Page 15 of Seducer

I loathed when he was so damn nice. The man didn’t have a mean bone in his body. I’d heard all the rumors about how gruff he was, even downright rude, but I’d yet to see it.

“Fine. I’ll do it. But you owe me one.”

“You’re such a team player. Station nine.”

That included the table right in front of the stage. Wow. My heart skipped a couple of beats. That was so silly. Still, this time, a heated prod of electricity skated down my spine. If my memory served me correctly, I’d seen him once before, but it had been a long time.

“There’s one more thing,” Tom said, sighing.

“You need me to wait tables indefinitely.”

He smiled, but it was waning. “Look, I hate to do this, but I had a call from the owner today. Business is way down.”

“Just a blip in time. You know how people are.”

“There’s an entire group of people trying to shut these types of clubs down. No, we’re not a strip club, but we’re grouped with them. Anyway, I was told to lay off staff.”

“You are not going to do that to me. Tom. Please.” I was almost frantic. I needed this job to make ends meet. Sure, I could try to work at a fast-food joint, but the pittance I’d make wouldn’t make a dent in the bills.

He scratched his head. “No, but I need to cut your hours. I’ll do my best to fill in with a few nights here and there with you waiting tables. Okay?”

What the hell was I supposed to say? I had few options at this point. I had to keep both jobs or I was toast. Unless luck fell into my lap. My thoughts drifted to a crazy idea I’d had over the last few weeks. While based on a rumor, I had every intention of exploring the option. If only it could be true.

Win a contest and be set for life.

Yeah, and I was smoking dope, as my father would say. “Fine. I’ll take whatever shift you give me.”

“Good to hear. I really didn’t want to let you go.”

When Tom started to walk away, I turned around, folding my arms. “Tom. What’s really going on with Gina?”

“What do you mean?”

As another one of the girls walked in, giving me a look of discord, I frowned. I wasn’t necessarily well liked. “She acted as if she was in some kind of trouble. Had someone threatened her?”

Tom narrowed his eyes and chuckled under his breath. “I like Gina, but she has a world of hurt following her. And a world of trouble, which we don’t need.”

“What does that mean, a world of trouble?”

He threw up his hands. “It’s not for me to say except she somehow managed to get herself involved with a bad crowd. I’ll tell you this much. The girl needs some help. That’s all I’m going to say. Hurry and get changed before the crowd grows into a frenzy.” He patted my arm before taking off.

The club wasn’t in a seedy area of town. The wealthiest men and women often crowded the venue, the street considered a mecca for both established and up and coming businesses. Hell, I’d noticed a couple of citywide famous attorneys hiding under masks. Some costumes left a bit to be desired.

I nodded several times to no one in particular. Gina had lived a rough life. I’ve overheard a couple of conversations she’d had on her phone, but this was something else entirely. Something prodded me to heading toward the back door.

The alley was huge, usually brightly lit since there were so many businesses in the area. This time when I walked outside, I was shocked at how many of the lights had been turned off. The air was chilly as the light breeze cut through the thin material of my costume. There was no one in the alley. Gina must have already made her way to the employee parking lot.

Just as I started to breathe a sigh of relief and turned around, the security light over the club’s back door came on, the wide beam reflecting a path along both sides of the alley as well as right in front of me. Something on the pavement caught my attention and I glanced down.

Uncertain what I was looking at, I hunkered over, running my finger through the drops. As soon as I brought my hand closer to my face, a moment of raw fear slammed into my system.

Blood.

CHAPTER 6

Zachariah

The one.

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