Stripped (Wolves of Mule Creek #2)

by Katharine Sadler

  STRIPPED

  Wolves of Mule Creek

  Katharine Sadler

  Kindle Edition

  Copyright © 2018 by Katharine Sadler

  All Rights Reserved.

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  I swayed to the beat of the music and smiled. Lights flashed. The crowd hooted and whistled. I ran my hands over my waist and reached behind my back for the clasp of my bra. I slid the straps down my arms and dropped it, allowing my breasts to swing free to the cheers of the, mostly, male crowd. I slid, back to the pole, into a squat that had my quads lighting up with pain. It was my seventh dance of the night, because we were short-staffed, and I was really feeling it. The lust rolling off the crowd overshadowed the pain somewhat, and energy pulsed through me. A guy on the edge of the stage flashed some bills, and I crawled over to him and let him slip them into my garter.

  I made my way back to the pole and wrapped one hand around it, lifting my feet from the stage and swinging myself around. My arms shook and I stifled a yawn. Even the lust flowing from the crowd wasn't keeping my excitement up. I slid back down the pole and pasted on a bright, fake smile. When I'd been a little girl, dreaming of being a dancer, I'd never imagined taking my clothes off while I did it, but I'd taken pride in my exotic dancing. I'd allowed it to feed my need for creativity and movement. In the past year, though, it had become harder and harder for me to find any enthusiasm for it.

  The song ended and I waved to the crowd as I hopped off the stage. I could have walked back behind the curtains, but I had work to do and the lust flowing through that room was too much to resist. I stepped into it like I was stepping into a warm bath. I sighed as the good feeling surrounded me, pumping me up. If I had more than a quarter siren blood, my eyes would be glowing red. If I was more than a quarter siren, like my mother and her mother had been, I'd be at risk of becoming addicted to the lust, of needing it to get through the day.

  Alice handed over my bra and a dress too tiny to be worn anywhere other than a strip club. “Aren't going to take your break, boss?” she asked. My club, The Booty Carousel, was small and the staff was smaller, especially in the off-season. All the dancers doubled as waitresses, working in lap dances when required. As the owner, I often had to dance and wait tables, because I rarely had a full staff or the money to pay them.

  “I'm good,” I said. “I saw Zara giving a lap dance, so I'll make sure her tables are covered.”

  Alice nodded and headed toward the stage for her own dance. I slipped on my bra and the dress in the shadows next to the stage. I had no qualms about nudity, but it's best to keep the goods somewhat covered when I'm among the crowd, otherwise it's too much temptation for grasping hands and wandering assault convictions. The bouncer, Zed, preferred to save his energy for the gym and I preferred to keep the drama out of my club.

  I checked Zara's tables and got them what they needed, before heading to my own section.

  “Sissy.” Charlie, bald pated with gray hair at his temples, stepped up beside me. He knew my real name, but he always used my stage name at my club. “Looking good up there tonight.”

  I smiled at Charlie, a regular who tipped well and kept his hands to himself. “Thanks, Charlie.”

  On the stage, Alice was twisting and shaking her hips. She was a terrible dancer, but she had the face of an angel and the biggest natural boobs I'd ever seen. The crowd loved her and she moved with a confidence she'd lacked when she showed up at my door begging for a job. She had a dream of opening a bookstore in town, but the bank had turned her down for a loan. I'd convinced her to save her money and find a new town to open her business in. A town that wasn't run by blood-suckers.

  “Needed a break from all that paperwork?” Charlie asked. He was a good guy, thrice-divorced with a bad habit of blowing all his money on women and booze. He was also the mayor of our fine town, Aspens Whiten. The bloodsuckers let him keep the job because he was agreeable and easily distracted.

  “You know it,” I said. It wasn't exactly a lie. I did enjoy a break from paperwork, but mostly, I didn't think he needed to know about the club's staffing issues or financial problems. I patted his back and signaled Carly, who was tending bar between her dances, to make him his usual. “I'll bring you a drink, on the house.”

  “I'd rather have a free lap dance,” he said with a wink. That wink was not accompanied by a lecherous perusal of my body or any real intent, so I didn't take offense.

  “I'd like a weekend on a tropical island with a personal cabana boy, Mayor, but we can't all get what we want.”

  “Ain't that the truth,” he said, his ubiquitous smile fading.

  “Everything okay?”

  He focused on me and his smile returned, but it didn't reach his eyes this time. “Leopold is complaining again.”

  I bit my lip and considered my words carefully. Leopold was the top bloodsucker at the moment and the power had gone to his head more than a little bit. A select few humans, like Charlie, knew that Leopold and his coven were vampires, but most believed they were wealthy business-people who had an interest in the town. The conspiracy theorists thought they were mobsters. Leopold was looking for more money and more influence and The Booty Carousel had become his favorite target. I'd never paid the bloodsuckers dues before, certainly not in the form of a night with any one of my dancers, and I wasn't about to start now. All you had to do was look around at my club, the peeling paint, the linoleum that had been brand new in 1966, and the shabby-chic aesthetic of the furniture to see we weren't exactly raking in the money, but Leopold seemed to think I could squeeze money out of nothing. I might think it was all a ruse to force me to turn my employees into his personal brothel, but I'd never seen him without a woman on his arm, so that didn't make any sense either.

  I put a hand on Charlie's shoulder and led him to a quiet corner. I had tables waiting, but tourist season had ended with the first snowfall, and the regulars were used to waiting.

  “What's he asking for now?” I knew how the bloodsuckers worked. It wouldn't be enough for them to hassle me, they'd threaten Charlie to get him to put pressure on me, too.

  “He wants a health inspection of your club.” Charlie scanned the room as he spoke, watching for anyone who might be listening. “Scheduled for a very specific time.”

  “When?” It was a favorite vampire tactic of the previous vamp leaders: schedule a health inspection of a business and make sure it failed by planting evidence.

  “Tuesday at four.” Roxy brought over the mayor's beer and he took it from her, his hand trembling. “If you do anything…”

  “It won't come back on you,” I said. “We're closed on Tuesdays, but we're rarely empty. I train newbies here or catch up on paperwork. Sometimes my dancers practice here.”

  Charlie nodded, but he couldn't manage a smile. “I've lived in this town my whole life, raised three kids here. I never thought…” His words trailed off, but he didn't need to say more. He'd facilitated the vampire rule of the town, charmed at first by what he thought were good, civic-minded people, realizing too late they were bloodsuckers only interested in what they could gain. The world might have learned about vampires for the first time fourteen months ago, but the Aspens Whiten town council had
known for almost a decade.

  “You mentioned moving to Tempe to live with your oldest—”

  He waved a hand and grunted in annoyance. “They don't want me intruding on their lives. Truth is, I was a shit father and I've been a shit mayor. I walk away now, I might as well light the match on this town myself.”

  I doubted there was anything Charlie could do to improve the situation in Aspens Whiten, but when he started spewing truth like that, I knew there was little point in arguing with him. He wasn't wrong. Not about any of it. “I'll keep you in the loop, Charlie.” People in bars talked and people in strip clubs talked more. I'd always shared what I could with him and he'd done the same for me. “Want me to call you a cab?”

  “Nah,” he said. “I could use a walk tonight.”

  I left Charlie to his beer and his dark thoughts and got to work waiting tables. I fended off a few entitled a-holes, but it was nothing I couldn't handle with a little flattery and quick dodges.

  I left the lights and noise of the club when things started to slow down after midnight and headed down a dark hall toward my office. I had an hour to get some paperwork done, maybe figure out how we could afford to keep the club open another month now that tourist season had ended. It helped that we were the only bar in town, but even our tourist season wasn't exactly slamming. People traveled to Aspens Whiten for guided fishing, hiking, and rock climbing trips, but we weren't what anyone would call the premiere place to go in a state filled with outdoorsy activities. In most cases, Aspens Whiten excelled at being the cheapest. In winter, the tourist stream dried up to nothing, since the closest ski resort was more than two hours away.

  I'd managed to keep the club afloat for the past four years since I'd become its owner, but it was never easy and I usually got paid last. I glanced at the photo on the wall behind my desk and sighed. It was an image of a gondola on a Venetian canal, something I'd been dreaming of seeing in person since I was a little girl. I'd get there someday, but first I had to move to Denver to get a better paying job so I could afford the trip. And, before I moved to Denver, I had to figure out a way to save enough for a few months’ rent on an apartment so I'd be covered until I found a job.

  I sank into my desk chair, a relic that literally sank almost to the floor. I cranked it up and focused on the books.

  ***

  “Hey, boss lady,” said Roxy. She was wearing only a pair of panties, and looked to be in no hurry to dress. Roxy was my newest hire, a very young twenty-two, but she was smart and fearless. Her confidence was off the charts and she worked the pole like an old-hand. She had a degree from the local community college and no plan for her future.

  “Hey, ladies,” I said. Alice was also in the locker room, washing off her mask. Carly, an aspiring artist, painted all the dancers faces with elaborate masks every night. Aspens Whiten was small enough that the girls liked to be somewhat disguised when they danced. I didn't bother with it, but I didn't blame them. When I'd started dancing there at 17 there'd been no face paint, and I'd had plenty of awkward encounters at the grocery store or the bank with men or their significant others who'd seen me dance. I'd heard all the lewd and cutting remarks and had grown a tough skin, but if there was a way for other dancers not to have to deal with that, I was happy for them. “I was planning to help close out, but the club's empty, everything's already done.” Not good for a Saturday, which should have been our busiest night.

  Roxy grimaced. “Everyone was out of here by one,” she said. “I barely made a hundred dollars. I'm going to have to get a third job.” She shimmied into a tight sweater.

  I sighed and sank onto the bench next to her. Zara walked in, wearing yoga pants and an over-sized sweat-shirt. She was a single mom to a five-year-old and working at The Booty Carousel to save for a bigger place than the one-bedroom house she shared with her mother. “You must not have been working it, Rox,” Zara said. “I made over one-fifty tonight.”

  Alice, face clean and in booty shorts and a tight t-shirt, plopped down next to me. “The regulars give you extra because they know you've got a little girl at home.”

  Zara shrugged, even though Alice's tone had been less than kind. “I'll do whatever I have to do to give her a good life. I don't want her to miss out on having the very best of everything.”

  Zara spoke tough, but she'd sat in my office and cried before because of things other kids had said to her daughter about her. Zara had a decent day job, waitressing at a local diner, but she was also supporting her disabled mother, who could watch Zara's daughter but wasn't able to do much more. I'd encouraged Zara to take some online classes, or just get the hell out of Aspens Whiten, but she loved the mountains and wanted her daughter to grow up there. Plus, Zara's mother refused to leave.

  Alice bent to pull on her shoes. What we called the locker room was little more than a supply closet with a bench, three lockers, and one full-length mirror. “I think most locals come here for the booze, not the dancing,” Alice said. “If there were any other bar in town, we'd probably be broke.”

  And I'd probably have to close my doors. “Well, we are the only bar in town,” I said. “I'm sorry I can't bring in more customers or—”

  “It's not like we can make more anywhere else,” Roxy said, with a kind smile. “And the hours are perfect for me.”

  “We had more locals here last year at this time,” Alice said. “It's like half the town's found a new place to drink.”

  “It'll get better,” I said, hoping I was right. I suspected we had fewer customers because the vamps had stopped frequenting my place. The vamps and whoever else they had enough influence with to convince to stop coming here.

  “I'm out of here,” Carly said, poking her head into the locker room, her hair mussed, her lips puffy. I didn't know where she'd been hiding, but I had a pretty good idea who she'd been with when our bouncer, Zed, stepped up behind her.

  “I'll walk her out, boss,” Zed said. “And come back in for the rest of you.”

  “I'm ready now,” Roxy said with a wicked grin and a wink my way. She'd finished dressing while we were talking and was bundled up for the cold weather outside. “I'll walk out with you.”

  To their credit, Zed and Carly didn't let on that they were the least bit disappointed to have their chance at a final good night kiss blown. Maybe they had plans to meet up later.

  “I don't know why they act like it's some big secret that they're together,” Alice said, smiling.

  “And I don't know why you all don't just tell them you know,” I said.

  Alice and Zara laughed. “I caught them coming out of your office, last week,” Zara said. “They got flustered and said they'd been chasing a spider.” She shook her head. “Chasing a spider? Can you imagine?”

  “Yesterday,” Alice said, “they were going at in one of the bathroom stalls. They weren't even quiet. I pretended I didn't know what was going on and asked Carly if she'd eaten something that didn't agree with her.”

  That sent Zara into peals of laughter and even I smiled, though it was probably time I had a talk with Carly and Zed. They shouldn't be hooking up in my office of all places.

  “Ready to go?” Zed asked, appearing in the doorway, smiling like he knew the joke was on him.

  “Absolutely,” Alice said, getting to her feet. “You know, Zed, I've been wondering…” She stepped up next to him as Zara got her things together. “Are you seeing anyone? My sister has a huge crush on you and I'd love to set the two of you up.”

  Zara snorted, but had swallowed her smile by the time she'd made it over to Zed and Alice.

  Zed rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, well…I'm not really interested in a relationship—”

  “Oh, neither is Lily,” Alice said. “She just really wants to get in your pants.”

  The three of them headed for the exit, Zed trying to come up with reasonable excuses. I laughed as the door closed behind them. I picked up the locker room and headed back to my office. Zed wouldn't be back for me. I parked righ
t next to the exit, in a well-lit spot, so I could work late.

  I paused half-way to my office. There was a familiar figure leaning against my door. “Emily,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

  The woman stepped forward into the light, her hands shaking, her eyes red around the rims. I did everything I could to ensure a safe working environment for all my employees and to make sure everyone was well and healthy, but some people didn't handle this life well. I suspected Emily had been addicted before she'd come to work for me, but she'd gotten so bad I'd had to fire her last month. I'd paid for her to see a therapist, but nothing had worked for her.

  “I'm sorry,” Emily said. “I just… I just need a job.”

  My heart ached for her, remembering the vibrant, though troubled woman, she'd once been. I couldn't see that woman anymore, there was only need in her eyes, desperation in her voice when she spoke. “I can't hire you unless you've been clean for a month, Em. You know that.”

  “I've been clean.” Her lips were chapped, her face drawn. She was so thin she was practically skeletal.

  “Don't lie to me.”

  She bowed her head and, when she looked up, there were tears in her eyes. “I just need some cash, Abigail. Just a few hundred dollars to get me out of this town and away from… Them.”

  I narrowed my eyes and placed my hands on my hips. I wouldn't be lied to and I wouldn't enable her, not ever again.

  She flinched. “I'm going to quit. I am. I just need… Just a few hundred dollars. I know you have it.”

  I did have it and I'd pay that and more if I thought it would end her pain, but giving her that money would just prolong it. “You can come back to my place if you need somewhere to stay. I'll buy you breakfast. I'll help you find a place somewhere far from here.”

  “I need…” She swallowed hard. “They won't let me stop, Abby. No matter where I go, they always find me and they say… They say they'll promote me if I convince you to give them their dues. Please Abby, I don't want to do this anymore… I just want…”