“No, Ms. Russo, we have a good team here. We’re like family, looking out for one another.”
I let out a small sigh of relief. At least this one seems to be okay, except for the suspicious movements of Candy, Melissa,and Lorenzo. It will make everything a little easier now that I know we don’t have a whole slew of new people to get rid of.
I nod. “Okay, good. Let’s pretend this conversation never happened and just go about business as usual until I can take out the trash, alright?” I ask the girl, and she mimes zipping her lips.
“As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t seen you.” She looks up at the camera in the corner of the room. “But that doesn’t mean Candy doesn’t already know.”
I close my eyes and count to five in my head. Fuck, the cameras, but I feel Sage put his hand on my shoulder and give it a squeeze.
“Remember, all cameras immediately start a recorded loop that shows business as usual as soon as you or I put our entrance codes into the door. We had it set up when you first took over so nothing we did was caught on camera. Nobody knows we are here or that this conversation took place.”
I feel my body relax minutely, and I kick myself for forgetting. I was worried that Candy and Melissa, whoever she is, would have scurried like rats from a sinking ship as soon as they noticed me here. Now I’m hoping I have something on my camera in my office that may clue me into their actions.
“We’re just going to head up to my office and get to the bottom of all this. Have you seen Lorenzo here tonight?”
She shakes her head. “No, he hurried out of here like a bat out of hell a couple of nights ago and hasn’t been back since.”
I’d bet every last dollar I have, and it’s not an insignificant amount, that it was the same night I took apart his operation in San Jose.
“Okay, thanks. Consider tonight your last night of working the floor. Tomorrow, you’ll be a manager. Unless you want to continue to take your clothes off for fun, I don’t expect to see you on the stage again. Hire a couple of new girls if you need to, because Candy won’t be available anymore either,” I say throughgritted teeth, and while her eyes widen, she jumps on the spot with excitement, clapping her hands.
“Oh, I’m going to need to go shopping for a more appropriate wardrobe.”
Sage pulls out his wallet and grabs a card, handing it to her. “This is where we send our management to shop for more professional outfits. Go buy yourself whatever you need on us.”
I smile as she squeals and throws her arms around his neck, but that quickly drops as my stomach rolls when she gives him a kiss on the lips, and I grind my teeth, my insecurities wreaking havoc with my mind. Surely a sweet girl like Lacey is more Sage’s type. She would be able to offer him more than I can. Before I can let those insidious thoughts gain any ground, though, she releases him then flings herself at me. I can’t react fast enough to stop her before she smacks a kiss against my own lips. Well, okay then.
“Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.” She starts skipping toward the door. “I can’t wait to tell Nico and Francis.” She stops and turns around, one hand grasping the doorframe, and she nibbles her lip with concern as she meets my eyes. “I didn’t want to say anything before, but Candy’s using drugs. You know how we have a few party favors here for people who want them?”
I nod, knowing that’s part of our supply chain.
“Well, I’m pretty sure she’s been helping herself to that. It didn’t start until Melissa arrived, and I think both of them use the free supply that nobody tracks. I know I should have come to you and told you, but she always looked out for us girls and protected us before you took over. I can see now that was a mistake. If I said something, maybe she wouldn’t have gone down the dark path she’s taken. Please don’t kill her. I’m pretty sure she was in love with you, and you broke her heart.”
I start to shake my head to argue, annoyed because I never gave her any indication that I was in it for something permanent, but Lacey stops me.
“I know you never promised her commitment, you aren’t to blame, but sometimes you can’t help who you fall in love with.” Her eyes soften, and I wonder if she’s talking about my henchmen. “She needs help. Get her that and then transfer her out of town like you planned. Give her a chance, like you’ve given so many others that go down that slippery slope, for me.” She doesn’t wait for my answer, disappearing down the corridor and out into the club. I’m assuming she’s going to work the floor, since she wasn’t dressed to perform.
“Yikes, that was heavy,” Sage grumbles, breaking the almost painful silence she left us in. Uneasy swirls of guilt roll around my stomach as I wonder if I really caused the previously loyal and strong stripper’s downfall. “Pfft, don’t let any guilt get into your head. Not everybody who gets their heart broken becomes bitter and turns to drugs. She’s allowing herself to be manipulated. Don’t blame yourself for her weakness. Look at what happened to you. You became stronger and fiercer when you were broken.”
I scoff with dark amusement. “Yeah, I get off on killing people and blood. Not sure that’s any better. Come on, let’s get this over with.” Rolling my shoulders back, I take a deep breath before blowing it out again and putting myself in the right headspace. I block all the messy emotions that have been rolling through me and allow the cold, emotionless Tori to come forward. It used to be my constant state before Sage wiggled his way into my heart. Now, he’s making me feel all kinds of uncomfortable things, but I don’t regret any of it. I just refuse to let anyone else worm their way in.
Chapter Six
We leave and head farther down the corridor to the steps that lead up to the office. “Sage, poke your head out and see if Joe and Bill are out there, and if they can give us a hand in taking out the trash.” After our initial run-in that first day with Carla, Joe and Bill have proven their loyalty, and I’m a little surprised neither of them said anything to me about the new hire, but I guess I did leave all the decision-making to Candy, so they probably thought I knew. I would have appreciated a heads-up about Lorenzo hanging around again. I hope he hasn’t gotten his hooks back into them. I would have to kill them. They don’t get a third chance. They are lucky they even got a second chance, but that was Carla’s call.
Both men follow Sage through the door separating the front of the house with the staff areas, and when they see me, I see the caution in their eyes.
“Candy told us we would both lose our jobs if we said anything to you,” Joe says quickly, knowing he fucked up again. He’s slightly pale and sweaty, which gives me a small amount of joy. At least someone still knows who’s boss around here.
“And you should have known the possibility of losing your lives was a bigger threat,” I growl at him but spin and stalk up the stairs.
“Candy’s going through a rough patch,” Bill says, making excuses for her. “She was at an all-time low when Lorenzo showed up and started paying attention to her. We tried to warn her it was a bad idea and you wouldn’t be happy.”
“Yeah, but that just seemed to make her happier,” Joe mutters.
“Do you both know she’s using?” I ask, not looking back at them. There is a silent pause before Bill huffs out, “Yes.”
“We told her that nothing good would come from stealing from you, but she claimed you owed her that and more. She has seemed happier since Melissa was brought on.”
