Page 35 of Of Desire And Deception

“Fuck if I know.” Dante pondered it for a moment. He had dogs on his property as an added security measure after the last breach when our father was alive. It made it more difficult to take out the men without anybody noticing, because the dogs would sound the alarm. “I’ll find somebody to look into it.”

“Thanks.” He looked toward the stage, and his brows furrowed briefly. “Did you get a new dancer?”

“No.”

“I haven’t seen that one before,” he observed casually. He wasn’t ogling the dancer. Having been in the line of sex work himself, he viewed stripping as a legitimate profession. Before he was married, the dancers had loved when he and Luca frequented the club because they tipped well and didn’t get too handsy if it wasn’t invited.

I’d shoved the club music and movement out of my head while we’d talked. It all came flooding back to me as I turned to see which dancer he was talking about. When I saw Wynn up on that stage, my teeth clenched so hard I risked cracking teeth.

“The fuck?” I hissed, not quite believing the sight in front of me. She stood up there dancing to “Barbie Girl” in a bubblegum pink number that matched that damn lipstick she loved, her white gold hair teased and cascading down her back in voluminous waves. She’d already removed her top, and only tiny pink sequined pasties kept the entire club from seeing those nipples that only I was allowed to see.

I sprang to my feet, but before I could lunge at the stage, Dante grabbed the collar of my leather jacket and pulled me back down to the booth. Romeo blocked my exit and shoved me down by the shoulder when I tried again.

“What the fuck, Cos?” Dante was pissed, but not as angry as I was. My blood was like lava in my veins as I watched Wynn dance over Romeo’s broad form. “Who is the girl?”

“My bartender,” I spat.

“Bartender?” Romeo glanced back at the stage. “Then what’s she doing dancing?”

“Fuck if I know.” I tasted blood as I bit into my cheek. “She sure as hell doesn’t have permission to be flaunting her tits to every man here.”

“Calm down,” Dante ordered, rapping his knuckles on the table to draw my attention as my body tensed. He knew I was ready to take on my youngest brother to get to Wynn. “What’s going on between you and the girl?”

“Nothing,” I lied. Not even convincingly.

Romeo laughed at me, and my eyes narrowed as I glared at him. It just made his shoulders shake with amusement. “Yeah, that’s the face of somebody who isn’t involved with the dancer.”

“I’m not involved with her,” I growled. “And she’s not a fucking dancer. She’s a damn bartender!”

“If you aren’t fucking her, why are you ready to murder every man here?” he pressed.

“Dancing isn’t in her job description.” It was a reach, but they might buy it since I was particular about shit. “She’s fucking up the rotation and the patrons’ expectations. Now the bouncers will have to deal with men who think they can get a lap dance from the bartender.”

“Fair enough.” Dante didn’t look convinced. “When did she start working for you?”

“About a month ago,” I replied. My eyes were riveted to the woman on stage as she moved like my personal torturer, set on my destruction. She could break me without laying a finger on my flesh.

It was fucking painful to keep my ass in my seat, and I took my knife out under the table and pressed the pad of my thumb to the tip of the blade, desperate for the distraction. If I tuned into my body, I could practically feel the steel pass through each layer of skin until the penetration stung and warm blood trickled from the self-inflicted wound.

“Hmm,” Dante hummed thoughtfully, stroking the stubble on his chin. The smug asshole thought he knew everything. “What’s her name?”

“Wynn,” I answered reluctantly. I wanted to keep her to myself like a treasure I’d buried. It wasn’t logical. The moment her name left my lips, it was like I’d put a spotlight on her because both my brothers turned to watch as she struck the final pose in her act. The stage went dark, but I could still make out Wynn’s swaying breasts as she bent to retrieve the money patrons had tossed on the stage, then snatched up her top and sauntered away.

The air in the room shifted when she disappeared from view, and I could finally breathe again. My brothers both stared at me, scrutinizing my demeanor; how I’d reacted.

“You good now?” Romeo asked, stepping away slowly like I might still be dangerous to those around me.

“I’m fine,” I said smoothly, surreptitiously blotting my thumb on my black jeans and slipping the knife back into my pocket. “I need to go find my manager and find out how the hell he lost control of our employees.”

“Franco is a good manager.” Dante’s voice held an unspoken warning.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going to fucking kill him.”

“Can’t hurt to make sure,” my brother answered. “I think we’ve covered everything for tonight. I’ll get back to you with what Luca says. Romeo, I’ll let you know about the dogs.”

Romeo thanked him, and I nodded, then left them to find their way out while I searched for my manager. He cowered at my thinly veiled rage, but I couldn’t take it out on him when I discovered I’d never sent him the note about updating Wynn’s job description. He’d added bartender along with dancer, and therefore she’d been allowed to fill in for another girl who had gotten sick.

That left me to pace in my office, waiting until the night was over to speak to my wayward employee. My annoyance hadn’t been tempered when I heard Wynn’s voice in the hall. I waited for her outside the employee room, and as soon as she emerged wearing her hoodie to conceal her uniform vest, I wrapped my hand around her arm and spun her to face me. She’d pulled that pale gold hair back into a braid, and all I could see was that it looked like a leash, something to lead her by.

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