Braxton #2
I shake my head. “You’re an idiot. I told you, she needed a safe place to crash, and I gave it to her.”
“Interesting. Seems that was the case with Charlie and Lucy, too, if memory serves. Actually, wasn’t Ozzy just protecting Freya when they hooked up again?” Linc asks, though it’s not really a question.
“This is different. Vanessa just got out of a fucked-up relationship, and neither of us is in a place to start anything.”
“I see where she might not be ready for anything, but why aren’t you?” Linc asks.
I blow out a long, exasperated breath. “Look, I appreciate the fact that you guys found someone to share your lives with. You found good women who can handle this kind of life, but I haven’t.
And I’m not looking for that. I don’t want expectations thrown at me, and I don’t want to answer to anyone.
My life is my own. I like living in the clubhouse, riding whenever and wherever the fuck I want, and if I get the itch to have someone in my bed, then I have the choice to scratch it, no expectations required. ”
“Simple as that, huh?” Linc asks.
I put my helmet on and throw my leg over my bike. “Yup.”
“Funny. I seem to remember thinking the same thing when I brought Charlie here for her protection,” Linc says.
Instead of answering, I start my bike and rev the motor a few times. “See you assholes later,” I say over the roar of my engine.
Danny is at the gate and opens it for me before I pin the throttle and race down the highway and away from my brother's annoying-as-hell questions.
“Hey Van, good to see you back,” Jake says as he opens the back door for us.
Has everyone and their mother taken to calling her Van?
“Thanks, Jake. I even have my own personal bodyguard and everything,” Vanessa says, turning to give me a smile.
“Hey, Braxton.” Jake reaches out to shake my hand.
“Hey. Do you know if Sylvie is in her office?” I ask.
“Last I saw her,” he replies.
Jake holds the door for us, and Vanessa starts toward the dressing room.
“I’m going to talk to Sylvie,” I tell her.
Instead of replying, Vanessa holds up her hand and waves, disappearing around the corner.
The ride to the club wasn’t tense per se, but I could tell Vanessa had something on her mind.
Maybe it feels awkward to have me here, but I don’t know why.
It’s not like I’m going to be asking for VIP dances or some shit.
I’m here to make sure she stays safe. And if her ex starts sniffing around for her, then he and I will get to have a little conversation.
I know she thinks he won’t come looking since he doesn’t know where she is, but how hard would it be for him to find out? Not a chance I’m willing to take.
I knock on Sylvie’s door, and she calls for me to come in.
“Braxton, are you dropping Vanessa off?”
“Yeah. I’m going to stay and keep an eye on things, too.”
Sylvie studies me for a beat. “Care to tell me about your history with her? Pretty obvious that there’s something there.”
“We met a few years ago. Not much to tell.” There’s a lot to tell, but I’m sure Sylvie doesn’t want those details.
“Hmm. Well, of course I’m always happy to have you here. Jake and Jason have been doing a great job. It’s been nice having extra security.”
We hired a few guys a couple months ago to have more security here and at the bar the club owns when shit with the Russians started heating up. Unfortunately, we aren’t any closer to finding those assholes and putting them to ground, but at least our businesses and employees are safe.
“You haven’t seen anything unusual? No one sniffing around asking questions about Vanessa?”
“Nope. But you know I would tell you if I had. Is that why you’re here? You think her ex is going to come in and cause problems?”
Sylvie’s most pressing concern has always been the safety of her girls. If she thinks Vanessa might be a danger, I’m not sure she’d want her here at all.
“Vanessa doesn’t seem to think it’s a concern, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to hang out and make sure that doesn’t happen. If it does, then I’ll be here to deal with him.”
Sylvie slowly nods her head. I can tell she’s not a hundred percent on board with my reasoning for being here. Shit, it sounds flimsy to my own ears, but that didn’t stop me from getting in my truck and giving Vanessa a ride.
“Does your history with her have anything to do with you being here tonight?” she asks.
“No.” Lie. “But it’s not every day we have a dancer come in beat up. I want to make sure she’s safe along with the rest of the girls.”
Sylvie smiles and nods. “It’s not every day you have a dancer living at the clubhouse with you either. Or that there’s one here you have a history with.”
“Sylvie, it’s not as though your girls are saints. I’ve had a night with more than one.” In fact, just a few months ago, Cash, Barrett and I came in, and Barrett wasn’t the only one who took a girl back to her place.
Laughter rings in the small office. “Oh, trust me, I’m well aware. I’ve walked in on more than one conversation about you and a few of the other brothers. But this is the first time you’ve been here to keep an eye on things because you’re worried about a girl’s safety.”
My brow quirks in question. “Are you getting at something, Sylvie?”
She keeps the smile on her face when she says, “Not at all.”
“Yeah, I don’t believe you,” I say with a laugh. “I’m not my brothers. I care about her safety, but it doesn’t mean more than that.”
“Whatever you say, Braxton.”
“It’s not like that with me and Vanessa,” I reiterate.
Sylvie tilts her head slightly to the right. “I didn’t say it was.”
She may not have, at least not outright, but Ozzy, Linc and Jude certainly had something to say about it.
“Who’s at the front?” I ask, changing the subject.
“Jason and Brian. Jake is on the back door, and Kev and Lou are keeping an eye on things inside.”
“Great. I’ll let you get back to work,” I tell her.
“In other words, stop talking about you and Vanessa,” Sylvie says with a laugh.
I get up from the chair and head to the door. “You said it, not me.”
Sylvie’s tinkling laughter follows me out the door.
Walking through the club, I catch sight of Kev and Lou. It’s dark in here, with the lights twirling around the front as the next dancer takes the stage. It isn’t Vanessa, so I make my way to the front entrance.
“Hey guys,” I say to Jason and Brian, shaking both of their hands.
“Braxton, hey,” Jason says. “What brings you in tonight?”
“Wanted to keep an eye out for Vanessa’s ex. I’m assuming Sylvie told you about what went down?” They both nod. “And you haven’t heard anyone asking about her or anything?”
“No, man,” Brian replies. “How’s she doing?”
“Good. Back at work tonight,” I tell him.
“That’s good for business. Customers love her routine.”
“Good to hear. Sylvie has a knack for finding the right girls,” I say.
I have no idea what Vanessa’s routine is, but I can imagine she has a way of sucking the men that frequent the club into her orbit. She seems to have a knack for it, at least it looks that way as far as my prospects are concerned.
The three of us stand around and chat a bit about life.
Brian is interested in getting a bike, so we talk for a while about that before Brian’s wife sends him a video of their new baby rolling over for the first time.
Nothing out of the ordinary happens as we stand around, and the men check IDs as people trickle through the door and pay the entrance fee.
I’ve seen the majority of the patrons numerous times, but there are some new faces from a bachelor party who pay and go inside.
“Where are those guys from?” I ask Jason, who checked their IDs.
“Concord.”
That’s a small town outside of Boston. We don’t generally get too many out-of-towners here, so I follow them inside. Bachelor parties can get a little out of hand sometimes, especially if this isn’t the first bar they’ve stopped at. An extra set of eyes certainly won’t hurt anything.
When I step back into the low-lit club, the stage is empty before the DJ gets on the microphone.
“Gentlemen, prepare yourselves for a breathtaking, gravity-bending performance by the one, the only, Cassandra.” The way the female DJ purrs Vanessa’s stage name in a sultry and seductive tone has every man in the house turning his head toward the main stage.
I take a seat at the only empty table in the room that sits against the wall.
When Sylvie suggested we hire a woman to run the playlists and introduce the girls, I had my doubts, but hearing her work and the way she rolls the syllables of each word has me firmly in the Sylvie was right again camp.
When Vanessa walks out on stage, she’s covered in sheer fabric tied around her neck and her waist with a sparkling belt that catches the lights on the stage.
The music starts slow and melodic as she walks up to the pole, placing one hand above her head as she wraps her leg around the bottom.
She spins in slow circles, and the fluid movement causes the sheer fabric to float around her.
She wears a small, seductive smile on her face, as though she’s holding on to a secret only she has the answer to.
It’s a smile I’ve seen before, and one that hypnotized me all those years ago.
Leaning back in my chair, my gaze never leaves the stage as Vanessa works the pole.
The control she has over her body and the crowd is truly a sight to behold.
I take a quick glance around the room and notice every single person in the club watching her intently.
Her spin stops when she places her feet back on the ground.
Vanessa drops to her knees and tilts her head back, slowly running a hand from her neck to where the fabric is looped as her body moves in a sensual rhythm with the music.
She spins her head, causing her long blonde hair to fly around her.