Page 10 of Strip Search

“You need help subduing this one, boss?” he drawled.

“We’re good, Mav,” Miles said, without turning around to look at him. His dark eyes on mine were amused.

“You sure? Because she looks like she could be trouble.”

“Fuck off.”

“You called me,” Mav grumbled, storming out of the room.

“Close it behind you,” Miles said.

The door slammed.

“He was listening in the whole time?” I asked.

“No. Our system responds to keywords. Calling his name or mine triggers an emergency signal that tells security what room and what dancer needs us.”

“What happens then?”

His smile turned darker. “I earn my fifty percent.”

Well, that explained why Mav came in like a freight train. “I see.”

“I take the safety of my staff very seriously. The dancers are in total control in this room. If a customer tries to assault one of my dancers, they get arrested and banned from my establishment—after I bang them against the wall a few times. If you think Broadway met a dark end, it didn’t happen in this bar.”

“I’m pretty sure she didn’t.” I told him the story of Lisa’s accident. I left out the part about the pills, but played up how worried my parents were. “She shouldn’t have been dancing at all.”

He smirked. “Vegas turns saints into sinners.”

“Don’t I know it.” I almost choked when he turned interested eyes on me. “But that’s not what I meant. Yeah, my mom wouldshit a brick sideways if she knew her precious ballerina was stripping. But I don’t give a shit. Frankly, I’m surprised she unclenched enough to dance to “top forty.” I did air quotes on the last two words and said them in Lisa’s snottiest tone.

Miles smirked. “She did dance toAll that Jazz.”

I made a face. “That wouldn’t be my first choice.”

“What would be?”

I pictured it for a moment and was scandalized that the thought of shedding my clothes and dancing was turning me on. “Um. There are a lot of sexy Broadway songs.” I needed to focus. This conversation was getting out of hand. “But that’s not the point. Lisa could destroy her knee entirely and not be able to walk again. Standing up for an eight-hour shift as a bartender would’ve been hard enough for her. I’m wondering if the promise of easy money made her get up on the stage.”

“It’s not easy money. Only the girls who can skate the line of sex and string the mark along with promises and sweet talk are the moneymakers. It’s not for everyone and there’s a high burnout rate for those who can’t separate the fantasy of the job from the reality of it.”

I tried not to dwell on the sound of the wordsexcoming out of his mouth. “Was Lisa a moneymaker?”

“Broadway?” He snorted. “No.”

I nodded. “Then it’s possible she tried stripping as a lark and when she didn’t make any money, she moved on to something else.”

Miles nodded. “Happens all the time.”

That made me feel a little better. “That doesn’t leave me any closer to finding her, though. Is there anything you can do to help?”

“Normally, I don’t do this,” he said. “But let me make a few inquiries and if your story checks out, I’ll give you the address she gave me on her employment application.”

“Thanks.” I sagged back into the couch in relief. “Do you mind if I ask some of the dancers if they know where she is?”

“As long as you pay for their time.”

“Can I have seltzer instead of booze for the drink minimum?” I asked. “I’m a little buzzed from the last rum and Coke I had at the Spearmint Rhino.”

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