“Sometimes interrogations happen with a smile.”
“You really are trouble.”
“No worries, nothing too wild.” He flicked her a devious grin. “But I am.”
“So, where did she go?” The bell chimed overhead as they exited.
Gabe pointed across the street. “Meredith told me that girls who get fired from Pie Place ‘go across the street.’ Apparently, it’s quite literal, because girls who get fired from a mediocre diner can’t get a job anywhere else.”
Reyna glanced across the street and saw a nondescript brick building with a neon sign that read Bottoms, a gentleman’s club.
“Ugh,” Reyna groaned. “A strip club?”
“Yeah. And they don’t open for a couple more hours so we’re going to have to kill time until we can get inside.”
“Great.”
“The stakeout. My least favorite part of a job,” Gabe muttered.
They hiked back to the car to make sure it was still in one piece and then whittled away the next couple hours until Bottoms opened for business. Gabe phoned Meghan to let her know that they’d be later than anticipated.
They made their way back to Bottoms right before it opened and watched the line of regulars file in the front door. When Gabe gave her the okay, they trotted across the street and inside.
It was the first strip club Reyna had ever been in, and it was even seedier than she could have imagined. There was a small stage that jutted through the middle of the room, with shiny chrome poles spaced across it. Seats ringed the stage and tables took up dark, secluded corners. She could see a few marked doors that she assumed were for private dances. A bar ran along a whole wall and waitresses in lingerie strutted around offering drinks to patrons. A busty blonde was onstage in nothing but a G-string and black thigh-high leather boots.
“Let’s get a table,” Gabe said.
“Are you out of your mind? Let’s talk to the manager and get out of here like we agreed.”
“Change of plans.”
Reyna groaned. “Why? What the hell could have changed it?”
Gabe pointed his finger at the stage. Reyna whipped around. Striding onto the stage in a ruby-red negligee and clear, mile-high heels was Jodie.
Chapter Five
“Fuck,” Reyna muttered.
“Sit. Now,” Gabe growled in her ear.
Gabe put a hand under her elbow and drew her into a corner.
“What the fuck?” Reyna said as she plopped down.
“I’ve seen people do worse to survive,” Gabe reminded her.
“Yeah,” Reyna whispered. She had seen people do much worse. It wasn’t like Reyna was completely innocent. Being a blood escort came with its own litany of issues. And that was before she had become a permanent escort for Beckham, let alone going to a vampire sex club.
It still made her ache that Jodie hadn’t trusted Reyna enough to come back. Jodie had been taken to Visage at such a young age, and she wanted her own life and to find her cousin. Reyna hoped this was one step on the way to that.
Still, Reyna had about a million questions running through her mind. All of which she wanted to jump on the stage and demand answers to immediately. If it wasn’t for Gabe’s hand on her arm, she would have done just that.
“If we disturb the show, we’ll get kicked out. Then what will we do?” Gabe asked her.
She grit her teeth at him. “Fine.”
It became clear almost at once that Jodie knew Reyna and Gabe were in attendance. Her eyes kept shifting to their table. Reyna hoped that she would march off that stage. But she didn’t. She did some sexy little dance, removing her negligee and baring herself to the crowd.
