Man, I could get used to the high life, Tina thought wistfully. Too bad her bank account was in the three digits. Still, this was no time to dwell on that, not when she had access to nearly unlimited booze and a stage full of eye candy.
As the minutes ticked by and the empty ball glasses on her table multiplied, Tina couldn’t help but wonder how long a private dance lasted. It had to have been a half hour at least, maybe an hour. Biting her lip, she glanced at her phone as yet another song ended. As the curtains closed temporarily and the waiter returned to pick up the glasses beside her, she gasped in surprise. It had been over two hours.
“Say,” Tina said, catching the man’s attention, “where’s my friend?”
The waiter smirked. “She’s … preoccupied. She called for a car to take you home.” An embarrassed smile flashed across his face. “I was supposed to tell you …” He smacked his head with one palm. “I just forgot what with everything going on …”
That killed Tina’s buzz.
Amy would never bail. Sure, she would drink all of Tina’s booze, borrow clothes for years at a time, and had nearly gotten them arrested twice, but she would never just leave Tina on her own, especially in werewolf territory.
Alone, Tina was a human in a werewolf den, and while she may have had a ride out, it seemed off. No. Amy wouldn’t do this, and she especially wouldn’t do this here.
A wrong place, wrong time situation out here in Wolfcrest was a death sentence more often than not, and Amy had never once left Tina alone. Red flags waving in the back of her mind, Tina frowned at the waiter. “Take me to my friend, please.”
“She asked not to be disturbed. Sorry, Miss, but this is what your friend told us to do.” He set down the tray and smiled. “But if you’re ready to leave, I’d be happy to escort you out. There’s only a couple more dances anyway.” His nostrils flared, and Tina got the distinct impression he was smelling her. “There’s nothing to be scared of, but I’d understand if you are.” He gestured at his washboard abs and perfectly touchable pecs. “We wolves do have something of a reputation.”
Sure, his words were gentle enough, but Tina got the hint.
He wasn’t asking her to leave. He was telling her to leave.
Fine. She’d leave … but not without Amy. After all, in the five years she’d worked for Amy’s father, Tina had ducked more bodyguards than she could count. One little waiter, however ripped, wouldn’t be a problem.
She smiled sweetly, doing her best to impersonate a drunk college girl. “Oh, okay. In that case, lead the way.”
“Great. Right this way.” He said, waiting for her to stand before leading her through the doorway. Tina followed behind him as he led her down the stairs, eyes peeled for a stage door entrance. As he led her through the hallways, she patted her pocket again to make sure the werewolf mace hadn’t fallen out, and as she felt its satisfying weight, she took a deep breath, calming her nerves. She could do this. She could find Amy.
Sure, maybe Amy really had sent for a car for her. If that was the case, her friend would definitely understand Tina checking in before she left. If Amy hadn’t sent the car … well, Tina almost didn’t want to think about that.
As they rounded a corner into the main theatre, crowds of women hovered near the bar for one last drink or filed toward the exit. The waiter nudged his way through them, apparently eager to get Tina out of the club.
With ever-slowing steps, Tina blended with the crowd and scanned the walls, desperate for a door that would lead her backstage. Though she didn’t know her way around this club, she assumed the private rooms had to be somewhere near the stage.
Bingo. A nondescript door by the bar had a black sign on it with the words Employees Only.
Tina inched toward it, careful to keep an eye on both the waiter’s oblivious head bobbing in the crowd and the bartender as he poured a few final shots. When the bartender finally looked away, she pushed through the door and gently shut it behind her as fast as she could.
A dimly lit hallway stretched in both directions, running the length of the building with doors every ten feet or so. All but one stood open. Deep in her gut, she knew Amy was in trouble. Worse, she probably wouldn’t have long to figure out where her bestie had gone before someone saw her.
With no idea of where to go, Tina moved toward the first door. The Sapphire Room, according to the shimmering silver letters printed on a dark gray plaque by the door, led to a small empty space lined with black leather sofas. Blue lights overhead cast a cool glow on the dark walls, and as Tina looked at them, she realized each of the doors along this hallway probably led to the private dance rooms.
“You like?” a man asked from the next room over, his gravelly voice muffled by the closed door.
“Very much,” Amy said, her reply equally muted.
A blush crept up Tina’s neck. Apparently, the waiter hadn’t been lying about Amy being preoccupied, but something about this whole mess still set off alarm bells in the back of Tina’s mind. The waiter had been trying to get rid of her, and she refused to believe Amy had told him to send Tina home. No. She wouldn’t believe that until Amy said it to her face.
Resolving to do just that, Tina inched toward the door, eyes scanning the empty Sapphire Room one more time. Part of her wanted to enter and break up Amy’s fun in the name of safety, but at the same time, if Amy had wanted her to leave …
“You three are gorgeous, really,” Amy said, her voice louder now, “but I want to share you with my friend. Where is that waiter? He said he would get her at least thirty minutes ago.”
“She’ll be along,” another man said, his voice deeper than the first. “She was really into the show and wanted to watch it all before coming backstage. There are still a few acts left.”
Liar. Tina bit her lip. From the sound of it, Amy was in a room with at least three werewolves who were definitely up to something.
There was just one problem. She was a human and they were all wolves. If something happened, she’d need help. The last thing she wanted to do was bust in and get immediately overpowered. After all, there had been videos of a few of the larger shifters shaking off werewolf mace, despite the reassurances from the company who made it. It seemed like the strong ones were barely fazed by it, and she had no idea who was in the room with Amy.
Guess now is as good a time as any to call Anthony. Tina pulled out her phone.
As her thumb hovered over Anthony’s name in her contacts, the employee-only door to the main theatre swung open.
“Dammit,” Tina squeaked, glancing over her shoulder. They’d definitely find her standing here in a minute. Moving on instinct and panic, Tina slipped quickly into the empty Sapphire Room and pulled the door shut. She didn’t want to be thrown out before she checked on Amy, and she wouldn’t be able to do anything useful if even more men showed up.
She held her breath, waiting. The footsteps mercifully faded as whomever entered walked the opposite way, and a second later, a door slammed shut.
With a relieved sigh, Tina went back to her phone, but as she went to dial Anthony, she heard one of the men with Amy speak.
“Our time’s up, darlin’,” one of the men said as the music shut off.
A chair scraped, and Amy sighed deeply. “That’s too bad. My friend would have loved you guys. Maybe next time.”
“There won’t be a next time,” one of the men said right before something crashed against the floor.
2
Tina
The strippers exited the room where Tina had heard Amy’s voice wearing nothing but boxers and boots, their tall frames blocking most of the view beyond them. Each was easily six feet tall, with broad shoulders covered in muscles.
Amy lay draped over the tallest man’s shoulder, her wrists and legs bound with rope. A thin trail of blood snaked from her temple. A gag covered her mouth, and she caught Tina’s eyes as the men walked away from her.
“I’m getting help. Stall them,” Tina mouthed to her friend as she texted Anthony as quickly as she could.