Page 75 of Strip Search

I didn’t want to do this in a back alley over bags of garbage that had been stewing in the hot sun. And I sure as shit didn’twant to do this when I wasn’t anywhere near her. But I had to know.

“Is that all you feel?” I asked hoarsely.

“I’ll tell you later.” She gave me a seductive smile and walked away.

“Highway, send a few guys around the corner and make sure Jackie gets in her car okay,” I said over the Bluetooth.

“Got it.”

Going back inside, I made sure the two guards on the dressing room door knew that no one but me and the dancers were allowed back there tonight.

“If anyone has a problem with that, they can come to me,” I said.

The club was picking up. All three stages had dancers on them, each woman writhing to hard core electronica. Javi had a light show going on that was almost as entertaining at the girls. Leonidas wasn’t in his seat, but the three goons were enjoying the show. I didn’t see Grier. Checking my phone, I saw he hadn’t called either.

I went back to my office for a bit of peace and quiet while I thought about what I was going to do next. Grier was lying on the couch with a porno mag covering his face. I locked the door. “You’re taking a risk coming into my office during prime business hours.”

Grier sat up and tossed the magazine on my desk. “With the light show and those gorgeous dancers, if anyone saw me get up, they’d assume I was taking a piss instead of coming in here.”

“I’m surprised security allowed you to get this far.” When this was all over, I’d have a word with them.

“They didn’t see me either. And since you gave me the key, it’s all good.”

I flipped through the VIP rooms’ channels on my headset, but I didn’t hear anything but music. “I think Ginny andLeonidas are in room three, but I don’t hear any chatter. Did you catch Leonidas shaking me down?”

“Are you willing to wear a wire tomorrow when you give him the money?”

I nodded. “What if he’s lying about knowing who killed my uncle?”

“It could be he’s hoping you’ll be hotheaded enough that you’d off one of his rivals. But he didn’t say kill the men responsible. He said get them out of the picture. For all he knows, you would turn them over to the police after you roughed them up.”

“What do you need me to do?”

Grier thought about it. “You know Ginny’s a spy for him, right?”

I thought briefly about Ginny’s sudden interest that Jackie and I were together. I was glad that I’d sent Jackie back to the Wynn and she wouldn’t be in danger. The last thing I wanted was for Jackie to get hurt if they thought they could use her against me. It should be all right. She was safe in her hotel room, and tomorrow she was flying again to Carson City. By the time she got back here tomorrow night, it would all be over. I hoped.

Chapter Nineteen

Jackie Mitchell

Lisa called around midnight.

“Holy shit,” I said. “You do have my number.”

“If you had sent Darcy fucking Ross a month ago, I would have called you back.”

I sighed. “Are you going to call Mom tomorrow?”

“Probably not.”

“Are you all right?”

“Let’s go down Mom’s list. I haven’t lost my phone. I haven’t been kidnapped. I’m not strung out on pills or drinking myself to death. And I’m not coming back to New York. Ever. Does that about cover all your questions? You have no idea what the last three months have been like.”

Since she’d decided to be a snide bitch, I felt obligated to reply in the same manner. “You’re no longer a stripper. You’re not a hooker, but it was a close call. You are taking pain medication for your knee, and you’ve been quitting jobs and leaving people in the lurch all over Nevada. How am I doing for facts?”

I could hear the trombones of the burlesque music in the background. Since Lisa didn’t have a quick answer for me, I continued.

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