Chapter Four
After Tannin changed his jeans and boots, he strolled down into the main club area and eyed Gorgon from across the bar. The President was whispering something into Legs’s right ear, but there wasn’t time to hang back until he was done. “Hey, we’ve got a situation.”
“Yeah? Well take care of it. You’re the Sergeant-At-Arms, and I’m busy.” Gorgon shoved his hand between the girl’s thighs. She giggled, her skin blushing a deep red. She’d made them a shitload of money in the few months she’d been dancing.
Gorgon had recently made it official that Legs was his old lady, and it was about damn time. The rest of them had been wondering when the fuck that would happen since the moment he’d first met her. None of them had ever seen Gorgon act that way over a woman, and they were all happy for him. He deserved someone special in his life.
“It can’t wait. Involves an outsider and someone Vassago might know.”
Gorgon sighed and gave Legs a quick kiss. “Scram.”
Before the girl had time to pout, Tannin asked her to wait. “I need one of the girls to take some food up to our guest.”
“Our guest? What the hell are we runnin’ here? A fucking hotel?”
Tannin glanced around at the patrons. This wasn’t the place to discuss Rai.
Gorgon glared at him, but finally rose and beckoned both him and Legs with one finger. “Come on.”
They followed the man to the private area of the club, just outside the room where the Brothers could engage in sexual activity without disturbing the paying crowd in the club. Only members and their escorted guests were allowed in this area.
Tannin spotted Vassago, and was relieved to see he wasn’t busy wasn’t fucking someone. “We need to include him.”
Gorgon called to Vassago to join them, then asked Tannin again what was going on. “This needs to stay private.”
“For fuck’s sake.” Once the four were inside Gorgon’s office, Tannin asked Legs again if she’d take some food up to Rai. “She isn’t feeling well. Give her food you’d give to one of us who had the flu. And, she’s in some trouble, but don’t pry.”
“Her name is Rai?” asked Legs. “That’s unusual.”
“It’s not that unusual,” said Gorgon, ruffling Legs’s hair. “You’re so damn cute.”
“It’s short for Raiyana,” said Tannin. “Listen, she needs to know she’s safe here, okay?”
“Okay. I got it.” As soon as Legs left, Tannin told them what Rai had said about running from the Mob.
Vassago ran a hand through his hair. “Holy fuck, Tannin. Which boss? Donny or Vito?”
“I didn’t ask.”
“Well, we fucking need to find out, don’t we?” said Gorgon. “And let’s hope for your sake it’s Vito.”
The entire club would love to take out Vito, but they owed their continued existence to Donny Messina. Without his protection, they’d be easy prey.
“Did she give you a name?” asked Vassago.
“No.”
“Did she say anything else?”
“No. Nothing else. She’s scared to death. I followed her into the south lot from the road, and although she didn’t say so, I’m pretty sure she thought I was the one sent to take her out.”
“We know nothing about this broad,” said Gorgon, “except that the Mob is after her. Yet you fucking set her up in one of the rooms, and now we’re feeding her?”
“Gorgon, she puked on my fucking boots because she’s so damn terrified. What should I have done? Called 911?”
“You should have fucking walked away.”
“Well I didn’t, okay? She almost fainted. And you’re a fine one to talk about leaving a woman in trouble on her own. When Legs came here last year, you took her in, no questions asked.”
“Fuck you!” Gorgon pushed him against a wall, but Tannin pushed right back until Gorgon took his hands off Tannin and backed up. “Not the same thing at all. And Legs was sent here by Meghan’s cousin.”
Meghan was one of their bartenders, and a very popular sweetbutt. They didn’t call her Wonder Tongue for no good reason.
“It is the same thing. At least for me. We all saw the look on your face the first time you saw Legs. Same fucking thing happened to me when I looked into Rai’s eyes. I want to fuck her, okay? I want to help her. She’s in big trouble. It won’t put us out to keep her here for a few days until we can figure out who she’s running from.”
“And if it turns out to be Donny she’s running from?”
He hoped like hell it wasn’t. “Well then, it does. You can label me a fucking idiot.”
“We could just ask her,” said Vassago. “And if she is running from Vito, Donny’s men can find out more about what’s going on.”
“Why do we give a fuck about what’s going on?” asked Gorgon.
Vassago gave him a dark look. “Because Donny might care.”
“He’s your cousin,” said Gorgon. “You deal with that shit.”
“I will do that, but first let’s find out what the fuck she has to say.”
“Fine,” said Gorgon. “But either she spills the entire story, or she can find another place to stay after tonight. I won’t have a fucking Mob war inside our club.”
“Well then, let’s go and talk to her.” Tannin wished Gorgon had given him the opportunity to coax the story out of Rai alone, but he understood the man’s position. He was President of the MC, as well as the strip club owner. His word was law around here, and considering Tannin’s history with Gorgon’s family, Tannin would cut off an arm before he’d openly defy the man.
“By the way,” said Gorgon, “where the fuck have you been tonight?”
“Elyria.”
“That shit finally taken care of?”
“Yep.” Tannin didn’t want to talk about it, and was glad neither man asked further questions. They weren’t the kind of men who pried unless it meant protecting the club or each other.
Tannin had been fucking a woman who used to work for them behind the bar. Things had gone south when a patron gave her a hard time and she’d tossed a drink in his face. Gorgon fired her because the patron brought in a lot of money, but Tannin thought the woman had every right to do what she had done. The Brothers were split on who they backed, but Tannin kept seeing her anyway. Brotherhood only went so far when the pussy was sweet and willing.
Because his relationship with Gorgon and a few others had become strained over him fucking this woman, things got too damn complicated. So he ended it, but refused to do it over the phone. Instead, he had driven to her home earlier to tell her in person they were through. The Brothers teased him all the time about how his upbringing had never really left him. Tannin didn’t mind so much. It was part of who he was.
On their way through the back hallways, they spotted Legs in the kitchen. “Did she eat something?” asked Tannin.
“Yes. Chicken soup. I’m making us turkey sandwiches now. She’s still hungry.”
“Doesn’t sound like she’s feeling sick any longer.” Gorgon’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Give me the sandwich. We’ll take it to her. Hey, did she say anything to you, Legs?”
“She asked me if this place was run by Vito.”
“What?”
Legs’s eyes grew wide, and she took a step back when all three men barked the question at the same time.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” asked Gorgon. “What did you say?”
“I said ‘no’ of course. What the hell do you think I said?”
“What else did she say?” asked Tannin. Why the hell would Rai assume this place had Mob connections? Who was actually running from whom? If this went south and he’d inadvertently allowed a plant into the club, he’d never live it down.
“Nothing. We talked about my dancing.”
Gorgon took the plate from her hand. “We’ll take this up to Rai. You eat yours and then get ready for your show.”
“Okay. You gonna watch tonight?”
“I sure am, baby.”
Once the men were out of earshot of Legs, Vassago asked Tannin if Rai’s car was still in the south lot.
“No. I’m not an idiot. I moved it to the back, next to my truck.”
“At least she can’t run,” said Gorgon.
When they came upstairs, and as they neared her room, the bedroom door opened. Tannin stood there with his jaw slack as Rai stepped into the hallway, carrying every one of those fucking bags he’d hauled up here.
“Where the hell are you going?” Son of a bitch! He was right. This woman had charmed the socks off him, and then fucking lied to him.
She froze, her eyes widening as she took in the three of them. No one moved for a long moment. It would have been comical if not for the seriousness of the situation.
“I’m feeling better. I don’t want to cause your club any trouble.”
Gorgon advanced toward her and the other two followed his lead. “Why do you think you’ll cause us trouble?” His voice held that dangerous note Tannin recognized. The one where he was two steps away from punching someone. Although none of them had ever struck a woman, Tannin wondered if this damn tasty-looking piece of pussy truly understood how much trouble she was in.
“I don’t know.”
“Bullshit,” said Tannin. He pointed toward her. “Back inside, sweetheart. We have a few things to discuss with you.”
“You can’t keep me here.”
Man. She had balls. He’d give her that much. “Yeah, we can. You have two choices. Get back inside the room now, or we’ll give you to our Brothers.”
They wouldn’t really do something like that. None of them had ever forced a woman to have sex, but she didn’t know that.
It was the only credible threat Tannin figured would work right now, although saying it out loud left a bad taste in his mouth. Because if they were wrong and she really was running from Vito Cinquepalmi, he’d just given her a credible reason not to trust them, either.