As she looked around the bar and dance floor, seeing the crowds of people and then the band playing another song, she caught sight of three men sitting at a corner table watching her. The moment her eyes locked on the one in the center with the dark dress shirt and hard expression, she looked away. Holy shit. It was the guy from the boutique that was talking to Clarissa. She would recognize him anywhere. Instantly she had a bad feeling in her gut, and it was another reminder of why she had put off trying to achieve this goal of singing on stage and performing. Maybe she wasn’t cut out to be in the spotlight after all?
She took another sip from her drink and started to feel even more nervous. She didn’t like the men looking at her. She wondered if even Luther was hitting on her as he placed his arm around the back of her chair and continued to try and convince her that the job wouldn’t interfere with her modeling and that she could work in the time to practice with the band on Sunday mornings and Monday nights when Luther’s was closed. This was exactly the type of feeling that had her not taking chances and remaining unadventurous and closed up. Hadn’t she told Missy Ann how tired she was of feeling so shy and scared? Maybe if she accepted this little job of singing on stage two nights a week then maybe she would build up her self-confidence and feel more mature, more experienced and capable of handling life.
“What do you say, beautiful? Want to make some money together?” he asked her and held her gaze as he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. She felt that deep fearful feeling and damn it, she was tired of being scared, of giving in to all the fearful thoughts. What could possibly go wrong by working here at Luther’s singing two nights a week?
“Okay, let’s give it a try.”
He smiled wide. “That’s my girl. I’ll draw up some papers and we’ll set a salary for you. Do you want to get paid once a week or every other week?”
“Whatever you normally do is fine with me.”
He looked her over and smiled.
“This is going to work out great.”
She sure did hope so, because she had a feeling that when her cousins and her father found out, they weren’t going to be too happy.
* * * *
Luther gave Eliza Grace a kiss on her cheek goodbye. She really was awfully shy and he knew it had a lot to do with her age. Twenty-four, petite, but sexy as anything and she didn’t seem to have a clue. Once she realized how hot she actually was, she would be breaking hearts all over the place.
He chuckled to himself. He could be a slime ball and work his way into her bed. It would be easy to seduce her, but Clarissa said Eliza was off limits. Clarissa was smart and she always knew everything about the women who worked for her.
As he glanced up toward the stage he saw Simeon as well as Daville and Vic, Simeon’s security. He saw them arrive a good hour ago and watched them check out the prospects. Although Luther hadn’t expected them to stop in tonight, he was always prepared. Si liked a certain type of woman. At least he always seemed to lean toward one type. Large breasts, sexy body, and easily controlled. His buddies were a bit different. Daville and Vic could be mean sons of bitches. Especially when they drank too much.
He made his way over and greeted them with a smile and a show of excitement that they were here. It meant he was going to make some money, and they were going to get what they wanted. That included drinks on the house and any woman of their choice.
“Si, so nice to see you. I wasn’t expecting you for another couple of weeks. How was Europe?” he asked, knowing they were doing business abroad, and it had something to do with people Clarissa knew as well. He didn’t ask questions, he just gave them what they wanted and got paid a lot of money for keeping his mouth shut and accommodating them.
He looked to Daville and Vic but both men didn’t reach hands out to shake his. Instead they barely looked at him. He was no one to show respect to, just someone they owned.
He cleared his throat and asked if they needed anything. Si, with his dark eyes, slicked back hair and very important, classy demeanor licked his lower lip and squinted at Luther.
“We had to end our little vacation early. Seems there was a problem with one of the deliveries. Some changes need to be made. Just a few precautions.”
Luther swallowed hard. “I hope I wasn’t at fault for anything, Si. I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me.”
Si gave a slick little smile. “Of course you have.” He looked around the place.
“The band is getting better and better. Got some new talent, I saw,” he said and took a sip from the martini he drank from.
Luther nodded his head. “They’re doing great. I get new singers in all the time now and see how the crowd likes them.”
“The crowd liked the petite little brunette that sang tonight,” Vic said and stared at Luther, looking him over and making Luther feel like such a nobody. Man, these guys were intimidating. He knew they were capable of crazy shit. Hell, he heard Daville and Vic did time for some pretty nasty stuff.
“Who is she?” Daville asked.
Luther felt his chest tighten. They couldn’t possibly be interested in Eliza Grace. Fuck.
“The singer?” Luther asked.
“The one you were keeping really close to you a little while ago at the bar. She yours?” Vic asked him.
He swallowed hard. If these men set their sights on Eliza there wasn’t anything he could do about it. Maybe if he mentioned she worked with Clarissa that might make them keep their distance. Clarissa had a thing for Si, but she was also on his payroll.
“She’s not mine. I just hired her to sing here twice a week. She has a great voice and the crowd seems to like her a lot.”
“She has an incredible voice. She’ll make you a lot of money. How come she isn’t working more than two nights?” Daville asked him. As Daville looked at him with those dark evil eyes Luther felt his throat close up, he was that intimidated by these men.
“She works for Clarissa,” he said and Vic and Daville looked serious.
“Modeling. I saw her the other day at Clarissa’s. Seems she has multiple talents,” Si said to him and took another sip from his martini. Luther did not want to mess with Si. Anyone who did could wind up disappearing. He knew to play it cool.
“Yes. She just did some super sexy fundraising calendar. Clarissa said she’s got real talent there. She’s booked for a lot of events and shoots, that’s why she can only work here two nights a week. I have to call Clarissa to confirm, of course,” he added and knew he sounded nervous. These men made him a nervous wreck.
“We need the back room Friday night. Got a new line of girls coming in for trials. You know what we need, right?” Si asked, changing the subject and getting back to business.
Luther nodded his head. “I’ll take care of everything, Si. You know that,” he said to him.
“Good. We’ll arrive around eight, the women will trickle in from there on like usual. I’ve got about a dozen clients coming in, so you need to set up the private booths and partition off that small room. The bars fully stocked in both rooms.”
Luther nodded his head. He was mixed with emotions of fear and also excitement. He would get a hefty payment for providing the back rooms, never mind the open bars and the bartenders. He would need to prepare the back room, close off the hallway leading to it so nothing could be heard and raise the volume on the music. He hoped no one picked up on anything. The last thing he needed was for the cops to find out he was assisting in a prostitution ring and allowing new girls to be trained and broken in in the back room.
“Anything else?” he asked Si and Si shook his head and then looked away from him. One look at Vic and Daville and he knew he was being dismissed. He walked away and hoped that everything went perfectly on Friday. Simeon held the mortgage on Luther’s and at any time he could get rid of Luther and replace him. He wished he had never had such a gambling problem years ago and had needed Simeon to bail him out. He was stuck under his thumb forever.
Chapter 3
&nbs
p; Lynch and Tazer were finishing up a meeting at the police department in Cambridge when they saw a bunch of cops gathered around. As their buddy, Detective Salvatore Connelly and his brother, special investigator Finn Connelly walked out with them, they asked what was going on.
A couple of the guys were shaking their heads, smiling and whistling low and turning the pages of some sort of calendars sideways.
“It’s this year’s fundraising calendar for Charlesburgh. A bunch of local stores and community events are sponsored,” police officer Brian Morrison told them.
“Well, what are all the oohs and ahhs about?” Salvatore asked as they got closer.
“Miss September posing against a sweet classic car,” he replied.
“Yeah, it’s the car,” one of the others teased and they all laughed.
“She’s gorgeous. A petite thing with one hell of a body on her,” the other officer said.
“Let me see that?” Finn said to them and one of the guys handed over the calendar.
Tazer looked at Lynch, shaking his head and almost chuckling at their behavior. But then Lynch suddenly looked angry as damn hell as he pulled the calendar from Finn’s hands.
“What’s her name? Does it say her name and where she lives?” one of the officers asked as they looked at other copies of the calendars.
“Why? You gonna go stalk the woman, Freddie?” Johnny asked. They laughed.
“Hey, I may just be driving by in my convertible mustang and if she has a love for classic cars then I can offer her a ride,” he said and they started carrying on about what kind of ride they would give her.
“What’s wrong?” Tazer asked Lynch as he saw his angry expression.
“Shut the fuck up. And if any of you ever go near her, I’ll fucking kill you,” he yelled at them and everyone got silent.
Finn looked at the picture too. “Eliza Grace? Whoa,” he said, knowing who Eliza was and that Tazer and Lynch were her guardians. As Tazer absorbed Eliza’s picture he heard Finn telling everyone to get back to work and to leave the calendars.
Tazer absorbed Eliza’s pose, the short, tight dress she wore and how sexy she looked leaning against the white car. Her thighs were exposed, the skirt nearly to her crotch. What the fuck was she thinking? Holy shit, she looked incredible.
“What the fuck, Tazer. Did you know about this? Did Parker?” Lynch asked.
“Hey, it’s a great picture of her. She’s a beautiful young woman. Don’t worry about the guys. They were just being dicks. It’s not too sexy of a pose,” Finn said to them. Tazer gave him a snarl.
“Did you see the cover?” Salvatore asked as he looked at his own copy of the calendar.
There was a picture of Eliza Grace wearing a see-through beach cover up that shimmered in the sunlight, her breasts peeking out from the beige, golden top and the Marlin Bay Marina with the yachts and other boats to the side of her. She looked so damn sexy and classy, he couldn’t speak.
“Damn, she is gorgeous,” Finn said to them.
“Look at the cover,” Connolly told them as he looked at his own calendar, smiling.
Tazer and Lynch flipped to the cover and Tazer felt his blood pressure boiling. There she was in the center of the photograph with the other models all wearing bikinis, but Eliza’s was hot pink and stood out, as much as her very large breasts, her flat belly with the belly ring and the seductive way she smiled at the camera.
“Holy shit. What four lucky bastards you are,” Finn said as he looked at the picture too.
Tazer was pissed off.
“Let’s go. We’ll touch base with you guys later. Let us know if you need us for anything else,” he said to them and shook Finn’s hand and then Salvatore’s. “Hey, take it easy on her. She isn’t your woman yet and you won’t want to piss her off.”
“Like you would stand for your woman posing in calendars and worrying about other men fantasizing about her? Let them be,” Finn said to Salvatore and Tazer and Lynch headed out of the police department. Before Tazer even started the engine to the Charger, Lynch was on the phone with Parker.
“Well, if you didn’t know anything about it then I suggest you guys take a look at the fucking calendar.”
“So she models, Lynch. We knew that about her.”
“Parker, just look up the fucking calendar, the cover and the months of September and August.”
Tazer sped off, gripping the steering wheel and envisioning Eliza doing the photo shoot as some guys watched and maybe even the photographer told her to lift her dress higher. “Fuck,” he mumbled, grinding his teeth.
“Holy shit. She looks incredible,” Tazer heard Lynch say.
“This is not good. Do you know how many men have seen this? There are cops looking to find out where she lives and want to meet her. What about scumbags and losers who might harass her?” Lynch stated and Tazer was getting angrier and angrier.
“Does he know where she is right now?” Tazer asked.
“It’s Saturday and nearly five o’clock. I’d say she’s getting ready to have dinner with her dad and then meet her friends at Spencer’s.”
“Then plan on going there tonight too,” Lynch said and disconnected the call.
Lynch looked back at the calendar.
“Do you have any idea how many people will see that thing?” Tazer asked him. He was feeling so jealous, angry and protective of her.
“I don’t want to think about it,” Lynch replied quietly. His brother was the most intense of all of them. The most quiet, the hardest to get to open up. Tazer wasn’t any better. In fact, it was him and Lynch that held back from pushing Eliza Grace to let them be her guardians. She was so much younger than them. Their experiences in life, the dangers they involved themselves with on a regular basis still would get in the way. She deserved better, but the thought of another man other than him and his brothers having her just didn’t sit right and made him sick and angry.
“It’s only a matter of time,” Lynch said and looked out the window.
Tazer knew what he meant. Only a matter of time before some other man or men claimed their woman. By then it would be too late. They needed to make a decision and stick with it. This going back and forth caring and then pretending not to care was driving them insane and sending the wrong message to Eliza Grace. She was already pushing Parker away by saying she was fine now and he didn’t need to text anymore. Could they live with the decision to let her go and not pursue her as their woman? That thought brought more sickness to his gut and feelings he never felt before. He didn’t know what to do. Not as a team leader or as the oldest brother. Maybe they would get more answers tonight.
* * * *
“They are so pissed off, Eliza Grace. I swear they tore into Kenneth and his brothers as if they knew about the calendar. The Hayes brothers were questioning everyone,” Missy Ann told Eliza as they got out of the car and headed toward the front entrance of Spencer’s.
“Well, I don’t know why they’re so angry. My dad saw the calendar and he thought I looked great. He liked the one in September of the old classic car. Sent him into a whole story of racing down the highway and nearly getting caught by the police patrolling.”
Missy Ann chuckled. “Well, I agree with your dad, they were great pictures and you looked incredible. That cover shot was sexy yet classy, and in the August bikini shot, that hot pink suit sure did stand out too. You looked amazing. Are you going to be doing anything similar, or another calendar?” she asked as they opened the front door to the place and headed inside.
“Clarissa has been hounding me to do a catalogue for one of the upscale boutiques in Charleston. But it entails lingerie and I’m not comfortable with that.”
Missy Ann’s eyes widened and she hugged her arm. “Could you imagine the looks you’d get after that? I mean, look at everyone right now,” she said and as Eliza and her headed deeper into the place their friends and even people they didn’t know all said hello and told her how gorgeous she looked in the calendar.
A couple of guys came over and introduced themselves and offered to buy her and Missy Ann a drink. She declined but then one of the guys handed her a mixed drink and started talking to her about the calendar, and before she went to take a sip from the drink Parker was taking it from her hand and placing it down on the bar.
“Parker?” She questioned his move and then immediately sealed her lips from one look at his facial expression.
“We need to talk. Now,” he said and pulled her along with him then stopped, not wanting to leave Missy Ann with the four guys, but then led Missy Ann to Caroline and her men before he gripped Eliza Grace’s arm and ushered her through the crowd. A quick glance over her shoulder at Caroline’s smiling face should have eased her worry right now, but Parker was a big guy, filled with muscles, capable of things she couldn’t even imagine and he seemed very upset.
As he got her to the back hallway he released her arm and then paced in front of her.
“I can’t believe it. I mean, I know you do some modeling for the boutique, but the calendar? That pose in the see-through cover up and bikini on the cover and the one by the car, the one in the hot pink bikini? You could practically see your—”
“Parker,” she cut him off. “You couldn’t see anything. It was a great shot. This is why you’re angry? Because you didn’t know I was doing the calendar?”
He stomped in place in front of her and his dark blue eyes zeroed in on her breasts. She wore a pretty tank top with sequins along the trim in cream and a matching short black skirt with high heels. The tank top had a sheer matching overlay that was slightly see through. She bought it at the boutique she modeled for.
He stepped closer, placing his hand on her waist. It felt so big, so heavy, and the significant difference in his size to hers suddenly had her gulping for air.
“You could have warned us,” he said so very seriously that she felt how upset he was. He was insulted, maybe? Hurt? Why? She didn’t understand and he must have picked up on the confusion in her facial expression.
Town of Chance: Believing in Love [The Dare Series 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 4