“Careful Briar, don’t go tempting fate,” Lily laughs. “We already know she doesn’t like you.”
11
WONDERLAND
BRIAR
Now
The night is shit.
Three hours in and I’ve barely made any money in tips. I lean across the bar, staring at Serenity up on the main stage. Watching as she effortlessly hooks a knee around the silver pole and spins her body around it while arching her back seductively. The men seated around the stage throw money at her feet. And not just dollar bills—I spy a few twenties and even a fifty, and they keep it coming.
I can do that.
“Deep in thought tonight, pretty girl.”
I straighten from where I’m leaning across the bar, recognizing Daniel’s voice, one of the bar’s regulars. I smile at him. He comes in often and is always polite, never crosses the line. I heard from the other girls that he’s a Boston cop, so whenever he’s here, I feel just a little safer, given the general seedy nature of the business.
“The usual?” I ask, reaching for the bottle of bourbon.
“You know me so well.” He returns my smile, sliding onto the stool at the far corner of the bar where he usually sits.
I laugh. “You’re here several nights a week, and you only ever drink one thing.” I slide his glass over to him. “I don’t think you’re as mysterious as you think.”
“Fair enough.” He smiles as he lifts the glass to his lips. His eyes stay on me as he drains it in one go. “Speaking of habits, what are you doing here? Thursday isn’t your usual night?”
My eyes widen as I take his glass back, refilling it under his eye. “I picked up an extra shift.” I shrug, ignoring the rising anxiety at the fact he knows my schedule so well. Though I guess a lot of the guys do, since most of them try to come in on nights when their favorite girls are working.
As if sensing my discomfort, Daniel politely thanks me for the second glass, pulling out a few dollar bills and leaving them on the bar. “I’ll see you later.” He winks before taking his drink and heading closer to the main stage, finding a seat with a few regulars.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Gio charging his way through the club, heading for the back. He’s flanked at either side by the two guys he keeps with him when he’s here.
I chew my lip for a few seconds, glancing between Gio and the pile of cash at Serenity’s feet before dropping my rag in the bucket and skirting around the bar after him.
It’s now or never.
I recognize the big, burly guy waiting outside the door as Marco.He recognizes me too, because he opens the office door for me before I can get a word out.
“Thanks,” I say, slipping past his hulking form.
The door shuts behind me and my steps slow as I enter Gio’s office.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my pretty little Bella. Have you come to make a payment, sweetheart?” Gio’s laugh is quicklyjoined by a few others, and I avoid his gaze as I take stock of who’s in here.
My heart constricts when I find Lorenzo leering at me from the sofa near the door, puffing on a cigar. The buttons on his dark suit are straining to keep in the bulk of him. I sidestep a few steps to the right, giving him a wide berth. Lorenzo chuckles knowingly and sits up straighter, playing with the cigar in his hand, his eyes keen with sadistic interest.
“Briar.” My real name on Giovanni’s lips snaps my attention back to him. “What do you want? I don’t have all day.”
“Right, sorry,” I apologize, looking around the room again, anxious over having this conversation in general, let alone in front of so many others.
“If you’re looking for more serving shifts, I don’t have them.” Gio waves dismissively back toward the door.“But I’ll have Celeste text you if I get any more call-outs.”
“No, I wanted to ask about maybe picking up some dancing shifts?”
The hand holding his cigar freezes halfway to his mouth, and he looks me up and down. “You want to dance?” Doubt is evident in his tone.Which is fair, considering he’s been trying to get me up on that stage since I started working at Wonderland months ago and I’ve always adamantly refused.
I nod, my eyes continuously scanning the rest of the men in the room. They are watching me a little closer now. “But just dance,” I clarify, lifting my chin a little. “No extras, no… private rooms,” I get out despite Gio’s narrowing gaze.
