Lev: a Shot Callers novel - Belle Aurora Page 0,122

stage manager.”

She squeaked excitedly as she stood and hugged the both of us, leaving Sasha and me for a moment alone. I smiled after her, clapping my hands together at the feeling you got from seeing someone you cared about succeed in a way they never thought possible.

I took a seat in the chair that Birdie had vacated and sighed lightly, “That was awesome.”

Sasha’s eyes narrowed at me.

My eyes widened. “What?”

He searched my face before muttering, “Who the fuck are you, Mina Harris?”

I rolled my eyes at him and his goddamn dramatics. “You know who I am, Sasha.” I mumbled, “I’m just a girl.”

He shook his head. “No. You’re not.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but he said it softly, and there was less acid in that statement than I had ever heard from Sasha. My brows bunched. “Hey. Are you okay?”

He ran a hand down his face. “No. Not really.” I wasn’t prepared for that admission, nor when he, suddenly looking weary, confessed, “If this doesn’t work, we’re going to have to shut down. We’re losing too much money.”

I knew this. It hadn’t been said, but we all knew it. It was one of the reasons the girls were working as hard as they were, and when Sasha surprised us all with an all-new interior, our excitement for opening night doubled.

The club looked classier than ever. While the stage remained the same, new flooring had been put down, and gone were the red velvet drapes, replaced with heavy black curtains that looked elegant and stylish. Most tables were replaced with booths with black leather seats and white pins. The bar stools were exchanged for high-back chairs. The walls had been painted black, and Sasha had paid a man an exorbitant amount of money to have the photographs I took of the girls in playful and provocative positions spray-painted every few feet.

Our flyers were a hit. Lev, Vik, Nas, Anika, and I made our way all over, posting posters on the walls of popular hangouts and handing out flyers. It had been a long few days, but the hype was showing. Our social media page—which was Nas’ idea, God bless her—skyrocketed overnight, with people tagging their friends in interest. Women who wanted to dance for the club had contacted us via email and expressed how thrilling it was to have a local burlesque act.

The current reaction was a positive one. Now we had to wait and see if our hard work had paid off.

“It’s all going to work out,” I told him, my confidence flaring.

He reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes tightly. “If it doesn’t, we’re fucked. We invested everything into this place.”

I stood, walking out the door. “Ugh. No negative Nancy’s allowed.” I called back, “We’re going to make it work, dammit.”

As God was my witness, we were going to make it work.

When I got home that night, I told Lev I would be up to bed in a minute, wanting a moment alone before I picked up my cell and dialed the number.

I was calling in a favor.

Chapter Forty-Four

Mina

I sat on the sofa, my legs curled up under me, sipping my coffee while watching Lidi dance to one of the many catchy Wiggles songs that was playing on the TV. She put her hands in the air, clapped when prompted, stomped her little chubby feet, and sang along, although I wasn’t really sure what language Lidi thought The Wiggles sang in. It sounded like she was going with Swahili.

Lev walked in, coffee mug in hand, looked at his little girl, and smiled, shaking his head. I grinned, and my shoulders shook in silent laughter. He was in the middle of getting ready for his workout, checking his watch, walking around in sweat pants and no tee, and my gut clenched at the sight of his bare torso.

Those broad shoulders just did it for me. And when we had our time alone, I held onto them, hanging on for the ride like nobody’s business.

The faint red mark on the left shoulder had me flushing hard. I might have used that shoulder to ground me after my orgasm by biting into it and clutching at him, my nails embedded in his upper arms as I moaned through my release.

The front door opened quietly and Sasha let himself in, still looking sleep-mussed in his blue jeans and black tee, making his way right for the little girl dancing in front of the television.