Jack and Coke. Three shots of Fireball Whisky. Two beers. Five shots of Jägermeister. Keystone Light. A Manhattan for Georgia the pole dancer.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, I narrowed my eyes. Yvette was late. Again.

More Jack and some Johnny. Fireball, Fireball, Fireball. Strawberry vodka lemonade for Candy the stripper.

“Hey, Slo,” Yvette said as she appeared from out back. “Busy night?”

“Yeah,” I shot at her. “I can hardly keep up.”

“Sorry,” she said with a pout. “Brittany had a meltdown right before I was leaving. Brown stuff was everywhere.” She made a puking motion.

I suppressed an eye roll and flung a dishcloth at her. She caught it against her chest and laughed, looking like a Victoria’s Secret model flaunting her goods at the end of a runway. Bitch. I said it in the nicest possible way.

“Thanks, Slo.”

“I let you take advantage of me more often than I should.”

“Aw, don’t be like that.” Yvette wrapped her arms around my neck, giving me a face full of her favorite Brittany Spears perfume. It was a not-so-subtle hint at who she named her kid after. “I’ll give you some of my tips for the cover. You know I’m good for it.”

“And you know I will say keep it because you need the extra diapers.”

“Hey, I spotted the hottie on my way in.” She leaned against the counter and wiggled her eyebrows.

“Huh?” I screwed up my face, not hearing her over the pounding music.

“That guy is here,” she repeated. “The hot one whose dick you gave a beer shower to.”

A group of men at the bar sniggered, and I suppressed the urge to give them a piece of my mind. Those creeps were nothing compared to the things a man like Chaser was capable of. Too bad I wasn’t allowed to bring a gun to work, though it was sitting pretty in my bag out back. One thing they didn’t do here at Teasers was a security check on their staff.

“You’re kidding me,” I said, my gaze flickering around the club, where on stage, Candy was waving some of her sugar to the crowd, much to the riotous gratification of the front row. I made a face as one man stood and slipped a rolled-up bank note right up her—

“If I didn’t know any better, I would think he has a thing for you,” Yvette said, nodding across the club. “Be careful, Slo. You know what happened the last time someone here got themselves a stalker.”

Did I ever. Harriet was one of the good ones. She had been sweet, innocent, and was just trying to get by in the world like the rest of us. Problem was, she had a bleeding heart and gave more than she ought to. Harriet wasn’t with us anymore in the most permanent way possible.

“Can you hold down the bar for ten?” I asked, wiping my hands on my jeans.

“You’re not going to talk to him again are you?” she asked, looking alarmed. “I know I said—”

“I know what you said,” I shot back. “Don’t worry about it. I would never get involved with anyone who comes here, and you know that.”

“Good…”

“Hot people can be malicious, too, you know.”

She glanced over at Chaser again and shrugged, signaling she either didn’t know what to say or didn’t want to get involved. Couldn’t say I blamed her, what with her little girl at home and all.

“I’m still going to talk to him, though.” Chaser had to get it through his thick skull his mission was doomed to fail. Whatever happened to him when he went back without me was his problem.

“Slo!” Yvette called out.

“It’ll be fine.” I waved her off and rounded the end of the bar.

Wandering through the press of people—which was an oddity for an out-of-the-way sleaze-fest that was Teasers—I searched for Chaser. Knowing he would be in the darkest corner possible with the best vantage point, I made for the row of booths he’d been sitting in the other night.

Sure enough, he was in the same one, lounging like he owned the place with his arm slung over the back of the padded seat.

I paused as one of the girls sashayed toward him, and I narrowed my eyes. She bent over, giving him an eyeful of her rack, and whispered into his ear. When her hand rubbed against his chest, a wave of something I didn’t want to acknowledge passed through me.

On the surface, she was offering him a lap dance, but everyone knew for the right price, it would finish with sucking the hard-on they had rubbed out moments before. Yeah, that was right. Everyone knew, but they just didn’t talk about it. Otherwise, the club would get shut down for operating as an illegal brothel.

The thought of Chaser paying for a blowjob from a mouth like that made me want to puke. Ugh, why did I care? Maybe the fantasy of a handsome man coming to save me was getting my rocks off. It was perverse.

But to my surprise, instead of following the girl to a private room, he waved her off. She straightened up and pouted, looking rather pissed. It wasn’t often attractive guys came into strip clubs, because they could get their cock massaged for free anytime, anywhere, by anyone. So when one did, all the girls pounced.

Yvette said he hadn’t been looking at the girls, so maybe he wasn’t yanking my chain. Not entirely.

Once the stripper was gone, I stepped past the group of men I was lingering behind and slid into the booth opposite Chaser. He raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” he said, giving me the once-over. His gaze lingered a little too long on my breasts, and I thumped my fist onto the table.

“You need to leave me alone,” I said, giving him the biggest stink eye I could.

“You can cry and beg all you like, darlin’, but I’m not going anywhere.”

Don’t let his hotness dazzle you, Sloane, I thought. He’s trying to lure you into his trap. This isn’t about sex. It’s about a paycheck. Money means more to him than a quick fuck.

“How many times do I have to say no before you get the hint?” I asked, practically seething. “Is that how you treat all women, or am I just special like that?”

“I’m not a rapist, Sloane,” he said with a chuckle. “With a face like this? I don’t need to force any woman onto my cock. They just slide right on.”

“Some men like the fight,” I retorted, squeezing my thighs together.

“Seems like you do, too.” He leaned closer, his teeth tugging on his bottom lip.

“Get fucked!”

He laughed and slouched back, throwing his arm over the seat again.

“You need to leave me alone or…” I began, trailing off like the lame loser I was.

“Or what?” he asked, his expression darkening.

He was showing off his true nature. What did he do for my father? Was he a bounty hunter? A hired killer? A ‘man who could get things done?’ Whatever it was, it wasn’t anything good. His tone suggested I didn’t have any say in the matter, and one way or another, he was delivering me as promised.

When I didn’t answer straight away, Chaser smirked his stupid sexy smirk. It should’ve been condescending the way he looked at me, but all it did was get my motor running in the dirtiest way possible.

Right, that was it.

Sliding out of the booth, I left him behind, anger searing through my veins. There was only one thing left to do, and having to do it was a real pain in my rear.

I’d set myself up here on the ass cheek of America—granted, it wasn’t the lap of luxury renting an apartment with roaches living it up under the refrigerator—and it hurt like hell to give it all up.

It was time to get the hell of Dodge while the going was good.

When I reached the bar, I glanced at the clock.

“Yvette, I need to skip out early.”

“But you still have an hour!” she exclaimed. “It’s busy, Slo. You can’t leave yet.”

I sighed and held her shoulders so she would look at me. “Just this once. This can be your payback for all those times I’ve covered for you being late. Okay?”

She pouted and slouched her shoulders. “Okay. Just this once.”

“Thanks,” I said, letting her go. “You’re a good friend, you know that? I will miss you.”

There wasn’t much I would miss about Teasers or my shitty paycheck-to-paycheck life, but she was one of the good ones. She’d had my back.

“Huh?” she asked. “Is everything okay, Slo?”

“Yeah. Of course.” I waved at her.

“Can you be a doll and take the trash out before you leave?” she asked before I could walk away. “First and only condition,” she added with a megawatt smile.

“Fine.”

Picking up the bag, I dragged it out back and down the hall, glass clinking noisily as I went.

Outside, the air was cool, but I was alone. Music from the club thumped behind me, and the sound of a passing siren wailed before disappearing into the distance.

Throwing the trash into the dumpster, the bag smacked the sides with a satisfying bang. Wiping off my hands, I turned, my gaze colliding with a man leaning against the wall. A big, hulking man wearing a leather jacket, flannel shirt, and a nasty looking beard. He totally had pubes on his face. Ratty ginger ones.

“Well, hello there,” he drawled, his gaze raking up and down my body. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

“Entrance is ’round front,” I said, taking a step back. Why the fuck didn’t I get my bag first?

He smiled and pushed off the wall.

“That’s not the pussy I’m looking for.” He took a step toward me, trying to herd me into a corner.

The door was still within reach, but he would catch me long before I could wrench it open. I had to close the distance…

“There’s no pussy here for you,” I said, narrowing my eyes.

“I’d hate to argue with a lady, but you’re wrong.” He reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a switchblade. Flicking it open, his lips curved into a malicious smile. “Pants down, sweetheart.”

“Fuck you, you piece of shit.”

Lunging for the door, I grasped the handle, but a big hand slammed down, forcing it closed. Cool steel pressed against my throat, and I tensed.

“You can’t run, little girl. Your daddy has to pay. Blood for blood with a side of cock up your ass.” The man pressed his crotch against me and ground, working his already hardening cock into a full erection. “How tight are you, little bitch? You better not be loose like the sluts in there.”

He grabbed my hair and twisted it. Pulling me away from the door, he shoved me over a crate, forcing my face down.

“Get off me!” I screeched, fighting against him. I kicked and thrashed, but his hips held me in place, and the knife came to rest on my jugular.

“It don’t bother me, little bitch,” he said. “I will cut you either way. My cock will be up your ass now or as you’re bleeding out. So I would say you’re fucked.”

I whimpered, panic blinding me. There was no way out. I was stuck. Trapped. Chaser was right. There were men after me, and they wouldn’t stop until I was dead. So when the man with ginger pubes on his face undid the fly of my jeans, I didn’t move. I just…gave up.

If I thrust my head to the side just a little, the knife would cut into an artery.

Closing my eyes, I swallowed hard.

Just a little to the side...

Do it, Sloane.

“Get the fuck off her.”

I gasped at the sound of Chaser’s voice, and my eyes flew open.

“Fuck off, hero,” the man said. “Can’t you see I’m trying to fuck this bitch up?”

“I said… Get the fuck off her.”

The knife slid against my skin, and I crumpled to the ground, my hand going to my neck. The sound of a fist slamming into flesh pulled my attention back to reality, and I gasped as the man stumbled back against the wall next to me.

Chaser shook out his hand and reached into his jacket. A second later, a knife appeared, and he held it out toward the man.

“I’ve got a message for you,” he said. “You go back to your boss, and tell him hands off.”

“Fuck you, pretty boy. What are you going to do with that? Trim my beard?”

Chaser’s eyes narrowed, and he aimed at the man’s thigh and threw. The knife spun through the air and embedded into the man’s flesh almost up to the hilt.

He howled in pain, and Chaser was on him in a flash. He grabbed the end of the knife and drove it all the way in.

“I said,” Chaser murmured, closing his hand around the guy’s neck, “go back to your boss, and tell him if he or any of his thugs come after the girl again, I won’t be so gentle next time. She’s Fortitude property. Got it?”

“Eat shit,” the man said with a groan.

Chaser twisted the knife, causing him to roar in pain.

“Got it?” he asked again.

“Okay, okay. I’ve got it.”

Ripping out the knife, Chaser shoved the man away and watched as he attempted to run. He dragged his leg behind him, disappearing into the darkness beyond.

My hand went to my neck again, and when I pulled it back, it was red. I stared at the smear of blood, feeling sick to the stomach. It was just a nick, but I still felt lightheaded as I rose to my feet and fixed the button on my jeans.

“Happy I stuck around?” Chaser asked, smirking at me. Always with the smirk. He smirked so much the word was losing all meaning.

Fortitude property? I had to get out of here while I still had an out. Now.

Backing away, I pulled the door open and darted into the club. Weaving through the dimly lit corridor, I snatched my bag from my locker in the staff room and legged it through the bar. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Chaser appear, his head swiveling from side to side as he searched for me.

“Hey, Bobby,” I called out as I neared the door.

“Hey, Sloane,” he replied, his face lighting up when he saw me. “Is everything okay?”

“See that guy over there?” I pointed out Chaser to the oversized brawn who was Teasers’ meanest bouncer. “He’s been giving me trouble. Can you hold him here for a while? I’m on my way home, and I don’t want him to follow me.”

“Sure thing, sweets.”

“Thanks. You’re a sweetheart.” Rising to my tippy toes, he leaned down so I could kiss him on the cheek.

“That’s what I like,” he said with a chuckle. “Go on home. I’ll watch out for you.”

“Thanks, Bobby. See you tomorrow night‬.” I gave him a little wave and slipped through the golden tinsel covering the door. ‬‬‬‬‬‬

It was time to cut ties and disappear. And this time, I would do a better job of it.