Page 47 of Shattered
The three of us servers went to the bar and took shots, and because we were laughing with girlish delight, the club members in her audience turned around, wondering what we were up to. It was rude of us; we wouldn’t have been that loud during anyone else’s performance, but it was an act of rebellion. Dahlia had hired someone who had hurt one of our sisters. Why would we let her into our group without a fight?
If she apologized, maybe we could be nice. If anyone could forgive, it was Iris.
Kendall glared at us for the rest of her performance. We laughed louder. It was simple: she was a threat. Dahlia, our forced ruler, didn’t value us as much as she needed the new dancer, and so we saw her as a bad omen for the future to come. We were disposable, each and every one of us. No matter how much money we could make Dahlia. No matter how much we helped with the club. Not even Iris could convince Dahlia not to hire Kendall.
Drink by drink, an hour went by. I told myself the following words to ease the tension in my chest: Kendall had asked for it. No—Dahlia had asked for this, by hiring Iris’s enemy.Ourenemy.
But my chest clenched when I saw Kendall come out of the Terrariums with Jake. His arm was tucked around her back, a boyish grin on his face as he leaned down to kiss her cheek. They were headed to the bar.
And what if the rapist never gets convicted?
Maybe Rourke was wrong about Jake. But I didn’t know for sure.
I could warn Kendall. Then she could make her own decisions with that information. I could warn her in a clear, straightforward way, like I wish Haley had warned me about Aldrich.
Plastering a fake smile on my face, I rushed up to them. “Let me take her to the bar,” I said.
“You sure?” Jake asked.
“We can bond over details on the club members.”
Kendall batted her eyelashes at Jake, then turned to me. “Are you sure, babe? I don’t want to intrude.”
“Mel is right,” Jake said. He slapped us both on the back. “Let her buy you a drink. She’s got the dirty insider info. I’ll catch you later.”
Jake squeezed Kendall’s ass, saying something in her ear, and she giggled. Then he gave me a side hug and went back to the Terrariums to resume his post.
An ass squeeze already, Jake?
“What’s wrong with you?” Kendall asked.
I grit my teeth behind closed lips, exhaling slowly. I wanted to do my part to protect a fellow woman. I wanted to do what was right. But Kendall was already making me regret that decision.
Was it a selfish act on my part? To relieve myself of the guilt? Did I care about Kendall, or was I doing this to please Rourke?
Without Rourke, would I be willing to let another woman get drugged and raped by Jake?
No. I couldn’t. I had to do something, even if I didn’t like her. Even if it was small.
“Be cautious with Jake,” I said. “He’s not someone you should talk to. At least not—”
“You think I want to steal your shit ass boyfriend?”
“No,” I said, turning my head sharply. “But he has a reputation. I wanted to warn you so that you can make your own decisions.”
“Oh. I get it,” she faked a smile, “You’re embarrassed that you screwed him like everyone else did, so now you want to warn me so that I’m not a whore like you? Thanks, boo.” She patted me on the shoulder.
I lowered my gaze. I could do this. I could be nice and try to help her out. There were ways to react internally, to not let it show, to be amiable without resorting to those flares of violence.
“You think you’re better than me, don’t you?” Kendall asked.
I flinched. “What?”
“You think you’re better than me. Just like Iris. Just like that idiot Teagen. You guys think you’re better than everyone else because you’ve been here the longest. But y’all are just a bunch of dumb whores who are stuck here with nothing better to do than to pick on the new girl.”
I took a deep breath. “I am telling you, Jake has a reputation for drugging and raping women. You need to be careful—”
“You need to mind your own damn business.” She shook her head. “I can take care of myself.”
