“Don’t ever ask him, but he’s had three of them fail, so he’s learned the hard way.”
Kandace watched city traffic a beat. “I passed out at the club. Can’t imagine they want me back.”
“Don’t worry, it happens every night.”
“I’ve never had a job where passing out didn’t mean you were fired.”
“You’ve never worked in a strip club before. Let’s be fair.”
“Okay, you got me, but still, clothes, the hotel, it all seems… excessive, for one person. And I didn’t even work the whole shift.”
“We’re independent contractors. We dance where we want. And about the hotel, if it makes you feel better I slept in the other bedroom. So, you’re covered. Excessive for two people.”
Kandace smiled back. “Oh, I see. Fringe benefit. Every Monday should be like this.”
April clicked her tongue. “Except it’s Tuesday.”
“Oh. Right. How did I sleep away Monday?”
“Be happy you don’t remember it. There’s no love like barf down your leg.”
Kandace made a face. “Eww. Seriously?”
“You’re not the first recruit to barf on me, I’ll have you know.”
“Oh. I feel so much better. Thanks, Teach.”
April shrugged as she adjusted her purse strap on her shoulder. “Don’t mention it. You are working tonight, right?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. It pays well.”
“And it’s fun. Plus, you got clothes. That’s pay. Why do you think Teddy did that?”
“To be nice?”
“Small Town… C’mon. He’s in real estate and you’re hot property. He wants you back and man, for the money, how could you say no? Cash in while you can.”
“Okay, sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like I don’t appreciate what you’re doing for me.”
“We’re cool.”
“Really, though, it feels kinda stupid to rush off to California when I don’t have an address for my dad.”
April screwed up her face. “Wait. You don’t know where your dad lives?”
Kandace’s lips trembled, shaking her head and she felt caught off guard by her sudden emotions. “I don’t know for sure. He travels for work. A ton. Understatement of my life.”
“Oh. That’s rough. Man, why are relationships always so complicated? Can’t people just do what we want?”
Kandace smiled, slipping her hands in her jacket pockets against the wind. Her father came to mind again, her memory bringing back walks and great conversations they used to share.
“I want to get to my dad, so I don’t know. I’m not making sense right now.”
“It’s okay, girl. Do what you gotta do. But what if we go to Vegas? You and me.”
“Vegas?”
“Hells yeah. Sun some buns and dance for big money. Jaguar Club is off the charts. Sweet hotels. Lounge by a pool in the smallest bikini I can find, drink Sex on the Beach and get me some cabana boy, cuz I am in need. You know what I mean?”
Kandace laughed a little. “Uh, I can barely commit to dancing tonight and now I’m distracted dealing with Kyle’s mom.”
“Vegas can be the solution. For a girl wanting cash and California, it’s the way to go. Teddy should comp the tickets, too.”
Kandace had to walk faster to keep in stride with April. “But why pay for me?”
“You’re wearing more in designer clothes than the cost of those tickets, love. He’s not afraid to spend money to make money. Trust me. I’ve seen the books.”
“I don’t know. One day at a time, I guess.”
April shook her head. “Why wait? Make money tonight. Then we’ll fly to Vegas. We’ll see the city, dance for mad cash. Close to LA. That way you’re not wasting your time.”
“Dancers make that much in Vegas?”
“Oh yeah. It’s pretty busy during weeknights, but on the weekends, forget about it. They get a line of people waiting out front to get in. The membership there is stupid expensive. Howard Stern has his own VIP room.”
“No way.”
“Way. It’s wild. The food is fantastic. The staff girls gotta take wine and cigar classes. No joke. Girls drive from LA to Vegas to dance there on weekends. No shit.”
“All right. Say I’m going along with this Vegas trip. For how long?”
“Couple days up to and including a lifetime.”
“When?”
“As soon as you agree,” April said and winked. “I’ll talk at Teddy and we’re on our way, baby.”
“Wait. He’d seriously buy our flights? Just like that?”
“He owes Vic. The short story goes, Teddy needed a boost to The Palace, about eight months ago maybe. He called a favor for two high-profile dancers from the Vegas club. Vic complied, but with strings attached. Teddy is on the hook to pay him back. You, my darling, could make the deal.”
Kandace laughed to herself, trying to imagine it. “I don’t know what to do. I need to get to my dad. Vegas doesn’t sound bad. And it’s hot there, right? But in order to drive from Vegas to LA, how would we get a car?” Kandace’s phone played a familiar ringtone, and she dug into her jacket, her heart hammering as though she were sprinting.
Kyle.
“Hang on. I better take this,” she said and slowed her pace. Her hands were uneasy with her phone and Kandace hated that she got so nervous talking to Kyle when they weren’t getting along.
“Hello?” she said, stepping to the side next to a tall building, sunlight and wind to her back.
“Kandace?” said a woman’s voice.
“Yeah?”
“What have you done to my son?”
“What do you mean? Is he okay?”
“You know what? I don’t care. I would appreciate it if you just stayed the hell away from Kyle. He doesn’t need any more of your nonsense in his life,” she said.
“I’m sorry. I… don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t understand what I did.”
She laughed. “I’m sure you don’t. How could you? You think only about yourself! Do us a favor and don’t call or text him. Just stay away from him.”
Call ended.
Kandace slid the phone back in her pocket, put her hands over her face and cried, silently leaning against the building. She wanted to scream but she knew this busy city street wasn’t the place.
April stood near, allowing her space.
“So… I’m sorry,” April said.
“Yeah. Me too,” Kandace said, dabbing her eyes poorly with her jacket sleeve. “That was my boyfriend’s mom. I mean, why does she have to be like that?”
“If I ever get married, I’m having my mother-in-law whacked the night before the wedding. Just in case.”
Kandace laughed a little. “Right now, I’d help you. With the murder and burying the body. I’m so pissed. She didn’t even tell me what I did. She didn’t tell me if Kyle is okay. And she didn’t let me talk to him.” Kandace watched pedestrians going about their day. “It’s worse than getting nixed for homecoming by a text message.” Kandace sniffed and wiped her nose. “People suck.”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m single,” April said and resumed walking. “Oh, before your bitch-tastic call, I was going to tell you the Jaguar Club should lend us a car from the fleet. When celebs roll into town, high rollers, they have pretty much everything. I rode in a Bentley with a couple of other dancers to pick up a billionaire at the airport. He had a thing for me.”
Kandace walked faster to catch up, cracking a smile. “Bitch-tastic?”
“You know it.”
“Was the billionaire into bondage?”
“Close. I don’t know what it is with people with money. Sex isn’t enough.”
“What did you do?”
“Are you prying, Miss Autumn?”
“I’m just curious.”
April walked closer. “Okay. I was talking to one of his girlfriends. He’d have the girls go to public places, undress and he’d watch. I used to get him off by fi
ngering myself in the Milton Room. He’d get excited after I got there.”
“That’s messed up.”
“Yeah. I know. So, are you in for Vegas?”
Kandace thought a moment. “Fine. Why not? I figure I’ve got nothing to lose now.”
“That’s what I’m talking about! I’ll hit up Teddy when we go in.”
Kandace soaked in the city, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Kyle’s mom and what could have happened with Kyle to set her off—she’d always been polite and proper to Kandace. Almost to a fault—like one of those southern ladies on television who never uttered a foul word.
Kandace thought to call her mother. She’d have to omit her new job. And whom she’d been hanging out with. This felt hard—she wanted know how her mother was and waiting for her reply felt like torture.
If she got to California and her father, she’d have to think up a story to avoid a standoff about money. She won a scratch-off lottery? An instant winner? If they knew the truth, how would they respond? How differently would her family members see her?
Kandace told herself she had to stop thinking about the past and what ifs and just look ahead. The past was spoiling her present company, her new experience. She had no real choice but to wait on an address for her father. She could make money until then.
April said, “How long have you been dancing?”
“Since I was nine, I think. Pole dancing started when I turned sixteen or a little after. I was in Yvonne’s first class and I hadn’t even been supposed to be in it. I kind of fell into it because it looked so hard—I couldn’t resist. Then once I’d started pole, I had to keep going to see if I could do the next spin and slide, the next pose, the next climb. You know? The challenge was the addiction.”
“Yvonne Gillis? For real?” April asked.
“Yeah. You know her?”
“I’ve seen her teach online. Super impressive. What’s it like to learn from her?”
“She can be totally intimidating. She’s a perfectionist. She’s pushed me to keep getting better. I’d been getting complacent about six months ago, and she gave me a push. Made a big difference.”
“I can’t see you ever getting lax about dancing. Not the way you command the pole,” April said.
“Thanks. Dance helps keep me sane. Regulated. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. I want to keep dancing. But if I can’t pay for college, then I’ve no idea what I’ll be doing. I can’t count on family to support me forever.”
“Don’t I know that. Not much for jobs without an education.”
Kandace watched a couple walking a dog on the opposite side of the road. “Yvonne is amazing and she’d give me full time work if I wanted that. Probably even make me a partner in the studio. But I don’t know that I can ask so much from her. She was patient when Mom wasn’t doing so well—she’d been forty minutes late picking me up at the studio one night. Yvonne stayed, even gave me extra lessons.”
“No wonder you’re so good.”
“Later on, I had kinda wished my mom hadn’t come at all,” Kandace said. “Mom had shown up glassy eyed, unable to comprehend much. I didn’t talk to her for days after that. I was so embarrassed.”
April made a face. “What’s your mom’s deal?”
“She had a bad car wreck. Nearly paralyzed.” Kandace shrugged. “A major operation and she got back on her feet, but she’s on way too many pain pills. She needed a second surgery which she kept putting off and doctors weren’t sure she needed it, but she did. That was a couple weeks ago. She’s in therapy now.”
“I’m sorry. Is she any better now?”
“She’s better than she was.”
The waterfall at Citygarden was like a water cascade, both simple and sophisticated. The girls stood still, watching it for a while without saying anything. Precisely timed jets of water came and went to a pattern. It felt poetic. Surreal. As though witnessing a distant future utopia both perfect and totally scary.
“This is cool,” Kandace said.
“You should see it at night. They light it up with colors. It’s like water art and a light show at the same time.”
“I bet that’s amazing.”
“It is. Let’s keep going. Did you check out the arch?”
“How could I miss it?”
“Haha. Alright, since we’re hitting such monumental subjects, what’s the big rush with your dad?”
Kandace paused, watching the world around her. She didn’t want to talk about Clayton. Not yet. “You know, before my boyfriend left me here, he said that my father must be on the run for parole or bullshit like that. Said he must be a drug dealer.”
“No points for Kyle.”
“I’m trying not to think about Kyle. Anyway, I texted my friends, hoping they knew what’s up with him and all of them said he’s fine, so I don’t know. But, with my dad. I always thought he’s a chef, but the more I think about it, the dumber it is. I should say, he cooks all over the world, but he won’t ever talk about it, or where he’s living. He’s a big secret. He’ll tell me something petty he did on time off or something he cooked. That’s it.”
“You gotta admit, that’s unusual.”
Kandace paused, people-watching. “He was in the military, but the unpredictability drove Mom nuts. She couldn’t handle deployment, the whole not knowing if he would come back alive or not. So, she forced him to change jobs.”
“He quit?”
“Yeah. We used to go to farms and farmers markets all the time. He’d cook amazing things. I gained weight every time he came home. That’s the only good thing about him being gone. I’d be frumpy if he stuck around. Maybe fat. Fat and happy.”
April laughed. “There’s a silver lining.”
“It’s a small benefit. I’d rather go apple picking with him like we used to do. I have a picture book. Me and my sisters. We’d get as many as we could carry. He’d chase us through the orchard, and we’d play hide and seek. Then we’d go home and bake pies. We’d help and get flour everywhere. In our hair, clothes.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a fun dad.”
Kandace watched a young family walking. They were happy, and the kid’s mother was trying to take a picture while walking backward, but the kids kept dancing and making faces when she wanted them to hold their father’s hands. “Yeah. I do have a fun dad. I miss him. I need his positive balance in my life.”
Kandace’s thoughts were interrupted by her phone. “Hey. What’s up?”
“Are you going to the NLCS? I’m wicked jelly if you say yes and you must tell me where your counterfeit tickets came from because the real things are psycho expensive.” Markus paused only long enough to suck in air. “And I’ve been wondering if you’re still alive. Hey, you are. Nice to hear from you.”
“I texted you this morning. I thought that was pretty good. And no, I’m not here for a baseball game. How did you know I’m in St. Louis?” she asked and immediately felt stupid.
“Uh… your phone. It’s turned on, so I know where you are. And I’ve got a small favor to ask.”
Favor? Oh, no. Kandace’s face got hot, thinking that Markus might have tracked her at the club. She’d never hear the end of it. She thought of the promo video and cringed. “What’s the favor?”
“It’s not a big deal. My favorite coffee is close to you, over at 6 North Cafe. Go pick me up some beans.”
“You’re not serious. Coffee? You’re worried about coffee?”
“I drink a ton of it, and I like variety, okay. And shipping gets expensive.”
“Fine. I’ll buy your coffee. What about the address?” Kandace asked.
“I know you think this should be easy, but there’s a maze. It’s like chasing a ghost. When the population is so damn big and so many places to rent, anonymity is common. No decent lead. If he owned a car, utility, or had any insurance, that would be something. A bank account, even an old one, would be sexy and supple.”
“How long until you’ve found him?”
“E
xcuse me, your highness, but I’m betting he’s got a dozen aliases or more. If I didn’t have dedicated help from The Wolf Pack, I wouldn’t have shit.”
“Wow. Okay. So not much luck. Any chance you might find him by tomorrow?”
“It’s possible. It’s also possible I could eat baloney in outer space without getting fat.”
Kandace rolled her eyes. “You’re such a dork.”
“I know, but thanks for pointing that out again. I needed a reminder of how inconsequential I am.”
“Stop, it’s not that.”
“Ta, ta. Say no more, Miss Santellan. Don’t get mad. But think about it—he’s keeping secrets on purpose. Could he be trying to… I don’t know… protect you?”
“He didn’t seem worried about me when I talked to him.”
He coughed and Kandace wondered if he were choking or laughing at her. “You dad is hard to read. You told him about Clayton, right?”
“I tried, but the connection sucked.”
“If he’s not worried about you, then maybe he’s protecting you from himself,” Markus said. Computer keys clacked in the background. “I can’t imagine. Sorry. We’ll keep hunting.”
“Thanks. I feel so much better.”
“No, no. I didn’t mean that in a bad way.”
“It’s okay, Markus. Let’s talk later on, okay?”
“Later,” he said.
Kandace put her phone back in her pocket and breathed deeply. She squinted in the sunlight, trying to read building signs.
“Do I want to know what that was about?” April asked.
“That was my friend from home.” She peered across the street, trying to find the café Markus mentioned. “He’s helping me find my dad. He’s good with computers.”
“What, like a skip trace?”
“I’ve no clue what you just said.”
“Yeah. I have a regular who works in debt collections and loves to talk about himself, so he goes on and on about his job like he’s fucking Christian Grey. Skip tracing is how they find people. Say you don’t pay your Verizon bill and let it go to collections. Someone like him will hunt you down, through family, friends, jobs, utility bills, all that kinda stuff.”
“I guess. Maybe Kyle had a point, that he’s running to save himself. Maybe he hides to protect me and my sisters, my mom.” Kandace sniffed and wiped at her eye. “I wish I didn’t care.”
Goodbye, Good Girl Page 12