Page 9 of Loving Lex

I cleared my throat. “Sorry. I’m a little early.”

He waved me in and shifted, and she stood up, adjusting her clothing and shaking her head, looking amused.

“Lex, right?” he asked, standing as well.

I nodded. “Yeah. You Jarod?”

“I am.”

“Sorry,” the woman said, her hand lingering on his chest a moment before walking around the desk to leave. “I’ll leave you guys alone.” She winked back at him. “See you later?”

“Of course,” he said, his eyes glued to her.

Then I noticed her face. Holy shit. She was the spitting fucking female image of Gideon Kane. She caught my shocked stare and smiled like it happened all the time.

“I’m Sophia Kane. The big man’s baby sister.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said.

“You too, Lex.” Then she was gone.

Jarod laughed like it was all one big joke as he approached and offered his hand, so I could only assume Kane was good with the two of them fucking. “We’re all glad you’re here, Lex. We could sure use another good man.”

I nodded, not sure how to respond. I wasn’t sure if he knew I was Stone’s brother or what details he may know about his death. Time would tell, but I would feel him and this place out before I made any big moves. “Thanks. Glad to be here.”

“Well, things will be swinging upstairs in a couple of hours. Ready to start learning the ropes?”

“Absolutely.”

“Cool.”

Jarod pivoted and moved behind his desk, opening a drawer and pulling out a 9mm pistol and sliding it toward me. “This is your new sidearm. It’s one of ours, so it can’t be traced back to you in any way.”

I picked it up and palmed the cool metal, hearing what hewasn’tsaying—that it had been scrubbed clean with a fake serial number.

“JD will get you some extra mags, shoulder holster, whatever’s your poison. Just let him know what you need when he gets in tonight... but it has to be after his lady’s show.” At my confused look, he explained. “His fiancée is the singer in the Sizzle restaurant. He goes to her show every night before he handles any business unless it is an absolute emergency. I handle everything until then.”

I nodded. This place and its intricacies were interesting.

“Tony, our tech guy, will also get you set up with an earpiece and cell phone.” At my affirmative, he nodded. “Alright. Let’s move.” I followed him out of the office and down a series of winding hallways. He pointed out where everything was... employee area, dressing rooms, back offices, VIP suites, and the like, all while making sure I knew where to park, how I’d get paid, and reiterating the rules Kane had already made expressly clear.

The place was fucking huge and fucking sex on steroids. I’d never seen anything like it in my life. There were dancers, but it wasn’t like any strip joint I’d ever been in. If sex sells, I couldn’t afford this stuff, even in my wildest fantasies. Everything—from the lighting, to the music, the expensive costumes (as small and non-existent as some of them were), to the aromas of the food, the hydraulic stages, and silhouette screens—was all obviously put in place to create an illusion of decadence and sensuality that catered to the elite.

“Our customers are by appointment only,” he went on, “and everyone is fully screened. Even more so now, since the murders—”

“Murders?” I cut him off, my voice sharp.

He paused by the doors to the casino and looked at me strangely, his eyes dark but unreadable. “Yes,” he said slowly. “The Lady Killer murders. Several of our girls were killed. It was big news here. Didn’t you hear about it?”

Of course, I had. Stone had mentioned it a few times. It had been a brief story in my local news, then it had disappeared. I’d been too bogged down in my grief and my questions about the loss of my brother to give it another thought later on.

“Oh, right,” I said. “So, what happened to the guy?”

His face became even more of a blank slate. “No idea. One day, the killings just... stopped.”

I frowned. “Stopped?”

He nodded. “So... we need to get back up front so I can show you how to check guests in when they arrive.”

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