Friday and Saturday.”

  “Fine,” I bit out, telling myself I was doing this so Grier would share information with me.

  “And I want to negotiate your percentage,” she said.

  “My percentage is fair,” I said. If word got out that I was willing to drop my cut, I’d be in a load of trouble. “I don’t charge a house fee or make you tip out.”

  Although most of the dancers did tip the bus staff, DJs, and bouncers at the end of the night.

  “You owe me for being mean to me,” she wheedled.

  I had to get this bitch off the phone and go after Jackie. “If you want the job be here Friday night. If not, don’t. You’re getting the same fifty-fifty split as all the other girls, though.”

  “I’ll think about it.” She hung up on me.

  I rushed through the bar after Jackie.

  Jackie Mitchell

  Oh my God. Miles was a drug dealer. I barely made it to my car before I started to cry. How could I have been so stupid? I pulled out into traffic and headed back to the Strip. I’d go to Pahrump on my own. I should have known better than to get so involved before I knew a thing about Miles aside from the fact he fucked like a Greek god. I didn’t even get a chance to tell him about the audition. I realized I was too upset to drive, so I pulled into a parking garage until I got under control.

  Did Lisa leave Dalton’s because she didn’t want to be involved with the drug scene?

  Miles was blowing up my phone, but I didn’t want to deal with him right now. Damn it. All I wanted was to ride the buzz of my audition for a little while and have some hot sex with a man I really liked before I had to drive two hours to track down Lisa. I didn’t even know him. And I had no one to blame, but Las Vegas Jackie.

  My stomach growled loudly, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. I’d danced my ass off at the audition, so those calories were long gone. Getting out of the car, I decided to grab a late lunch and a few cups of coffee before heading out. Walking down the Strip, I barely registered the sights, but when a convertible started beeping the horn at me it jolted me out of my thoughts. At first glance it was filled with obnoxious, but gorgeous men. I did a double take until I recognized Chance at the wheel. He pulled to the curb, pissing off everyone on the road, but he didn’t care.

  “Want a ride, luv?” he asked, grinning at me.

  “Are all Australian men hot? Is it like a requirement for living in the country?”

  “Yes.” He nodded. “Get in.”

  “I don’t think there’s room for me.”

&
nbsp; “I’ll make one of these wankers walk.” Then he looked at me closer. “Have you been crying?”

  “No,” I said.

  Chance put the car in park and hopped out.

  “You can’t park there,” I said.

  The guys in the car did vehicular musical chairs and the new driver took off while the others gave Chance obscene gestures and called him vulgar names. He flipped them off as they sped away.

  “They just stranded you,” I said.

  “I’ll catch up.” He took hold of my elbow. “Now tell me who made you cry so I can kick his arse.”

  “Miles,” I said.

  “He’s a tough bloke,” Chance said. “And he hits like a fucking sledgehammer. Before I go toe-to-toe with him, do you mind telling me what he did?”

  “I don’t know where to start,” I said helplessly.

  “Where are you heading?”

  “I was going to get something to eat.”

  “Bonzer. I know the perfect place. Do you like drag queens?”

  “Who doesn’t?”

  A few minutes later, we were being serenaded by dual Chers singing Abba. I had an enormous iced coffee in front of me with shaved chocolate chips and real whipped cream. Our burgers and fries were on the way.

  “Did you find Lisa?” I asked, wishing there were a way I could inject the caffeine directly into my veins. But that made me think of Miles and that horrid scene at Dalton’s.

  “Not a trace, but I think that might be a good thing.”

  “I’m heading up there today to see if I can get a lead on where she went. Miles was going to come with me for moral support.” I looked up at Chance hopefully. “I don’t suppose you want to tag along.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t. We’re going to throw axes and joust.”

  “Sounds like a great time.”

  “I’m in it for the turkey legs the size of dinner platters.”

  The food came quickly, and I was dunking a thick steak fry into a puddle of ketchup when Chance said, “So tell me about Miles.”

  I quickly stuffed the fry in my mouth to give me time to compose myself while I chewed. “I went to Dalton’s and caught him making a drug deal.”