Page 6 of Loki
Someone always pays the price.
When the young girl sat next to me, my eyes shifted towards her.
Her silence spoke volumes as her intense gaze remained fixed on the unconscious woman until her eyes moved to me. As I rubbed the woman’s arm, the girl grabbed my hand, swiftly placing something inside without anyone noticing. My brows knitted together in confusion, and with a hesitant movement, I opened my hand.
“The cage,” she mouthed, then looked towards the door of the cage.
As I took a sharp breath, a surge of hope filled me as my eyes fixated on the key in my hand. It was like I’d won the lottery.
One of the men must have dropped it during the struggle.
Nodding in understanding, I felt the object’s weight in my hand, my mind racing to find the perfect hiding spot. It felt like a life raft had been thrown to me in the middle of the chaos of a raging storm. It was how we all were going to get out of here.
However, for right now I would keep it to myself because I didn’t know who I could trust except for maybe the young lady who had given me the key. But that trust would only extend so far. I had no idea the amount of brutality these women faced every day. I wouldn’t blame them if they used the knowledge of me having a key to get a day of relief from these men. So right now, I would wait, plan, and when the time came to escape this hell hole, and let them decide to come or stay.
Chapter Three
Joshua “Loki” Ledet
As I pulled upto Conjure, the strip club owned by the Sinners, I could already hear the pulsating music and laughter from inside. This wasn’t my regular spot, but whenever I needed to let off some steam, this was where I found solace. Tonight, however, I didn’t need to let off steam. Monica, one of the dancers called and said it was urgent that I stopped by.
As a recovering alcoholic, women had become my new addiction. Bishop had done good when he opened this club. And he didn’t hire just anyone. The women enticed the tourists’ wallets. And while I had the club whores back at the clubhouse, I preferred to get my fix here.
After shutting off my Harley, I walked inside, and the sound of laughter and clinking glasses filled the air. Tonight, the place was bustling with an overwhelming crowd of tourists, so I slid onto the first empty barstool I could find. The Saturday night crowd during tourist season made it nearly impossible to clear out the patrons at closing time. They always wanted to see more of the women, and I didn’t blame them.
“Same as always?” the bartender asked when she reached me.
She was cute. Tall, busty, with a pixie cut as dark as midnight, and covered in tattoos, but I wasn’t here to flirt tonight. So, I just nodded, a small smile playing on my lips. A cute blush stained her cheeks as she grinned and headed off to grab my glass of Coke, chilled with ice cubes. My usual.
When the bartender came back, she grabbed the dishrag hanging over her shoulder, cleaned the bar top in front of me, then placed a coaster on the bar and set my glass of Coke on it.
“Thank you,” I said, grabbing the glass of soda.
“If you need something a little stronger or anything else, let me know,” she said as she sauntered away, putting a little sway in her hips.
Tonight, I was celebrating another year of sobriety. Hence the Coke and not whisky which I was dying for just a drop of. So no, I wouldn’t be asking for anything stronger, no matter how much I wanted it.
The knowledge of me being a recovering alcoholic was limited to the Sinners and my blood brother and sister. It was a struggle when I came back from deployment and the only thing that silenced the demons of war was alcohol until it became a demon I had to deal with too.
I enlisted in the military in the aftermath of 9/11 after graduating high school that same year. I ended up becoming an Army Ranger and was awarded a bronze star and purple heart for my service, even though I struggled even now that I made it home when others didn’t. Some of the ones I lost were my closest friends, including my best friend, Reggie.
But my battle for survival didn’t end after the war. It had only begun once I came back stateside, and it was a battle I waged every single fucking day. Remain sober or throw my entire life away for just one more drink. Those were the two choices I faced every time I was on this earth another day. It was a struggle not to end it all.
My gaze landed on the stage, where Monica, our best dancer, showcased her talent with a pole trick. She had the undivided attention of everyone around, including me, as she hung upside down with her long, gorgeous legs wide open.
People didn’t know Monica was a classically trained dancer who was working her way through school here at the club. She was smart, beautiful, and easy to talk to. If it were another lifetime and I was another man and she was another woman, we might could have something more between us. However, I called her a friend even though benefits came with that friendship. Which was why I didn’t hesitate when she said she needed to talk to me.
I stood, took another sip of my drink, then sat the glass on the bar top. As I walked towards the back room, I caught her attention while she was still on stage. I gave her a wink and headed to the private room we used whenever I came to Conjure. She knew to meet me there whenever she was done with her set.
While these backrooms were used for private lap dances, I fucked her in them. She didn’t come to the clubhouse, and we stayed out of each other’s personal lives. She didn’t come to my house, and I didn’t go to hers. We kept things simple. She got what she needed from me, and I got what I needed from her. No feelings involved. That was why this thing between us was solid.
I strolled down the narrow hallway and found my way to the empty room designated for her to give private dances whenever she was on schedule. In a matter of minutes, the door opened and in walked one of the most gorgeous women I’d ever had the pleasure of fucking. She closed the door and locked it behind her.
“What’s so important?” I asked, genuinely curious about her phone call.
With a shake of her head, she pressed her finger to her lips. I had never seen fear in her eyes before, and it instantly putme on high alert. It was impossible that this place was bugged. Although nothing illegal happened here, it was still something we checked, just to be on the safe side.
She sauntered to the sound system and switched on the music, turning it up louder than necessary. Then she walked towards me, never taking her eyes off me. When she positioned herself in front of me, she pushed against my chest, making me lean back in the chair. Without hesitation, my hands settled on her ass as she straddled my hips.
