He backed away with another awkward chuckle and hurried toward the bar.
Vick cackled like it was the most entertaining thing he’d seen in years.
“Jesus. You’re half fuckin’ grizzly bear over her already, look at you,” he teased me.
“Fuck off,” I hissed, but what could I say, I was already searching the crowd for her again.
“You don’t even recognize her, do you?” Vick laughed.
My attention snapped toward him, my gaze narrowing in demand of an explanation.
“That’s fuckin’ Crystal Nance. Her momma rents that trailer across from C.C. Henshaw’s place. You don’t remember little Crystal? She fuckin’ ran away at what… fifteen or sixteen, it’s been a few years ago, but still?”
I raised my brows and shifted my head.
“I see her sometimes when I’m in town, here at the club I mean. I like to watch her dance.”
“So, you know her?”
He shoved his lips down and shrugged, “Nah, I just watch her dance, man. She’s fuckin’ beautiful, ain’t she?”
“She talks to you, though?”
He laughed and slapped at my arm, “For fuck’s sake. Enjoy the show and settle down. No, I don’t talk to her like that. I pretend not to recognize her, but I know it’s her. My little brother has been in love with that girl and has been too afraid to say boo ever since he was small. I’d know her anywhere. She’s a good girl.”
Chapter Two
Power
Crystal
My heart was past fluttering; it was violently trying to drum its way out of my chest.
I’d grown up around Steel Disciples. Not in their midst, but it was a small town, and everyone knew each other back in Swanwick.
I didn’t have a single doubt that they’d wreck the club over an insult, and that was the last thing I wanted being docked from my pay.
But dancing for them?
For all of them…
I couldn’t even compute. My face was scalding hot as I hurried backstage to dress.
How the fuck was I supposed to dance for them, when I suddenly forgot how to walk straight?
I was only here tonight because the boss had taken what he wanted and rewarded me with a night gig. As if his giving me something desirable after the assault meant it was consensual or something romantic in his eyes.
I shivered recalling it, as I ran my hands over my face.
I wasn’t a night shifter. I was petite. I flirted. I could pole dance, but fuck, I knew half the men out there. They didn’t recognize me like this, but still…
I went to school with some of them.
As often as I’d dreamed of a night gig, this wasn’t in my planning. I guess I had kind of hoped I’d have enough money to buy the chest I wanted before I ran into anyone I knew.
Fuck.
I ran a hand over the meager swell of my breasts.
