Page 109 of Russian Roulette
“The security system showed she left this evening,” Kit says. “She walked to the main gate. I assume she might’ve called a rideshare to pick her up and take her back to the club where her car is parked. My security cameras aren’t everywhere. The ranch is too big. Mostly around the house and animal enclosures.”
“Have you tried calling her phone?” I ask.
“Yeah, and it’s ringing in her bedroom. She intentionally left it here so we couldn’t reach her. She probably thought we put some kind of tracking device on her phone, too.”
“Did you?” I ask.
“No, of course not,” Kit replies. “That’s not my expertise. Did you?”
“No, dammit! Where did you say her car is?”
“The tracker shows it’s still at the club where I found her last night. The tracker hasn’t moved since she parked the car there yesterday.”
“What makes you think she didn’t toss the tracker into the grass or a trashcan?” I ask. “Does she know it’s in the car?”
“Yes, I told her,” Kit admits. “She thought I followed her there like a crazy stalker.”
“For fuck’s sake! Why did you tell her? Sometimes you’re too honest for your own good. Where are you?”
“At my house. I didn’t call before because I thought she would be back by now. She left the note saying she would be, and I believed her. Something doesn’t feel right. If Jade wasn’t planning on coming back, she wouldn’t have left the note. She would just split without a word.”
“Why the hell did you wait this long before calling me or Seven?”
“I guess I wanted to give her a chance to come back on her own,” Kit replies. “I swear, I really thought she’d be back by now. There wasn’t any need to worry you both for nothing.”
Something in his voice tells me things have changed between them. “You were hoping to be alone with her and didn’t want us coming over,” I say. “That’s why you didn’t call. What happened last night between you two? Is that why you didn’t call us until now? When she has been gone for several hours without one goddamn word?”
“Yes, is that a crime?” Kit practically yells into the phone. “I’m human and I make mistakes just like the rest of you assholes. And now she’s missing and I’m freaking the fuck out.”
“Okay, calm down,” I tell him. Kit normally doesn’t get worked up over anything, except animals. “Call Seven. I’m on my way to your house. When I get there, we’ll go to that club to see if she’s picked up her car. Call me if you hear anything from her in the meantime.”
* * *
By the timeI arrive at Kit’s house, Seven is already there, along with Leroy. It’s getting close to two in the morning. “Any news?” I ask when I walk into the living room, where they’re all waiting for me with grim expressions.
“Not a word,” Kit replies. “Something bad has happened. I can feel it.”
“I agree,” Seven says. He’s restlessly pacing back and forth on the far side of the room while continuously checking his phone.
“Sitting around here waiting on her isn’t helping anything,” I say. “Let’s go check on her car. If it’s still there, we’ll bring it back here since I have a set of keys. Can we take the limo to give us a chance to talk? We can figure something out on the way over.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Seven says, already heading toward the door.
We pile into the limo parked in front of the house while Kit gives us a quick recap of what happened the night before. “She must’ve gone to Platinum to search for Natasha,” he says. “It’s the only answer I can come up with. Platinum is a male strip club.”
“A strip club for gay men?” I’m confused.
“No, this one is mostly for women,” he explains. “The place was packed last night. Party buses were pulling up to the front door one right after the other, bringing in tons of women. The crowd was wild inside there. Much rowdier than our strip clubs. You wouldn’t believe it.”
“We’re in the wrong business,” Seven says. “Why didn’t we think about starting up a male strip club? We could’ve made a killing.”
“It’s not too late,” I say.
Kit shakes his head. “Trust me, we don’t want to be male strippers. For a minute there, I was fearful of my life. You should’ve seen those insane women. When I picked Jade up and slung her over my shoulder to carry her out, they thought I was part of the show. They started crowding around us, and I played the part of a caveman taking his woman home. They were cheering me on and waving money. Another minute and they would’ve turned into a mob.”
I frown at him. “What was Jade doing through all this?”
“She was hanging upside down over my shoulder. There wasn’t much she could do except hit me and scream. The women thought her begging for help was all part of the show. Otherwise, I would’ve never been able to drag her out of there.”
