the empty room and the window that’s cracked open.

“What the fuck, man?” D asks when I storm back into the room and angrily shove my feet into my shoes.

“She’s fucking gone. Come on.”

“Gone? Gone where? How?”

“Out the fucking window. Move, or I’ll go without you.”

He’s up off the sofa in a beat and joins me as I walk through the front door.

“She’s a pain in the arse,” D mutters as we descend the stairs.

“You got that fucking right.”

As we turn toward the club that’s only a few doors down, it doesn’t escape my mind that we could just leave her to it, let her do her thing, allow her to get naked for all those sets of eyes, but I can’t. The thought of them looking at her makes me want to lock her up in that bedroom properly this time.

She’s too young. Too innocent. Too precious for the likes of the regulars in this place. The likes of me. That final thought is a sobering one as we greet Gary who’s on the door tonight and enter the club like we would any other night of the week.

We go straight to the main room—it’s where I saw her last night, so I have no reason to think she’d be anywhere else. Heaven forbid Dakota allows her to spend time one-on-one with guys in the private rooms. A shudder runs through me at the thought. Those girls in there can be… rule breakers, shall we say, and I’ve no doubt that Dakota knows every single thing that happens under this roof.

I squint as I step into the darkened room. Unlike usual, I forgo a trip to the bar in favour of checking out the girls on the stage, but again, unlike usual, it’s not them I’m really interested in. I don’t see the way their hips roll or what they're wearing, I just need to find her. But she’s not here.

“I can’t see her,” D says when I find him back by the entrance.

“Me either.”

“I need to find Dakota.”

Stalking toward the bar, I lean over when the barman comes over and I shout in his ear.

“Where’s the boss?”

He shrugs. “In her office. Why, who’s asking?” I’ve not seen this guy before, and he clearly doesn’t know who I am.

“Spike. Get her down here. I need to talk to her now.”

His eyes widen a little in shock, but thankfully it seems to do the trick because he pulls his walkie-talkie from his belt and says something into it.

“She’s coming. Drink?”

“Vodka, neat.”

He looks to D who’s standing beside me and he quickly adds a whisky to the order.

The second the glass is in front of me, I lift it to my lips and down it in one. It burns, but I need it right now.

“Well, well, what a pleasant surprise,” Dakota shouts, making me spin to look at her.

“Where is she?”

To be fair to Dakota, she does a great job of trying to look like she has no idea what the fuck I’m talking about, but she knows. I can see the truth in her eyes. We may not have been friends all that long, but I can read her.

“Where’s who?”

“Dakota,” I warn, taking a step toward her. Not that it’ll faze her, she’s nothing if she’s not a hard-arsed bitch. There’s not many women I’d admit I’m scared of, but she’s one of them.

“Spike,” she sasses back with a smile.

“Tell me where she is, and I won’t cause a scene.”

“What are you really going to do?”

Honestly, I’ve no idea, but I don’t want her to know that. “Test me and find out.”

She pales ever so slightly, and I know I’ve got her. This place is her baby, there’s no way she’d willingly risk losing out on a few customers because of me.

“If you tell me you’ve got her working one of the back rooms, I’ll—”

My words are cut off when she starts laughing. “You really need to stop threatening me.”

“Tell me what I need to know, and I will. She shouldn’t be here, and you know it.”

“I’m sure there are people out there who’d say that about every one of my dancers, Spike. But no one forces them to be here, and I pay them well for their work.”

“I don’t care about your other dancers. I just care about her.” That admission rocks me slightly, but I tell myself that it’s in a sisterly way because I’m such a loyal friend to Zach.

“Fucking hell. Follow me.”

I look at D who nods at me to go. I spin and follow Dakota in her insanely high heels to the staff only door at the back of the room.

The second we’re through it, the music instantly quiets down.

She takes two more steps before turning on me.

“Why do you care about this girl?”

“She’s my best mate’s sister and she’s in trouble. Trouble I don’t think you’re going to want to bring into your club.” Dakota narrows her eyes, encouraging me to continue. “Not my story to tell. I just need her out of this place and somewhere safe.”

“You care too much about this one, Spike,” she points out like I wasn’t already fucking aware.

I haven’t put this much effort into a woman since… nope, not going there.

“I just need her safe.”

“Suuuure. I’ll take you to her, but it’s going to cost you.”

“You want me to fucking pay?”

“You want one of my girls during working hours, and after the scene you caused last night, yeah, I want compensation.”

“Fuck you, Dakota.”

Her eyes run down my body and her lip curls in disgust. “I hear what the girls say. Apparently you’re not all that.”

My chin drops in shock before she starts laughing and walks away from me.

“Pay for her for the night and she’s yours to do with as you wish. And,” she adds, “should you not leave the room for a while, I won’t even tell her brother.”

7

Kas

“Well, well, well, I didn’t think you’d be stepping back in this place,” Dakota says the second I

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