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“Yes, and all the boys just love what I do with it,” Dean retorted. “Have you heard anything?”
Noel decided to ignore him and get ready. He took off his clothes and began redressing from the inside out, getting into the costume for his hipster ballet number.
“Come on.”
“Jesus, you’re a real pain in the ass… and so not in a good way,” Noel snapped. “He took me to dinner, and that was all. We talked, had a nice time, and then he took me home. That’s the end of it.” Noel had been trying to make sense of that evening all week. “Sometimes, dinner is just dinner.”
“In my experience, when a man buys you dinner, he expects you to be the dessert,” Dean added.
“Hold on. He took you to dinner, then just took you home and didn’t ask for anything,” Rafe said. “Jesus, if I didn’t know better….” He looked toward the door. “The man is either in love with you, or this is one of those fatal attraction moments. Either way, run.”
“You’re both asses….” Noel smacked Rafe’s hard backside. “It hardly matters.” He finished getting ready and couldn’t help taking a peek out front, his belly doing a little flip just in case David was out there. He wasn’t. Well, it had been worth a shot.
“Ten minutes,” Frankie said as he passed through the dressing area. “Have a good show.” He left, and the activity increased as they all checked themselves in the mirror, and Jesse got ready to do his elfing best number.
“Police,” men said as they hurried inside.
“Get Frankie,” Noel told Jesse, who hurried off.
“Everyone stay where you are. This show is shut down, and all of you are coming with us,” a huge officer said as two others fanned out through the room.
“What’s going on?” Frankie demanded as he and Jesse returned.
“This establishment is closed. We have had reports that it is being used as a cover for prostitution. You’re all coming to the station.”
Noel looked at his shaking friends, huddling together, with police officers looming over them. He was standing next to his dressing table, so he grabbed his phone and pulled up a recent text. David had said that he had trained as a lawyer. Noel had no idea if he’d help or not, but he sent a text message that the club had been raided and the police were taking them in.I need your help, please….
“Put the phone down,” one of the officers snapped at him. Noel met his gaze with as much fierceness as he could muster and held it tightly. “Give me that.”
Noel shook his head.
“Pay attention, Jack,” one of the other officers said, and the guy stepped back, getting out of Noel’s face as his phone vibrated. He waited while Frankie spoke with the officers and made a few phone calls of his own before checking for a response.
On my waywas all it said, but hopefully it would be enough. Noel watched one of the officers and Frankie got into a heated argument, and then he turned Frankie around and slapped cuffs on his wrists. The rest of them stood close together, and Noel assumed that the patrons out front were probably being hassled as well.
“What kind of shakedown is this?” Noel asked as one of the officers approached.
“You be quiet. We’re waiting for a car to take you all down to the station.”
“Really?” David strode in, dressed to kill in one of those coats that made him look like a prince. “What sort of evidence do you have?” David slipped off what had to be alpaca or vicuna and draped it over his arm. “If you’re going to take these men in, then you need to have specific evidence against each of them. What is it?” Man, he sounded amazing.
“And you are?”
“David Hunter. I’m the attorney for Noel, here. He texted me as soon as you arrived. I came down here to see that my client’s rights aren’t being violated, and from the looks of things, I’d say this entire raid is questionable.”
“We are acting on a tip about this establishment,” the biggest officer said.
“Really?” David asked. “And this tip, it didn’t happen to be anonymous, did it? Were specific people mentioned by name? Have you seen anything illegal yourselves?” He stepped closer, and Noel wanted to cheer when the officer began to look at the others for support—a sure sign of weakness. “Just what I thought. This is harassment, and it isn’t going to look good for the department. You know that.” David held himself tall and straight. Noel had been attracted to David’s kindness since that first night, but this was something completely different. David had Noel’s heart pounding and blood coursing through him to the point that he could barely think.
“We need….” The officer looked like he was going to cry.
David cleared his throat. “What you need is to have hard evidence before you pull a stunt like this. This club may not be your cup of tea, but as long as they abide by the law, you are to do the same.” Man, the way he schooled them was so awesome. Noel wanted to cheer, but he was too stunned. “Why is this man handcuffed?”
“Yeah, why?” Noel finally found his voice. “Frankie was trying to protect us.”
“Is this true?” David never raised his voice, but the command in it was unmistakable.
“He resisted….”
