Chapter 5
HATCH
The first and last time I saw Lucy, she didn’t know it was me.
I was a stranger in a mask, and as far as she knows, the stranger finished our waltz in a speakeasy, kissed her forehead, breathed in her scent, then disappeared forever.
It’s for the best, though. I’m the reason she ran away.
She’ll never forgive me, and I wouldn’t blame her.
Fuck that hurts to say, but “Alice” doesn’t deserve to be shackled to me. Whether I actually want what my brother has with his fiancée or not doesn’t matter. If I was selfish enough to take Lucy for myself, I’d only get her killed. Women in my family get hurt. I won’t let that happen to her.
She lifts her chin as the pole slows to a stop, and her eyes land on me.
Holy fuck.
The lights catch on her lashes, creating shadowy dark pools underneath that suck me under. I’m fucking drowning, taking a step forward—
She blinks, and her plastered smile sweeps past me to some other lucky son of a bitch. Someone that might actually be able to grab her attention and hold it.
Like she never saw me at all.
Except… that’s exactly what happened, wasn’t it? Earlier she was looking for the bouncer to rescue her. Not me. Not only am I masked, she doesn’t know I’d kill to keep her safe, so she looked to the only person who could.
And he failed her. He’s still failing her.
The heckler blows another ring of smoke at Lucy, but she studiously ignores it. Renewed rage stokes a fire through my lungs again, but I try my best to stifle the flame. I won’t do her any good if I’m kicked out right now.
My gaze snaps back to Lucy—Alice.
“Aaaalright, gentlemen,” the DJ’s deep voice filters over the speaker as the music changes beat. “Alice is going home after this next song, and—wait a minute. Alice, do you have something to say?”
Lucy hops off the pole and prowls from the center stage to stage right, strong, confident steps in her high heels.
When she gets to the far end where the DJ is, she bends at her waist exaggeratedly, leaving her bare ass exposed again under her skirt.
I’ve never been so turned on and jealous in my goddamn life.
She cups her hand around her mouth and peers over her shoulder as she acts like she’s telling the DJ a secret.
“Well, well, well, this is a first,” he says, chuckling. “One of you caught Alice’s eye. She’s decided to give you a dance right off stage. Maybe one of you can sweeten the pot, to convince her you’re the one who’s worth her while, instead.”
The guys at the stage go absolutely fucking feral, producing more cash and chips. Lucy blows one guy in a pig mask a kiss as she goes back to the pole but her gaze doesn’t linger long enough to see him push a man in a chef’s hat to the side to get in front of him.
Frog pushes past both, leans in again, only stopped from climbing on the damn stage himself by his short stature and his inability to lift himself up.
But he can still stretch his grubby little hands far enough to nearly reach her.
He’s a hair away from snatching her ankle, making her flinch away and trip the rest of the way to the pole.
“Looks like we’ve got one who might win out. Frog really wants a dance, Alice. Frog always gets what he wants, gentlemen, so you’ll have to raise the stakes.”
Oh fuck that.
Lucy recovers quickly, jumping into a climb on the pole and resuming her smile like she’s not bothered, but I. Am. Rage.
I surge forward, fist raised, ready to knock the fucker’s lights out—
My arm is wrenched back, and I swing my left arm instead. I clip the bouncer’s cheek, but one second I’m upright, and the next I’m shoved over a shadowed part of the bar behind a trash can.
“I see you’ve chosen to be a problem. Fucking fantastic,” he grumbles behind me. “The Hole’s no place for jealous not-boyfriends.”
“I’m not jealous,” I grunt, face now pressed against the counter with his hand on the back of my head.
I don’t know how the fuck I let this guy get the best of me.
Well, I do. Lucy has me losing all sorts of control.
One second, I was ready to attack, the next he’s got me dead to rights.
“What the fuck do I have to be jealous of? She’s performing. Not fucking.”
Hell, even if she was fucking, it wouldn’t be my business. Fucking doesn’t mean feelings, anyhow. I know that firsthand.
The bouncer tilts his head at me, and I barely make out his narrowed eyes.
“Hm,” is all he says before I hear the bartender purr.
“Need help?”
A ring of smoke wafts into my face, making me cough.
The bouncer snaps, elbowing me in the back to keep me secure as he adjust his balaclava higher on his face. “Cut that shit out, Mari. I’ve got this.”
I can’t see her from my position, but I imagine Mariposa shrugging as she drawls, “Suit yourself. But make sure he keeps his temper in check or you’ll both be outta here.”
“You hear that?” he asks me after a beat—presumably waiting for Mariposa to leave. “You gonna listen to me, or am I gonna have to kick you out?”
“Get the fuck off me,” I grate, jolting back and trying to shove him off. But he’s got my arm twisted against my spine, ready to snap it with my own momentum. Fucker knows how to fight. How goddamn inconvenient for me.
“Look, asshole,” he says low. “I could take you outside and stick you headfirst in the pluff mud right now. It’s low tide and everything. But I like the way you’re pissed off for one of my girls, so let me give you a little advice that’ll hopefully keep this shit civil.”
I try to push off the bar for leverage, but despite what I just said, jealousy rushes through my veins at his “one of my girls” shit.
I’m nearly lightheaded with adrenaline and frustration, because that’s not just fucking.
That’s more, and I don’t have the willpower right now to find out Lucy has more with someone that isn’t me.
“Get. The. Fuck. Off. Me. She’s. Not. Yours—”
A white rag lands in my face, muffling my shout and the bouncer speaks low into my ear.
“And from what you’ve said, she’s not yours either. So since we both ‘don’t care about her,’ take a fucking breath and listen to me or she’ll have to dance for him. Trust me. You don’t want that.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Castle’s men always win, and you don’t want that fucker to win. He doesn’t come around too often and hasn’t since she started working here. She hasn’t been here long enough to learn how to stand a guy like Frog. Her sweet heart won’t survive the night.”
I still, my body going rigid with panic rather than in fight or flight.
“Fucking finally,” he sighs. “Now take a damn breath—in through your nose, out through your mouth style—and I’ll tell you what you need to do.”
I huff against the rag and focus on calming down as the faint scent of lavender laundry detergent replaces the cotton candy and tobacco trying to fill my nostrils.
When my head has cleared, I grit out through clenched teeth. “I’m listening.”
The bouncer eases up on me, and I rip out of his arms as he lets me go and I face the stage. But he’s standing in front of me, holding his hands up. I’d think it was an act of surrender, but it’s more likely to catch the feral animal if I decide to go ballistic again.
“I can’t let you touch him. But if Alice had someone else to entertain, Frog wouldn’t be her problem anymore, and you won’t be mine, you feel me?”
My eyes narrow behind my mask. “If she has to dance for him, how do I stop that from happening?”
“It’s like Watchman said, ‘make it worth her while.’ Dorman told me you’ve got cash. Use it. Castle’s loyal to his men, but he’s more loyal to his money. If you give her an offer she can’t refuse, Castle will understand, but you’ve gotta make a show of it. Understand?”
He backs up now, giving me room to see around him and my attention zeroes back in on.
She’s all business now, the seductive beat of “ANGEL” by Toby Mai controlling her movements as she slowly stretches her hands to reach for her next grip, her legs pushing and pulling against the chrome as she climbs.
My anxiety rises in my chest, thickening in my throat the farther up she goes.
By the time she gets to the top, I’m sweating from nerves.
She clacks her high heels and squeezes her thighs around the pole.
Nearly at the same time, her hands let go, and I go lightheaded at the thought of her falling.
Fuck, this girl’s gonna be the death of me.
“I just have to make an offer she can’t refuse?” I ask.
“Yup. You do that, she’s safe another night. She’s not ready for one of Castle’s men. Hell, she hasn’t even done a VIP room yet, for Christ’s sake. Frog will eat her alive.”
“Over my dead body will I let that guy near her,” I hiss.
The bouncer just shrugs. “You know what to do then.”
“Yeah, what you’re too chickenshit to do, apparently.” I take a step forward and glare at him through my mask. “Protect her.”