“Like I say, I don’t know him, but he was definitely here about a week ago,” Kyla shrugged.
“Did he leave a number or a way to contact him?”
“Cara…” Cal tried to cut in.
“It’s okay. I know Hilt, He won’t hurt me,” I assured him.
“You should speak to Frank. If that guy left details anywhere, it would be with him, though watch your back. Frank was pissed when you just stopped turning up,” she warned. “Anyway, I have to go, but I’ll call if I hear anything else.”
Kyla and I exchanged a quick hug then she rushed back inside, likely just in time for her next dance on the stage.
“What now? Who’s Hilton? I seem to remember you mentioning his name before?” Cal asked.
“He was a bouncer when I first started working here. He helped me, taught me to fight so I could defend myself. He’s the one who showed me how to shoot a gun,” I explained.
I made the mistake of glancing up and caught sight of the snow covered parking lot. It looked different, cars parked there now, and tyre tracks had disturbed the snow, but still my eyes honedin on the exact spot where I knew I had been held down and assaulted.
Images of that day flashed through my mind, like some sick slide show playing out, one after the other. I closed my eyes and rubbed at my aching head. My heart had been pounding so hard, that the beat of it had been rattling through my skull, ever since we pulled up to that place. I needed to get Hilt’s details and leave before I allowed the cracks that were appearing, to break open any wider.
“Let’s go,” I told Cal, but I was already moving, pulling away from his hold on me and stalking back inside the club.
“Cara, just wait up. We should talk to the others first. We should…”
I didn’t hear what Cal said next, because I was already throwing the door to Frank’s office wide open.
Inside, nothing had changed. The heavy smell of old cigarette smoke billowed out around me, as I stepped into the dingy, yellow lit office. Frank was behind his desk, the top of which was covered with mounds of papers, empty tumblers, and a heaping ashtray, overflowing with ash and stubbed out cigarettes.
“Fucking hell!” Cal cursed as he stepped in behind me and looked to the desk. From behind the mounds of papers, Lia, one of the dancers popped up and looked right at me as she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. “What the hell?” Cal gasped as he tried to pull me behind him. When I didn’t move he stepped forward and partially in front of me.
“Who the fuck are you?” Frank growled at Cal, as he got to his feet while floundering to fasten his fly and belt.
“Not important.” I cut in, walking around Cal and right over to the front of Frank’s desk. “I want Hilton’s number. I know he left it with you,” I demanded.
“Fuck off Cara! I don’t owe you shit. You walked out on your job and left me high and dry. I was a server short for two weeks while I found a replacement,” Frank whined.God, I had forgotten what an arsehole he was!
“Oh, you owe me plenty, you tightfisted fucker! You had me working here, underage, for years! You paid me half the going wage, and worked me twice as damn hard. I could go to the cops and report you. I bet at least two of those brand new servers out there aren’t even out of high school yet!” I threw back angrily.
I had been so grateful and felt so lucky when I got my job atJewels. It paid so much more than anything I had done before, and it was a regular job with regular pay, so it allowed me to find somewhere for us to live too. But, looking back, I knew I had been taken advantage of.
I had been fifteen when I first started there, dressed in tiny hotpants and a barely there bra top Frank convinced me I had no choice but to wear. It had taken me a year to realise I could actually get away with wearing more, and didn’t have to bear every part of my already damaged and vulnerable body to the leering men who frequented the club. I had put up with the grabby and wandering hands, and men saying the most disgusting and vile things to me, all because I thought I had to. Because Frank constantly threatened to get rid of me if I caused trouble.
I learned. Got older and wiser. I covered up, leaving only enough on show to earn decent tips. I started to push back against thehands and the comments and I got stronger, but it took time, and in that time I only lost more of the innocence that had already been stolen from me.
“Little bitch!” Frank spat as he loomed over his desk towards me.
“Hey!” Cal barked loudly, startling me. “Don’t you dare speak to her like that again!”
I looked up and saw a look on Cal’s face I wouldn’t have even thought him capable of. His whole body was puffed up, and taut with tension. His face was tense, his jaw rigid with rage, and his eyes were intense, filled with a promise of violence and a threat I was pretty sure no one would ever be fool enough to ignore.
“Just give me Hilton’s contact details and I’ll leave. That’s all I want,” I told Frank, turning back to him.
“Who even are you?” Frank asked, with some definite wariness, not daring to take his eyes from Cal.
“Someone you do not want to fuck with. Give Cara what she wants without even looking at, or speaking to her again, or believe me, you’ll be begging someone to call the fucking police,” Cal threatened so menacingly, goosebumps rose on my skin. It was like he was a whole other person, a terrifying person – at least to everyone else. He didn’t scare me though. I actually found it kind of sexy, if I were honest with myself. I’d never imagined my sweet, fun Cal would have such a dark side.
“Here. That’s all he left,” Frank floundered as he grabbed a business card from his desk and thrust it in my direction, still not once taking his eyes from what he perceived to be the biggest threat in the room – Cal.
I took the card, but it was blank. I flipped it over and realised it was for Dev’s gym – the gym which Hilton’s brother, Dev, owned, and where I trained with the both of them before. The phone numbers below were both crossed out though. Obviously, things had changed for them both while they’d been in jail for armed robbery.
