Page 70 of Until Ace

Chapter 15

Mandy

“This was a bad idea,” I mutter to myself, looking around.

The room is large, the lights dim, but the haze is broken up by the bursts of colorful light flashing to the rhythm of the music. It’s packed. It seems the air itself is vibrating and pulsing with the smoke and music, and every breath I take is moist from all the sweat, breath, and sighs. The club is filled with sweaty bodies either sitting at the tables scattered around the center stage or being led by women in bikinis from the main floor toward the dark corridors.

A woman with a gorgeous body is dancing on the stage, and she’s so magnificent even I stand still and reverently track her movements for a few moments. I feel like a sore thumb standing in the middle of the floor, looking around, not sure what to do, while everyone else here is having a good time, drinking, chatting, and enjoying the show on stage.

“How do I do this?” I ask myself for the millionth time.

“Can I help you?” a waitress asks, snapping me out of my daze. She’s carrying a large tray filled with colorful drinks. She looks really young, but I have a feeling she knows where everybody in the room is and what they’re doing.

“I…,” I start, trying to come up with a way to ask her to let me see her boss.

That’s when my eyes settle on him.

He’s standing in the corner, and I can’t see his face, since it’s in the shadows. But I can see his arms are huge. Huge and tattooed all over. He’s wearing a black T-shirt and jeans. Something tells me he hasn’t looked away from me since I walked in.

“This was a mistake.” I shake my head at the waitress, unable to look away from the man in the corner.

“Are you okay, doll?” The waitress takes a step toward me, lowering her voice. “Do you need something other than a drink and a good time?”

My eyes fly to her. This is it. This is my way in.

But when I open my mouth, nothing comes out.

“It’s okay,” she coos, reaching out and grabbing my hand. “We’ve all been there.” Her voice is gentle, kind. “I know it’s hard, but once you’re in,” she says with a shrug, “you get over it pretty quickly.”

I’m not sure how she ended up working in a place owned by a Russian mobster, though considering my own situation, I have a vague idea.

I give her a small smile, but again, I don’t say anything, because the man in the corner shifts, drawing my attention back to him.

“It’s okay,” the waitress says again, a dreadful feeling washing over me.

This is a mistake.

They want me to pay off Jim’s debt with my body, for God’s sake!

And here I am, naively walking in, thinking I can talk this man into letting me pay him off with my nonexistent money or to let me off the hook entirely.

What a stupid, stupid idea, Mandy.

“I have to go.” I look back at the girl. She’s still holding a tray full of drinks like it weighs nothing more than a bag of chips. “But thank you.”

Relief flashes in her eyes before she smiles at me and nods.

Yeah, I definitely need to get out of here.

“Good,” she murmurs before walking away.

Looking down at my feet, I turn around and make it three steps toward the door before bumping into a wall of muscle.

I grunt at the contact, but before I have a chance to look up and apologize, a meaty hand grabs my upper arm in a stronghold.

“Walk,” a deep voice growls in my ear, then its owner jerks me into movement, dragging me in the opposite direction of the exit, right toward the dark corridors.

I don’t dare look up and confirm my fear of who has me in his hold.