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Ten minutes later, I fiddled with my belt as I walked towards the VIP section. A separate corridor ran to it, so I avoided walking through the main floor. The VIP area was part of the main lounge but set on a mezzanine. The pole was smaller and recessed so guests could watch the girl there and the main stage show if they wished. There was a private room, too, which meant that with larger VIP parties, two girls worked together – one on the pole and one in the room. The VIPs could request any girl from the floor, and we’d swap out.
Larry nodded to me and opened the door. The music from the main floor washed over me, and my eyes snagged on Kelsie doing her Playboy bunny routine on the main stage. Turning to the wide booth, my heartbeat stuttered as I realised the man with the intense stare was there. He sat in the middle of the booth, his arms spread wide across the back, gaping his suit jacket open to reveal a waistcoat and tie. His dark hair was smoothed back, and his fierce green eyes tracked my movements. Kia sat on his left and nodded at me. A gigantic man to his right with a bald head didn’t look up. Two men flanked the booth in dark suits, staring into the club. The green-eyed man gestured to the pole.
“Dance for me,” he ordered, his Irish accent thick.
Kelsie’s reference to the mafia hit me squarely in the chest, and my stomach churned. As I reached the pole, I nearly stumbled on my heels.
He is probably just some CEO douche. I tried to reassure myself.
3
Adjusting my cufflinks, I climbed out of my Range Rover into the chilly night air. Loch exited and joined Craig and Ian, who were scanning the area, having arrived in a separate car. We left Cian, my cousin, back home. He was like a kid in a sweet shop at a strip club. This was the fourth club we’d investigated. The low-level Stefanov guy had squealed like a pig when we brought him into the room. Perhaps it had something to do with Eddie’s dripping corpse hanging from Loch’s hook, but I took solace in the knowledge even my double-crossing men held out longer during torture. It was a weak comfort, though, given they existed at all. He confirmed the Bulgarian gang was looking to infiltrate our newer clubs. Adding to the list of reasons they needed to be neutralised.
Trusting others to do important jobs wasn’t in my nature, so Loch and I started inspecting clubs purchased in the past six months, finishing with this one –
the closest to home but also the most recent acquisition. I doubted the Stefanovs had already gotten their claws into this place.
Loch swore under his breath, and it made me smile. He didn’t enjoy being away from his woman and especially not spending our nights in strip clubs.
“Think of this as an extended stag party,” I told him, thumping his massive shoulders.
The guy had a few inches and a good few kilos on me. I’d tease him about being a fat bastard, but he was all muscle. The only one that ever gave me a good fight.
“Feck off,” he muttered, not loud enough for anyone to hear.
He might be my adoptive brother, my right hand, but he didn’t openly disrespect me.
“Come on. This is a legitimate stag night activity.”
He grunted and ignored me, and I chuckled to myself. The big eejit was getting married at the end of the week. You’d think he would crack a smile.
Kia met us at the VIP entrance, which looked like it could do with a lick of paint. I reminded myself we’d only taken this place over last week. I wasn’t expecting much inside.
“Mr O’Sullivan.” She nodded, stress showing on her stoic face.
Kia was an excellent consulting manager. She flipped poorly performing strip clubs, making them more lucrative. She would hate that I was here before she’d tidied the place up. However, I wasn’t here to look at titties and new décor. I was here on a vermin-hunting mission.
My organisation varied from arms dealing and drugs to strip clubs and bookies. I needed legitimate businesses with cash flows to hide the illegal dealings.
Kia led us to a room marked VIP and directed us into a wide booth with worn black velvet lining. The floor dipped slightly to a small pole, and the whole area had a view of the main floor. As far as layouts went, I didn’t hate it.
“Do you want me to bring up the books?” Kia slid into the booth on my left with her laptop.
“Employee files first,” I said.
Ian and Craig took up the position to observe our surroundings. Loch looked grumpy, but he scanned the club, too.
“I’ve not gotten into them yet. I planned to start tonight after meeting the girls for the first time before we opened.”
I nodded. I wasn’t here to check on her work. She didn’t need my meddling, but I let her think I was inspecting it because it hid my intention from prying eyes. Plus, a bit of fear always kept people sharp.
My gaze swept out to the main floor. Halloween made the place busy for a Thursday night. The women danced in various costumes, and tacky plastic spiders dangled between coloured sashes adorning the ceiling.
Kia brought up the files, and I clicked through them, paying close attention to the Eastern European women and the security staff. The former were bigger targets for trafficking, and the latter could let the foxes into the henhouse. Loch took down the information. We were looking for anything irregular in the background checks that my tech guy, Thomas, would run.
“Anything that stands out already?” I asked Kia, knowing her instincts for sniffing out trouble were one of the main reasons her location flips were successful.
“The liquor supply needs changing. The prices are a joke, and few of the girls have a drug problem.”
