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I had no idea where to go.
The bouncer from earlier came out of the door. He noticed me and frowned. He came over and asked, “You crazy, girl? What are you waiting for? We don’t hand out numbers for the next night. You have to come back, and get in line. Maybe you should come earlier next time and dress a little less, if you know what I mean.” He sneered at me. “You’ll have no problem getting inside.”
“I need to see Carter Reed.”
His head went back, and he rolled his eyes. “Are you serious? You’re still on this?” He laughed. “Do you know how many girls come up to me and say they know the boss? I mean, really, take a guess.”
I stiffened under his amusement, but I had to endure it. This was the only way. “I do know him. He was best friends with my brother.”
“Say what?”
I looked back up and spoke clearer, “He was best friends with my brother. I haven’t talked to him in years, but something’s happened. AJ told me to go to Carter if I ever needed something. He said he would help.” My throat burned. “I have nowhere else to go.”
He heaved a deep breath as he looked me up and down. Somehow, I saw a twitch of pity enter his eyes. Then he mumbled under his breath, “I can’t believe I’m doing this. What was your brother’s name?”
“AJ Martins.”
I didn’t blink. I didn’t stutter. My brother’s name was spoken with respect.
One of his hands came to the back of his neck as he stared again, long and hard. He rotated his head around before his hand fell abruptly back to his side. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” But then he took out a radio and pressed the button. “Rogers, you still there?”
He let go of the button.
“Yeah. What’s up?”
He shook his head, but he pressed it again. “Can you get a message to the boss for me?”
“What about?”
He cursed under his breath, rolling his eyes. “Can you ask him if he knows the sister of AJ Martins? I’ve got her on the street; she keeps asking to see the boss. She’s been here all night.”
“I’ll radio him right now. Hold on.”
The next two minutes were the longest in my life. I held my breath as I felt the bouncer’s eyes on me. He never looked away and at one point muttered, “This could be my job, you know, honey. I could get canned for even asking him this question. He doesn’t mess around.”
I swallowed. I knew exactly who Carter really was.
Then the sound of static came over the radio before Rogers’ voice replaced it with, “Boss said to bring her in and set her up in the penthouse. He’s coming in quick for this one.”
Relief flooded me, so much that a whimper came out of my mouth and I almost dropped to the street. My knees hadn’t stopped knocking since the bouncer first radioed his colleague.
“Hey, easy there.” He caught my arm as I started to fall and pulled me upright. All the disbelief and sarcasm was gone. He was the epitome of professional now and before I had a chance to thank him, he was leading me inside Octave.
The last time I’d been in there everything had been dark. My college roommate dared me. Her boyfriend was a bouncer so he snuck us inside. I’d been scared to go, but Rosalie told me that she was wet between her legs at the idea of that nightclub. When we had gotten inside, I understood what all the rage was about. Ther
e were flashing lights, but the rest of the club was completely dark. As we went through all the hallways and mazes, circling the real dance floor, there were hidden corners around every bend. More than once we would touch couples in the throes before we even knew they were there.
Once we got to the dance floor, we never left. Hypnotic beats sounded from the walls, floors, ceilings, everywhere. And since the club was so large, Rosalie and I stayed attached to the hip, but it had been worth the one night of risk. I’d never done drugs, but as we danced the entire night, I felt like I had.
A shiver of anticipation went through me as I remembered the rest of the night, but instead of the darkness from then, the club was flooded in light now. A few bartenders remained behind their counters as they were drying off their glasses and a few waitresses were huddled in another corner with a wad of cash between them. As the bouncer led me down a back hallway, a few girls whisked by us going the other way. Their hair still looked styled, and heavy make-up covered their faces. They wore the same uniform, a piece of black string that crossed all over their body. A larger piece of black cloth covered their breasts, but one girl let it hang free. Her breasts bounced as she hurried down the hallway, but all of them had a cold glint on their faces.
The bouncer murmured under his breath, “They’re the dancers. They like to head home as soon as they’ve finished with the private boxes.”
I didn’t know what he meant, but nodded as if I did.
We went through a bunch of hallways, then up some stairs. When we entered a tunnel, I grabbed his arm. “Where are we going?”
The sound of traffic beneath was loud so he leaned close and kept me going. He yelled over the sound, “Boss owns the hotel behind the club. He said to take you to the penthouse so we’re going to the hotel. You’ll wait up there until he can get into town.”
