Page 10 of Hitch
“You say your peace?” I ask, briefly wondering if Todd is friends with the seller.
“Fuck ‘em,” Todd says. He bows his head. “The man’s got no family, and that’s because he’s shitting on the people who help him. You give a man a job and a roof over his head, and this is what he does with it?”
I don’t care what the man does, so long as it’smewho gets to kill him. The corn and mushrooms are only good for the opportunity to exert that raw power.
I slant my head toward the VIP room.
“When Secret comes out, talk me up to her,” I say.
Todd grins. He thinks I’ve got a crush; he has no idea how valuable Secret—my little Hitch—is to me. How I should’ve killed her months ago. How if anyone can blackmail me, it’s that black-haired devil.
“She says she’s charging you five hundred for two songs,” he whistles.
I shrug. “She’s worth it.”
If you can’t make her come to you, you come to her. Offer an opportunity she can’t refuse. And Iknowmy Hitch. Shelikesusing sex as a weapon. Using her pussy to suck the power out of the men around her.
All I have to do is offer her an option where we both get exactly what we want. Then she’ll expose her blackmailing self.
And then, I’ll kill her.
My eyes catch Reggie and the Mortician walking out of the back room. My dick twitches with blood, jealous that it’s not my saliva drying on her tits or my palm with her pussy cream soaking into my skin.
Give it time, though. I’ll be the last man she ever fucks.
Chapter5
Reggie
The Mortician putshis arm around my back as we return to the main floor. The club is busier than before—which is what happens when you get closer to the night shift—and the anticipatory buzz is ripe in the air, mixing with the scent of sweat and fruity cocktails. The nerves that made my stomach twist earlier are long gone, replaced by confidence. When I’m here, I’m Secret. And Secret is powerful.
But then, I seehim,and the heat drains from my face, shooting between my legs like I’m roasting my pussy over a fire.
Why is it that just seeing Duane does this to me?
His blue flannel shirt is rolled up to his elbows, showing off his tattooed forearms. The same arms that held me down in the dirt of the cornfield.Andhe’s wearing the same dusty boots. Todd refuses customers wearing sports jerseys; how can he let Duane wear boots that are so dirty, they’re literally leaving a track on the carpet?
And why does it turn me on that he’s so filthy?
The Mortician is rambling about something, and I pretend like I’m listening as we take our spots at the bar. Todd eyes me, motioning for me to talk with him in private, and Duane’s gaze lingers over my backside.
The hairs on my neck stand up. What does Duane want?
I tell the Mortician I’ll catch up with him later, then I go to the hallway to meet Todd.
“Two hundred and fifty per song?” Todd asks. He must be talking about Duane, then.
“Minimum,” I say. Even if Todd watches the surveillance cameras like a hawk, there’s no way I’m getting that close to a potential killer without getting a good chunk of cash out of it.
“Let me give you some advice, Secret,” Todd says, his thick eyebrows high in judgment. “He’s a whale. Worth way more cash than you realize. You can gut him for a couple hundred now, but you want to make sure he comes back for more, right?”
I shake my head. “Farmers make a lot of money, but he can’t makethatmuch.”
“Trust me on this one,” Todd says, pressing his lips together. “You can milk a wallet like Duane for a ton one time, and one time only.Oryou can forge a ‘relationship’ with him, and make him an endless cash cow. Find his weaknesses. Use them to your advantage. Everyone’s got secrets, right?”
He winks at the clever way he’s snuck my stage name into our conversation. It’s something people love to do around here to tease me. I roll my eyes. I don’t like being told what to do, but Todd is right. There are always short term and long-term options. A loyal customer, no matter what your profession is, is a good way to guarantee your income. You don’t want to screw yourself out of a routine paycheck.
But something else calls to me too. A sense of desire, begging to crawl closer to Duane. To overwhelm him with sexual need again, so that hehasto have me.
