34. Blade
BLADE
The sun had set hours ago, the parking lot was mostly cleared out, but the show had only just begun. “There’s our girl!”
The second that Tess stepped out from the backstage door, Nash and I were on our feet, hooting and hollering for the best dancer in all of Valemont.
She’d changed out of her sexy little red number and into a baggy sweat set, but the sight of her made my heart race all the same. Her sparkly makeup looked so pretty in the moonlight, and her hair was pulled back into an adorable little half-up knot at the back of her head.
I had to look like an idiot hopping up onto the hood of the car to cheer her on. But seeing the smile Tess tried to hide behind her hand made it all worth it.
“Oh my god, shut up!” She giggled, glancing over at the cars at the far end of the parking lot. “You’re making a scene.”
“Someone has to!” The car shook as I hopped down, closing the space between Tess and I with a few short strides. Hoisting her up in my arms, I gave her a little toss. “You were incredible in there!”
“Seriously,” Nash chimed in. “I don’t know how you move like that.”
“Years of practice,” Tess tightened her grip around my neck. “And you’re not supposed to touch the dancers, Blade.”
“Hardly counts. You’re off shift now.” I smirked, squeezing her a bit tighter. When I set her down, I was surprised to find she was nearly my height.
I can’t believe she’s still wearing those heels.
But I wasn’t complaining — even through her sweats, they made her legs look fucking incredible.
Catching my wandering eye, Tess rolled hers. “You guys are just trying to flatter me because you think I’m hot.”
“No!” Nash scoffed at the same moment that I said, “Yes!”
Shaking my head, I tried again. “I mean, yes, you’re hot. Duh. But you’re also incredibly talented. I would faceplant if I even tried to touch that pole.”
“I’m shocked you’re still competing for the $20k,” Nash murmured. “Clearly the crowd loves you. You must make a killing here.”
“I do pretty well for myself…”
The soft pink blush that painted her cheeks made my chest warm. But the frown that followed tightened it like a vise.
“Tips are hardly enough to meet my credit card minimums, though.” She shrugged. “And the landlords around here are picky about credit scores. Especially with all those Atwood kids and their rich parents eating up the off-campus housing.”
“How much debt are you in?” I frowned.
“Enough to make being hunted by a bunch of horny, killer clowns a good deal.”
I wanted to push back, to get a serious answer from her. If I had a number, maybe I could help her. We could make a plan, we could —
But before we got that far, some stupid asshole started screaming from across the parking lot. “Whore! Whore!”
Tess’ face immediately shifted from crestfallen to stony. Rage pulsed through my veins. I was ready to make a move on the guy.
But Tess was already turning before I could try. “What do you want, limpdick?”
“The time to repent is now. Judgment is nigh!”
“What the fuck is he—” Nash growled, but Tess wasn’t waiting for answers.
“It’s a fucking strip club, you idiot. Get the fuck out of here before I call security on your ass.”
The venom in her voice was lethal, but this bonehead didn’t have the sense his god gifted a rock. He strode closer, forcing Nash and I to step between him and Tess.
“The Messenger demands we cleanse ourselves. Retribution is coming. Sinners—”
“That’s enough, asshole.” Nash shoved him back by the shoulders while I swept Tess into the back of the car.
“What are you doing?” She spat. “I can handle him myself.”
“That guy is fucking deranged.” I hissed. “Just do me a favor and stay put.”
Slamming and locking the door to the Cadillac, I swung around to the trunk and grabbed a tire iron. He was still shrieking religious woo-woo when I spun around on him, brandishing the tire iron over my head.
“You’ve got about five seconds to run,” I snarled. More than anything, I wanted to bash the asshole’s head in, to make him apologize to Tess. But I had a feeling Tess’ boss wouldn’t take kindly to me killing a patron in the parking lot.
But there are other clubs she could work at, right?
“Five… four…” Knuckles whitening around the tire iron, I lunged toward him with each number, daring him to give me an excuse.
By three, he was hightailing it back across the lot. With Nash running beside me, I chased after him. I hardly had to try to imagine how good it would feel to crack his skull and rearrange his brain.
This wasn’t our turf, though. We had someone else’s rules to play by. And before I knew it, he’d hopped into a beaten white van and peeled the fuck out of the parking lot.
I tried to get a look at the logo on the side of the van — a big blue T, or a cross maybe? — but the darkness and speed made the shape disappear in an indistinguishable blur.
I sucked in a deep breath, letting the cool night air burn my heaving lungs.
What the fuck was that?
One look at Nash told me that she had the same exact question. Her eyes flashed with the same murderous rage that coursed through every inch of my body. It wasn’t enough to scare him off. I needed to spill blood.
But Tess didn’t need that from us. Not right now.
I tried to steady my breathing as we got back into the car, but my chest still rose and fell with the beat of my furious heart. There was a long silence as I took in Tess’ face through the rearview mirror.
She was quiet, pensive in a way I hadn’t seen before. She bit her lip nervously, but there was anger in the set of her brows.
“You okay, Trinket?”
“Okay?” She scoffed. “I’m fucking fuming. What a dick.”
I blinked back my shock. I guess I expected her to be more hurt. But Tess was always surprising me.
“That guy…” Nash exhaled. “He a regular?”
“No.”
“You sure seemed ready to deal with him,” I raised my brow.
Tess just scoffed. “I mean, hazard of the job. Sometimes assholes hang around the parking lot. But…”
“But what?” I leaned toward her.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. The religious shit’s weird. Zealots don’t usually come down to Gomorrah to proselytize. A lot easier to feel holy if they stay high up on their hill.”
I knew exactly what she meant. Downtown Valemont had a bit of a reputation, even if things had become more sanitized in recent years. Not exactly fertile recruiting grounds for fire and brimstone types.
The rare times that someone spouted that shit off, they were usually completely off their rocker. But this guy had been clean-cut, completely cogent.
Something was off. Nash and Tess could both feel it.
But Tess simply leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. “Whatever. I’m not letting that asshole ruin the rest of my night. Let’s get going.”
Sparing me a quick glance, Nash obliged, pulling the Escalade out of the lot and taking the long route home.
As we disappeared into the night, I couldn’t shake the dread and anger still pulsing through my veins. Something was changing in Valemont — a type of anarchy that the Violence bikers couldn’t control.