“I’ll be there.”
“Between now and then, dance for someone. Have the girls watch, anything to get you used to being on stage in nothing but a G-string and heels. I don’t often do this, Charley but I’m putting my trust in you.”
All I can do is nod. I’m not going to let her down. I’ve spent the last two weeks getting ready for this, without even knowing it was going to happen. But she is right, I need an audience.
My attention is dragged away from those thoughts by male laughter and I turn to see Max walking in with two of the Disciples I don’t recognize. Could I ask them?
Shit, just watching the three giant men scares me. Panic starts to set in. How am I going to do this? I’m going to let Ellie and the girls and everyone else at Elegance down.
“Charley? You okay?”
The sound of his voice snaps me out of it and I look up into his beautiful hazel eyes. The concern is written all over his face. He might not have been around much but I trust him.
Is this something I can ask him to do for me? He’ll say no, and then I’ll feel like an idiot. I should just ask the girls.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asks.
The other men have all disappeared into the back, so it’s just me and him. I’m not going to letanyone down.
Squaring my shoulders I tilt my chin so I can look him in the eye.
“I need a favor.”
Chapter Nine
Nashville
Beast is out of action while he gets his head around the fact he has a seventeen-year-old daughter he didn’t know about. She had nowhere to go for reasons he is refusing to talk about so is currently at Raven’s apartment. Nero gave him a few days to get his head straight but expects him to take ownership of his responsibilities.
It’s not because he’s a father himself now, Nero is a hard man, but he has a heart, even if he hides it really deep down where you need a flashlight and a pickaxe to find it. He won’t see the kid out on the streets. Which reminded me of Charley being at my place.
I haven’t told anyone else she’s there, and know she hasn’t mentioned it to anyone, because Ellie would have been on my ass about it.
She keeps to herself around the house, like she is trying not to bother me. I have no intention of kicking her out. And truth be told, I’ve not been looking for somewhere else for her to stay either.
I’ve been out of the house a lot partly because Nero has needed me with this whole mess with Beast, and because I don’t want to crowd her or give her the wrong idea about why I’m doing it which is getting harder for me to ignore.
I’ve never lived with a woman before, the house smells different with her there. It’s not like she is doing anything out of the ordinary, or spraying perfume and what not around, it’s just her scent. And my dick is getting the wrong idea. So I’ve stayed away.
I brought takeout home a couple of nights ago, and she watched my guilty pleasure TV show with me, surprised as hell by it.
Shocking people is one of my favorite things to do, though it’s not usually about my enjoyment of teenage vampire shows. We couldn’t talk much because we were eating and watching but it was nice. Different.
I’m not sure what it says about me that I still haven’t done anything to find her some place else to go, or get her car fixed.
There is going to come a point when she asks, or maybe she is happy staying with me. It’s safe there, she doesn’t need to worry about anyone breaking into her room.
It’s time to stop thinking about Charley and handle what I’ve got to get done. First, taking a delivery at Elegance, which needs to be done while Beast is examining his feelings or some shit.
My phone rings so I tell the others to go inside, Ratchet and Wheeler have come with me, to help they said, but I figure it's more about having time to chat with the dancers. Not that they’re disrespectful, and if they were, I’d beat their asses.
No one messes with our dancers. Unless they initiate it. Nero laid down the law when we first opened the club. The women are to be looked after and protected.
It’s not about the money we make here, it’s about keeping them safe. We have very strict rules and aren’t afraid to enforce them, even with our own men.
It’s my brother calling.
“Hey,” he greets me. “We’re closing in on your target.”
