by L. Wilder
While I hated the idea of working at a strip club, I made the best of it. My best friend, Kat, was there, which made things tolerable. We’d been friends since we were kids, and she was like a sister to me. Like me, she’d also lost her mother. While mine had died, hers ran off with some guy, leaving her behind with her father. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have my mother ditch me, but Kat never let it get to her. She was the life of the party and always had a way of making me laugh, even when we’d been working all night. I loved having her around, so things weren’t all bad with the club. And out of some mediocre form of respect, the brothers left me alone, at least for the most part. Tank, the new president and one of my father’s oldest friends, told the brothers I was off-limits and enforced the rule he’d set. Sadly, time passed, and his priorities changed. With everything going on in the club, I’d been all but forgotten, and the brothers knew it. That’s exactly why I’d found myself pinned against the wall by a douchebag they called Slider.
I looked up at him, all muscled up on steroids and reeking of cheap cologne, and I was completely repulsed. The man was an arrogant asshole, but that wasn’t the reason I hated him. Deep down, I believed he had a hand in my father’s death. He’d never admit it, but in my gut, I knew it was true. The way he was ogling me like he wanted me to be the next notch on his bedpost made my stomach turn, and it was all I could do to keep myself from punching him in the throat. To make matters worse, the hot guy I’d seen sitting at the bar must’ve heard me yelling at Slider. The last thing I wanted was for a guy like him to get involved, but whether I liked it or not, he was coming our way. He was only a few feet away when he asked, “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” My voice shrilled high, making me feel like a complete idiot. Even from afar, I could tell the guy was hot, but having him so close took my breath away. He was the kind of guy that put meaning to the phrase “tall, dark and handsome”—tall and broad with dark brown hair and even darker eyes. My eyes quickly roamed over his muscular build, and I found myself wishing he was the one pinning me against this damned wall instead. As much as I didn’t want to, I had to get him to walk away. I knew what would happen if he didn’t, so I tried to reassure him that I was okay. “Really. I’m okay.”
“You sure about that?” His voice was deep and seductive, making every nerve in my body tingle. I’d never had that kind of reaction to any man, and seeing the way he was looking at me made my heart race. Unfortunately, I didn’t see lust or desire when he looked at me. I only saw concern—or worse, pity. Seeing the expression on his face just made me even more mad at Slider.
“You heard her, asshole. Now, get the hell out of here before you and me have a problem,” he barked.
“See… that’s where you’re wrong.” My stomach did a somersault when I saw the way he was glaring at Slider. If looks could kill, he’d already be dead and buried. Unfortunately, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. It would’ve been different if it was just Slider he was up against, but as soon as the others overheard them arguing, they’d jump in and take things to the extreme. That’s just how they were—about everything. It’s like they couldn’t function independently. It was to the point where you’d think the douchebags shared a damned brain, the way they behaved. The man’s eyebrows furrowed as he growled, “We already have a problem.”
“No! There’s no problem.” I tried once again to get the guy to leave. “My friend and I were just having a bit of a misunderstanding, but that’s settled now.” I wasn’t one of those small, fragile types. I had curves, and they weren’t all in the right places, but I wasn’t strong enough to get away from Slider. I tried to slip out of his hold, but he just pushed me back, slamming me against the wall with a thud. “Damn it, Slider.”
In an instant, Slider was yanked back when the guy grabbed him from behind. He stumbled for a moment, but quickly regained his footing. Slider stormed towards the man and bellowed, “You got a death wish, motherfucker?”
“Slider, stop!” I reached for his arm, trying vainly to restrain him, and ended up getting thrown into the wall once again.
“Stay out of this, Zoe!” he shouted. Before he knew what was coming, the handsome stranger plowed his fist into his jaw, and then before Slider had a chance to recover, he rammed his knee into his gut.
The man looked over to me and winked. “You better get going while you can. Something tells me this might get a little messy.”
The words had barely left his mouth when Slider reached for a chair and slammed it into his side. Seeming unfazed by the blow, the man charged forward, butting his shoulder into Slider’s gut and tackling him to the ground. Chairs and tables toppled over, drawing attention from everyone, including the brothers. I stood there frozen in fear as they got out of their seats and rushed over to the fight. Once they saw that Slider was on the ground and the man pinning him to the floor wasn’t wearing a cut, it was done. Skull reached for the man, pulling him off Slider, and held his arms behind his back. He tried to pull free, but he couldn’t break from Skull’s grasp. Slider crawled to his feet and walked over to the man, standing inches from his face.
“Not so tough now are you, motherfucker?”
His lips curled into a devilish grin as he rebutted, “I’m not the one who needs backup, asshole.”
When I saw the glimmer of the gold shining from Skull’s brass knuckles, I charged forward, forcing myself through the crowd. “Let him go! This was all Slider’s fault, and you know it! I told him to leave me the hell alone, but he wouldn’t listen. This guy was just trying to help.”
Hawk, the club’s enforcer, and biggest asshole, stepped forward. “That was his first mistake. The second mistake was laying his hand on my brother. Now, he’s going to pay for that shit.”
“But, Hawk… it wasn’t his fault!”
“Maybe next time you’ll think twice before giving Slider a hard time.” He smirked. “Give the guy some pussy and this kind of shit won’t happen.”
“Is that what it’s going to take?” I shouted. “Fine. I’ll do it. Just let him go!”
“No!” the man growled as he tried once again to break away from Skull’s hold on him. His eyes locked on mine with an intensity I couldn’t explain as he barked, “Just walk away. Now.”
“This is insane!” I’d never hated the brothers more than I did in that moment. My face grew red with anger as I glowered over at Slider. “Just so you know, I’d rather die than have your hands on me.”
“We can arrange that, princess,” Hawk spat.
I glanced over to the stranger, and as soon as our eyes met, I had to fight the urge to cry. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. None of this is on you.” He motioned his head towards the bar. “Now go.”
Knowing I couldn’t bear to watch, I headed over to the bar. When I heard the sounds of their fists hitting him over and over, my blood ran cold. I reached for a bottle of bourbon, and my hand trembled as I poured myself a drink—then another. I was about to make a third when Kat came up behind me. “You okay, darlin’?”
“No.” I poured the third drink just as they started to drag the man towards the door. They continued to hit and kick his wilted body as they threw him out into the parking lot. “I can’t do this anymore. I’ve gotta get out of here.”
“You and I both know that’s not going to happen. They’ll never let you leave.” Kat looked over at the men and shook her head. “Besides, this will pass. It’s just all that testosterone they’ve got pumping through their system. It makes them crazy.”
“This is more than crazy. He was just trying to help me.”
Kat gave me one of her looks. “He was a good-looking thing, but there’s no telling what he’ll look like when they’re done with him. That is… if they don’t kill him.”
Panic washed over me. “You don’t think they’d go that far, do you?”
She shrugged. “You never know with them. They’re foaming at the mouth like a pack of wolves, and the fact that they’ve b
een drinking all night doesn’t help.”
I started rushing towards the door as I said, “I’ve gotta do something.”
Kat reached for my arm, pulling me back behind the bar, and gave me a firm look. “Leave it. There’s nothing you can do for him now.”
Seconds later the door flew open, and the guys started filing back inside. They were hooting and hollering like a bunch of hyped-up teenagers as they made their way back to their tables. “I need to go see if he’s okay.”
With an aggravated sigh, Kat turned and looked at me. “And what’s going to happen when Slider or one of the guys sees you helping this dude? Think, girl. You know it’s only going to piss them off even more, and if he isn’t already dead, you can be sure they’ll finish him off.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
“I’ll go around back and see if I can find him. You stay put and act like nothing’s wrong.”
“Thank you, Kat.”
The next ten minutes were torture as I waited for her to return. I couldn’t stop thinking of the worst. Images of him lying on the ground dead kept flashing through my mind, making me a nervous wreck. I tried to distract myself by wiping down the counters and throwing away the empty beer bottles.
I’d just finished cleaning when Kat walked up. I could tell by the look on her face it was bad. “What?”
“I found him.” She reached for a bottle of tequila and poured herself a shot. “He’s in the back by the dumpsters.”
“How is he?”
“It’s pretty bad, Zo. They really did a number on him, but he’s alive.”
“Oh, God. What should I do?”
She downed her shot. “We wait until closing when everyone is gone, and then we’ll get him to the hospital.”
I looked up at the clock and saw that we still had twenty minutes until closing, and it would be at least thirty more minutes after that before everyone was gone. I hated that we’d have to wait that long, but Kat was right; if they saw me helping him, the brothers would kill him. I couldn’t take that chance, so I had to do the only thing I could: wait.
Chapter 3
Two Bit
I knew better. The warning signs were there, and I ignored them all. I couldn’t explain it if I tried. One look at her, and I was willing to lay it all on the line. I almost lost it when she offered herself up to that asshole for my freedom. There was no way in hell I was gonna let that happen. I’d rather take my chances with the brass knuckles. Maybe it was the whole damsel-in-distress thing, but there was no way I was walking out that door until I knew she was okay—especially after I saw the way she looked at me. Her cheeks flushed a bright pink and a hungry look filled her eyes as they skirted over my body. I won’t deny it. I liked that she was into me, and I wanted nothing more than to throw her over my shoulder and carry her the hell out of that place to spend the entire night exploring every curve and every inch of her body.
I would’ve done just that if that asshole hadn’t been in the fucking way. It just didn’t make sense. I couldn’t understand what a girl like her was doing in a place like Nudie’s, much less how she got herself mixed up with a guy like Slider. I had every intention of finding out until I found myself almost dead in the alley behind the strip club.
At least three of my ribs were broken along with my jaw and possibly my shoulder, and I’m pretty sure I had a concussion, if not worse. Everything around me was spinning in circles, and it was getting harder and harder to breathe. I’m not sure how long I’d been lying there when I heard a car pull up beside me. The car door opened, but my eyes were too swollen shut for me to see. I heard footsteps coming towards me, and then I heard a woman cry, “Oh, shit. He looks awful. We’ve got to get him to the hospital now!”
I wanted to tell them to leave me and go get Clutch and Stitch. I needed to warn them of the heist, but I was only able to let out a loud groan. I was becoming frustrated when I felt a cool hand rest across my cheek. A woman whispered softly, “We’re going to get you some help. I just need you to hang on a little longer.”
“You’ve seen this guy, right? He’s gotta weigh three hundred pounds! There’s no way we’re going to be able to get him into your car!”
“We’ll figure it out.”
I was too out of it to help as one of them reached under my arms and the other grabbed my feet. They tried to pull me forward, but only made it a few inches. Again, I groaned, hoping they would stop.
“Oh my God. We’re never going to be able to do this.”
“We have to! Come over on this side, and we’ll pull together.”
They each took a hold of an arm and started to tug. This time they made it several feet before they stopped. “Quick. Open the back door.”
I heard the door creak open, and then I was being pulled once more. I thought my head would burst open like a fucking cantaloupe with the way it was pounding, and them pulling me across the gravel wasn’t helping. I could barely breathe from the pain in my side, and I had to hold my breath as they tried to yank me into that damned car. I’m not sure how they managed it, but with only a few bumps and knocks, they wedged me in the backseat. My head was spinning, making me even more nauseated, but thankfully, I was distracted when I heard the engine start. As soon as the car started moving, they began talking back and forth. “Do you think he’s going to be okay?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. He’s pretty out of it, and his face looks like minced meat.”
“I hate them so much for hurting him like this. It’s so stupid. None of it would’ve happened if Slider would have just left me the hell alone.” I thought I had recognized her voice, but it wasn’t until then that I finally realized she was the girl from the strip club. I wanted to tell her that none of it was her fault, but the words just wouldn’t come.
“Slider is an asshole, and he’s had an eye for you from the start. He was bound to screw up sooner or later. Besides, it’s only a matter of time before Tank gets wind of it. He’ll take care of Slider.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“What are we going to tell the doctors?”
“What do you mean?”
“We can’t tell them the truth. We have to have a story, something that won’t have the cops sniffing around the club.”
“Maybe it’s best that we tell them we found him somewhere else, like a gas station or behind our apartment complex,” she suggested.
“Or we could just drop him off at the front door and get the hell out of there.”
“I’m not leaving him.”
“Zoe.”
“This all happened because of me. I can’t just dump him off. I just can’t.”
“It’s not like it’s going to matter. Sooner or later, this guy is gonna find out you’re tied up with the club.” I was trying to make sense of what they were saying, but they were talking too fast. I couldn’t understand. “And when he does, he’s going to hit the ground running.”
“Maybe so, but I’m still staying.”
“Fine. You do what you gotta do, but as soon as we get him to the hospital, I’m outta there. I need my job. I can’t—”
“I get it, Kat. I don’t expect you to do any more than you already have.”
The car came to a quick stop, and one of them said, “Wait here. I’ll go in and get somebody to help.”
After that, everything was a blur. I heard the familiar sounds of heart monitors beeping next to me, so I could only assume I’m in some fucking hospital room. I tried to move, to call out to someone, but I couldn’t. I was too far into the haze to break free. Even when I felt the soft caress of fingertips trailing down my arm and the soft whimper of someone crying, I could only lie there and listen. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
I could hear the pain in her voice, and I wanted to reach out to her, comfort her in some way. “Why didn’t you listen to me? Why didn’t you just leave while you still had the chance? Now, you’re stuck in here fighting for your life. You were just too stubborn to listen.
I don’t know what I would’ve done if… Anyway, the doctor said you were lucky. One of your broken ribs pierced your lung, and it could’ve killed you if we hadn’t gotten you here when we did. He’s worried about your concussion. It was pretty bad…”
Her voice faded as she started to cry. It took her several minutes to collect herself and finally continue talking. “I’m not really supposed to be in here. My Aunt Janet is the chief nurse over the night shift. She’s the one that let me back here. I’m kind of surprised. She’s usually such a stickler for the rules.”
She was rambling, but I liked the sound of her voice. It was relaxing and helped me forget about the throbbing pain in my head. “I’m not crazy about hospitals. They make me a little nervous, and when I get nervous, I talk too much. I probably need to give you a break.”
When she stopped talking, the room became eerily quiet. I didn’t like it. Without the distraction, the ache in my side started to intensify, and the pounding in my head became damned near unbearable. The pain continued to increase, and it felt like my skull was splitting in half. I felt the palm of her hand on my chest as she asked, “Hey… what’s wrong? Are you okay? Should I call a nurse?”
Seconds later, I heard the door open and a voice call out into the hallway. “We need a nurse or a doctor in here! Now!”
She came back over to me and placed her hand on mine, giving it a light squeeze. “Hold on. They’re coming.”
My breathing became more strained, the pain hit a new level of excruciating, and I was falling deeper into the darkness. I tried to hold on, tried to listen as the doctors attempted to find the problem, but it was just too hard. Suddenly, the pain began to ease and my breathing became less difficult, but the need to let go was even more powerful. It was like descending through the air with no end in sight. The noise in the room faded, and I felt miles away from anyone. I tried to call out for help, but the words wouldn’t come. I was trapped, drowning in the pits of darkness, and there was nothing I could do to pull myself free. My fight was gone. I could only lay there and submit to my circumstance.