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Was this a sign?
I punched in my employee code and pulled the door open and immediately a wave of loud music and even louder voices washed over me.
"Sasha, thank God you're here!" one of the other dancers, Theresa, shouted over the noise. "This place is a madhouse tonight. We need more staff."
"What can I do?" I asked, as I shoved my bag into a locker and slammed it shut.
"Well, we've got kind of a situation. That group of bikers who were here a few weeks ago being assholes are back, and they're causing all kinds of trouble."
I nodded, my heart sinking. I remembered that night all too well. JD had been so fierce and protective, but now he was nowhere to be found.
"Although not the one JD punched. He's not been around at all. Rumor has it he never will be. Not after JD put the fear of God in him." Her eyes were wide and it looked difficult for her to focus them.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?"
She turned her head sharply and pinched her lips together. "I'm definitely not the problem."
What in the hell was that supposed to mean? Now she looked pissed. At me? I was beginning to feel like I'd walked into the twilight zone or the set of Stranger Things. This place was upside down and chaotic.
"You need to go out there and talk to those men," she demanded. "They've been asking for you for an hour and raising hell because they didn't believe you weren't here."
"Why hasn't security dealt with them? JD made it pretty clear he didn't want those men here." And my going out there now would likely not help the situation if they were already out of control. "What are you thinking I can do that Bruce or security can't?"
"Your job, for one. They just want attention and that's what we as dancers do. It's not enough just to show up, get on the stage and go home."
Whoa. Where was this coming from? The anger firing in her eyes made me take a step back.
"Are you on something?" I blurted before I could think through the repercussions.
"Really?" she demanded. "Someone questions why you're the only dancer who doesn't have to entertain off the stage and you accuse me of being on drugs? That's rich. Fuck you," she screamed, as she stomped off in the direction of the stage.
Okaaaay. Definitely in the upside down now. I took a deep breath and went in search of Bruce. I needed to get a less biased opinion on what was going down around here. It was no surprise that his office was empty. If the club was jumping, he'd probably had to pitch in out front. I was just going to have to deal with this another way. I checked my phone and I still had thirty minutes or so before I was due on stage so I had some time.
I would have to go out front and confront this mess head on. God help me. Here's hoping I could control my anger and not end up losing another job.
Pushing my way through the door, I glanced around quickly in search of Bruce or literally anyone else I recognized. No sign of Bruce, but I did see Heather.
"Heather," I whisper yelled, trying to get her attention. She didn't hear me so I tried again, this time a little louder.
"There she is," someone hollered and pointed, and all heads turned in my direction. Fuck. Now that I'd been spotted I had no choice but to emerge. I was afraid if I ran and hid now, complete anarchy would ensue. At least that's what Theresa made it sound like. And good lord, it was crowded out here.
I walked over to the group of men, my heart racing out of control. Just as Theresa had said, they were the same men that JD had confronted that night, minus the one who'd grabbed me. Some had their backs to me and it looked like their patches had all been ripped from their vests.
I had no idea what that meant, but I'd bet it wasn't good.
"Can I help you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. I had to appear strong and in control. And where the hell was Bruce? And security?
"We're looking for JD," one of the men said, his eyes raking over me in a way that made me feel dirty.
"I haven't seen him," I replied, my voice a little hoarse from my nerves.
The man who spoke, balked. "Bullshit. You're his woman."
My eyes widened. "What? I don't know who told you that, but they were wrong. I'm his employee. And I haven't seen him in weeks."
"Prove it."
"Excuse me?"
