by Hadley Knox
The guys from Adam’s work started to arrive. Hugh, the guy who had just started with the Madam a week earlier, arrived with another stripper, a young man by the name of Kirk Manson. Kirk performed a solo act as a police officer, and Pearl found that one quite enticing. The pair of guys was accompanied by Kirk’s girlfriend Erica. I had met her twice before, but the two of us had never really talked much, but I wanted to talk to her and get her thoughts on what it was like to date a stripper. She would certainly have a much different outlook than I did because she was a stripper herself. That fact was immediately evident by the enormous breasts that somehow managed to stay inside her teeny tiny backing suit top.
Xavier and Monica arrived right behind them. I had a hard time holding back my laughter when I saw the look that Monica gave Erica. I thought they would break out into a catfight within seconds.
Jed, the baseball player arrived with Braden, the farmer. I didn’t remember seeing Braden’s performance that night at the Steel Hammer but Betsy had described it as basically tear away overalls and some erotic dance with a shovel handle. I couldn’t really see what the appeal of such a dance was, but Braden was absolutely gorgeous. He had moved here from the mid-West just a few months ago and looked fresh out of high school. All I knew about him was that he had played football and his young body was ripped from head to toe.
Ellis, one of Adam’s closest friends arrived and the two men hugged affectionately. I liked that my boyfriend was comfortable with who he was and didn’t shy away from showing his male friends affection. Betsy had her comments to make regarding the fact that Adam might be just a little gay, but she hadn’t ever made love to the man. There was no way that Adam was even one ounce gay. Still, I loved that he was so comfortable. Even with my brother Ryan and his partner Edward, Adam had been very warm. It was just one of the many hundreds of aspects of Adam that I found endearing.
Ellis had some solo performance as a business executive. From what Betsy said, his performance ended with him wearing just a tie. I didn’t have a problem admitting that he was a rather striking man, and I smiled as I wondered what he looked like in that tie.
A few other guys showed up that I didn’t know as well. I had met them once before and could only remember their names. Vladimir was the Russian immigrant who had only managed to learn a little English. He arrived with two guys, who were apparently in a relationship, unbeknownst to the hundreds of their female fans. I shook both of their hands when they walked through the door after Vladimir. Silas did some sort of lifeguard routine that I have never seen and he looked the part. He had blond hair and was possible the only man I had seen tanner than Adam. His partner, Oliver, was a tall, dark skinned man with a perfectly toned body and a smile to make any woman’s heart melt.
Ray arrived just before we put the burgers on. I smiled when he sauntered out onto the porch with his dark sunglasses down. My darling Ray, I thought affectionately. He was such a sweet man. I wished that I could get him more business because I knew that out of all the men working for me, he enjoyed the job the most.
I went inside to get the cheese for the burgers when the front door opened. Greg stepped through, holding the hand of some cute little girl. I thought ‘girl’ because she looked so young, much younger than the mid-thirty category that I so recently graced. Her long blonde hair was pulled back up into a ponytail, and she didn’t wear a bit of makeup.
“Hey, Lana,” Greg said.
“Hello,” I said in my best fake-warm tone that I could muster.
When I approached them, I held out my right hand to the girl.
“Hi, I’m Lana,” I said.
“This is Chloe,” Greg said as I shook her hand.
“You have a lovely home,” the girl said.
Of course, that’s what she said. Isn’t that what you’re always supposed to say when you walk into someone’s home for the first time?
“Why, thank you,” I replied through my teeth. “Everyone is out back.”
They followed me through the kitchen and out the doors of the back patio. As soon as Chloe walked outside, the party seemed to stop. Only the guys from the Steel Hammer that I didn’t know seemed uninterested.
It was like everyone there was waiting to see how I would react to Greg having a date. They all knew of our ‘relationship’ from the past, and even though we were no longer dating, they knew there would be residual effects of it.
But my dearest prince saved me from having to worry about that. He walked over, slipped an arm around my waist, and planted a kiss on the side of my forehead.
Greg made a grand introduction to everyone, as there were too many people to go one by one. Chloe seemed to blend right in and soon she was taking her shirt and shorts off to join those in the pool. Greg gave me a half smile and seemed to be studying my behavior. I brushed him off with a half-smile of my own and then continued about my business.
After we ate burgers, I joined the others in the pool. Like with most parties, cliques would break off into different areas. The kids always comprised the center of the ‘deep end clique.’ Typically Derrick and Ben were a part of that group as well. They mostly played, dunking each other under water, playing chicken by having someone get on their shoulders and trying to knock another player over. They were by far the rowdiest group.
The ‘shallow end clique’ was one of the two who spent most of their time talking. The people in that group were the ones who weren’t really that drunk yet, and their conversations were light, mostly funny, and enjoyable to be a part of.
Now the ‘hot tub clique’ was one that I didn’t like attending. They were by far the drunkest at any pool party, and they were all about the ‘driveway.’ Driveway was the term Pearl had coined months ago that basically meant they were having a deep, emotional conversation that often resorted to tears and grand, heartfelt statements about the others in the hot tub.
After drinking eight beers, I found myself in the hot tub. I didn’t remember drinking those eight beers, but apparently I had. Sitting around me in the hot tub was Mike, Hung, Jed, Betsy, Braden, and Hugh. Of course, Betsy would be in the hot tub, right smack in between Hung and Jed, the exact place I think she secretly wanted to translate to the bedroom.
Mike was talking about the business of escorting in general terms and how he was saving as much money as he could so that he could one day have a proper life and be comfortable financially.
Braden, the younger mid-Westerner, with stereotypical wide-eyed curiosity, threw out the questions as fast as Mike could answer then. I watched him through my drunken eyes, but I wasn’t so drunk that I couldn’t appreciate the beauty that he possessed. I could see exactly why the women at the club loved him.
Hugh chimed in that even though he had only been with a few clients, he loved the job. Braden asked if he would ever consider doing it full time, and Hugh responded that he had considered it a lot this past week. That was news to me, but given his popularity with the few clients he had booked, I would welcome him on full time. I gave a brief thought to what Adam and the other guys at the Steel Hammer would do or how they would feel with one of their guys leaving.
It was an interesting twist to the relationship that Adam and I had never really discussed. In the days to come, I would look back and wish we had had more conversations about that.
Chapter Five
The Wednesday morning that I learned the bad news started out like any other. After dropping the kids off at school, I came back to the house to find that Pearl had already started the coffee pot. I sat down with a hot mug and my manuscripts.
The only thing different about that particular morning was the fact that Adam wasn’t there with me. He didn’t have a show the night before, and usually he would stay with me on those nights. Instead, he had hung out with Kirk, one of the guys from the show. I didn’t mind, and honestly I needed the time to get some work done.
I was just getting into the latest manuscript when a text from Greg came through.
Have you hea
rd?
Setting the phone down, I started to think of what that meant. I didn’t have the foggiest clue.
I picked the phone up and typed a response. No, what’s up?
A few seconds passed before I got a response from him. I’ll be there in five minutes.
His cryptic message caused me nothing but anxiety. The first thought I had was that something had happened to Adam. Even though nothing bad had happened to the guys that worked for me or the guys from the Steel Hammer, I wasn’t so naïve as not to understand that the type of business we were all in came with its share of risks.
He had spent the evening with Kirk, a guy I didn’t know that well at all. But if he were a stripper and his girlfriend were a stripper, then there was no telling what kind of person he was. From the look of him, I guessed that he lived a little on the wild side. Had the two of them gotten into any trouble? And if they did get into trouble, why would Greg hear about it and not me?
I began to think it was something to do with Adam the longer I thought about it. By now, I would have gotten a phone call or text from him. That was very unusual. It might be that he and Kirk had stayed out late the night before, and he was just still asleep.
By the time Greg arrived, I was so anxious that I was shaking. Something was terribly wrong, and I was missing all of the pieces to put it together.
When I opened the front door, I could see that he had been crying. At the site of his face, I nearly lost my composure.
“Come inside,” I said quickly.
He obeyed without saying a word. He headed straight for the living room. I slammed the front door closed and ran to follow him. He fell onto the couch and put his face in his hands.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, taking a seat on the next cushion.
“You really don’t know? How can you not know?”
“Just freaking tell me what the hell is wrong?”
“Lana,” he said quietly. “Hugh is dead.”
“What?”
“Yeah, apparently he was murdered last night.”
“Murdered? Are you kidding me?”
“No, I’m not kidding,” Greg said. “I don’t know much, but all I know is that he was murdered at his apartment last night.”
“How did you find out?” I asked.
“Jed called me early this morning,” Greg explained. “I figured that Adam would have already told you.”
“No, I haven’t talked to Adam at all this morning.”
“What about last night?”
“No, he went out with Kirk last night.”
“Kirk?”
“Why? Is that strange?”
“Um,” Greg said, fumbling for words. “I’m not really sure, because I didn’t know that those two were all that close.”
“But Kirk and Hugh were close right?”
“Yes, they were inseparable.”
“Why would somebody murder Hugh? He seemed like such a nice guy.”
“He was a very nice guy,” Greg said. “He didn’t start until after I left, but I’ve talked to him several times. I don’t see why anyone would want to murder him.”
I started piecing together the last week. I interacted a lot with him by text, but only the pool party was in person. Then it hit me. I was in serious deep shit.
“Greg,” I said softly. “We’re in trouble.”
“I know,” he nodded. “The cell phone.”
I had issued cell phones to all of the guys two months ago. They were all simple devices that I could use to communicate with them via text and calls. Some of the guys had personal phones, but I needed to make sure that they had the available minutes, and wanted them to have a private line in which they could conduct Madam business without fear of someone discovering my texts on their personal lines. I had given Hugh his phone on the day he agreed to join us.
“What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know,” he shook his head. “But the police will investigate the murder, and I’m sure they’ll find the cell phone. It won’t take much at all to trace the phone back to you.”
“And then they’ll find a link to all of the other phones,” I said. “I can’t let you all go down with me.”
“Now we can’t jump to conclusions,” Greg said. “For all we know, the phone may not even turn up. Who can say right now. And even if they find out about the Madam service, we just go with our story that we’re providing dates to women.”
“Will that work?”
“How can it not? There’s no proof in our ads that we sleep with the clients. And the only way I can see them proving that we’re actually having sex with them, is if they get clients to testify. And considering the women that we cater to, none of them would even think of testifying.”
“True,” I said. “But poor Hugh. I didn’t know him that well, but he was seemed like such a nice guy.”
“He was,” Greg agreed. “I don’t even know if he has a family. He wasn’t married and didn’t have a girlfriend, but maybe he probably had parents, maybe even siblings.”
“Oh god,” I breathed.
The tears started flowing, but I couldn’t stop them. It was the combined effects of learning that a man I knew, who had just been at my house three days ago, had been murdered, and the fact that my entire world might just come crashing down around me. There was at least a decent chance I would be arrested along with my friends and carted off to jail. Jake and Mallory would have to live with the knowledge of what I had done and would likely be sent off to live with my parents.
I could just picture my mother gloating over the fact that I had failed in such a profound way.
I brought my hands up to my face and heaved with emotion. My body started shaking.
Then I felt arms wrap around my body. Greg was holding me now, holding me tight against his body and rubbing my back. His solid presence felt comforting. Just the feel of him so close to me somehow made everything feel better. His muscular arms were pressing against my own, and the smell of his shirt and body permeated my nose.
“It’s going to be okay, Lana,” he whispered into my ear. “We’ll figure this out together.”
When I finally composed myself, I leaned back away from him just a little. Our faces were just inches apart and I could see his beautiful green eyes staring back at me. His lips, those lips that had kissed me so many times were just inches from embracing my own.
As much as I wanted something to happen, I couldn’t do it. We had Adam and Chloe to think about and both of us were in a committed relationship. Despite the temptation, we both persevered. I scooted back on the cushion and noticed that he did the same, although I did see him reach down and adjust the front of his jeans just a little.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” I said.
“Seriously, don’t stress right now,” Greg said. “We’ll figure this out. If the worst happens, we’ll figure out a way to get the guys clear of this mess, but I will never abandon you. Whatever happens, you and I are in this together.”
“I appreciate that, but if there’s a way to save you, then I’m going to make sure that you are clear too.”
“I won’t let that happen. I’m serious that I’m with you on this one hundred percent.”
“I appreciate that, but let’s not be stupid.”
“I’m not being stupid. You got into this crazy world because of me. There’s no way I would just leave you to go down alone.”
I decided not to argue. If it came down to it, and I could save him in some way, then I would.
“We need to get all the guys here for a meeting,” Greg said. “We have to plan for the worst.”
“I’ll send them all texts. Let’s meet back here at six.”
“Works for me,” Greg said. “I hate to leave you alone, but I need to go and see what I can figure out.”
“Be careful.”
“Don’t worry about me,” he said.
Before he left, he gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. The feel of his lips against the si
de of my face sent a jolt through my body. I felt guilty because of Adam, but I had no control over the way that my body reacted.
I tried calling Adam, but each call went straight to voicemail. His phone was off because either it had no power or he didn’t want to accept any calls. I didn’t know what else to do or who else to call other than Ellis, his other friend at work, but for some strange reason, I didn’t think that would help either.
Why would Adam’s phone be off? Was he ignoring my calls? Something was definitely not right, and I couldn’t figure out what.
Chapter Six
In the span of time between when Greg left and I heard from Adam, I started to develop a loose theory about what had happened to poor Hugh.
I recalled a conversation I overheard while being drunk in the hot tub. Hugh was telling a few other people that he might consider quitting the Steel Hammer and becoming an escort full time. I didn’t know a whole lot of the dynamic of the strippers that worked there, even though I was dating the star of the show, but I knew that they were close. Many of their numbers, especially the acts that had more than one stripper on the stage at a time, depended on specific ones being there.
So was it possible that one of the other Hammer guys were upset that Hugh was considering leaving? I could just envision this conversation where Hugh decided he was going to escort full time, told one of his co-workers, and then they murdered him in a rage.
But who would have done that? I didn’t know any of them that well at all, with the notable exception of Adam. I knew that he would never murder another person, but I could see where he would be angry at having one of his strippers leave the show, especially if it were to go work with his girlfriend. But what about all the others that I didn’t know well? I couldn’t see Braden or Jed doing something like that, and Ellis was Adam’s good friend. That other guy that Adam hung out with, Kirk, was Hugh’s best friend, not to mention, he was with Adam the night before.