Page 4 of The Trail Boss

The words were meant for her students, but she felt their weight resonate within herself too. Stronger than you think. She hoped it was true.

“Okay, now that you’re warmed up,” she said, stepping back to the front of the room, “let’s put it all together. Watch closely.”

The women turned their attention to her, some still catching their breath. Roxie placed her hands on the pole, steadying herself for the move. Her muscles burned as she hoisted herself up, her legs wrapping around the pole with practiced ease. She twisted her body into a slow, controlled spin, letting gravity and momentum guide her.

“See? Controlled, steady. It’s all about...”

The words were cut off by a sharp metallic creak above her.

“Whoa!” Roxie exclaimed, her eyes darting upward as the pole shifted slightly. She barely had time to process what was happening before the pole detached from the ceiling with a deafening crack.

The world tilted, and she was thrown backward. Pain exploded in her shoulder as she hit the wall, her head snapping back against the plaster. Her vision blurred as she crumpled to the floor, a sickening thud marking her landing.

“Roxie!” someone screamed.

Her world narrowed to a pinprick of light before darkness claimed her.

KEELY

“Is she okay? Oh my god, she’s bleeding!”

“Don’t touch her! What if she has a neck injury?”

Panic filled the studio as Roxie’s students crowded around her crumpled form, their voices rising in pitch and urgency. A thin trickle of blood ran from a cut on her temple, pooling against the wood floor.

Keely Malone knelt beside her, her hands trembling as she fished her phone from her pocket. “Back up! Give her air,” she ordered, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands.

“She’s not waking up!” Anita said, tears streaking her cheeks.

“She will,” Keely said firmly, pressing her fingers against a pulse point and sending a prayer of thanks that Roxie’s pulse was beating strongly, though her own heart pounded in her chest. With shaking fingers, she dialed a number and pressed the phone to her ear as she used the hem of her t-shirt to wipe the blood from Roxie’s face.

“Come on, Reed, pick up,” Keely whispered. Reed was Keely’s older brother, a former SEAL, a member of the Silver Spur Security Agency and one of the co-founders of the Iron Spur, where Roxie worked in the evening.

The line clicked, and a deep voice answered on the other end. “Keely? What’s up?” The sound of his calm, steady voice reassured her.

“It’s Roxie…”

“From the club?”

“One and the same. I take pole dancing class from her…”

“Pole dancing?”

“For exercise, and that doesn’t matter. Something happened during class. The pole—it came loose, and she fell. She’s out cold. Reed, she’s bleeding!”

A sharp intake of breath echoed over the line. “How bad?”

“I don’t know! She hit the wall hard, and...” Keely’s voice cracked. “Reed, we need help.”

“Stay with her. Don’t let anyone move her. If she comes to, try to keep her quiet. I’m sending someone.”

The line went dead, and Keely’s hands trembled as she lowered the phone. “Help is on the way,” she said, though the reassurance was more for herself than anyone else.

She turned her attention back to Roxie, who remained frighteningly still on the floor. “Come on, Rox,” she whispered. “Wake up. You’re stronger than this.”

The room fell into a tense silence.

GAVIN

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