by Parker, Ali
Dani arched an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Derek nodded. “He says the same shit happened to him and his boys back in Chicago. They had their run-in with him, and he and his brother fucked them up pretty good. Then, when shit got real rough, he dropped off the radar. They thought he’d left the city too. Then, he struck three months later and killed a bunch of Rhys’s boys. Walked away without a scratch. Went after them when they least expected it.”
Dani’s hand fell to her stomach protectively. “He won’t get the jump on us.”
Ryder stood behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. “No, he won’t. The next time that fucker shows his face, we put him down. As a team. You boys know the rules. No solo acts. You call me if you see him, and you wait for backup.”
All of us nodded.
“For now, keep Rhys close, Derek. We might need him down the line. Maybe he’ll have a chance to prove who he really is. Actions reveal a man’s true character. Words are nothing to me.”
“Yes, boss.” Derek nodded.
“Now, we wait,” Ryder said before collapsing down in his chair. Dani went and sat on his lap. She curled herself up and wrapped her arms behind his neck, resting her cheek on his shoulder. She looked tired. Damn. She looked really tired.
She must have been terrified. Suddenly, she has this little life to protect, and it came at the worst possible time for her. The MC was in danger, and in turn, so was she. She knew the risks of this job—she had since day one. She also knew how violent and ruthless Isaac Reed was. Her pregnancy would be nothing but ammunition he could use against Ryder if he ever got his hands on her.
Rage raced through me just thinking about it. We had to put that fucker down. It wasn’t an option.
“I fucking hate waiting,” Sabian growled on Derek’s other side.
“We all do,” Axel said dryly.
I was suddenly filled with the urge to see Lauryn. I couldn’t explain it. I was just compelled to see her or talk to her. It was like something inside me shifted. I needed to see her in case I didn’t get the chance. Maybe things were about to get really bad. Maybe everything that had already happened to us had just been the prologue to a much bigger, meaner, bloodier story.
Maybe it was all going to get so much worse.
I swallowed.
“You all right, Caleb?” Dani asking, lifting her head from Ryder’s shoulder.
“What?” I’d forgotten where I was for a second. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” Derek said beside me. “You look like you saw a fucking ghost.”
“Nah. I’m good.”
Everyone continued to stare at me skeptically.
I rolled my eyes. “I just got a bad feeling, all right? Something I can’t explain. I could almost fucking taste it. I know it makes no sense.”
“Sure, it does,” Dani said. She put her cheek back down on Ryder’s shoulder. “Everything is about to change. One way or another, for better or worse, it won’t be the same as it is now. You’re someone who wants to control all the variables, Caleb. This time, you can’t. That’s why it all feels so wrong.”
“How the hell do you know that?” I asked.
She smiled. “Because I’m the same way.”
I sighed. She was right. Not having any sort of control in this situation was eating me up. That’s why I liked working at Kadia so much. I controlled every aspect of the environment in that place. If I didn’t like the feeling I got from a guest, I could kick them out. Hell, I could shut the place down if I really wanted to. I could send people home, call people in, lock the doors, cut people off from drinking any more alcohol—I could call all the shots.
But this. I felt like I was floating in the ocean without a lifejacket. I felt like I was going to lose everything.
Now, I had someone in my life I couldn’t bear to lose.
I wondered if Lauryn had any idea how much I cared about her. Did she know it was eating me up inside? That it was making it absolutely terrifying to deal with anything that had to do with Isaac Reed?
Derek leaned into me. “I don’t know if it’s a control issue.”
Dani perked up at that. “What do you mean?”
“Fuck off,” I growled. “And both of you, butt out.”
Derek chuckled. “I think our Caleb has girl problems.”
“I don’t,” I said hurriedly. But it was too late. The whole room was focused on me. There were smiles on faces that hadn’t smiled in a while—including Ryder.
The President patted Dani’s ass. “Our youngest member has a crush, is it?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Liar.” Dani snorted.
“She works at Kadia with him,” Derek told everyone.
“Will you mind your own fucking business?” I hissed.
This only made everyone laugh. I realized they were latching onto this tidbit of information quite fiercely. Probably because it took their minds off the dark storm cloud looming over our heads. Maybe they needed something like this to alleviate the tension for an hour or two.
I could give them that, couldn’t I?
“What’s her name?” Dani asked.
“Fuck her name. What does she look like?” Jax waggled his eyebrows.
“Have you fucked her yet?” Sabian asked.
I looked around at all of them and shook my head. I couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at my lips.
Chapter 24
I stifled a yawn as I pulled up my sparkly stockings and fixed them to the garter around my waist. They caught the light in the back room of Kadia, and the little flakes of glitter in the black sheer fabric glittered radiantly. I slipped my feet into my killer black pumps and did up the ankle strap. Shoes with straps to hold them in place were important for a dancer like myself.
Sadie, Milly, and Cassidy were all getting ready with me, and none of them had pulled any Zandra out of their bags. Had Caleb and I not had this thing going on between us, I would have asked them if they had any on them. I’d be desperate to pop half a capsule, maybe even more.
I was exhausted. The week had been a long one, and I wasn’t sleeping well because every time I closed my eyes, I thought of Caleb. Then, my stomach would dance with butterflies, and I would lie awake staring at my ceiling for hours, daydreaming about him and our next date. I sure hoped we’d have another chance soon. It had almost been a full week since we went out last.
“So, girl, spill the beans,” Sadie said as she pulled on a pair of thigh-high black leather boots.
“The beans?” I asked innocently. I knew she was asking about Caleb.
“Oh, come on. Don’t play coy. Tell us about Caleb. Everyone here knows there’s something going on between you two.”
I smiled. “Well. Yeah. Maybe there is.”
Milly beamed. “Tell us!”
I shook my head and chuckled. “It’s nothing yet. We just went on one date. One little date. I don’t know where he stands on the whole thing, and we didn’t have time to see each other this week.”
“Where do you stand?” Cassidy asked while she covered her lips in shimmering gloss.
I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. “He’s … different from anyone I’ve ever been with. He’s kind and gentle, and he makes me feel safe. Really safe. And he’s great with Jayden.”
“Girl, you’re gushing.” Sadie winked.
“Am I?”
All three of them nodded.
Maybe I was. Maybe I’d fallen for Caleb a little harder than I expected.
But who could blame me? He was all those things and more. He was responsible and clever, two qualities that had never been possessed by a man I dated. Not only that, he was a hard worker. He valued family and friendships, and he was always looking out for good people. He had a protective streak in him that rivaled any I’d ever seen.
The back door opened, and all of us spun on our heels to see Caleb stride through the door. The girls giggled as he approached me, and
he ignored them. He came right to me, wrapped an arm around my waist, and tugged me against him. “Five days without seeing you is unacceptable,” he said. I could feel the rumble of his voice in his chest.
“I couldn’t agree more,” I said.
He cupped my cheek with one hand and gave me a soft, minty kiss. Had he not been holding me up with his other arm, I might have collapsed due to a terrible case of weak knees. He did something to my body that I couldn’t explain. My stomach was alight with nerves once more, but they were the best sort of nerves, fluttery and uncontrollable, wild and excited.
“Hey, lovebirds, quit making us jealous over here,” Sadie called.
Caleb ignored her. He kissed me deeper, and I gripped the front of his shirt. The girls chuckled and made a couple more comments.
When we broke apart, he patted my ass. “You look sexy as hell tonight.”
“Thank you,” I said, batting my eyelashes at him. Besides my usual stockings, I was wearing a strappy leather bustier, gloves up past my elbows, and high-waisted, skin-tight black shorts. I looked a little bit like a dominatrix according to Sadie, but I liked the tough look. It was a nice change of pace, and I knew my regular clientele would appreciate a different outfit. I always made good money on nights where I really changed up my looks.
“I’ll see you out there. I’m two guys short on security tonight. Must be something in the water. Have fun, all right?” Caleb squeezed my ass before letting me go.
“Okay. Don’t work too hard!” I called after him as he slipped out to the front of Kadia.
I could feel the eyes of all the girls on me. I turned slowly back to them. Sadie had her hands on her hips, and one eyebrow was dramatically arched. “Don’t work too hard? You know who you’re talking to, right? All Caleb does is work too hard.”
“He’s like that in bed too.” I winked.
All three of them burst into giggling fits, and I joined in. It felt good to laugh with friends, to genuinely laugh with them. I wasn’t high. I didn’t need to be. I was just enjoying the moment, and the moment was pretty fucking great.
“Come on, ladies. Let’s get out there and make some money,” I announced.
The four of us walked out as the house lights dimmed, and we took our places on our platforms.
This was one of my favorite parts of the night. There was no light on my platform, and in the darkness of Kadia, it would be almost impossible for any of the guests to properly see me. The music had faded out to prepare for a song change, and everyone was brimming with anticipation. This was the start of the night. When the dancers came out and the music got really loud and the strobe lights started, everyone knew it was time to let loose and have a good time.The song started. The lights came up. I could feel the bass in the soles of my shoes as I moved languidly, rolling my hips and arching my back to create appealing lines and curves with my body for the onlookers down below. Men and women alike were sucked in by my performance, and within the first hour, my cashbox was well past half full.
At the first break, I climbed down the stairs off the back of my platform and went to retrieve my cashbox. I was desperately thirsty, something I knew I was only aware of because I wasn’t high, and as I reached for my cashbox, someone stepped in front of me.
I’d seen him watching me dance earlier in the night, and then he’d slipped away. He was a big dude. He was tall, at least six foot five, with broad shoulders and thick, muscled arms. There was a smile on his lips that felt a little devious, and he had a shaved head and rather large ears. They had the swollen look that men get who spend a lot of their lives fighting in a ring and taking hits to the ear. Broken cartilage and whatnot.
I gave him the sweetest smile I could muster. “Excuse me, handsome. I just have to go get some water and take a break. But I’ll be back out in fifteen minutes.”
He cocked his head to the side. “I have something for you.”
Ugh. Great. A creep. I’d had this happen before. Men had approached me off stage and done a variety of unpleasant things. They’d flashed their junk at me, tried to kiss me, tried to convince me to flash them—the list goes on and on.
I put a hand on my hip and sighed. “What is it?”
He held out his big meaty hand to me. Sitting in his palm were four blue capsules. Zandra. I took a step back.
He looked from me to the pills in his hand. “Come on, doll. You know you want some. This shit is good. Real clean. It’ll fuck you up just how you like. No charge. Consider it a tip for all that sexy dancing you were doing.”
My mouth was suddenly dry. “No, thank you.” Caleb had done so much to help get me clean. I wouldn’t repay him by going back to my old ways. I also wasn’t too keen on accepting a very potent drug from a complete stranger. That was the sort of shit stupid people did that got them killed.
His brow furrowed. “Don’t play hard to get, baby. You and I both know you want this. So take it. Go on, take it.” He held his hand out closer to me.
Out of reflex, I stumbled back and shook my head. “No. I don’t want it. And don’t call me baby.”
He grabbed my wrist. I tried to jerk away from him. Then, he yanked me to him. I could smell the liquor on his stale breath. “Come on, doll face. I have another surprise for you.”
He yanked me forward and cut a straight line over to the emergency exit. I tried to pull away from him, but he was too strong. I peered over the heads of dancers, desperately trying to find Caleb. I yelled his name. There was no way he’d hear me over the music and the partiers.
We were at the emergency exit door before I had a chance to process what was happening. The bald man kicked the door open and tossed me outside ahead of him.
I tripped over someone lying on the asphalt and stumbled into another man’s arms.
I looked up slowly.
Cliff.
Fuck.
He was smiling down at me nefariously. His grip tightened on my upper arms, and I winced. “Hey there, Lauryn. Didn’t think you’d see me again, did you?”
I tried to look behind me to see who I’d stumbled over. My heart hammered wildly in my chest. Was it Caleb? Please God, don’t let it be Caleb.
Cliff didn’t let me turn around. He shook me roughly and forced me to look back at him. “It took me a while to decide what I wanted to do to you, baby. But when my brother here suggested we just surprise you at work and give you a taste of your own medicine, I couldn’t say no.” He chuckled.
I glanced over at the bald man. Brother? I never knew Cliff had a brother. “Please,” I whimpered, “let me go.”
Cliff and the bald man both laughed at me. Cliff shook his head. “Why would I let you go after what you did to me? You sent your little mutt to kick me out. Couldn’t do it yourself, could you? You had to get someone else to fight your battle for you.”
“You would have killed me,” I said.
Cliff’s eyebrows crept upward. “Kill you? Baby. If I killed you, who would take care of me?”
I tried to wriggle out of his grasp as he laughed at me again. “Let me go!” This time, I screamed. And I kicked. The toe of my shoe connected with his shin, and he growled before throwing me backward.
I stumbled and fell over the same person who’d tangled me up the first time.
I scurried back until my back was pressed against the wall of Kadia, and then, sick with panic, I looked to the motionless body of the man I’d tripped over.
It wasn’t Caleb. I breathed out a sigh of relief as I looked into the face of one of his unconscious security guards. He’d drawn the short straw on this shift that was for sure.
“What do you want to do with her?” the big bald man asked.
Cliff rubbed his hands together. “Let’s see where the night takes us. We have privacy back here. Nobody’s getting through that door.”
I looked up and over my shoulder as the bald man slid a two by four through the door handle.
I swallowed and desperately tried to stop myself from shaking. I had to keep it t
ogether. If I broke, Cliff would only have more fun. And I would not break.
Not for anything.
I grit my teeth.
Cliff chuckled and pointed at me. “Look at that fire in those eyes. Oh, baby, you’re so fucking fine. And you’re mine. You hear me? You’ll always be mine.”
“Fuck you,” I spat.
Chapter 25
Caleb
Isaac Reed was here.
And he had Lauryn out in the alley with him.
I saw his bald head disappear through the emergency exit door, and then I spotted Lauryn with him. The door had closed behind them, and by the time I’d raced through the crowd and got to them, I’d slammed shoulder first into the door. They’d barricaded it shut.
“Fuck!” I roared. My shoulder pulsed with pain, but I ignored it as I rushed out to the front. I already had my phone in my hand and was dialing Ryder.
His voice was thick with fatigue when he answered. “Caleb? What the fuck? It’s almost one in the morning.”
“He’s here! He’s at Kadia! Get the fuck out of my way!” I bellowed as I blew through a crowd of people clustered in front of the coat check. A few people shot me dirty looks, but I didn’t give a damn.
“Don’t go after him,” Ryder said, suddenly sounding completely alert. “You know the rules. Don’t go after him alone. Wait until we’re there. We just need ten minutes. Tops.”
“If I don’t go, people are going to get hurt.”
Ryder paused. I could hear the wheels turning in his head through the phone. “Can you take some of your security guys with you?”
Ryder asked the question at the same time I was passing Jack and Rick at the front doors. They were checking IDs. I nodded. “Yeah. I can take two guys. But this isn’t the sort of fight they should be—”
“They’re working the same job as you, Caleb. They signed up for this. Is he on the property still?”
“Back alley. Same place we tried to corner him before.”
“Then, it’s perfectly legal for you and your guys to go get him and keep him there. I’m on my way.”