as she approached me and I raised my chin as I held her eye. “Your VIP table is waiting for you. If you’d like to follow me?”
I scanned the room slowly, taking note of a few assholes who were looking my way, but I was well enough known in this town that I wasn’t surprised by their attention. And they definitely weren’t anyone I needed to be worried about. But there was bound to be someone watching me arrive.
I motioned with my hand for the hostess to lead the way and she gave me a broad smile as she took the lead towards the VIP area, shaking her ass in a way designed to lure attention as her cheeks hung out beneath the skirt. I could practically see what she’d eaten for dinner and I couldn’t say it was doing anything for me.
She led me up a short set of stairs to a table that was marked with a reserved sign and laid a hand on my arm, leaning close to ask me what I’d like to drink.
I shook her hand off of me before I answered, giving her a flat look which didn’t seem to put her off nearly as much as it should have as she just licked her lips seductively instead.
“I’ll take a scotch,” I told her, mostly to get rid of her. “The best you’ve got.”
“Coming right up,” she said, flashing me a smile and letting her eyes run over my body appreciatively before strutting away. She was giving me some serious hooker vibes, or maybe she was just desperate, but either way, the only thing I was interested in tonight was meeting whoever the fuck had information on my savage girl.
I glanced at my cellphone irritably, shooting Frankie a quick text to tell him I was inside but no one else was here yet before sending another to the unknown number, letting them know I was waiting.
I didn’t take my seat in the designated VIP area, instead standing beside the railing which divided this slightly raised level from the masses below and leaning my elbows on the silver bar as I scanned the crowd again.
The DJ was good, even I could appreciate that with my small experience of clubs like this, and the dance floor was packed with people moving and grinding against each other to the beat.
A pretty bartender caught my eye as she mixed drinks for a pair of preppy douchebags and she inclined her head respectfully, just enough for me to see and to let me know that she was our insider here tonight. I didn’t react, moving my gaze on, knowing full well that my position standing by the railing like this meant I was far easier to scrutinise than most people here. There were probably eyes on me already, checking that I kept to my word and had come alone. I just needed to spot them and assess my odds. In a place like this, it was unlikely to come down to guns and even knives would only be saved for desperate measures. No, if I needed to fight my way out of here, I’d most likely do it with my fists.
It didn’t take long for me to pick out the lurker in the shadows by the speaker and another lingering on a stool at the far end of the bar, nursing a drink with the ice almost entirely melted inside it. The dickheads in the VIP booth three along from mine were laughing in a way that seemed fake to me and as I turned to look at them in a sharp motion, I found two of them looking right at me before they could cover their asses.
I strode straight towards them and the four men dropped the act sharpish, giving me resigned looks as I stood over them.
“Am I that terrifying?” I asked. “Your boss is too afraid to come alone too?”
They exchanged looks before the biggest guy spoke up. “We were just ensuring that you’re alone. We’ll leave you to your meeting now. He’ll be with you shortly.”
With that, the four of them stood and filed away and I let them go with a sneer before heading back to stand at the railing before my booth once more.
“Here’s your drink, Mr Romero,” the hostess announced as she reappeared, a tumbler with a triple shot on the rocks held out to me in the centre of a small, black tray.