a room?”
“Uh…” I turn and study a closed door. “Sure. Okay.”
“Come along.” She takes my hand, no longer an arm wrapped around mine, but fingers intertwined, an embrace as she leads me toward the door and knocks.
When no one answers, she cracks the door open and peeks inside.
“Vacant. Come on.” She leads me into the dark room, lit only by the rectangular windows high up on the wall. They’re there to allow light in, but not onlookers.
“Is this where McGrady runs his prostitution side hustle?”
The girl turns to me, eyes narrowed, but shakes her head. “Not prostitution, Mr. Serrano. These rooms are for dancing. The chair, for sitting.” She indicates toward a double leather couch pushed back against the wall. “Our guest is to sit, relax, watch. And it is up to us to entertain, to make it worthwhile for you.”
I lift a single brow and study her eyes. “No sex?”
“Well…” She looks me up and down with an appreciative eye. “If there was a mutual attraction, and the man had enough time,” which I assume is code for cash, “then perhaps sex is being had in these rooms. But it is only if both parties agree. Are you asking for something more than a dance, Mr. Serrano?” She inches closer, closer, until the toes of her heels touch my feet, and her firm breasts rest against my chest. “Because I cannot dance very well, but I am very much attracted to you.”
“I heard about this one woman who dances here.”
Rose’s eyes shutter with confusion. Rejection. Intrigue.
“Victoria,” I murmur. “I heard she is a very gifted dancer.”
“Mm. She is very gifted. Tori tries to teach me, but it’s a skill one is born with, I think. Not learned.”
“Tori…” I run the name over my tongue. “Dark hair, blue eyes like—”
“Jeans?” She nods. “Yes, such pretty eyes. If you would like Tori to visit with us too, then it will be especially expensive. She does not give private shows usually.”
My gut is still on fire, but this woman’s words serve as a balm, if only a mild one.
“But for enough money, she would accept?” I press.
She shrugs. “Everyone has a price, no? Unfortunately, she cannot visit with us tonight. She is not here.”
“She’s not?” I cast a glance around the dark room. “Where is she?”
“She is not working tonight, Mr. Serrano. Can I offer you a drink? I find, even if I’m not as skilled a dancer as most, I still manage to make a man’s time in this room worthwhile.”
“Uh…” She’s not here. She’s not working tonight! “Sure. A drink, but not a private dance.”
When her expression drops, I pull cash from my pocket and press it to her palm. “But I thank you for the tour. You’ve made my first visit at Zeus’ pleasurable.” I stare into her eyes and smile. “Memorable. I will know who to look for next time I come back.”
An hour after walking into Zeus’, I walk back out again and move casually, not too fast, not too slow, for as long as I’m in sight of the bouncer on the door, and whatever cameras they might have installed around the building. But the second I’m around the corner and out of sight, I break into a sprint and bolt back in the direction of Quinn’s apartment.
I snatch my phone while I run, dial my most dialed number in recent weeks, and while running, I breathe a sigh of relief when the call connects. “Soph! She’s not at the club. Where is she?”
“Hold on.”
I listen as she rises from wherever she’s sitting, walks away from a droning TV, then sits again on a squeaky chair. A minute later, she hums in the back of her throat and makes the ‘hm’ sound.
“There’s a fancy car parked outside her place,” she tells me.
“There is?”
“Yeah, hold on a sec. I’ll try to angle around and get the… here, plates. Lemme run them.”
“You can do that?” Thanks to a lifetime of training inside a fight gym, I can run and talk at the same time.
I cross block after block in the humidity, but at least the rain has stopped now. I move in the direction of Quinn’s apartment. Ironically, despite running from the law, the siblings stayed in the same neighborhood as before. Barely a few blocks from the apartment they had before Stacked Deck.
“You can run a plate that easily?” I demand.
“Of course I can. Hush. Oh, I see you. You’re two blocks out.”
“I know where I am,”