Then I cal ed Indy and she was cool with me making up the hours (or not, she real y didn’t care, everyone came and went at Fortnum’s and somehow it worked). I asked her if Dad had dropped by but she said she hadn’t seen him.
It was close to closing and I’d had a decent night. I had energy, I had two night’s tips and I had Smithie’s generosity. If I wasn’t in slow-burn, freak-out zone that would likely escalate to complete hysteria by the time my date with Eddie swung around, I would have actual y relaxed.
I was coming back from a bathroom break, leaving the restroom and entering the back hal when I was grabbed by the arm and pul ed back.
“Hey!” I shouted, turning around, ready to scream, when I saw Dad.
saw Dad.
Not good.
I real y didn’t want my Dad to know I was working in a titty bar and I real y, really didn’t want him to see me in my Smithie’s uniform.
“Dad, what are you doing here?”
“Jet, I didn’t want to drag you into this but I have no choice.” He looked down the hal , clearly in a panic.
“Dad, what’s going on?”
He started pul ing me down the hal , toward the fire exit at the back. “We gotta go.”
I jerked my arm out of his hand and said, “I can’t go, I’m working. Tel me what’s going on.”
He didn’t have a chance to tel me as we both heard someone at the other end of the hal say Dad’s name.
Dad shoved me behind him and we both looked down the hal at Slick.
“You’re a hard man to find,” Slick said.
At that, I realized that Dad hadn’t spent the last two days looking for Slick and sorting this out as he promised. Dad had spent it hiding from Slick.
“We got things to talk about, you and me,” Slick said.
“Fine. Sure. We’l talk. We’l go back in the club,” Dad replied.
Dad was positioning his body in front of me so Slick couldn’t get to me.
“Not in the club, here. This conversation should last about two seconds after you give me the thirty grand you owe me.”
Oh… Dear… Lord.
Thirty thousand dollars?
I felt my stomach drop to my toes.
Dad put his hands out, palms up.
“I don’t have it on me, Slick. Who carries that kind of cake around? I’l go get it and—”
“Yeah,” Slick said, looking beyond Dad to me, “You go get it and I’l just take your pretty little girl with me and we’l have some fun while you’re gettin’ it.”
My heart fel to my toes to keep my stomach company.
“Slick,” Dad said.
Slick pul ed out a knife.
“No more talkin’.”
Then everything happened so fast, I didn’t have time to think.
Dad pushed me back, yel ing, “Run!”
I would have run (maybe) but instead, I teetered on my slut shoes (this time, a pair of forties-style black sandals with peek-a-boo toes and a thin ankle strap) and fel down, hard, on my behind.
Dad charged forward and I saw the flash of a knife.
I didn’t think. I got to my feet, screaming at the top of my lungs and ran forward too. Dad had jerked Slick around, grappling with the knife and Slick’s back was to me. I jumped on it, wrapping my arms around his neck, my legs around his waist, and squeezed as hard as I could.
Slick disengaged from Dad, ran backwards and slammed me into a wal and my head flew back and cracked against the plaster.
“Don’t hurt my girl,” Dad shouted and lunged forward again.
“Go, Dad. Get out of here!” I yel ed.
Al of a sudden, there was a bunch of people. I was holding onto Slick in a death grip and he was jerking this way and that, trying to dislodge me. There were men shouting, women screaming, hands on me trying to pul me away.
Then Slick whirled and began to slash out randomly with the knife and everyone jumped back, including, I vaguely noticed, Vance, the hot guy who worked for Lee.
Then Tanya rushed forward and started beating Slick with her tray, using it when she needed as a shield. Vance grabbed her by the waist, picking her up bodily, her legs pedaling, stil hitting out at thin air with the tray, and he pul ed her down the hal .
Slick turned, ran to the fire exit, twisted his body so his weight and momentum both had me slamming against the door. The cross bar tagged my hip so hard, I cried out and let go, landing unsteadily on my slut shoes and Slick ran away.
I had no time to think or do anything. The fire alarm went off and it was blaring loudly.
Then Smithie had a hold of me, he shoved me and I landed in Lenny’s arms.
“Take her inside and do not fuckin’ leave her side,” Smithie said then took off after Slick.
Lenny pul ed me inside, Vance (without Tanya) passed us at a run, going out the backdoor.
I didn’t hesitate, I dragged Lenny around the whole club, looking for Dad. I was limping, kind of, because my hip and butt bone both hurt like hel .
There was no sign of him.
When I yanked Lenny back into the club from the dancer’s dressing room, the lights were on ful , the fire alarm had been turned off, the stage was empty, people were standing around and the cops were there.
I scanned the people to see if I could find my Dad, but he wasn’t there.