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“Vodka would calm her nerves, water will just stop her hyperventilating.” Darren chuckles. “But she’s right, babe. We’ve been where you are. But we stick together up here in VIP and we won’t let anything happen to you,” he promises.
I’m oddly comforted by the promise, and after taking a few sips of the water, my heart rate comes down and the nausea stops simmering low in my belly. It’s still there, but it’s not threatening to have the small dinner I had make a reappearance.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it, honey. And don’t let these big bad VIPs scare you. If they step out of line, tell them to back off just like you would any other client.”
Darren barks out a laugh. “And if that fails, take a note out of Robyn’s book and throw a drink on them.”
My eyes widen as I look between them. Surely they’re joking.
“I asked him nicely to get his hands off my ass. Ain’t my fault he couldn’t follow a simple instruction.” She shrugs.
Maybe working in VIP won’t be so bad if I get to work with these two.
Three hours later and more than a few laughs, I actually kind of like working up here. It’s not quite as hectic as it is downstairs, which means there’s time to catch my breath. The clients are also generally less handsy, surprisingly, and I’ve had a conversation with a few of the groups which we’d never have the chance to do in the main bar.
I’m walking down the middle of the booths checking in for empty glasses when the table at the back waves me over. It’s the first time I’ve been to the table since I came upstairs, and it’s not until I’m basically standing on top of them that I realize whose table this is.
Angelo Russo.
The owner of the club. Also one of the most infamous criminals in Chicago.
The color drains from my face as I close the distance and plaster a fake smile on. “Hi, how are we doing tonight?”
There are three men at the table, each leering at me like I’m a prime rib they’re about to devour. Angelo Russo is in an expensive suit like the one Rayne wore the day I met him. If I didn’t know he was bad fucking news, I might find his dark hair and blue eyes attractive, but I don’t. Instead, the way he looks me up and down makes my skin crawl.
“Who do we have here?” One of the other guys in an equally expensive-looking suit smiles, but I see the devil lurking behind his gray eyes. He’s related to Angelo, that much I can tell by the similarities in their bone structure, but I don’t want to spend enough time at the table to find out how.
“Can I get you another drink?” I ask without giving them my name. I assume one of them already knows it anyway, seeing as they asked for me up here by name. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as their eyes drag up and down my body, stripping me in their minds.
“Sit with us.” Angelo isn’t asking, and before I can even look over my shoulder to let Robyn know where I am, I’m being tugged down to sit between two of them.
“You’re a pretty thing, aren’t you?” The man with the smattering of gray at his temples leans into me, taking a deep breath of my hair.
An involuntary shudder vibrates through my body and my heart rate picks up. My body is telling me I’m in danger, but there’s nowhere for me to go.
Angelo’s hand comes down on my bare leg, startling me to look at him. “Cat got your tongue, darling?” The endearment rolls from his lips and has nausea rolling in the pit of my stomach.
“It’s my first night up here,” I say. “Just don’t want to make a mistake.” I giggle nervously as my eyes look out over the dance floor.
Bodies moving together, all of them oblivious to how trapped I am up here. Robyn and Darren are the only people who can save me, and neither of them will go against their boss’s wishes.
“Don’t worry so much. I know the boss.” Angelo winks and I barely hold back the urge to wretch. “I’ve been watching you, Emerson. You really are very beautiful.” He gathers my loose hair in his fist and tugs my head to the side firmly. The bite of pain only has my stomach revolting more as my eyes search for an escape route. Rayne’s business card in my purse flashes to my mind and I admonish myself. I am not going to lean on him to save me for the second time today. I am not a damsel in distress and I refuse to act like one.
“Thank you, sir.”
He moans. “I like the sound of that coming out of your pretty mouth.”
The man sitting across from us is surveying my body like I’m an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord and panic bubbles in my throat. Three against one. Even with self-defense training, I’m outnumbered.
“I should get back to work. I don’t want to leave Robyn and Darren to do all the work.” I move to push myself up but Angelo’s hand tightens to the point of pain around my bare thigh.
“Not yet, darling. Have a drink with us.”
The guy on the other side of me holds out a drink that seems to be straight vodka. The way the three of them are looking at me, I’m almost certain it’s drugged, and I’m all out of excuses not to take it.
“I shouldn’t drink on the job. My manager, Kyle, is a real stickler.” I giggle flirtatiously, trying to put as much into the little performance I’m putting on as I can.
