I entered the room, trying to be calm and casual.
“Hey Tanya, what’s up? Table ten is asking for drinks.” Tanya’s face was a mask of terror and my stomach lurched at the sight.
The guy’s head turned to her. “Tanya?” he asked, “I thought you were Jet.”
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
And it was a multi f-word moment, let me tel you.
I said, “I’m Jet.” At the same time Tanya yel ed, “Don’t!” The guy turned to me. He was white, tal , brown-haired and had an ugly scar running from the corner of his mouth down to his jaw. My heart was hammering in my chest but it tripped and faltered when he turned the gun to me.
“Leavin’ a message for Ray,” he said to me. “Steal from me, somebody pays. That’d be you.”
Then, without hesitation, he fired.
My luck took a turn and he missed. I dove to the side, my tray flying in the opposite direction.
Tanya pul ed free and dove to the side too.
I did my tuck and rol as shots rang out. Then I stood, my mind a blur except for the fact that I was pissed, right the hel , off.
I mean, real y.
Enough was enough.
I charged him, bent double and hit him in the bel y with my shoulder. We both went down, me grappling for the gun.
Another shot was fired and I vaguely sensed activity in the room.
Soon, I was joined by others, wrestling, a pack of arms and legs and lots and lots of nails.
JoJo had joined the tangle, wearing nothing but a g-string, the pasties long gone. Tanya was there too, obviously feeling the need to get hers back. A couple of other strippers jumped into the fray, the gun was wrenched free and we ended up with me straddling the guy’s stomach, my hands pushing down his shoulders. JoJo had her knees on one of his wrists, Tanya holding down the other arm with both hands and Meena, another stripper, was laying flat out on both of his thighs.
We didn’t have to hold him down, Indy was there and had gotten hold of the gun and was pointing it at him, looking seriously badass and like she knew her way around a gun.
“Don’t fucking move,” Indy clipped.
I turned from Indy to the guy.
“What the fuck!” I shouted in his face.
He spat at me. Luckily, this too missed and the spittle just went up in the air and then landed right on his cheek.
“Talk or I swear to God I’l strangle you to death. What’s this al about?” I snapped.
I was not a woman on the edge, I was a woman who’d been pushed off the edge and was in free fal .
I moved my hands in order to wrap them around his neck when I was hauled off him. I fought it, kicking and growling as Richie and another couple of bouncers picked him up and shoved him with a thud, face first against the wal , kicking his legs out wide and patting him down.
“Cool it,” Smithie said in my ear, his arm around my bel y, pul ing me out the door.
I saw Al y, Daisy, Tod and Stevie. They were al standing close to the door and staring at me. Tod and Stevie with world-weary but concerned expressions. Daisy and Al y looked nearly as pissed off as me.
Smithie firmly but gently pushed me against the wal in the dancers’ hal way and got up close. I was stil struggling to get back to the bad guy.
“Settle, child, it’s over,” he said in a gentle voice.
His gentle voice hit me and I stopped struggling, the fight just left me.
“Smithie! What the hel was that? I thought your girls had protection,” Daisy was there, hands on hips, attitude crackling, Indy and Al y flanking her like honor guards.
I saw a bartender escorting two police officers down the hal , one of them Al y’s boyfriend Carl and al of them were moving at a jog. They went into the dressing room.
Smithie ignored Daisy and turned to me, “You’re official y on vacation.”
“What’s goin’ on here? Do I need to cal Marcus?” Daisy, not used to being ignored, threatened.
“Fuck no,” Smithie said. “It’s taken care of. Tonight, Jet’s goin’ on vacation.”
“What kind of trouble do you have?” Daisy asked me.
I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the wal .
When I opened them, I looked at Indy, “He said Dad stole from him.”
Indy’s eyes flared.
Daisy was on a rol and when she started speaking, my eyes went to her.
“No one fucks with a Smithie’s Girl. No one. This is outrageous. Sugar, I’m talkin’ to Marcus. We’re just goin’ to see about this.”
“Please, no…” I said to her, “don’t talk to Marcus.” Marcus meant Vince. I didn’t want anything to do with either one of them and I certainly didn’t want to owe one a favor while the other one was planning to rape me.
Something changed in the air, something stronger and even scarier than Daisy’s attitude. I looked to my left and saw Eddie coming toward us.
Serious uh-oh.