by Hadley Knox
The guys were in there for a few minutes before they came back out empty handed. Apparently, she had quit earlier that day and gave no reason to her employer why she would no longer be working there.
Since Kirk was at work, I decided that this might be the best time to talk to Erica alone. I definitely felt like it would be taking advantage of her, since she was quite possibly the most naïve person I had ever met, but I was desperate. I had information that my boyfriend might indirectly be involved in this mess, and I wanted it cleared up tonight, even if I had to drive all over the city to make it happen.
The drive to the apartment she shared with Kirk was quick. We pulled up in front of their building, and I told everyone but Ryan to stay in the car. I didn’t want to unnecessarily intimidate her with too many people.
As I walked up to her unit, my phone vibrated. I looked down and saw that Adam was trying to call me. I knew why he was calling and didn’t really feel like getting a lecture from him. I silenced the phone and stuck it back in my pocket.
I knocked on the door of their unit, and it took a minute for her to answer.
“Lana,” she said, more than a little surprised.
“Hey, Erica, I just wanted to stop by and talk to you again for a minute.”
“Kirk is at work right now.”
“Well, actually it’s you that I wanted to talk to.”
“Okay,” she shrugged. “Come on in.”
Ryan and I took our same spots on the couch, and Erica eased down into the chair that Kirk had sat in earlier.
“So we heard that you quit your job.”
“Yeah, I went ahead and quit. I didn’t feel right dancing up there being pregnant. I haven’t ever fallen, but I didn’t want to take that chance.”
“That’s good of you to think about the baby.”
“So you wanted to talk about something,” she said.
“Yeah, I wanted to follow up on our earlier conversation.” I paused, trying to figure out the best way to broach the subject. It wasn’t an easy one to bring up, but since it was my only reason for the visit, I knew that I had to grin and bear it. “So, I wanted to ask you who the baby’s father is.”
She looked a little stricken by the question. Her eyes wondered around the room as if she were searching for the answer to the question on one of the walls.
“Kirk is the father,” she said finally.
“Is he the biological father?”
She sighed. “No.”
“Was it Hugh?”
“Yes.”
“Was Kirk okay with that?”
“They were best friends,” Erica said. “When I told him, he seemed like it wasn’t that big of a deal. He said that the three of us could raise the baby together.”
I could see that the plan wasn’t what she wanted. Doubt was smeared all over her pretty little face.
“Is that what you wanted Erica?”
“No. Of course it wasn’t what I wanted. I loved Hugh, but it wasn’t the same feelings that I have for Kirk. I’ve asked Kirk when we’re going to get married, but he just avoids the question. If I’m going to have a baby, I want it to be in a safe, stable home.”
“You don’t think the baby would be safe with Kirk?”
“Sure, the baby would be safe with him. But I didn’t think that it would be a good, stable home if it was me, Kirk, and Hugh. Even though I slept with Hugh many times, I never intended for it to turn into any sort of relationship. I thought Kirk would eventually stop asking me to do it, and our relationship would be more normal. But it never happened.”
“So why don’t you try raising the baby on your own?”
“I can’t do that,” she said.
Her eyes started watering. I reached for a tissue on the coffee table and handed it to her. She muttered thanks and dabbed at her eyes.
“So what are you going to do?”
“I figured that after Hugh died, our relationship would return to normal. I asked Kirk earlier today if we were ever going to get married, but he wouldn’t answer me. This isn’t what I want.”
“What do you want?”
“I want a family, but not like this.”
“So you couldn’t raise the baby on your own?” I asked.
“There’s no way,” she said. “The only thing I’ve ever been good at is stripping, and I can’t do that if I’m a mother.”
“What about college?”
“How could I do that with a baby? It would never work.”
“You don’t have a support network?” Ryan asked. “Like family?”
“None that live close,” she said. “I’ve thought about giving the baby up for adoption, but I don’t know what Kirk would say about that. I know that he would have to sign over parental rights.”
“But he’s not the father,” I said.
The realization hit Erica like a slap in the face. “You’re right. I never really put that together about the adoption process. I don’t need his permission.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Then I might check into that. This baby would be better off with a family that can give it what it needs. Kirk and I are not ready for this, and the baby would just grow up with all kinds of issues.”
“That’s big of you to admit that,” I said.
The gears began turning in my head. I had an idea that might solve several people’s problems, but I wasn’t sure that I should bring it up with Ryan in the room. I turned to my brother.
“Ryan, can you give the two of us a minute?”
“Sure,” he nodded, but I could tell that he was confused.
“I’ll meet you back at the car in a minute,” I said.
I waited until he closed the door behind him before I spoke again.
“Erica, I know a great family that you could adopt your child,” I said.
“Who?” she asked.
“My brother,” I said, pointing at the door he had just left out of. “He and his partner want children and have started the process to adopt. Of course I haven’t talked to him about it, but I bet he and Edward would be willing to adopt the baby. They would provide him or her with a great home.”
“You think he would do that?” she asked. I could see in her eyes that the possibility of giving her baby a good home excited her.
“I think that they would. But you have to think about it for a bit and make sure that it is something that you want to do. It’s a big step to give a baby up, and you have to decide what is best for the baby. Sometimes, a baby staying with its birth mother is the right thing, but many times, giving the baby up for adoption is the right thing. You have to decide which way is best for your child.”
“I’ll think about it, but I’m not sure that I really need to. I want to give the baby a good home. It’ll suck giving it up, but if it’s what’s best for the baby, then it’s what I have to do.”
“Okay,” I nodded. “I’m going to go ahead and leave now, but if you need anything, let me know. Okay?”
“I will,” she said.
“And take a couple of days to think about the adoption. If it’s something you still want to do, then call me, and I will arrange a meeting with Ryan and Edward.”
“Go ahead and arrange the meeting,” she said.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. I’ve already thought about it. My only hesitation about adoption was that I couldn’t guarantee that the home my baby would go to would be a good one. I don’t know Ryan that well, so I can’t speak about him, but he’s your brother, and that has to count for something.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to them. Let’s set a meeting tentatively for this Saturday afternoon. How does that sound?”
“Perfect,” she said.
I turned and left the apartment, but not before giving her a hug. The poor girl had been through so much, and I couldn’t fathom what was going through her head.
When I slid into the driver’s seat of the SUV, everyone looked at me expectantly. I shrugged and started the car, tryi
ng to figure out what I wanted to do next.
“Why did you ask me to leave?” Ryan asked.
I didn’t want to have the conversation with him in front of everyone, but I knew that it would bug Ryan to death until I told him the truth. “Erica wants to give you and Edward the baby,” I said.
“Are you serious?” he asked. A smile was already forming on his face.
“Yeah, she’s set on adoption, especially since she knows the baby will be going to a good home.”
“Oh my god, that’s incredible. I need to call Edward right now.”
“No, don’t do that. We need to talk about this some more later. But plan on the two of you meeting with Erica at my house on Saturday.”
“We’ll be there,” he said.
“Okay, so what’s the plan?” Mike asked.
“So I’m assuming that Ryan told you all that Hugh is the father, right?”
“That’s crazy,” Pearl said. That answered my question.
“We need to go back to the Steel Hammer,” Greg said. “Sounds like we need to talk to Kirk again.”
“But Adam is going to be there with Kirk,” Betsy said. “Won’t that blow our little cover here?”
“Screw it,” I said, throwing my arms in the air. I couldn’t tip toe around my boyfriend any longer. If he was mad at me for trying to work all of this out, then so be it.
I put the car in reverse and backed out of the parking spot. When I pulled out of the apartment complex, I made a direct course for the Steel Hammer, and hopefully an answer to who murdered Hugh.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Nobody questioned my actions as I drove to the Steel Hammer. They could see the look of determination on my face and my desire to put this tragedy behind me. I was willing to risk my relationship to get the answers that I desired.
When I pulled the SUV into a parking spot and put it into drive, everyone got out. I didn’t stop anyone nor did I request their presence, but it was nice that they all joined me, if even just to show support. The door attendant gave us a weary look when we showed him our IDs, paid the coverage charge again, and entered. In the back of my mind, I wished that we had gotten the rubber hand stamp so that we wouldn’t have to pay again, but at the time, I didn’t know that I would be trying to get back in.
“What’s the plan?” Greg asked.
“We find Kirk,” I said.
“They’re doing the big group number,” Betsy said, pointing towards the stage. “That means that they’ll be backstage in a few minutes.”
Sure enough, just as she said, my boyfriend along with all of the other guys were on the stage, dancing while clad only in g-strings. For a couple of them, that was literal. Braden ripped his off and flung it into the crowd, and the only thing that prevented the crowd of screaming women from seeing his ample package was the hand towel.
Adam stood in the center, gyrating against a chair, and I knew that he was getting ready to bring a volunteer up for a more intimate dance. That, I definitely didn’t want to witness.
“Do you know how to get backstage?” I asked my friends.
Betsy and Greg looked at each other and laughed.
“Look who you’re talking to honey,” Betsy said as she took my hand.
We passed around the side of the large crowd. Since the men were on their final performance, the women had mostly gotten out of their seats and pressed their bodies against the side of the stage. That left the rear and side portions of the bar a little less inhabited, making our passage much easier.
When we reached the door, Greg went first and pushed it open. Mike held it until we were all through and then he shut it behind us.
Greg led us to the locker room area. I had never been back there, even after dating the lead stripper at the bar for over a month. It wasn’t that it bothered me, but it was better for me emotionally if I detached myself a little more than normal from his profession.
The room served as their changing area, and judging by the two couches, also their lounge. A wall of a dozen lockers must have been where they put their possession, and I could see an area for showers on the other side.
“So we just wait?” Pearl asked.
“I could go out and get them,” Ryan offered with a smile.
“Let’s just wait here,” I said.
It was frighteningly awkward standing there in a locker room for strippers knowing that any moment, my half-naked boyfriend and his half-naked friends would be walking through the door. One of those almost naked people was also the one that murdered my gigolo.
Damn, my life had changed so much in the last few months. Before meeting Greg, I didn’t even know for sure if gigolos really existed. For me, they were like Santa Clause and the tooth fairy. And strippers, even though I knew they existed, they were still like an untouchable, unfamiliar creature to me. Like something I would see when I visited the zoo. But standing there in that locker room, I realized that my circle of friends was comprised almost exclusively of gigolos and strippers.
I heard their voices before I saw them. Adam was in the lead, and he was laughing about something someone had said. When he turned the corner, covered in sweat and wearing nothing but a g-string, he stopped. The guys behind him nearly bumped into him.
“Lana,” he said.
The other guys stood there as well, just staring at the six fully clothed people in their private locker room area. Braden must have felt the most embarrassed because he no longer had his little towel now that he was off the stage and in the back room.
“What are you all doing here?” Adam asked.
“We’re here to talk,” I said.
Braden, Jed, and the rest of the guys bowed their heads and passed Adam to go to their lockers. My entourage and I moved out of their way so that they could see to their things. Our of the corner of my eye, I saw Betsy, Ryan, and Pearl practically licking their lips as they watched Braden pass. Any other time, I would have slapped them back to reality.
“Why did you come here earlier?” he asked. “Lucas told me that you came by. I tried to call you, but you didn’t pick up.”
“Yeah, because I didn’t want to hear a lecture from you.”
“Then why are you here?”
I glanced to the side and saw Kirk sliding on a pair of sweat pants. He watched my friends and me apprehensively.
“We need to figure this whole Hugh thing out once and for all,” I said.
“Do we have to keep rehashing this?” Adam asked. “What is your obsession?”
“We’ve gone over why I’m obsessed with this,” I said. “And I won’t discuss that any further. I just want the truth now.”
“You need to drop this, Lana.”
I took a deep breath. The time had come for my plan. I hadn’t put much thought into it, and frankly, I wasn’t even sure it would work. I certainly hadn’t reasoned the potential outcomes. But as much as I liked to plan every facet of my life, there were times like that one where I liked to run off the main road.
“Did you kill Hugh, Adam?” I asked.
“What? How can you ask me that?”
“Because Lucas told me that you got a call that night,” I said. “He said that you got a call, and then you left abruptly. Where did you go?”
“Why did he tell you that?”
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “But answer the question.”
“I don’t owe you an explanation.”
“You’re my boyfriend. You owe me all kinds of explanations.”
“I didn’t kill Hugh.”
“Then where did you go? Answer me. If you don’t, I will call the police right now. I have evidence now that makes you look really, really bad.”
That, of course, was a lie, but I couldn’t let him know that it wasn’t. In fact, Adam’s response didn’t matter at all at the moment.
“You don’t have anything on me, Lana,” he said. “Because I didn’t do it.”
“Then we’ll let the police decide that.”
“You woul
d never call the police. You have your business, and you would never want to be implicated in that.”
“I would for this,” I said. “Plus, I’ve already established a great cover with witnesses to back it up. You, however, don’t have a cover.”
“Why are you doing this?” he asked softly.
I saw the trio of guys, Vladimir, Silas, and Oliver, leave first. They were in a hurry and glanced only briefly over their shoulders as they practically ran to get out of the locker room. Jed and Braden left right behind them. The only two that stayed were Ellis, who was a close friend of Adam’s, and Kirk. Perfect, I thought to myself.
“You will be brought to justice, Adam,” I said.
“Please stop,” he said even more softly. His voice was almost a whisper. I looked at my boyfriend, and all I felt was pity. Standing there in nothing but a pair of skimpy underwear, he had a look of sadness, a pathetic resignation.
“He didn’t do it,” came a voice next to me.
I turned and saw Kirk standing there.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Kirk, don’t say anything,” Adam said.
Kirk didn’t look at Adam. He never took his gaze away from me. “I did it,” he said.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
My friends tensed up. Greg and Mike both reached behind them to where their guns were. Luckily, they didn’t pull them, but just kept their hands close in case it was needed.
“Why did you do it?” I asked, although I already knew the answer.
Kirk’s lips quivered and I could see the tears beating against the back of his eyes, looking for their release. “It was one thing to try and raise another man’s child, but another thing altogether to try and do it while he’s alive. When Erica told me that Hugh was the father, I was upset. But when I was talking to Hugh, and he started telling me about his dreams for the kid, I just couldn’t handle it. Erica was my girlfriend, and one day maybe my wife. Any children she had should have been mine.”
“I’m sorry, Kirk,” I said.
“Wait a minute,” Pearl said in a high-pitched voice, breaking the somber mood. “You’re worried about your girlfriend having kids that ain’t yours, but you’re trying to get her to sleep with other men? That’s not right.”