“I thought your brain shutting off was the whole point.”
The younger man laughed, a warm sound that drew her in like a moth to a wavering candle. His father only smiled.
“Maybe so. But these places are a huge operation. You have to be able to run a successful bar. You have to know about food service and food safety if you’re planning on having a kitchen, which it seems like most of them do, right? You have to be able to manage your dancers, manage their safety. That’s what, four different facets of your staff? Bar management, food management, security management, your talent. It takes more than just a few grand in startup and a couple of girls in bikinis. And it’s no wonder they can’t sell this place, look where they opened it. They’re telegraphing what kind of low-class, poorly run establishment this is from the sidewalk, and I don’t even need to walk in the door before I can tell that.”
“I can almost envision the sign advertising the five dollar steak night to bring in the high rollers,” his son quipped, and she laughed.
“You’re both right about that. This is a run-down neighborhood.”
“It’s bad business,” Jack Hemming went on with a scowl. “Shortsightedness and greed. They get an idea for a money-making scheme, and they can’t see past the tips of their nose beyond that. All they see are dollar bills, and none of the work it takes to make that successful. You can tell a lot about a man from the way he runs his business. You can tell his character, his integrity. His respect for those under him. Do you know how to play chess, Jude?”
Her head was spinning at his unexpected monologue, and she shook her head dumbly, hoping her mouth wasn’t hanging open like a fish.
“I went to a pack school. Chess wasn’t high up on the list of extracurriculars.”
“Well, life is one big game of chess. You have to get to know your opponent, you need to take your time. Rushing into a stupid move that you can’t take back, well . . .”
He raised his hands expensively, shrugging with another one of those brilliant smiles.
It was a subtle dig at Vin, and her mouth quirked up. He was the most handsome man she’d ever met in her life, she realized belatedly, oozing privilege and a quiet arrogance, noting that the younger man at his side was also staggeringly attractive, with his glittering eyes and movie star smile. Jude squeezed her knees together, feeling like an old newspaper, wishing she’d owned a nicer dress.
“Here I’ve been running off and you asked me a question. No, I am not a fan of strip clubs in general, but not for the reasons I’m sure you’re thinking. It’s a job like any other job, a damn hard one, I’d wager. But I don’t like the idea of people making money off of someone else’s skin, not unless they’re making sure to take care of that skin. It’s already too easy to commodify each other in this world. Humans do it as naturally as breathing. So I value businesses that take every precaution to protect thepeople risking their skin.” He glanced around with distaste. “I can promise you, when it was open, this was not one of them.”
“Itishard work,“ she interjected, nodding towards the pole. “It takes a lot of strength, most people don’t realize that.”
The younger man grinned, leaning in. There was something about the way his dark eyes sparkled that set her at ease, and she leaned forward conspiratorially.
“You’re not kidding. So, I’m a fireman. Most firehouses don’t have poles anymore. But when I was traveling a few years ago, I visited an old firehouse that still did. The full rig, it went through three floors. So,obviouslyI was goofing around like a kid at a playground, because when am I ever going to get the chance again, right?”
Jude giggled, already able to tell where the story was headed. “I can’t imagine what happened next.”
“Oh, sure. It was all fun and games — until I lost my grip and fell off the pole from about ten feet in the air. Went home in an air cast. Then the insurance claim was all messed up because they couldn’t understand how I, a fireman, got hurt in a firehouse, but wasn’t at work.”
Jude laughed, shoulders shaking. Handsome and funny and completely unlike any other werewolf she’d known from her pack or any other. Across the room, Vin glowered. She made a show of not caring, tipping back the glass of ginger ale in front of her, watching as the handsome man’s father’s attention was caught by something over her shoulder, despite the fact that there was nothing there but the corner of the room.
She didn’tfeelLux, didn’t feel the weight of him filling the space, but this affable, arrogant man had evidently still been able to pick him out of the black shadows at her back.
“I’m Jack, by the way, how rude of us. This is my son, Trapp.” The younger man nodded, as his father addressed the air over her shoulder. “You’re the one who contacted me.” He didn’traise his voice or make a show of directing the question beyond the table, and when Lux said nothing, he didn’t push the issue, turning back to Jude. “How long have they been keeping you here, sweetheart?”
This was it.She swallowed hard, fisting the skirt of her dress to dry her sweaty palms.
“Um, it’s been a few months I think. It’s almost hard to keep track of time. They’ve had me here for the last three moons, and then two moons at the enclave . . . Five months?”
“It’ll be six months in just another week and a half.”
Lux’s voice was a chilly ripple from over her shoulder, and she shuddered, relief flooding her system, knowing he was there. The younger man jumped at the unexpected sound, scowling into the corner, but his father remained unperturbed.
“And what about the turn? Are they giving you someplace to go?”
“They can’t keep you here for the full moon, right?” the younger man demanded, his dark eyebrows drawing together like thick, angry caterpillars.
Her throat ran dry, her lungs seizing within her chest. Once again, the nature of her existence had not been revealed. Once again, she was a dirty secret.
“I-I don’t turn. I never have.”
The younger man’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but the man at his side never broke eye contact with the dark corner of the room.
“Can’t help but notice you left out that salient fact in all your urgent messages,” he mused casually to the wall.
