Reyna sighed heavily. “How much more of this do we have to endure?”
Gabe snapped his fingers twice. A woman scurried over andstarted dancing just for him. He stopped her. “I want a solo room with the girl onstage, for me and my girl here.”
He grinned wickedly at Reyna, who had the sense not to bite his head off.
“I can get that solo room now for me and you,” the woman said with a wink.
“The one onstage,” he said. “Now.”
“It’ll cost you.”
“Now,” he growled.
The woman lifted an annoyed shoulder and then disappeared. Within the next minute, another woman was taking over Jodie’s spot on the stage and Jodie was being ushered offstage.
“You’ve done this before?” Reyna asked dryly.
A manager came to escort them to the back and take payment for what was clearly an expensive private room. Jodie was in a flimsy nightgown and had her arms crossed over her chest.
“What the hell are you two doing here?” Jodie snapped as soon as the door closed.
“What the hell arewedoing here?” Reyna gasped.
“Ladies,” Gabe said with a sigh.
“Don’t,” Reyna spat.
“Yeah, if she has something to say, then by all means,” Jodie said, waving her hand out to the side.
Reyna took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. Getting angry at Jodie wouldn’t help anything. She wasn’t even mad at Jodie. She missed her. She loved her. And she wanted her back. It wasn’t fair to channel all the shit that she’d gone through into her closest friend. Someone she definitely did not want to lose.
“I’m sorry you felt that you had to leave. We want you to come back,” Reyna said.
Gabe shot her an appreciative look. “To what’s left, that is.”
“What’s left?” Jodie asked. She dropped her arms to her sides and glanced between them. “What do you mean?”
“A lot has happened since you left,” Reyna said. “We’ll fill you in when we get you out of here.”
“Wait, I’m not leaving,” Jodie said. “You think I’m doing this for nothing? I have to find June.”
“And are you any closer to finding June than you were before?”
“Yes,” Jodie spat.
“She worked here?” Gabe asked.
Jodie nodded solemnly. “Two years ago. One of the girls said that she just stopped showing up. She’d been here for a long time. Kind of a mom of the group. But the owner says he knows more.”
“Let me guess,” Gabe said with a sigh. “He’ll tell you if you can afford it. Since you can’t afford it, you work for him until you can afford the information.”
Jodie ground her teeth together. “So what?”
“It’s called exploitation.” His hands curled into fists. “The owner saw a pretty girl down on her luck. If he had his way, you’d never get out of here.”
“What a piece of shit,” Reyna muttered.
“I can take care of myself, thank you very much,” Jodie said. She looked furious that Gabe was suggesting she was being taken advantage of.
