Chances Are - By Christy Reece Page 0,27
experience?”
“Yes.” Experience might be stretching it a bit since she’d never danced in a club. This would be very different from the gym where she had taken her classes. However, she had two things in her favor—skill and confidence. Her instructor, a former exotic dancer, had told her she was a natural. And though Angela knew she was far from perfect, she had the confidence to see this through. Would some of it make her uncomfortable? Absolutely. But in this case, the end definitely justified the means.
“Mr. McCall assured me you would fit in well. Normally I wouldn’t have room for another dancer, but one of my ladies quit two days ago. You can take her spot.”
“I brought my costume and music. I’m prepared to go on tonight.”
“Excellent.” He beamed approval and then, all business, leaned forward and said, “House rules are simple but strictly enforced. Customers aren’t allowed to touch, other than a hand slipping money into your garter or panties. Tops come off, bottoms are optional. Your call.”
Though she wasn’t looking at him, she felt Jake’s body tense up. Would he see her differently once she began to dance? And if so, would that be a good difference or bad? She gave a mental shrug. There was no point in worrying about that now. Besides, catching this lunatic trumped damaging their non-existent romance.
“How comfortable are you with lap dances?” Roddy asked.
The thought of sitting on some stranger’s lap and rubbing up against him sent shudders through her. There was only one man she wanted to do that with. “It’s something I’d prefer not to do. Is that all right?”
“Sure, but be prepared to get requests because most of the ladies offer this service. It’s a good money maker.”
“Maybe it’ll make her seem more mysterious and less approachable,” Jake said. “Something like that could piss off the killer.”
Roddy nodded slowly. “That’s a possibility. Half of my customers are regulars who come in two or three nights a week. The other half includes men on business trips, bachelor parties, and the occasional passerby who want entertainment with their alcohol. But we state clearly on our marquis that lap dances are available for an extra charge.”
“Is pissing him off the right way to go?” Angela asked.
Jake shrugged. “Could be. If he gets so anxious he can’t control himself, he might make a mistake. It’s worth a try.”
“Then it’s a go. No lap dances for…” Roddy turned back to Angela. “What’s your stage name?”
Silly, but this had been the most difficult thing to decide. A name could have a visceral impact on the killer, forming the image of what he wanted her to be in his mind. Would calling herself one thing instead of another make him see her as his next victim or scare him away to go after someone else? In the end, she’d decided she was over-thinking and had come up with something easy that worked for her.
“Dark Angel,” she said.
“Excellent. We don’t have anything similar right now. Our ladies get along well. There’s the occasional blow-up, but most of the time, they’re focused on giving the best performances possible.”
“How many times will I dance each night?”
“Twice if everyone shows up. Three times max.” Roddy turned to Jake again. “And your role is new owner. Right?”
Jake nodded. Martin Tabor, the owner of Club Drago was an acquaintance of Noah’s. Tabor had agreed to make it appear he’d sold the club to an American businessman. Jake’s presence would simply look like a new owner enjoying his newest business acquisition.
“I’ll stay in the audience, walk around a bit. It’ll give me a chance to assess everyone without seeming suspicious.” He tilted his head toward Angela. “My top priority is making sure she stays safe.”
Roddy nodded. “That’ll work fine but I’ve got one question, mate.”
“What’s that?” Jake asked.
“Are you going to be able to handle it when men make sexual comments about your woman?”
Why would Roddy assume she was Jake’s woman? She was about to explain that this wasn’t the case when Jake muttered, “I’ll handle it.”
Angela swallowed a gasp. No denial that she wasn’t his woman. And the grimness of his tone gave her shivers. Whatever Jake’s reasons for not wanting to take their relationship to a sexual level, he definitely had strong feelings about having other men seeing her nude.
Roddy nodded. “I’ll hold you to that. I want this killer caught too but having you disrupt business is out of the question.”
Business was business, both she and Jake understood that