by Nicole Fox
“King. King. I know you can help us. Do you have a little money you wanna throw our way?” He gave me a wide smile that I thought he intended to be convincing, but I just stared back in disgust and disbelief.
So, this was what my friends’ lives had come to. They were hooked on an arsenal of drugs and desperate for money. I didn’t know how to react, or how to process. All I’d come here for was to get even for their betrayal, but I might not even be able to do that; not when any revenge I got would either not be worth it or be too extreme.
“Don, you and the crew betrayed me. I’m not helping you,” I said angrily. That much I was sure of. There was no way I was fueling their problem. Not when it was so obviously already out of hand.
“Oh, man! That’s not fair. We feel bad about it. We really do! But the money, man. It was so much.”
I realized, in that moment, that the man standing before me wasn’t the Dane I knew. He was a shell of the man that had once been my friend. Selling me out for more money for drugs? That wasn’t something I could ever forgive. But, strangely, all desire for revenge had completely left me, and so I was just able to stand there in shock and disappointment.
I’d never said or felt it before, but I was incredibly glad I wasn’t part of the crew anymore, now that I’d taken a good, long look at them. Why would I be part of a bunch of drugged up criminals, a group of people who would willingly betray one of their own, if it meant they could get money to further their drug habit. No, I was glad I was on the outs, even if I never thought I would see the day when I was.
How could I even think about revenge on them, being as they were? Would I even get any satisfaction out of it? Half of them barely realized I was there, and the rest probably wouldn’t even notice after I’d come and gone. After searching for so long, waiting so long for answers, and trying my hardest to control the overwhelming sense of betrayal that had been hanging heavily over my head for quite some time, I felt a strange sense of freedom wash over me. Not because I had finally found them, or because I finally understood how they could’ve done something like that. I felt freedom because I knew there was nothing to get revenge on. I could just walk away and feel confident in the fact that they had already punished themselves enough. In a way, they were their own worst enemies.
“Do you want to come meet everyone again?” Dane asked, not waiting for a response before walking away and speaking with a person lying face down on the floor. The man lying there didn’t even attempt to respond, but Dane continued carrying on a conversation anyway, most of it sounding like nothing more than incoherent gabble.
I was getting sick of this now. This wasn’t how it was meant to turn out. I’d expected, no, I’d hoped, for some semblance of my old friends. They would apologize for betraying me and give me a reason that I could understand. Finding out it was just for the money for more drugs was a low blow that would be hard to recover from.
“Don, I know who everyone is,” I interrupted tiredly.
“But I wanted everyone to be awake when I told you that we wanted to give you a job in the crew again!” he called out in a huff.
I froze at his words.
“Wouldn’t that be fun, huh? If you came back. It’d be just like old times.”
I stood shocked into stillness as I processed his words. Come back to the crew? Really?
For a moment, I considered it. I really, truly considered it, and I saw my whole life flash in front of my eyes.
They were my family. Sitting all around the room, regardless of their states of awareness, were my brothers and sisters. No matter how dysfunctional they were, they were my whole life at one point. We didn’t grow up with proper homes, proper lives, or parents who loved and cared for us. No, we grew up with nobody but each other. We made a name for ourselves, taught each other what we knew, and fought for the chance to make something out of ourselves. We grew up on the wrong side of the law and stayed that way. The story wasn’t uncommon, and we weren’t special. But we stayed together, through thick and thin. Or we had.
But I had something better now. I had something to hold on to. When my so-called ‘family’ had left me behind and moved on without a backward glance, I found myself in a better situation than I had ever dreamed. I found myself with Christy.
I never understood, really, when people described someone as a game changer. I never understood how one person could change your entire outlook on life and make you want to think better, do better, and be better. How could one person be responsible for all of that?
But then I met Christy, and I understood.
She was the one bright point in my life, through all the darkness. She was the one who would keep me going through everything I had endured. She was the one who I needed to back to at the end of the night in order to be content with the world.
Yes, I thought about Don’s offer. But families came in all shapes and sizes, and, honestly, Christy was enough for me.
“I’m not coming back, Don. But I need your help.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Christy
It was a long drive to Romano’s building, even though this time I actually knew where I was going. My eyes flicked over to the passenger seat longingly, and I wished that I could have seen King one more time before I did what I was about to do. That was an outright lie, though, since I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied, even if I saw him another hundred times.
I knew I was doing the right thing. It was the only thing that would spare King’s life. I’d come to terms with it, too, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t scared out of my mind. Romano was a scary man, and I was about to go ask him something crazy. I’d be worried if I wasn’t at least a little nervous.
Romano’s building stood as menacingly and isolated as it had the first time. At least this time, when I walked in, I’d know where to go and what to do. I could pretend to have an air of confidence about me. Hopefully, it would transform into the real thing. Finally arriving at the building, I boldly approached the guard, who happened to be the same man as the other day. I counted my blessings that it wasn’t an entirely different person who I had to introduce myself to. The guard took one good look at me and immediately stepped to the side, letting me pass. I supposed that proving yourself with a fight only happened the first time.
This time, nobody needed to escort me in the lift to the top floor. I wasn’t sure if the long ride up was better or worse without the company. It was over in a matter of moments, while I was still trying my hardest to dwell on anything and everything other than the meeting that was about to take place.
Unfortunately, the doors of the lift slid open far too soon when I arrived on the top floor, and I was forced to make the familiar walk to Romano’s office. I wondered absently what the place would look like in daylight, with all those windows that let the light in. Andres didn’t look even remotely surprised as I entered his office, so I assumed someone had called to warn him of my presence.
“Christy, my dear. Isn’t this a pleasant surprise?” Romano smiled widely at me, and I made an attempt to return it, failing horribly. There was nothing happy or joyful about the situation, and I would be hard-pressed to fake something like that.
“Andres, how are you?” I said instead, forcing the tone of my voice into the least hostile tone I could manage.
Despite my bravery in coming here, standing in front of him, I could physically feel myself wavering underneath his gaze. How could anyone ever stand up to the man?
“Excellent. I notice that you’ve come alone tonight. What can I do for you?”
Of course, he had to mention that I was all alone and unprotected. I was concerned enough for my own safety without Romano mentioning it and scaring me further. Pushing those thoughts aside, I set my mind to focus on the task at hand.
This was where I had to be careful. Romano was an expert negotiator and strategist, and I was just a woman on a mission. He would be able to chew me up and spit me out before I even knew whose mouth I was in, so I had to be more ca
reful than I’d ever been in my life. Though I’d come there to make sure King didn’t die by Romano’s orders, I had to worry about myself too, because, if I wasn’t careful, I could end up owing the man my life. Who knew what he would do to me then?
“I want to make you an offer,” I began, heart in my throat.
Calm down, I reminded myself. It was just a simple conversation that would be over soon. All I had to do was negotiate to save King, while not ruining my life either. Surely there was a win-win situation for us all.
Romano stared me down, eyes seeming to stare through me. It was almost as if he could read my mind, though I knew that was ridiculous. It was more likely that he was seeing whether I would crack under the pressure.
“And what kind of offer would that be?” he said slowly, his mouth really stretching out the words.
I ignored all the distractions, both in my head and out of it, as I prepared myself to finally say what I had come there for. It was now or never. I opened my mouth, but found that no words could escape my dry throat. I tried a second time and, thankfully, found success.
“I want to– “
The moment my mouth opened to speak, another sound emerged, this time emanating from Romano’s pocket. The high-pitched ringing seemed to echo in the air as Romano reached to answer the call.
“Romano,” he answered.
Watching the facial expressions that passed over his face was like watching a poker player. He could have been getting news that someone died, or that he’d won a million dollars, and I would never have been able to tell the difference.
“Okay. I’m with Christy now.”
My ears perked up at my name, but it was impossible to understand what was going on through only half of the conversation. Was it King who was calling? He was the only person I could think of that would contact Romano and ask where I was. The only other person was Rossi, but that was just ridiculous.
“Okay. We’ll be right there.” I didn’t miss the way that Romano had said ‘we,’ and I looked at him inquisitively as he shut off his phone.
Romano looked up at me and returned my raised eyebrow, seeming just as surprised as I was.
“That was King,” he said. “He’s at Diamond Castle, and he wants us both to go to him.”
I floundered for a moment as I wondered what to think. Why was King there, and what was he doing? More importantly, why were both Romano and I needed?
“Let’s go,” Romano said, snapping his fingers to break up my thoughts as he passed by me and strode quickly to the lift. I had no choice but to follow, nothing but a bundle of fear and nerves. I could only hope that King had better luck with his night than I had.
# # #
When Romano and I both arrived at Diamond Castle, I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I suspected that Romano did not either. King’s phone call had quite literally come in the nick of time, and I wasn’t sure what would have happened if Romano’s phone hadn’t rung when it did.
The entire club was illuminated when we entered, and we both made our familiar way to Rossi’s office, freezing in our tracks when we took in the scene before us. King stood angrily over a cowering Rossi, his hands tightly gripping the collar of Rossi’s shirt and lifting him slightly off the ground.
The scene wasn’t so unfamiliar to me, considering the state we’d left Rossi when we’d last seen him, but I could tell it was an entirely different situation now. King was on a mission, determined to make Rossi pay.
“What’s going on?” I asked, eager to get to the bottom of the situation.
“That’s a good question,” King growled. “Will you tell them, or shall I?” He shook Rossi a little, as if reminding him to speak, but the pathetic creature seemed incapable of speech at that moment. Rossi mumbled incoherently and tried to duck his head down, only to be stopped by King’s tight grip.
“No?” King asked mockingly. “I’ll be happy to tell them, then. Jarren, here, has been keeping a double set of books for years. Isn’t that right?”
My mouth dropped open in shock at this new development. Surely Rossi couldn’t have been so stupid as to attempt to double-cross Romano, right?
“Is this true, Jarren?” Romano asked, in a deceptively calm voice. It was no wonder that Rossi was scared out of his mind; an angry Romano was something I never wanted to deal with.
“Take a look for yourself,” King kicked the box at his feet, and it slid over in our direction.
“Rossi’s been trying to hide club profits from you for a long time. So long, that he’d started bragging about it to a group of unreliable drug addicts that he’d hired. That was a big mistake, Jarren.”
“I would have to agree,” Romano said, flipping through the set of papers in his hands.
I couldn’t believe that King had uncovered what he did. This was such a lucky break for the both of us.
“Does this mean we’re even? Has our deal been met?” King asked Romano.
Andres nodded, eyes still on Rossi. I felt a twinge of pity in my chest as I stared at his now sobbing form on the floor. I would hate to be in his shoes, but my sympathy could only stretch so far when I thought about what Rossi had done to King.
“Let’s go,” King called to me. I didn’t need to be told twice, as I followed him out of the office and we both hurried out of the building.
We stopped outside, just clear of the door, and looked at each other with a mixture of emotions on both of our faces.
“Is it really over?” I asked King in disbelief. It couldn’t be done just like that. It just couldn’t be.
“Yeah, I think it is,” he said with a frown, seeming to run through the events in his head, exactly as I was.
It felt so odd to have such a weight lifted off our shoulders, and it would take a while to sink in. Our eyes met and, slowly, a smile began to stretch over my face, one of relief, happiness, and amazement.
Without another thought, I lunged forward and threw myself into King’s arms, relishing in the feel of him. There was a moment when I hadn’t been sure if everything was going to work out, or if I was ever going to see him again.
I couldn’t express in words how overjoyed I was in that moment, but I didn’t need to. King understood perfectly, his arms squeezing me back just as tightly.
It had been a long road, but we’d finally done it. We were finally free.
“So, what are we going to do now?” I asked, pulling back.
I didn’t know where King’s head was at. I didn’t know if he felt about me the same way as I did about him. For all I knew, he was still at the ‘just sex’ stage, and I had been overthinking our entire relationship, or lack thereof.
“Anything. Everything,” King replied, cupping my face in his hands.
Maybe I misunderstood. Maybe he meant something entirely different.
“And us?” I asked in a quiet voice. This was the moment. This was the time when King would either break my heart, or tell me that he felt the same.
My doubt must have been so evident in my face, but King just smiled, happier and lighter than I’d ever seen him before. He looked younger, but I knew that it was just the weight of a lifetime that had been lifted off his shoulders.
“Us?” he asked with a grin.
“Yes. Us.”
Instead of answering, King pressed his lips lightly to mine. My heart soared at his kiss, and I could feel my entire body loosen. He didn’t need to say a single word for me to understand that we were on the same page. It was all in the tenderness of his lips and the affection in his eyes. Yes, everything was going to be okay.
Epilogue
King
The club lights were dimmed and the place was silent, Christy and I the only ones left inside. Vixens had been crowded that night, more so than usual, and Christy was cheerfully shuffling around in our office. Ever since we’d opened our chain of clubs together, Christy had been happier than I’d ever seen her. She was finally living the dream.
Vixens was exactly the kind of club that Chris
ty had always imagined, and I was so glad to be a part of it. It was a classy establishment, like she’d promised, where the dancers had fun, could contribute ideas, and were treated fairly, like they deserved to be. It wasn’t a trashy place like Diamond Castle. It was the kind of place where guys and girls could frequent and have a good time, without the sleazy feeling that some strip clubs held. We ran the business together, sharing the load evenly and working hard to make all our clubs as friendly and inviting as we knew they could be.
Christy had made sure to employ all the girls from Diamond Castle, once it had closed down, partly because we were responsible for their loss of work, but also because they were all great dancers.