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“Has she ever been late to the club?”
“No. I’m gonna locate her manager and see if she knows anything.”
“As long as you’re doing that, why don’t you check and see if Susan Carmine is on the schedule for tonight, then call me back.”
“Yeah, I can do that,” I said, rising from my seat and searching for Venus. “Call you back in a few minutes.” I disconnected the call.
“The stalker’s a woman?” Roman blurted, shock in every line of his face.
“Yep. Name’s Susan Carmine.” Which meant little to nothing to me. Most of the women used a stage name to hide their real identity.
“Do you know who that is? They all have stage names,” Owen stated, glancing toward the bar at Zelda and Roxy already hard at work.
“Tell me something I don’t know. I’m gonna go find Venus. I need to see if she’s heard from Moira and find out what name this Susan Carmine uses as a stage name.”
“We’ll be here waiting. I’m dying to know who this chick is,” Liam said with a grin as if he thought this idea of a female stalker was hilarious.
I was morbidly curious myself. Without a moment to lose, I strode into the back toward Moira’s office. After checking in there briefly to make sure she hadn’t snuck in when I wasn’t looking, I did something I’d never done before. I headed into the dressing room that was full of strippers preparing for their shows this evening.
Venus stood in the center of chaos with a headset on and a clipboard in her hands. Her brows rose when she spied me standing just inside the door. “Can I help you, Ben?”
It smelled like women in here, a mixture of perfumes and hairspray. I’d never seen anything like it. A profusion of colors and sounds hit my senses. There was glitter and sparkles fucking everywhere. And don’t even get me started on the number of bare tits I spied.
“Can I speak with you outside for a moment?” Because while I wasn’t a prude, I also didn’t want to stand in the middle of the strippers’ dressing room with a bunch of half-naked women. It would not endear me to Moira in my bid to win her back.
“Sure. Ladies, I’ll be right back.” Venus followed me out into the hall, removing her headset and placing it on mute to keep our conversation quiet. I’d watched Moira do the same thing this week. “What’s going on, Ben? Is Moira with you?”
“You haven’t heard from her?” The trepidation swirling in my chest solidified into unholy terror.
Venus shook her head and whispered low, like she didn’t want anyone to hear our conversation and cause a panic. “No. And I’m getting worried. This isn’t like her at all. I’ve got the club covered, but I’d feel better if I knew what was going on.”
My heart squeezed. From what I’d surmised this past week, Venus was a solid ally, and we needed as many of those as possible. “You wouldn’t happen to know a Susan Carmine, would you?”
Venus frowned at the question. “Susan? Sure. She hasn’t made it in tonight yet either.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, what’s her stage name?” Moira would be fine. Dan should be arresting Susan as we speak. Moira wasn’t in any danger. But I knew them for the lies they were.
“It’s Aphrodite. Why?”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I knew exactly who that was. She’d been here this entire week. Every night she’d been smiling, joking, and acting like she had no idea about the stalker business. And the award for best actress went to... “Look, if Aphrodite comes in tonight. You need to call this number.” I pulled out Dan’s card from my wallet. “It’s for Detective Dan Freemont with the Charleston Police. Don’t engage with her beyond that. Don’t let her know you’re calling the police. Just play it cool and call the number from Moira’s office.”
“Okay, now you’re scaring me.” Venus’s eyes were wide, and brows were hiked up near her hairline in total shock. But she took the card from me.
“That’s not my intent. I’m gonna find Moira and make sure she’s okay. I’ll call you and let you know that she’s all right when I do.”
“Would you? God, this has been a crazy week. And you’re sure about Aphrodite?”
“Yes. But I need you to keep it between us for now. Say nothing to the rest of the girls. We can’t have them trying to contact her and wind up tipping her off. The detective is on his way to arrest her right now.”
“Holy shit!” Venus glanced around like danger stalked the halls.
“That about sums it up. I’m heading out now.” I walked away, determined to do whatever I needed to protect Moira.
Venus said, “Don’t forget to call me when you locate Moira.”
“Sure thing.” I waved on my way out the door, then made a quick beeline for the table where the guys were seated. They turned as I approached and announced, “We need to get to Moira’s right fucking now.”
Brows rose around the table, but they didn’t argue or question me with people watching us. Instead they rose, their faces stern with purpose. They knew the situation. They knew the stakes. We filed out of the club into Mother Nature’s wrath, rain pelting us, and climbed into Roman’s jeep. Once we were all inside and speeding toward Moira’s, I filled them in on the stalker’s identity.
