Race led the way to the dark hall and came to a complete stop.“Are you shitting me right now?”he growled.
Tinker had one of the dancers pinned to the wall with one hand wrapped around her throat and the other moving like he planned to touch her between the legs.The woman’s hands were pulling at his wrists, trying to escape.Race was on him before either he or Dagger could move, yanking him off the woman and slamming him into the wall behind them, getting all up in his face.
Jed turned to ask the dancer if she was okay and was stunned to find it was Sadie.The anger he’d felt at Tinker manhandling one of the women turned to rage.The fucker had had his hand wrapped around her throat.His gaze immediately dropped to where she rubbed her neck, and he couldn’t stop the growl that slipped free.
“What the fuck?”came out like he’d swallowed glass.His gaze locked on the obvious red marks marring her perfect skin.They were dark enough that he worried they might bruise.
“Why are you growling atme?I’m the one who was being assaulted.”She roughly pulled her robe closed and tried to tie the sash with shaking hands.
“How long have you been back working at Bottoms Up?”He shoved a hand through his hair.Did she have any idea how lucky she’d been that they found her before things with Tinker got worse?
“One week.”Her hand was still shaking as she smoothed a hair behind her ear.
He realized his tone made him sound like a jerk, but witnessing Tinker’s hand wrapped around her throat had shaken him up.Taking a deep breath, he fought for calm.“Are you okay?”
She wouldn’t look at him, her eyes pointed down the hall toward the dressing rooms like she couldn’t run away from him fast enough.
“Yes.I’m okay.”Did he detect a little raspiness in her voice?Was she on the verge of crying, or was it because her throat hurt from being strangled?
“Are you sure?Did he do anything else other than put his hand on your throat?”
She shook her head, her eyes downcast.“You guys got here before he was able to do anything other than grab me by the throat.”
“Come here.”He took her by the elbow and pulled her into the storage room, where he ushered her around some boxes of booze to position her under the light to have a better look at her throat.“Son of a bitch left marks on your neck.It looks like it might bruise.”His gaze lifted from her neck to her face.She was pale even under the makeup.“Do you dance again?”
“Yes.”A small mirror hanging next to the back door caught her attention.She went to check her reflection, gently touching the red areas.She grimaced when she probed one a little too hard.“Great.I’m not sure I can cover this with makeup.”
Jed’s stomach bottomed out, remembering how Tinker had pinned Sadie to the wall.What would he have done if they hadn’t come along when they did?The possibilities made him sick just thinking about it.“Maybe you should go home and skip the rest of your dances tonight.”
“I can’t.”A fire sparked in her eyes as she turned to face him.“I’m not letting that asshole cheat me out of a night’s pay and tips.I’ll figure something out if I can’t cover it with makeup.”
“You need to be careful around Tinker.He’s dangerous.”
“Jane and Ginny already warned me, and for the record, I was minding my own business.I was coming off stage when he pinned me to the wall.He got angry that I wouldn’t stay and talk to him.He said he wanted to get to know me, and then he threatened my job.”
His gut told him that she wasn’t telling him everything, but for the moment, he didn’t push.
“How am I or any of the other girls supposed to avoid him if he’s part-owner of Bottoms Up?”
Again, it came back to reminding Tom and his crew to be vigilant at all times.He was entertaining the idea of assigning one of the guys to discreetly follow Tinker around if he showed up again.Who was he kidding?Now that the bastard knew about the Sons’ connection to the strip club, he’d be here all the time.Maybe he would have one bouncer at the end of the hall, one outside the exit door from the stage, and one outside the dressing room?
“Sadie.”The sound of Race’s voice drew their attention to the doorway where he stood with his hands fisted at his sides and his eyes locked onto the marks on her neck.He moved closer, Dagger and Tom filing in behind him.“Damn.I am so sorry he got his hands on you.It never should have happened.”
Sadie nodded her head and glanced at Tom.To the man’s credit, he was fuming.He didn’t take it lightly when one of his girls was injured.No one was allowed to lay a hand on the women working here.
“Sadie, you should take the rest of the night off.”Tom’s eyes kept dropping to her injured neck.
“That’s what Jed said, too, but I’m not leaving.I’ll figure out how to cover this up, and I’ll finish my routines tonight.”She patted his arm as she walked by, effectively ending any further conversation with them.
“I don’t think she understands what actually happened here tonight.”Dagger shook his head as he stepped back, allowing her to disappear into the hall.
Jed agreed.She was on Tinker’s radar now, and that was a very bad thing.He’d worried that when Tinker asked about her the first night he’d been back, he’d tagged her.Now he was positive.
“Make sure someone follows her home tonight.I wouldn’t put it past Tinker to wait for her to leave work and follow her home,” Race told Tom.
“I’ll take care of it myself.”
Race clapped a hand on his shoulder before he and Dagger turned to leave.“You coming or staying for a while?”
