Saving Sky

by Natasha L. Black

  “Then maybe you should have been one of them,” I replied. “We’ve got to get to our patrol.”

  “They get shot at too much,” he said with a shrug. “And I’d rather not have to deal with a trip-wire loaded apartment or bomb backpacks.”

  “That’s the Bomb Squad,” I said with a shake of my head. We headed to the cruiser and slid inside, but my mind was back on Rocco.

  Just trip up, you Bastard. That’s all I need you to do. Just once, and you’re gone.

  8

  Sky

  I dragged my feet as I wandered through my apartment. The lingerie I’d been wearing when I walked out of the club a couple days before was lying on the chair where I’d thrown it. It was an hour before my shift was supposed to start, and I didn’t want to go in.

  But I never did hear back from Mr. Carducci, though I couldn’t say I was surprised. Rocco had made it clear I was to be in for my shift, and I didn’t dare go against him. Not after he’d gotten physical with me once already. I knew what he was capable of.

  You should go to the cops. If he’s going to force you to do and the rest of the girls to do illegal shit, you should report him to the authorities right away.

  I grimaced. I knew the logical thing would be to go straight to them and tell them what was going on, but I feared what was going to happen if I did. They wouldn’t go in and arrest him without proof, and if they were to talk to him about it, I knew he’d guess I was the one who had gone to them in the first place.

  He hated cops. I knew it was because of the lifestyle he chose to live, and I was pretty sure he had a few of them on his payroll. If I were to bring them around, especially questioning him for illegal activity, he’d likely make sure I disappeared.

  My mind instantly wandered back to the hot cop that had been in my dreams the past few nights. It was getting kind of old having to shower and change my clothes in the middle of the night. I couldn’t help but wonder if the real thing would be that good or if he were better left to my imagination.

  I grabbed the lingerie and shoved it in my bag, then I stopped to check myself in the mirror before heading out the door. I paused. I looked very tired. Defeated. Thoughts of my hero cop came flooding back to me. They were doing that a lot now, and I knew why.

  He saved you. He stepped in and saved you from Rocco when he was hurting you. He didn’t think about himself or what might happen to him. He just saw that you were in need, and he acted.

  But was it because it was me specifically? Or would he have done that for any girl he saw in that situation? I wanted so much to believe I was a special case. I tried smiling at myself, brushing my hair back out of my face to see myself better. It was a nice thought. My mother used to tell me that I was worth the entire world. I’d long since stopped believing that.

  But then, a man coming in out of nowhere to save me – there was something to be said for that.

  As always, however, the flood of other thoughts came rushing in as well. Thoughts that felt far more realistic than any of the pleasant ones that ran through my brain.

  He was just doing his job. The man is a cop. You know that that means. He’s there to protect anyone he sees being hurt, not just you. Do you really think a guy like that is going to want to be with a girl like you?

  You’re a stripper! Forget about it. Never going to happen.

  I headed out the door, the negative thoughts having fully taken root in my brain. I knew it wasn’t healthy. I desperately missed the girl I’d been once. The one who dreamt of being a veterinarian and helping sick animals. The one who’d had plans and a purpose. Not the one who’d been beaten down by life.

  The man was nothing more than a fantasy. He just happened to be someone who had saved me, giving me the one thing that I wanted most in the world. I didn’t want to be hurt anymore. I wanted out of the mess my life had become, and for that brief moment, I was.

  Without even knowing it, he had done exactly what I’d needed. And I was still dreaming about him because of it. It didn’t help that he was hot as hell. And shit, a girl could have her dreams, couldn’t she?

  That’s all they were, after all.

  Nothing but dreams.

  “Cutting it close, aren’t you?” Rocco asked when I walked through the door. It was less than a minute before my shift was supposed to start, and I had a feeling he was going to be on my back about the day before.

  I wanted to ignore him, but I didn’t dare.

  “You said to be here on time, and I am,” I replied dryly. “So you got what you wanted.”

  “Feeling better?” he asked. “I was worried sick about you.”

  I could hear the sarcasm in his voice, but I merely nodded. I was on my way back to my station to put on my makeup and do my hair. There were times I’d put on a wig. It was a good way to protect myself against the people who came through those doors. Other times, I went natural.

  Today, I was putting on that wig.

  “You know, I’m curious about that cop who assaulted me in the alley the other day,” he said as he followed me to my makeup station.

  I nearly choked at his rendition of what had happened. As if he’d been the innocent victim. “What about him?” I asked, not looking up.

  “Seems rather convenient that he was right there just at that time,” he replied. “Don’t you think?”

  “What are you getting at?” I asked. “I need to get ready to get out there, and you’re holding me up.”

  “This is my establishment. I can hold you up for as long as I want,” he barked. “You can get ready while I talk.”

  “I’d rather you weren’t standing right here while I got dressed,” I replied. It wasn’t uncommon for us to change our clothing in front of each other, but Rocco wasn’t ever back there when we did. At least, he wasn’t when I changed.

  “Then stand behind the curtain,” he snapped. I gave him a look, but I could see by his expression I had no choice. He was going to stand there and talk while I got ready, whether I liked it or not.

  With a sigh, I slipped behind the changing curtain and yanked it closed, making sure there wasn’t any room for him to see through the slits before I started undressing.

  “I just find it odd that just as you walked out of here, there’s a cop there ready to meet you. And don’t think I didn’t notice he was one of the men from the bachelor party the other night,” Rocco continued. “You seemed pretty damn happy to be giving him that lap dance.”

  “You were the one who told me to do that,” I said. “And I’m paid to look happy.”

  “I know you well enough by now to know when you’re truly enjoying yourself or just faking,” Rocco said with a laugh. “Don’t try to tell me you weren’t having fun with that one.”

  “I’m still not sure what you’re trying to say,” I opened the curtain, now dressed in my lingerie. I hated the way his eyes immediately darted to my breasts. He grinned.

  “God I love it when you wear that one,” he said.

  “I need to put on my makeup,” I grabbed a wig and jammed it over my head. I wished more than anything he’d go back to his office. I knew he was trying to drag this out as much as he could.

  “I’ll put it bluntly, then,” he said. “Are you involved with that cop?”

  “Involved?” I looked at him through the mirror. “You don’t get to ask me about my personal life. What I do when I leave here is none of your damn business.”

  His eyes hardened. “You didn’t answer my question sweetheart. Are you involved with him?”

  I took my time putting the eyeliner across my eyes and applying my lipstick. There was a part of me that was glad he was so concerned about the situation. Another part of me, however, was worried that it would only make my situation even more perilous if he believed I was involved with a cop. He would do anything to protect himself and his business interests. Including getting rid of anyone he thought posed a threat. And that would include an employee dating an officer of the law.

  I knew that I
should just acquiesce and make him think he had intimidated me yet again. I knew that I should make him believe that I wasn’t a threat to him. But my patience was boiling over, and I was about sick and tired of the bullshit. I didn’t want to be this scared weakling anymore. I wanted to take my life back once and for all.

  After finishing with my eyeliner, I put on my mascara. Rocco waited, impatiently tapping his foot on the floor while I took my time. Of course, I could talk while I put on my eye makeup, but I made a purposeful show of standing closer to the mirror and acting like I was concentrating too much on getting it perfect.

  “Rocco, you control every aspect of my life while I’m on the clock and working here,” I said at last. I once again took my time closing the makeup before making eye contact with him in the mirror once more. “But who I see and what I do in my free time is none of your goddamn business!”

  His arms had been crossed, but he now let them fall to his side. I knew I was pissing him off all over again, but I just couldn’t bring myself to care anymore. I didn’t want to work for him anymore, and the only reason I’d shown back up was because I needed to bide my time until I could safely get away.

  “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got work to do.” I set the rest of the makeup on the corner of the counter, then I rose, pushing past him to make my way to the stage.

  I let out a small cry when he surprised me by grabbing my throat once more.

  “I’m getting real sick of this attitude you’ve developed,” he said as he leaned in toward my face. I held my chin high, hoping against hope one of the other girls would walk in and see what was going on.

  We were in the back of the club. There was no way anyone outside the curtain could see back there. Even if the cop had come back, he wouldn’t know that I needed him to save me all over again.

  I was trying to breathe, but his grip barely let any air into my lungs.

  “You better get your head on straight,” he leaned in even closer. I could feel his breath on my face as he spoke. I wanted to spit at him, but my heart pounded in my chest. My body screamed for oxygen, and his grip was strong. “I am God in your life, and what I say, goes. If I find out you’re involved with that cop in any way, I’ll kill him and then you.”

  He released his grip, letting me choke and gasp as I tried to suck air back into my lungs. I put my hand to my throat, rubbing it gently. I could still feel where his fingers had been, but he spoke once more, taking my attention. “Now you get out there and you put on a damn good show tonight. You had your fun yesterday, and today, you’re going to make up for it.”

  Without a word, I strode away from him, refusing to let him see the fear in my face or the tears threatening to spill from my eyes. I would go out and do my job because I needed the money to be able to get away from Rocco and the shitshow my life had become. But I refused to let him break me. No more.

  Unfortunately for now, I had to play by his rules. But my time was coming. And he’d better watch the fuck out when it did.

  9

  Jack

  Welsh and I walked into the strip club side by side. It hadn’t been hard for me to convince him to tag along. Whether he’d been eager to help me get the goods on Rocco to put him away once and for all, or whether he just wanted to see naked girls jiggling around on stage, I didn’t care. I had backup and that’s what I needed.

  “I’m not going to do anything stupid,” I’d told him as I tried to convince him to go with me. “Really. We’re not going in there looking for trouble, and we aren’t going to engage with Rocco at all if we can help it.”

  “What if he comes over to us?” Welsh asked.

  “We’ll act like any other patron that’s in the club,” I said with a shrug. “We’ll be cordial and keep to ourselves.”

  “Doesn’t sound like anyone else there. Drunks slobbering all over the stage being watched by bouncers,” Welsh said with a laugh. “That’s more like it.”

  “We aren’t going to be that,” I said. “Somewhere in between.”

  “Alright,” he said with a shrug. “Whatever you say.”

  “Great,” I said with a grin. “You’re my partner. I want you there beside me in case shit goes down.”

  “What sort of shit could go down?” Welsh laughed. “If we’re going to be behaving ourselves?”

  “You never know in a place like that,” I replied.

  So, after we got off work, we both headed home to shower and change, then we met in the parking lot of Smitty’s. It was Thursday, not their busiest day of the week by far. That was evident by how few cars there were in the lot.

  We got past the bouncer and headed into the dark room. There was a stark contrast from the other night, and I could almost call the place tame at that point. The lights were dim, but they weren’t as flashy as they had been on a Friday. The woman dancing on the pole was one whom I recognized, but she wasn’t Sky. I wasn’t even entirely sure that Sky would be working that night.

  “So what’s the plan again?” Welsh asked. He was transfixed by the woman on the pole.

  “We’re going to find Sky and figure out a way to talk,” I replied. “I’m not sure she’s going to, but we’ve got to try.”

  “And you don’t think that’s going to attract the attention of Rocco?” he looked at me with a skeptical expression. “We should have talked about this in the car.”

  “I told you to act natural. We aren’t going to interrogate the girl. We’re just going to see if we can get her to talk. Hell, I’ll give pay her for another lap dance if I have to,” I said.

  “Well if it’s absolutely necessary for the job,” Welsh said and waggled his eyebrows. “Maybe I’ll employ your special interview techniques with that lovely lady on stage. You know, to see if I can get anything on Rocco from her.”

  “Do what you want, just don’t cause a scene. And keep your eyes open for anything that’s suspicious,” I said. “If there’s sleazy shit going down with this guy, you can bet a lot of it is taking place right here.”

  He nodded and the two of us took our seats near the stage. Welsh didn’t need much encouragement to act natural. He was doing a fine job as it was. He threw money, he encouraged. It wasn’t long before the woman was on top of him. I rolled my eyes.

  It never failed to blow my mind that guys would just toss their hard-earned money away like that. Just the thought of it made me shake my head. Just then, I caught a glimpse of Sky. She was in the back room doing something, but I couldn’t make out what it was. I’d only gotten a glance at her as another dancer came out on stage.

  At least you know she’s here. Maybe there’s a chance she’s going to come back out.

  I glanced at the clock. It was around the time she’d been leaving the day Rocco had accosted her in the alley, but I wasn’t sure if that was because she was getting off work, or if she had simply been pissed off. It had clearly been a heated exchanged, so I didn’t get the impression she was just then getting off.

  My heart leapt to my throat as she walked out onto the stage. There was a woman with green hair on the pole, lifting herself up and twirling herself around. Sky, on the other hand, took to the floor of the stage, putting on a show for the crowd.

  She still seemed to be disconnected from the moment, as though she was going through the motions but not really there. Not that it was an uncommon look for those in her profession. Some looked bored, some looked high on their drug of choice, some looked like they actually enjoyed it. But still, there was something just different about the way Sky looked. And I knew down to my toes it had something to do with the thinly veiled threat I’d heard Rocco give her the other day.

  She flipped from her back to her hands and knees and crawled toward the edge of the stage, stopping short as soon as she made eye contact with me. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers, and all the color drained out of her face.

  Visibly affected, she tried to recover, but I worried she was going to get up and run out. So, I quickly jotted my name and number down on
a bill and threw it toward her. Getting back into the groove of her performance, she sensually crawled to pick it up, gathering it with a handful of other bills and putting it in the hem of her lingerie.

  Though she was clearly trying to act natural, it seemed to me that she rushed the rest of the performance, getting off the stage and retreating to the back as quickly as possible.

  She had been clearly agitated by my presence. I was starting to wonder if maybe I’d gotten it all wrong and what I’d walked into the other day was just a part of their schtick? But no, it couldn’t be. She clearly didn’t want to be there anymore. She was there because she had to be for one reason or another. I sat back in the chair, ordered another drink, and waited for Welsh to be done with his fun. He was running out of money quickly, so it wasn’t going to be long before we were out of there.

  It had quickly become obvious to me there was no way I was going to get the chance to talk to the girl here. Hell, she was probably scared to come back out from behind the curtain for fear I’d ask for another lap dance. But she now had my name and contact information.

  She’d seen it on the bill, I saw her look at it when she picked it up. Unless she handed all her money over to Rocco when she got to the back, she’d be able to get in touch. And if he did see the money, he was more than welcome to call. God knew I’d love to chat with him.

  Welsh came over to me with a grin on his face, and I finished my drink, telling him it was time to go.

  “Are you sure?” he asked. “Did you get what you came for?”

  “Not exactly, but I think we should get out of here,” I nodded. “Let’s go.”

  He followed me back through the door and we parted ways in the parking lot. I didn’t know what to expect. I’d given her my name and number, but the expression on her face was undeniable. She knew who I was, and she wanted to avoid me.