One Empire Night

by Autumn Jones Lake

  We’d already discussed this at church last week. Stump’s crew is interested in returning to moving heavier stuff that we still didn’t want to touch. I wanted Loco to have first crack at the action. If the introductions went well, I was hoping it would free up some of our supply so we could sell to Stump.

  But with gangsters and outlaws at the table, you never know which way negotiations might go.

  You think I’d be embarrassed about whatever Wrath claims to have seen in the parking lot. By now I’ve come to expect his antics, so I don’t give his teasing a lot of consideration after Trinity drags me away.

  “What do you plan to do for your man later?” Trinity cracks up and it takes her a few seconds to spit out the rest of her words. “Since you’ve already ridden the North Pole tonight.”

  “Ha. Ha. You’re hysterical.” I shove her into the dressing room, closing the door behind us. “You and your husband should take your comedy show on the road.”

  Not that I make a habit out of visiting Crystal Ball, but I don’t think I’ve ever been in the dressing room before. It’s cleaner than I expected. Still looks like a cross between a sorority bathroom and a porn set. Or what I imagine those two things would look like merged together.

  There are ten stations. Five on each side. A counter runs the length of the room, with drawers underneath and a long mirror above it. Only three of the stations have names on them. “Swan” is to our left. My stomach rolls when I read the next name. “Lexi.”

  I haven’t run into her since before our wedding, when someone anonymously sent me an ancient sex tape featuring Lexi and Rock. Yuck. Part of me hoped the girl didn’t work here anymore. Surely there’s a shelf life for strippers?

  Trinity touches my arm. She was there the day I received the video. She doesn’t need to say a word. Her gentle strength is enough.

  My gaze swings to the other side of the room. Only one station with a name on that side. “Regan.”

  The rest of the areas have stuff scattered all over them, but no names to claim them.

  In the back—for the shy girls, I suppose—are a few curtained off areas and a private bathroom. From behind the sparkly pink curtains comes a few loud, giggly voices.

  “Are we allowed to—you know—in the back rooms tonight?” a girl asks.

  “It’s a private party. Anything goes,” another girl we can’t see answers. “If you have any issues, flag a bouncer.”

  “I want to get that big, blond, scary one alone in VIP,” a third girl says.

  Next to me, Trinity goes rigid. I glance over and she rolls her eyes.

  “I highly doubt Wrath’ll be interested in either of you. Besides, he’s married,” a female voice warns. There’s no hint of an accent, so it can’t be Swan back there defending Wrath.

  “So?” the first girl says.

  Someone snorts. “His wife’s here. Give it a try. She’ll probably kick the stuffing out of you.”

  Trinity nods and crosses her arms over her chest.

  “Who is that?” I mouth at her and she shrugs in response.

  The suspense is killing me, so I noisily spill the contents of my purse onto one of the counters. “My hair looks like it’s been in a tornado.”

  “No surprise,” Trinity says, coming up behind me and setting her stuff on the chair in front of us.

  “Just do your job. If you cause trouble, Z will blacklist you from any future parties,” Wrath’s defender warns as she backs out of the curtained room.

  “Whatever. The unmarried ones better be as hot.”

  The girl snorts in disgust. Realizing she’s not alone in the room, she glances up and freezes.

  Her light brown hair is longer and her left arm has a full sleeve of tattoos now, but otherwise she’s as tiny, perky, and pretty as I remember. Lexi.

  Trinity and Lexi stare at each other in surprise. After a few seconds, Trinity blows out a breath. “Hi, Lexi.” She nods toward the curtain. “Thanks.”

  Lexi blinks. Her gaze swings to me, then back to Trinity. Some of her nervousness seems to evaporate and she smooths her hands over her short red, plaid skirt. “Yeah, well, Wrath may be a cranky jerk, but whenever he pulls a shift here, he looks after us. Doesn’t let the customers get away with any bullshit.” She hurries to add, “None of the guys do. But I don’t like them sayin’ shit like that about…” She drifts off and her gaze lands on me again. “Hi, Hope.”

  Desperate for a way to make this whole situation less awkward, I nod toward the vanity where I dumped all of my stuff. “Is it okay to use this one? It doesn’t have a name.”

  “Oh. Sure. That’s fine. If you want to leave anything back here, let me know. You can use my locker.”

  “Thanks.”

  Trinity throws me a desperate look and I remember she came in here to change.

  Swan and a girl I don’t recognize burst into the room saving us from any more awkward moments with Lexi.

  I think Lexi’s almost as relieved as I am.

  “You’re here!” Swan shouts, giving me a big hug. She hugs Trinity too and then introduces us to the girl I don’t recognize, Regan.

  The two who’d been hiding behind the curtain in the back join us. I assume the red-faced one is the one who wanted to bang Wrath, because she won’t look Trinity in the eye.

  Lexi introduces us as “Wrath’s wife and The Owner’s wife.” I guess she doesn’t want to share our first names and I’m kinda okay with that.

  The girls are dressed in little more than velvet bikinis and I sort of laugh to myself that earlier tonight I was concerned my own dress might be too revealing.

  After they leave, Trinity briefly touches my arm. “I’m going to change.” She raises an eyebrow, silently asking if I’m all right with being left alone for a few minutes.

  “I’m good. Go on, I can’t wait to see this dress.”

  Regan sits at her vanity to make herself up for her shift. Swan goes over the schedule for the night. I plop down into one of the chairs to fix my hair and makeup while I wait for Trinity.

  A few minutes later, Trinity calls me over to the dressing room. “What do you think?” she asks, running her hands over the deep purple velvet dress hugging her curves.

  “I think I’m really jealous of your ass.”

  She snorts. “I’m serious. Too much? Not enough?” She glances down. “It hits beneath the knees. Too conservative for a strip club?”

  I stifle a laugh and look her over more carefully. “The deep V-neck and tight fit balance the length.”

  “It’s nice and stretchy,” she says, plucking at the material at her hip.

  “It molds to your sensational butt very nicely. Has Wrath seen it yet?”

  Instead of answering, she hugs me. “You always say the most ridiculous stuff. I love you.”

  “What’d I say? Oh, your butt? I can’t help it.”

  “I keep telling you to do more squats.”

  “They hurt.”

  “No pain no gain, Hope.”

  “I’d punch you right now if I didn’t love you so much,” I grumble.

  She slips her “Property of Wrath” vest on and a pair of sparkling gold heels. “Good?”

  Swan joins us, pushing the curtain wider. “Love the dress. Let me style your hair?” she asks, grabbing Trinity’s hand and not waiting for an answer. “I brought the ginger ale and cranberry juice for you two. Dex stocked everything behind the bar,” she says in a rush.

  “Thanks for doing this. I know you’re busy tonight,” Trinity says.

  Swan plays with a few sections of Trinity’s windblown waves. “It will help calm me down.”

  Swan’s been dancing here for a few years now. She also teaches the yoga class Trinity and I take twice a week. So her jittery demeanor tonight baffles me. “Are you nervous?”

  “A little. Z asked me to perform the routine I did at nationals. I told him it had to be in costume and there would be no stripping.”

  Trinity snickers. “How’d he take that?”
/>
  Part of me wonders if at some point tonight, Z will ask me to stop giving his employees negotiating tips.

  “He said ‘the fuckers can handle six minutes of no skin.’”

  From what I’ve seen of Swan’s costume, there’s not much material. And since it’s mostly flesh-toned, if the guys are drunk enough, I doubt they’ll be able to tell the difference. It probably wasn’t a difficult decision for Z.

  “Z’s been telling everyone about our girl who made it to the National Pole Dancing championships,” Regan adds without turning around, but in the mirror, I see her grinning.

  Lexi lets out a whoop and jumps up and down. “I wish I could’ve gone to see you.”

  The more I’ve gotten to know Swan, I’ve found her to be nothing but sweet and I’m happy the girls seem to support her here. I’m a little ashamed to admit I expected more cat fighting than camaraderie.

  Swan works fast, taking a large-barrel curler to Trinity’s hair, then pulling it into a pretty, braided-curly design.

  As she’s sliding in the final bobby pin, the volume of the music in the club increases.

  “I can finish if you need to get ready, Swan,” Trinity offers.

  “I do need to change.”

  “You don’t mind us watching, right?” I ask. I’m not sure why.

  Swan tilts her head and blinks a few times before answering. “Of course not, Hope.”

  “Rock’s going to break the door down if we don’t get out there soon,” Trinity says, nudging me toward the door.

  “Hey,” Z greets us when we emerge. He’s leaning against the wall across from the dressing room door. “Rock needed to take care of something,” he explains.

  “Thank you, Z. I’m sure you have more important things to do than wait for us,” I say, taking the arm he offers.

  “Walk around the club with two pretty girls on my arms?” He shakes his head. “Nope. Nothing more important than that.”

  “Swan said she’s doing her routine tonight.”

  “She drives a hard bargain,” he says with a wry twist of his lips but no hint of irritation in his tone.

  He leads us to a large, round booth in the back corner of the club. The exact spot I’d expect Rock to pick so he can survey everything going on in the club from a distance.

  One of Sway’s guys I recognize from Downstate, says hello before disappearing with a dancer into one of the back rooms.

  I spot Serena sort of idly wandering the floor by herself and drag Trinity over to say hello.

  Serena’s eyes widen when we approach. “Hi. I was hoping you’d be here tonight,” she says with a nervous half-smile.

  “We’re here.”

  “Shadow dragged me with him, but then he disappeared with one of the dancers as soon as we walked in the door.” She rolls her eyes. “I really don’t want to be stranded.”

  “Rock and I took his truck. We can give you a ride if you need it.”

  Trinity turns and her narrow-eyed-raised-eyebrow expression clearly says, ‘Are you insane?’ but I’m not sure why.

  “Oh.” Serena bites her lip and drops her gaze to the floor. “Thank you so much, Hope. I’ll be fine. But thank you.”

  Willow ends up pulling Serena behind the bar with her, and Trinity shakes her head.

  “What’d I do wrong?”

  “Where exactly are you and Rock giving her a ride to?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Having her up at the clubhouse is probably going to upset Heidi,” Trinity says gently.

  My hand flies up, covering the, “oh shit,” that spills out of my mouth. Immediate guilt washes over me. I never considered that. How could I be so stupid?

  “Dammit,” I grumble. “How am I supposed to remember every wick the guys have dipped their dicks in?”

  Trinity snort-laughs loud enough that people turn and stare at us.

  I’m still glaring at her when she stops laughing and her expression turns serious. She places her hand on my arm. “You’ve always treated all the girls fairly.” She taps a finger against my vest. “It’s what makes you a good first lady.”

  “Heidi’s family,” I protest. She’s the spunky little sister I never had but always wanted.

  “I meant—” she waves her hands in the air “—the rest of them.”

  “Oh.”

  She glances around the room. “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but Rock’s taking you away for the weekend. You’re not going home tonight. So, if any of the girls need a ride somewhere, send them to me and I’ll arrange it.”

  I’m not surprised by her admission. In fact, after a night of heavy socializing, I figured Rock would want to cuddle up in the house together or spend time doing something outdoorsy. I’m not even curious about where he’s taking me, because as long as I’m with him, it doesn’t matter. “Thank you.”

  Her attention strays to something behind me and she nods her head. “Rock’s looking for you. I’m going to help Willow out. If you see Wrath, let him know where I am.”

  Even though Rock’s all the way across the room, electricity zips down my spine when I turn and meet his simmering gaze. I want to run over to him, but I take my time moving through the room until I’m by his side.

  He pulls me closer with an arm around my waist. “Hope, I want to introduce you to Malik. He’s considering life as a prospect.”

  “Oh.” I’d been so focused on my husband I didn’t notice the mountain of a man he’s standing next to, which I guess says something either about how daft I am or how stunning my husband is. I’m not sure.

  I look up. Way, way up. Malik’s easily Wrath’s size, but in every other way they’re opposite. Well, except for the air of menace that surrounds him.

  While Malik’s expression is bland, his keen, dark-cinnamon eyes seem to have a thousand opinions. “Considering?” I hold out my hand. “I guess that’s why you still get to have a first name instead of being called “hey, prospect.”

  Black eyebrows shoot up and his full lips curve into a hint of a smile. He takes my hand, giving it a surprisingly gentle shake for his size. “Nice to meet you, First Lady. You need anything tonight and your man’s busy, let me know.”

  “Thank you.”

  Rock and Malik sort of nod at each other. They seem to share a mutual respect. Whether they actually like each other, I can’t determine.

  Rock leads me back inside, but stops in a quiet corner near the end of the bar. “Everything, okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  Trinity taps my shoulder and hands me a virgin poinsettia to drink.

  Willow wags a finger between us. “Are one of you pregnant?”

  I snort into my drink and answer without looking up. “Rock doesn’t like me tipsy before he has his way with me.”

  Trinity howls with laughter.

  Behind me, Rock’s body rumbles and his hand slides down to cup my ass. “Absolutely true.”

  “There you are,” Wrath says, sweeping Trinity into his arms. She reaches up and whispers something in his ear. “Hey, Rock?” Wrath shouts. “You need me right now?”

  “No.”

  He drags Trinity away from the bar. “We’ll be right back.”

  Willow sighs and leans her elbows on the bar. “They’re so cute together.”

  The front door opens and a blast of cold air wafts in. Rowdy male voices reach us a split second before the men come into view. “Sway’s here, goodie,” I mumble into my glass.

  Rock’s hold on me tightens, but he welcomes Sway’s group warmly—well as warm as Rock gets.

  Sway’s gaze sweeps over me. “What? You, couldn’t let your man out alone one night to have some fun?”

  Neither of us dignify that with an answer.

  I’m introduced to Steer, who I’ve met before. The rest of the guys I recognize, but immediately forget their names. They take seats closer to the stage so I doubt I’ll be speaking to them again tonight.

  More girls swarm around us. A few pretend not to notice m
e. Rock gives them a cold glare and they back off. Sway’s more than happy to accept the extra attention.

  “Where’d Trin go?” Z asks, brushing against my other side.

  “Wrath dragged her away.”

  He surveys the room and shrugs. “They better not be in my office.”

  “Why would they—never mind.” I attempt to cover my laughter with a hand over my mouth, but fail miserably.

  Z shakes his head before stalking away.

  “What crawled up his ass?” Sway asks.

  Ten

  It takes a lot of concentration to carry on a conversation when your husband has the remote control to your underwear.

  The thought makes me snicker.

  “What’s up with you?” Willow asks. “You’ve been grinning like a fool all night.”

  I shrug and shake my head. Willow and I haven’t reached the sharing-stories-about-our-sex-toys stage of our friendship yet. I don’t even think I’d tell Hope about this one and I tell her almost everything.

  Once again, Wyatt’s proved what a clever devil he is. Except for when I was in the dressing room with Hope—when Wyatt swore he wouldn’t mess with the remote—I haven’t had a second to think about anything other than what his next move will be.

  Every knowing look he sends my way makes my panties wet.

  Despite the Spanx under my dress, at some point the gadget shifts. The next time Wrath flicks it on, I barely feel a thing.

  I suppose I could keep quiet. But that sort of feels like cheating at our private game.

  My gaze travels around the club not finding my husband anywhere.

  “I think he’s outside with Ravage,” Serena says, hopping onto one of the bar stools.

  Turning around, I force a smile on my lips.

  She raises an eyebrow. “Wrath. I don’t think he’s getting a lap dance or anything. I’ve never even seen him look at another girl.”

  Willow hip-checks me. “You two are inspiration for girls everywhere.”

  “What?”

  “Hot, overprotective, worships the ground you walk on, and faithful,” Willow says. She glances over at Hope and Rock. “Now, Rock’s all those things, plus outright obsessed with his wife.” She laughs and slaps four shot glasses on the bar. “Tequila?” she asks.