Page 16 of Falcon

After three months of having locks changed, doors fixed, restraining orders, realizing those were barely worth the paper they were printed on, having a chunk of hair yanked out, getting fired, and finally having all my friends turn me away because they feared for their own safety, I was at my wits end. It was either stay and wait for him to kill me while I ran out of money or get the hell out of town and drive until I couldn’t anymore.

And that’s what I did. Literally. I drove east from Ohio until I ran out of road. I ended up somewhere near Jersey. I found a hotel that took cash, took a hot shower, and got some sleep.

The next day, I set about finding work. Once I found a place I liked, I’d planned to find an apartment nearby. Before I could even try, I met Tony at a donut shop. He paid for my coffee. He was patient, listened to all my problems, and slowly swept me off my feet.

He had money, cars, was well dressed, and he seemed like such a professional and mature man. Not like a twenty-five-year-old bouncer that lost his shit.

The fact that he didn’t immediately push me into bed had me fooled. He took up so much of my time, I hadn’t even looked for work yet. I still had some money, and stopped paying for the hotel room because I was so lost in Tony and the way he Pretty Womaned me without the sex, I didn’t think I was in a rush to find work or a permanent home.

My first mistake was partaking in the drugs. I felt comfortable with him, and he didn’t pressure me, it just sounded fun. I was still young, no kids, no responsibilities, and a little escape sounded fun. We finally slept together because X will make you climb any human with a pulse like a tree.

Over the new few weeks, I was staying at his place, fucked up most of the time. I finally decided to take a break from the shit and told him I needed to find work. It was fun in the little fantasy, but I was used to working and always wanted my own money. I wasn’t ever ending up like my mom.

He knew I’d danced for a while and mentioned he owned a club and I could start anytime, no audition needed.

It felt so surreal. My man owned the club. I could go dance and be doted on by this man? Sign me up.

That saying if it seems too good to be true, it probably is, never made more sense than now.

Trying to keep a sexy face while I was dancing on stage and dreading being done because a creepy old guy had been staring me down was hard as fuck. I hoped to hell he didn’t want to go to a room. I already made myself depressed enough for the rest of the night reminiscing on how I got there.

Vinny shot me a scowl, so I plastered a smile on and grabbed the pole, swinging as I climbed up. I tightened my thighs on the pole and let my arms fall and spun upside down.

Pulling myself up, I grabbed the pole and let my legs swing before I slid back down.

As the song ended, I got some cheers and claps as men tossed bills on the stage. I quickly pranced around to grab it up, like I got to keep it, and passed around fake smiles.

I was making my exit off the stage and gasped when I spotted a familiar face in the crowd. It was him. My biker. No. Not my biker…The biker. Shit. I had to get that out of my head. He wasn’t mine and never would be.

This was bad on so many levels.

Chapter 11

Daisy

My heart thumped in my chest. Lacy was working tonight and sashayed over. “Hey, are those the same guys you told me about?”

My eyes shot over to Vinny who was noticeably tense and staring the bikers down as they casually walked inside. “Yeah. Fuck. What are they doing back here?”

Lacy’s hand gently wrapped around my wrist. “Just be cool and I’ll stay close. I’m not due on stage for another hour.”

I shook my head. “So we both can get our asses beat?” I plastered on a fake smile and spoke through my teeth. “I need to try to hide out or something. If Tony sees us talking, he’ll think I’m in league with them for real and it won’t be as easy as last time.”

“Let me try to distract them. Which one is yours?”

“The one with hazel eyes.” What? What was I saying? “But he’s not mine.”

Lacy grinned. “Sure thing. Scoot. I’ll try to cover for a while. Maybe you can talk a regular into a room?”

I pulled her toward the other side of the club. “Lacy, I don’t like this. You need to stay away, too. I won’t be responsible for him knocking you around. He knows we talk.”

She shrugged. “And? A lot of us do. Hell, maybe I’ll get a few days off.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

My heart was beating faster by the minute. I couldn’t put her in danger, too, but if they asked one of the other girls about me, they’d have Vinny come find me. Then he’d know they specifically asked for me. Fuck.

“Shit. I don’t know what to do.” This man had invaded my thoughts and dreams since the last and only time I’d seen him. I wanted to talk to him, touch him. But my shitty life choices put me in a position where that wasn’t smart. “I need to think.”

“About what?” A deep, slightly Southern accent asked.

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