Page 60 of Beg, Borrow or Steal
Jamie felt his face drain of colour and he stepped back. ‘Shit.’
‘Shit is right, Romeo,’ the shorter man said. ‘You might not likethisclub much, but we keep our girls safe. Those other dives … private lap dances, back rooms …’ he trailed off and shook his head whilst Jamie gave a compulsive shudder. ‘Dragging her out now is not going to go down well, right?’
‘Right,’ Jamie muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and taking another step back.
‘Hey,’ called the older man as Jamie turned to go. ‘I’ll limit her to one set, okay?’
‘Right,’ Jamie muttered again, ready to just get out of there. He heard the older man sigh and felt his hand on his arm.
‘Look, I’m Steve, the owner.’ The man held his hand up for Jamie to shake. ‘I run the girls. She’ll only be on stage for a few minutes later on, and you don’t have to worry about what she’s doing now.’
‘Right …’ Jamie said, eyeing Steve’s hand and making no move to shake it. ‘Whatever. I’ll just leave you to “run your girls” then. Good luck with that.’
‘Ugh! You stubborn bastard. You’re not getting it, are you?’ Steve withdrew his hand and crossed his arms over his chest. ‘I’m not the enemy here. My girls are more safe withinmyclub than they would be inyourhospital from what I’ve seen.’ That statement had Jamie stopping in his tracks and his mouth falling open.
‘What?’
‘Took Claire an extra twenty minutes to cover up the bruises Libby was sporting a few weeks ago. That would not have happened in my gaff, mate.’
Jamie felt his face heat and for once he was lost for words.
‘Listen,’ Steve said, his tone softening as he registered Jamie’s shock. ‘I care about Libby too, and not just because she’s a great girl. Ioweher.’
‘What do you mean?’ Jamie asked, turning back to face the other two men and cocking his head to the side.
‘Come in here and I’ll tell you. Even better, I’ll show you.’
Jamie sighed; he had no desire to go back inside this place unless it was to extract Libby. Tattoo-Loving bouncer, a.k.a. Barry, did not look like he was going to allow an extraction to take place and Jamie did not want to see Libby dance on that stage again. But curiosity got the better of him and he followed the two men inside.
Once through the door they turned away from the entrance to the main club, down a dark corridor and up a small set of stairs, leaving Barry at the bottom. Steve pushed open a heavy oak door at the top and they both stepped into an office. There was a large desk with a desktop computer in the centre of the room, filing cabinets along one wall and a plush carpet underfoot. But the most striking thing about it was that the far wall was glass from ceiling to floor.
Jamie instinctively walked towards the glass, and froze at the view beneath. Three women were at the side of the stage, all of them using a waist-height bar to gracefully execute what appeared to be the type of stretching ballerinas performed. They were all wearing an assortment of leggings, T-shirts, the occasional leg-warmer, and they were definitely all covered head to foot.
The scruffiest woman, her hair restrained by multiple haphazardly applied elastic bands and her T-shirt declaring her allegiance to the Rebel Alliance, was the one Jamie’s eyes immediately focused on. Libby was smiling at the woman next to her, who gave her shoulder a playful shove, causing her to hop a couple of steps, given that her other leg was suspended on the bar, and then retaliate with a slap to the other woman’s arse. Steve had walked to his desk and Jamie heard him flip a switch. Feminine laughter filled the room.
‘Don’t make me punch you in the ovary,’ one of the two blondes with Libby was saying through her laughter.
‘Punch me in the ovary and I will olive oil your pole later,’ Libby warned, smiling as she switched legs on the bar.
‘Yes! Do it, Lib,’ the other blonde cried, abandoning her stretch to jump up and down with enthusiasm. ‘That was the funniest thing I’d seen in years.’
‘I nearly broke my arse, thank you both very much!’ blonde number one retorted. ‘And then I had to just prance around you lot unscripted. You know I’m no good without choreography.’
‘I think at one stage you actually did the hula,’ Libby said. ‘It. Was. Awesome.’
‘Oh, bugger off, dancing sensei – we can’t all have your talent.’
Libby rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t be a dick, Claire.’
‘Ah yes! Dicks!’ blonde number one cried. ‘Back to the original subject. You were going to tell us if this guy has popped your cherry or not.’
Libby straightened and put her hands on her hips. ‘Tara, you do know I have had an actual baby out of my vagina? My cherry is very much a thing of the past.’
‘Five years is a long time, Libby. I expect things have grown over again down there by now.’
‘I may not be a doctor yet but even I can tell you that what you’ve just said is a medical impossibility.’
‘Come on, Libby. Just – ’
