Chapter Seven
Titty Corral
Strip Club
Sunday
Mid-Morning
E mma was practically bouncing in her seat. She was beside Chris, and she was humming and in a damn good mood. For once, Greyson didn’t try to lock her away for her safety. He was letting her head to the club to do her part on their team.
She was excited.
“You know it’s sick that you’re all hyped up about going to some sleazy strip club,” Chris offered.
“Yeah, but I don’t get to have the fun Greyson has. Normally, he’s wigging out that someone is trying to kill me. I feel stoked that he’s letting me handle this.”
“Uh, for the record, Em, someone is generally trying to kill you. We can review all the times, if you’d like.”
She found that amusing. “No, I recall each and every one, so thanks. I just can’t help it. I know I’m pregnant, but a mind is a terrible thing to waste. This is going to be fun. I haven’t been to a strip club in Vegas before.”
He stared at her.
“Yeah, well, no comment.”
“Come on! I’m going to have fun with this. Life is too short, and once the world finds out I’m carrying the heir to the Croft crazy, I’m done out in the field.”
She was right.
Greyson would put his foot down.
Still…
“I’m glad you’re stoked, but you realize I have to do this with you, right? I hope Natasha won’t be angry.”
He sounded concerned.
“Are you two officially a couple?” she asked. “You know…girlfriend and all?”
He loved that word.
It gave him this sense of comfort. Chris had been single for so long, that it was odd being part of a couple.
He really liked it.
Especially the sex.
He wasn’t getting any younger, and if he had a shot at love, he had to take it. There wouldn’t be that many more women out there interested in a forty plus year old who worked for the mob.
That was a hard sell.
“Yeah, we are. I’m content not moving too fast. I want to enjoy this feeling. Being in a relationship, where I’m not freaked out, is nice.”
“Just don’t knock her up,” she teased. “Dimitri can’t handle it this week.”
“Well, I won’t. I’ll be nice to him.”
She stared at him like he was loco.
“What?”
“You are going to be nice? Do you want to make him paranoid?”
He snorted. “I feel for him. He’s struggling. I can see it.”
Emma didn’t confirm or deny it, and that was more than enough to prove he was right.
“Here’s the facts. He was leaning against you, and Dimitri is more the wall than the leaner, and he reached for your hand. He doesn’t touch anyone. Ever.”
She was aware.
“I can’t discuss why he’s struggling, just like I wouldn’t tell him anything personal you told me. I love you both, and I have to keep everyone’s secrets.”
“So, you’re not playing favorites? Spoken like a true mother.”
She laughed. “Yep.”
“I’ll cut him a break. Your husband, not so much. He’s on my shit list for this assignment.”
Emma glanced over. “Why? What am I missing?”
“We got screwed. I’ve been in the ‘Titty Corral’. It’s gross and vile. He stuck us with the shit job so he didn’t have to come here. This wasn’t about him thinking you could handle it. This was about him saying ‘I am NOT going in there’.”
She stared. “Really?”
He laughed. “We had a bust once in there. I was afraid to get Hep C from breathing. That should tell you everything you need to know.”
She pulled out her cell.
Greyson answered.
“Question?”
“Answer.”
“Did you stick me with the strip joint because you thought I would find something or because you would rather lick a public toilet then spend one second in there?”
He laughed at her analogy. “I love you, honey. You’re the best wife ever. Wear gloves, and don’t drink anything. They don’t wash their glasses. I don’t want anything communicable.”
“Greyson Thaddeus Croft!”
“I’ve been there. Why should I have all the fun? Enjoy,” he said, as he and Dimitri were laughing.
He hung up.
Emma was pissed. “What the…?”
“See? We didn’t get the good job where you get a kick ass interview and find a lead. He’s betting on it being a dead end. They’ve been here before, and Gerald Darden has been dead a couple days. The lead is cold.”
“Son of a bitch! I’ll kick his caveman ass!”
He laughed. “Yeah, he’s going to the girl’s apartment so Mr. Clean doesn’t have to touch sperm coated seats.”
That visual played out in her mind.
“Oh, Jesus. I’m not sitting in there. I’m sitting in your lap. Screw that.”
“Looks like I get my revenge then too,” he teased.
“I can’t believe he played his pregnant wife.”
There would be payback.
“I have to make him suffer. He should know better.”
Chris laughed. “Well, there’s always media following us,” he said, pointing behind them.
Emma looked.
That gave her an idea.
“Want to mess with him?”
He grinned. “Like mess with him AND the media?”
“Yes.”
He was in.
What did he have to lose? It wasn’t like Greyson would hurt him. Emma would kick his ass for that too. He was safe.
He laughed. “I don’t mind. I’m getting the good end of the deal, but you have to clear it with Natasha. I don’t want to be dumped.”
She dialed the woman.
“Yes, Emma?”
“Where are you?”
“At home, why? You wanted me off your tail.”
“Chris and I are going to a strip club.”
“I see.”
She laughed. “Not to see strippers. We have an interview, but your brother and my husband screwed us over. This place is gross.”
“That sounds like them.”
“I’m going to be sitting in Chris’s lap as I mess with Greyson. Are you okay with that?”
She paused. “Uh, why are you asking?”
“Chris didn’t want you to dump him if you saw something questionable on the news. You know how the media is when they make up stories about us. Last week I was screwing your brother, the week before that I was having a secret affair with Liberace.”
She laughed. “Everything is questionable on the news. I didn’t know I could dump him. Is that a thing?”
“Well, you’re his girl. So, yeah, you can dump him if he doesn’t make you happy, or you can make him buy you shit. We’ll go over that part of the deal later.”
Natasha laughed.
Chris slapped her on the leg.
‘Really?’ he mouthed.
“Are you okay with it?” Emma asked.
“Well, tell him I trust him, and that I’ll call him when I plan to sit in some man’s lap.”
Chris pointed at Emma.
Natasha was laughing. “I know he can hear me. I’m watching you on the monitor.”
“Jesus, I hate these cars with their screens,” he muttered.
“I love you, and be safe,” Natasha said, hanging up.
Emma turned off the navigational screen.
“I am outnumbered,” Chris muttered. “You’re going to make her mean like you, aren’t you?” he asked.
She grinned and nodded.
“Well, shit.”
Chris pulled into the parking lot. When Emma saw it, she shook her head.
“Yeah, there it is.”
Yeah, it looked like a dive. The sign had too big breasts behind a horse fence and all in neon.
The nipples flashed, and they were huge.
Klassy.
With a K.
“Jesus. I feel herpes coming on,” Chris muttered. “My dick is itchy right now.”
She laughed. “That I didn’t need to know, but maybe you should see a doctor about that.”
“You know what I mean, smart ass,” he said.
“Yeah, I know. Okay, let’s have some fun,” she said, hopping out of their vehicle. As they did, the media started taking pictures.
Emma was going to make Greyson pay for sticking her with this job. As soon as Chris was by her, she jumped into his arms, and he carried her across the parking lot. The entire time, she was laughing in his ear.
She imagined it looked like she was teasing it with her teeth.
He was laughing too.
It was nice not to have to be so ridiculously serious while working. That’s why he liked watching Emma. He could keep her safe and be entertained all at once.
Plus, it didn’t hurt his ego that the media called him her sidepiece. Emma was beautiful, and he’d take any attention he could get.
At the door, she handed the guy money to get in. The cool, crisp C-note disappeared in seconds.
The man immediately smiled and was nice. Emma knew he recognized her.
“Let’s get a private room for some kinky fun,” she said, kissing Chris on the mouth.
It wasn’t a peck either. There was all kinds of tongue involved, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it.
Sue him.
Still, it wasn’t the same as when he was making out with his girlfriend. It was like kissing…his sister.
When she bit his lip, Chris nearly walked them into the door.
Inside, she was laughing, as he dropped her to her feet.
“That should put Greyson over the edge,” she teased.
He was well aware.
“That guy is calling every tabloid in Vegas to sell his story,” Chris said, heading toward the bar. “I’m buying a copy for those lonely nights.”
She laughed. “You don’t have those anymore.”
“Then those lonely moments in between sex with my much younger girlfriend who is bendy.”
“You know we’re going to revisit that comment, and you’re going to regret it.”
He grinned. “We can share stories. I’m in the game now.”
Emma loved him.
He was such a dork, and he truly loved Natasha. He might tease and flirt, but she could see it with each time he said her name or ‘girlfriend’.
Someone was seriously smitten.
Emma was so happy for him, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t bust his ass too.
“Such a pervert.”
“Pain in my ass,” he said. “Don’t drink anything or touch anything!”
“Worried?” she teased.
“Yeah, you just kissed me, and I don’t want ‘the HIV’,” he said, “if by chance you’re doing it again.”
The way he said it was so damn funny.
“Yes, boy toy,” she said, slapping him on the ass.
He snorted. “Harder next time.”
Emma was having too much fun. “We need to work or my husband won’t let me play with you anymore.”
He got it.
The smile was gone, and Chris was back on bodyguard duty. He promptly put himself behind her, and did his thing.
Emma saw someone working, so she headed toward him. At the bar, the guy stared at them.
“We have some questions,” Emma began.
He shook his head.
“Nope. I don’t talk shit with ex-cops. You can head on out of here.”
Yeah, bullshit.
Everyone in Vegas would spill their guts for the right price. So, Emma did what her husband would have done.
She pulled cash out of her pocket and waved two one hundreds at him. “You talk, and I pay.”
He pointed at the stool.
“Have a seat.”
“We’ll stand,” Chris said.
The man didn’t care.
“What’s your name?” Chris asked.
“I’m Mitchel Hanna.”
“How long have you worked here?”
“Forever.”
“We are looking for this girl,” Emma said, holding out her phone with Julie’s picture on it. “Have you seen her?”
“That’s Chastity, and the last time I saw her was a couple of weeks ago with her daddy.”
Emma lifted a brow. “That’s a weird choice in names,” she began.
“Not really. It was ironic. You know as in…”
Chris stopped him. “We know what ironic is, Mitchel. We both have fancy educations where we learned the word. Talk about her, not the English language.”
He shrugged. “Whatever.”
“What about him, Mitchel?”
“She handled Gerald Darden’s specific clients. She didn’t do much stripping.”
“Like what kind of clients are we talking about?” Emma asked, almost afraid to know.
“He pimped her to the older men. Guys like that schoolgirl fantasy. She also handled the bondage guys and the ones who liked anal.”
“She was a minor.”
Again, he shrugged, but he glanced over his shoulder at another man. “Hey, Derk!”
The man headed over.
“What?” he asked.
“Did you know Chastity was a minor?”
“A minor what?” he asked.
Emma and Chris both shook their heads. Was this guy for real?
“A minor as in a child not able to work in places like this, and absolutely shouldn’t be servicing the needs of perverted older men,” Emma stated.
“Oh. Yeah, that was kinda her thing,” Derk said.
“What’s your last name?” Chris asked.
“What did I do?”
Chris was accustomed to idiots. He ran a division. The only thing that kept him from bashing this guy’s face off the bar top was he wasn’t a cop anymore.
“So, I can tell your momma you were checking out a child in a strip club.”
The man stared like he wasn’t sure. Then he gave him his name. “Utz is my last name. I’m the backup bartender.”
“When did you see Chastity last?”
He thought about it. “It was almost two weeks ago. She was going out on a ‘date’, and she got a drink before she headed out.”
Well, at least their stories matched.
“What kind of date?”
“The one that ends with her getting paid, and some man getting off,” he said, laughing.
“Can we make him disappear in the desert?” Emma asked.
The man shut up.
Clearly, he heard the rumors about her husband. Emma was glad that worked to their advantage.
“Listen, she was a cute kid, and I have no idea where she is. Gerald had her going in and out of rooms like there was a revolving door. She didn’t complain. She liked it.”
Yeah, she’d heard enough.
Any more, and she would puke on Derk and Mitchel. They were part of the problem in Vegas.
“Did she hang out with any of the girls?” Emma asked, pointing at the strippers all around them. It must have been normal for girls to be in there because they weren’t paying her any attention.
“Yeah, the one on the stage. That’s Texxxas,” he said, grinning.
They didn’t get it.
Then he spelled it with the triple x’s in the middle of her name.
“Wow! That’s clever. Did she come up with the neon sign outside too?” Chris asked.
The men stared at him blankly as it went over their heads.
Shocking.
“What’s wrong with the sign? Is one of the tits out again?” Derk asked.
Oh, there were a million things wrong with that sign. Emma didn’t know where to even start.
“Focus,” she said, trying to get the two geniuses to focus on her and not if the outside nipples needed new bulbs.
“If you need more information, you’re going to have to talk to Texxxas. Gerald pimped her out too. She’s freelancing now between here and some other club. If you want to talk to her, room four in the back is hers. You can go there. She’ll come in for a private dance. She likes people to watch.”
Well, that sounded creepy to Emma. She couldn’t imagine liking anything about that sentence.
She handed him the money.
And she was glad to escape the two men. One more minute, and she might hurt them.
“What now?” Chris asked, as they headed into the area where all the strippers were shaking what the good Lord gave them.
“We watch and wait. Then we get a lap dance. By we, I mean you.”
He stared at her. “You better be shitting me, or I’m out of here.”
She snorted.
Yeah, they needed to ask Texxxas some questions, and Emma wasn’t climbing up on the stage to do it.
That wouldn’t rile Greyson.
It would freak him the hell right out.
There was a fine line.
When a girl came over, she rubbed her breasts against the back of Chris.
“I like a hard-bodied man.”
“Body armor. I shoot people,” he said.
The woman scurried away.
Emma couldn’t help but snicker. It was fun watching him in action. Most of the cases she’d worked, he’d been riding a desk as captain. He didn’t flinch in there, and that gave her insight into how much time he’d spent on the streets.
“Did you ever go to a place like this for fun?” she asked as Texxxas finished her dance on stage. Some drunk man was trying to stick a bill in her belly button.
“No, this isn’t my kind of place. I’ve been to clubs, but mostly it was for bachelor nonsense.”
“Oh, if you get married, can we…?”
He covered her mouth with his hand. “NO.”
She snickered. “Why not?” she asked when he moved his hand away.
“Because I don’t like women like this. They have to have more than just tits. I like a brain. I like smart women. I did the beauty thing, and Denise was a viper.”
He said her name easier now that he had Natasha. Emma hoped the bitch stayed away. She’d been back, and Emma had yet to tell him.
She didn’t want to hurt him.
Chris was finally happy.
“She’s done,” he said, pointing. “Off to the rabbit hole, Alice,” he said.
“I don’t think you should say hole in here. It draws up yucky pictures.”
He stared at her. “You used to be so sweet. What the hell happened?”
“Vegas.”
Yeah, he got that.
“Uh, reporter at three o’clock,” Chris said.
Emma looked.
The sleazy reporter was taking their picture, and Chris grabbed her ass.
She snorted. “Nice touch.”
“I thought so. You’ve been working out. Squats?” he teased.
She winked him. “Let’s go, perv.”
They entered the room, and there was a faux leather couch, and that’s it.
“I guess we sit there,” she said.
“Ladies first.”
She laughed. “Hell no! I’m sitting in your lap. I’m not touching that.”
“Seriously? You’re going to make me put my body where people have been rubbed off by a stripper who is a hooker in disguise? What did I ever do to you?” he asked.
“I have a baby on board.”
“Are you going to use that the next seven months?”
“If I’m in here in seven months, have me checked for crazy, not syphilis.”
He snorted, and took a seat.
“Come to daddy,” he teased.
She jumped onto his lap and landed against his body. Immediately, he caught her.
“Next time, watch the junk. I need that for later when I see my girl.”
Emma leaned against him. “I’m creeped right out.”
“Don’t be. It’s a natural reaction to when a woman sits in your lap,” Chris tried to rationalize.
She stared at him. “I meant that Julie handled those kinds of clients. Not that you have an erection.”
He snorted. “When you say it like that, it sounds so dirty.”
Normally, Chris would be horrified by the way Emma was tormenting him, but he had a sexy girl at home. He was much calmer now that he was having sex on a regular basis.
She could tease away.
He wasn’t sexually frustrated.
“I think she’s coming,” Emma said.
“Yeah, me too. You’re wiggling,” he teased. “I like it. More to the right.”
Oh, she’d teach him too. Emma kissed him again, and this time she had a hard time not laughing. It was like kissing her brother.
“Freak,” he muttered. “I hope you kiss your husband better than that. I only give you a four for that one.”
She did laugh.
Chris got her. The man knew what to say, and when to say it. She was glad he was her best friend.
They had chemistry.
As soon as the door opened, the woman with pink sparkly hair entered, and she was barely in her outfit.
“Great a happy couple,” Texxxas said, sighing. “Okay, it’s one hundred for me to give him head, and two hundred total if you want me to get you off too, sugar.”
Emma was so not paying for that.
“Actually, how about I renegotiate?” Emma asked.
“What?”
“I’ll give you two hundred if you just sit down, keep your clothes on, and you can take a break from licking anything.”
“Seriously? I don’t have to play for ‘team kitty’ or ‘team stick and balls’?” she asked.
Chris whispered in her ear. “I’m so using that later.”
She elbowed him.
“Yeah, we don’t want to get off. Well, I don’t,” she said, getting a wicked pinch on her ass from Chris.
“Hey, if you don’t want Texxxas making you purr, who am I to argue? He is sexy though. I’d do him for half price.”
Emma opened her mouth, and Chris glared at her.
“I will kick you out of my lap.”
She changed her mind.
Texxxas plopped down beside them and held out her hand.
Emma handed her the cash.
“Okay, ask.”
“Name.”
“Texxas, but I suppose you want my real name. I know who you are.”
“Great. I’m infamous,” Emma said. “Name.”
“Betty Elder.”
“Were you hooking for Gerald?”
“I was, until the douchebag got himself offed by the grill of a car. Now I’m going between our sister club to find some cash or a new daddy.”
“Or you could stop the insanity and get out of here,” Chris said.
“Well, unless my Prince Charming rolls in, don’t bet on it. I’m not hooked up with some mob guy. Isn’t your man going to be pissed you’re making out with some other dude?” she asked.
Emma laughed. “Probably. He won’t kill me. He’ll kill him,” she offered.
“HEY!” Chris said.
“Anyway,” Emma continued, “did you know Chastity?”
“Yeah, she was new. Gerald picked her up from some guy who comes in here.”
“She was just dropped off?”
Betty, or Texxxas, laughed. “No, he’s a mule.”
Chris looked at Emma, and they shared a look. There was no way she was talking about what they thought she was discussing.
“As in the guy who transports women who have been sold?” Chris asked.
“Yeah, his name is…”
They already knew.
“Anthony Delmarco?” Emma asked.
“Yeah, you know him?”
No, but they were going to find him.
“All I know is she was working for a madam, and it didn’t work out. She wasn’t happy there. So, Gerald picked her up, and he was pimping her.”
“Does Delmarco come in often?” Chris asked, hoping they had a lead.
“No. Now that Gerald is dead, I haven’t seen him. He would come, drop a girl off, or he would come and pick one up from Gerald.”
They were onto something.
“And you know for sure that he dropped Chastity off with Gerald?”
She thought about it. “Yeah, a couple weeks ago. He came by, she was left here, and the day he got offed, he mentioned there was a pickup.”
“Has anyone been picked up or gone missing?” Emma asked.
She thought about it.
Then she shook her head.
“No, the only one who isn’t around anymore is Chastity. She was a cute kid, but she was messed up. She had daddy issues and then some.”
Well, that answered a few of their questions, and they really weren’t surprised. Marissa said they were molested by men in the system.
Sadly, this was the life they ended up in once they ran.
“If I showed you pictures of a few girls, could you tell me if they were here?”
She hesitated.
Emma pulled out two more hundreds. “One for your answers, and one to forget I asked.”
She nodded.
Emma pulled out her phone. She hoped she didn’t get him in trouble as she dialed his number.
“Detective Henderson.”
“Riley, It’s me.”
He paused. “Oh, okay, sis, what’s going on? Is everything okay?” he asked.
The noise subsided.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“Are you insane?” he asked. “I was sitting right beside Lester!”
“I know, but I have something big. I might be able to help you solve a few of your murders, but I need some photos.”
“Of who?”
“You said you had Jane Does on your desk, right?”
“Yeah, I do. Five of them.”
“Send them my way. I’ll tell you what’s going on later. This is ugly.”
He didn’t doubt it. “They are coming as soon as we hang up.”
She did.
“My associate will send the pictures.”
There was a knock at the door. “Texxxas, your time’s up. Are you okay?”
The woman ripped off her sparkly top. “Kiss him,” she whispered.
The door opened just as Emma began making out with Chris all over again.
The man peeked his head in. “You’re in here a while.”
“They paid for extra time,” she said, putting Chris’s hand on her bare breast.
Emma nearly laughed into the kiss when he shivered.
It wasn’t from lust.
He was touching a hooker’s breast, and he wasn’t enjoying it.
She was.
“Well, after you finish with them, you have two more lined up,” he said.
Chris really wished the man would leave. It was bad enough he was touching a stripper’s tit, but Emma was not making it easy to keep it friendly.
He got she was trying to make it look good, but for his lower anatomy, it didn’t look good.
Jesus.
He was going to Hell.
Thou shall not covet your sister.
It makes you a perv—girlfriend or not.
“Okay, well, keep on schedule. You’re due back on the pole later.”
The door closed.
Chris pulled his hand away. “Seriously?”
Emma was laughing so hard as her phone chimed. She knew that kiss went way too far. Only, what was she supposed to do. She wasn’t going to bust his ass.
That would be mean.
Emma pulled up the pictures and handed the phone to the woman.
There were five young girls.
She only recognized two.
“These two were here,” Texxxas offered. “They were dropped off with Gerald, they were working here about a week, they went to our sister club, and that’s all I know.”
Yeah, something was definitely up.
“Do you know their real names?”
“Those are morgue pictures, aren’t they?” Texxxas asked, her voice hitching.
“Yeah, Betty, they are.”
“That’s China. I can’t pronounce her real name. She was from New York.”
“Can you spell it?” Emma asked.
The woman typed it into her phone.
‘Ah-lam Yao’
“She was just a kid,” Texxxas offered.
“Yeah, we know. You know how dangerous it is for girls here,” Emma stated.
The woman nodded.
Chris finally spoke up, “Who is the other girl?”
“That’s Anastasia. She wasn’t from this country. I think she was…Russian.”
That was curious.
“What was her stripper name?” Emma asked.
“Ava Thing-you Want. She was young too,” Texxxas stated. “I feel horrible. I didn’t know they were dead. Is something bad going on here?” she asked.
“I think so.”
“If you were ever going to retire, this is the time,” Chris stated. “You might want a career change.”
“I can’t. I have to work. I have two kids at home. They’re in school, and I come here to pay the bills. When I don’t strip here, I head to our sister club.”
“What’s it called?” Chris asked.
“It’s called ‘The Pink Kitty’.”
Of course that was the name. What else would you call a sleazy strip club in Vegas?
Emma had an idea. “What if I could help you find a job that pays more than this?” she asked.
Texxxas laughed. “Yeah, right.”
Emma held out her hand. Chris pulled his wallet from his pocket and she dug out one of ‘Aquarius’s’ cards.
“I’m going to write something on the back of this. Tomorrow, you take this to this club, you ask for Dimitri, and you let him read the back. He’s going to get you out.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously. He’ll give you an honest job where you won’t have to be blowing men on the side. It’s not safe in Vegas, especially if you’re prey.”
Texxxas took the card, and she didn’t know what to say. Finally, she went with her heart. “Thank you. I don’t want to die.”
“We don’t want you to die either. I’ll have him notified that you’re coming. You can do this, Betty.”
Emma fished the rest of the money out of her pocket, and handed it to the woman. She closed her hands. “Your kids need you. I want you to live to see thirty.”
She began crying.
Emma hugged her.
“You look sick. You should go home,” she said. “There’s a bug going around,” she said, giving the woman a way to escape.
The woman nodded. She slipped off her heels. “I’m going to go pay my rent and take my kids for a pizza when they get home. Thank you.”
She headed out.
Chris didn’t say anything.
“I have hand sanitizer in the ride,” she said, trying to compose herself. It wasn’t easy. The cop in her knew the statistics, and she only prayed Betty could beat the odds.
“You saved someone,” Chris said. “You’re doing good,” he admitted. “This is why I followed you and Greyson.”
Then why did she feel like she was fighting a losing battle that was against the odds?
Chris lifted her chin. “Hey, honey, do you need a hug?” he asked.
She nodded.
In that dirty strip club, Chris held her in his arms, and let her cry.
He got it.
He didn’t need to ask why she wept.
He knew.
They’d saved one, but more would fall through the cracks.
Vegas was hard to save.
It was damn near impossible.