AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I have to talk to you.”
“About what?” I take in his flushed cheeks and overbright eyes. “River… Are you all right?”
He waves a hand. “My suppressants weren’t working right, but now I got a better brand. It’s fine.”
“Your heat is coming on?”
“Like I said, I’m handling it. Don’t worry about that. Worry about yourself.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I whisper, suddenly feeling cold. “Did something happen?”
He gives me a long look. “Boss is in a mood. What did you do to piss him off?”
“Nothing.”
“Right, it wasn’t you, was it? It was your crushes.”
“They aren’t my crushes,” I mutter.
“Sure. Well, you shouldn’t have poked the beast. Be ready for the kid gloves to come off. He held back until now, as you’re new here and all, but he’s been dying to show you who’s the boss, literally.”
Cold runs through me. “River?—”
“Just a warning, sweet cheeks. Trust me. Now is the time to get out before it gets too rough, or decide you can take it.”
He looks angry. Getting up from the stool, he stalks past me, slamming the door of the dressing room behind him. Why is he so angry? I hope the boss hasn’t taken his annoyance with me out on him. I’ll have to ask him again later, after he’s calmed down.
For now, I have a show to prepare for.
My mind isn’t as clear and focused as usual when I make my way to the stage. My mental glasses are fogged over, turning into mirrors, and in them I see myself, and behind me stand four men.
As if they are my destiny.
Only I’m not a believer.
I don’t believe; I do. I act. And dancing is my move—to get money, to pay the bills and debts, to go on living.
Focus, I tell myself.
My show goes through without a hitch, even if my mind is still a thousand miles away, and as I curtsy theatrically, I scan the tables around the stage for familiar faces.
Only Sawyer and the McGraw Pack aren’t there.
Well, of course. Sawyer is meeting this new pack tonight. And as for the McGraw Pack… why should they be here every night, showering me with bills—a girl who keeps telling them to go away?
My chest tightens. God, I thought I had more time, more chances… But no. You should always grab what you want with both hands and not let go, no matter your fears.
Too late.
I realize how much I’d come to rely on their protection, their unexpected protectiveness of me when my boss approaches the stage, an oily smile on his face.
River’s words come back to me, and I hesitate. But I can’t stay on the stage forever. Men wave wads of bills at me, but my boss beckons.
“I see your friends aren’t here tonight to whisk you away,” he says the minute I climb down the steps. “You’re coming with me.”
“Where?”
“Last night my friend was disappointed he didn’t get his private lap dance. So I promised him he’d get it tonight.”
