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“You want me to shut down my club that night for you? Do you know how much I make after that fancy to-do? It’s one of my busiest nights of the year. No, thank you.”
“I’m willing to cover all your losses.”
“It’s a steep price,” Dahlia says, taking another drag of her cigarette. It’s getting thick in here.
“I’ll pay. I want your best girls and liquor for a private party.”
“This has illegal written all over it,” she mutters, staring off across the room. She shifts again, revealing more leg. I don’t look. “Sounds exciting.”
“I know you had a special … connection … with my father.”
“Mmm,” is all she gives me. Another drag. Another puff.
“I might find a fewthingsleft to you in his will.”
“Are you trying to bribe me?” Her perfectly drawn-on eyebrow cocks, and the effect is almost comical, the way it arches toward the ceiling with exaggerated height.
“Yes,” I say.
She leans forward, tapping the end of her cigarette on the ashtray in the center of the table. “And you want me to, what, turn a blind eye to the goings-on?”
“Don’t pretend to be an upstanding member of society now,” I say.
She chuckles, and the throaty sound echoes around the room.
“The four men you are trying to get alone are some of my best clients. Forgive me if I am a bit wary of your intentions. I’ve heard rumors …” She drifts off, and I sit back, tapping on the table.
“Rumors?” I prompt, and she purses her lips.
“That there’s bad blood between you and the other four. Bedroom talk, you know.”
“If there is?”
“I want nothing to do with it.” She reaches down to adjust her robe, covering the expanse of leg that was out.
“I’ll make it worth your while,” I say.
She takes a deep breath. “You’re a child, Connor. Whatever you are planning, stop.”
“So, you won’t help me?”
“I didn’t say that. If you can promise me the night won’t end with body bags, I’ll consider it.”
I study her—the way her eyes look tired, the dark under-eye circles showing through the copious amounts of makeup she’s wearing. She has a drawn-on mole—maybe a nod to fancier times, or maybe she likes the way it looks. Her hair is piled high on her head, but it’s starting to show the real color at her roots.
She’s scared. She doesn’t want the wrong kind of attention on her. I understand. But I need an inconspicuous place and the distractions that Dahlia can offer.
“I promise that body bags won’t be exiting your building.”
She lifts her chin slightly, staring me down. Her stark red lips press into a thin line, and her eyes narrow.
“Then, let’s talk payment.”
* * *
“What the hell were you thinking?”Geo asks, storming behind me as soon as I enter my own damn house. He’s there so suddenly; he had to have been waiting for me to get back.
“I was thinking I had business to take care of, and I did.”
