Page 3 of Preacher

But they were finding their way through it all, and Seven seemed the better for it. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was rushing things by bringing her here so early in the game. It was clear from her wide eyes and blood-drained face that this was the first time she’d been here, and possibly, her first time ever stepping foot in a strip club.

Hell, she looked like she’d just walked straight into Sodom and Gomorrah. Her eyes were wide as saucers as they darted from the flashing lights to the half-dressed women weaving through the room. Her lips parted like she wanted to say something, but whatever words she’d had were lost to the sight of a girl straddling some poor bastard in the corner.

“Looks like we got ourselves a first-timer.”

“Apparently so.”

Seven looked completely unfazed as he guided Tallie through the crowd. He was wearing his cut and exuded an aura of confidence with every step. Tallie, on the other hand, looked like a deer in headlights and ready to turn on her heels and bolt. When they made it over to us, I gave her a smile and said, “Welcome to the Vault.”

“Thanks, I think.”

“Not what you expected?”

“Yes… No. Not really.” She tucked a loose strand of her long, red hair behind her ear and raked her teeth across her bottom lip. “Uh, it’s a lot.”

“That’s one way to put it.”

“There are so many women.”

“Well, it is a gentlemen’s club.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” She glanced around at the floor. “I mean the customers or whatever.”

“Yeah, there are a few,” Grim smirked. “They like the attention.”

“Attention?”

“Oh, yeah.” Grim motioned his hand over to one of the tables behind us where Candy, one of our more voluptuous girls, was gyrating against an old woman’s thigh. “They can’t get enough of it.”

“Oh, I uh… I didn’t expect that.”

Seven shot us both a look, but I could see the amusement dancing in his eyes. “You two done?”

“For now.”

I gave Tallie a wink, and her cheeks blushed with embarrassment.

Seven shook his head as he reached over and took her hand in his. He was about to turn to leave but stopped when I said, “Hey, before you go, I thought you might be interested to know that we’re looking into getting one of the guys to give you a hand with things around here.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Figured you wouldn’t mind.”

“Nah, I’d welcome any help I could get.”

“Give me a couple of days, and I’ll have someone lined up.”

“Appreciate it.”

Then, after a quick nod, he disappeared down the hall with Tallie trailing close behind. Once they were out of earshot, Grim chuckled, “Poor girl.”

“She’ll get used to it. They all do.”

I leaned back in my chair and thought about the days ahead. They were going to be tough, especially with the way things were progressing. There was no room for mistakes. I would have to keep my head in the game and calculate our every move.

Thankfully, I didn’t have any unnecessary distractions. It was one of the many advantages of not having an ol’ lady. I didn’t have anyone pulling my focus away from what needed to be done. It was just me, my brothers, and the club, exactly the way it should be.

I thought I had it all figured out.

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