door calls me over to Tomi’s office. I feel relief for a split second but when I get over to him and look in, Tomi is nowhere to be seen.
“I need you to wait in here between your sets. I’ll be on the door, no one will disturb you.”
I chew on my lip a little, my stomach a fucking mess. “Can I grab my bag? I need my phone and to stash my money.”
He nods and then walks me over to my locker, never touching me but also never letting me out of his arm’s reach.
What the hell is going on?
I don’t have Tomi’s number, I don’t even know what I’d say to him, but I do have Speck’s. Poe had given it to me to grab a lift with him tonight if I needed to.
It takes me three tries to put something together but I text him.
Hey, things are really weird here tonight. Can you just text me to say you’re okay? And if everyone else is okay?
Nothing.
The entire hour between my sets there’s no reply from him. I tell myself it’s fine, he’s a busy guy and I’m like, just barely his friend.
The biker at the door lets me out of the office for my next dance, giving me two minutes to pee and freshen up before walking me back out to the stage.
Whatever is going on, they all know about it now.
The tenseness is now fucking malevolence in the air, everyone riding their own waves of rage and there’s no bikers in the crowd anymore. The only Unseen in the building are the ones who’re working. I make a lot of money with this dance, a lot of the guys at the stage are younger and drunk as hell and without the bikers sitting amongst them they’re a little louder and rowdier. My knees start to shake just a little and I have to forcibly calm myself down before my song starts.
It’s the longest dance of my life.
When I get back out to the locker room with my scowling guard Mel is crying as she gets dressed, deep sobs that shake her entire body.
Diamond stomps over to me and snarls at me, "Tomi is picking you up tonight. You need to go sit in the office and wait there for him, no walking around, no showering, just go there right the hell now. Don’t leave or he'll be finding you and dragging you back to the clubhouse by your fucking throat. His words not mine, I hope you run and he guts you."
She walks off and I try not to panic. I mean, I haven't done anything wrong. I haven't betrayed the club or stolen anything... I just come here and dance. That's it.
Why would he be so damn worried about where I am?
I manage to grab my bag before the biker locks me back up into Tomi’s office. I pull on a pair of yoga pants and an oversized sweater. I feel like I need the armor, like whatever is going on tonight is going to be so bad I’ll need to freaking hide from it.
It’s almost seven in the morning before Tomi comes for me.
He looks so fucking bad I want to cry but he doesn’t look at me. “Grab your shit.”
I stand up, already packed and ready to go but I feel so fucking dirty with the glitter and hairspray still coating me. “Can I grab a shower now you’re here? I’m guessing everyone’s gone anyway.”
“We don’t have time for that.”
I follow him out of the office and find that no one has gone home yet. Great. Diamond is glaring at me like I killed her fucking puppy and the other girls are all still sobbing.
I don’t know what the fuck is going on.
“I can’t get on your bike like this.”
He doesn’t snap at me, he barely reacts, he just strips out of his jacket. Diamond gasps but I ignore her. Fuck, I try to forget she exists.
He holds it out to me and says, “Put it on.”
I do and then I follow him out, trying not to piss him off. I kind of get the feeling he’s holding his shit together by a thread and I don’t want to cop whatever it is he has to say.
Not today.
I check my phone but there’s still no reply to my message and bile creeps up the back of my throat. Surely not.