Ryker

Chapter Sixteen

After the long day with Nolan yesterday, I returned to the hotel and crashed. I know tonight is my last night here. After that, I’ll need a new plan. I should have left the moment Ryker found me, but it would have been a waste of money to leave. I figured since he didn’t turn me over to Manzo, I should be safe for now. But I’m not sure how long that will last.

I walk over to the bathroom and splash water on my face. My bruises have started to fade from the day Manzo found me at the motel. It feels like a lifetime ago, but it’s only been a week.

Swallowing is still a bitch, yet the handprint around my throat only lasted a few days. I touch the bruise on my rib that has turned to a light green, and I wince. The only thing that still causes my movement to falter is the stab wound. It’s still a little sore and has turned a light pink, but it is healing well.

I brush out my black wig and put it on, then do the same makeup routine I usually do when I wear this wig: the black smokey eyes and black lipstick with a deep contour. I walk to my closet, grab my silk skin-tight black dress, and slip it on. There is a deep V-cut that allows my boobs to be prominently exposed.

I look down and see the bite mark Ryker left and scowl. I grab my concealer and foundation to cover it as best as I can. I grab the pair of black heels I got the day before, slip them on, grab a fifty- dollar bill, and take the elevator to the lobby.

I’m dreading doing what I need to get done today. Since I got no information about whether he is involved in sex trafficking with Manzo at the warehouse, I’ve decided I need to submerge myself in one of his clubs. He has a few locations, but one in particular stuck out because it’s where most of his money is made. Since Dice is a gentleman’s club, there is the possibility that he uses it to sell the women to businessmen, politicians, or even the average John.

By the time the Taxi pulls up in front of Dice, it’s about dinner time. Usually, men who frequent these types of places don’t come this early. They typically don’t show up until their wives and girlfriends go to bed.

I sit in the Taxi as I scope out the club. The club looks basic from the outside—a small sign on the wall and a bouncer at the door. I shift the knife strap on my ribs as I walk up to the door. The bouncer sees me and gives me a confused look.

“I’m not sure where I need to go.” I play the submissive role to make sure he doesn’t think I’m a threat. Men never second-guess a woman. That’s why they are so easy to take down most of the time.

“Who are you?” He asks as he folds his arms over his chest. “Joey Baker,” I whisper and look at the floor.

“I didn’t know we were getting a new girl today.”

“It was last minute,” I whisper again and start playing with the hem of my dress.

“What are you here for?” He asks, and I shrug, not knowing what that means. I look up at him and force tears to spring to my eyes.

I’ve noticed that men in the mob, no matter their rank, hate tears. It makes them uncomfortable, and it does what I intend it to do. He shifts on his feet before he opens the door for me.

“New girls talk to Zoe.”

I nod, walk in, and freeze when I look around. There is one main pole in the center of the room, surrounded by booths and tables. The other poles are scattered around the room. I count six. On the right wall, there are rooms with curtains scattered along the entire wall. Men are sitting at the bar, and a few sit in the booths in front of the poles .

I feel a hand press on my lower back, and I stiffen. The bouncer gives me a slight push to make me go forward. I reluctantly take a step and let him lead me to a back room. Three women are sitting at a table, taking shots. I look around the room and see a few lockers, a shower in the back corner, and a stall.

“New girl?” a girl with brown hair cut into a pixie cut asks as she stands from the table and walks over to me, handing me the shot glass and the bottle. She is wearing a neon pink bikini with a fishnet top covering her upper half.

“This is Baker.” The bouncer drops his hand off my back, and I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. “This is Zoe.” The woman gives me a sad smile and waves her hand to shoo the man.

“I got it from here.” She watches the man leave before turning to me and scanning my body. She pulls her eyebrows together, walks over to one of the lockers, pulls out a two-piece bikini, and tosses it my way. “You can borrow this for tonight.”

I hold up the top and scowl. It’s a black triangular piece that I know won’t cover my breasts. It will cover my nipples, but other than that, I’ll be fully exposed. The bottom half is a black thong.

When I focus my attention on her, she gives me a weak smile. I return the gesture before looking around the room for a place to change. I see the women changing in front of their lockers, so I do the same.

Being naked in front of people doesn’t bother me. I’ve been doing it my entire life. From my experience, women are less judgmental about your body than men are. The only thing I’m worried about is the questions I know she will have when she sees not only the bruises and scars that pepper my body, but the gun and knives strapped to me.

I unzip my dress and remove the thigh strap, holding one knife and my gun, before taking off the rib strap. When I finish tying the bikini and look back at Zoe, her eyes widen as they linger on my torso. I cross my arms over my stomach, and she finally looks away. She doesn’t even notice or care about the arsenal clinging to my skin. I place everything on the table, hiding the gun under the dress.

She sits at the table, gesturing to the seat across from her. I sit and pour myself a shot, and down it. I wince as it goes down. I extend her the bottle and the shot glass, and she takes both, pouring herself another drink. “So, what’s your poison?” I give her a confused look, and she smiles before taking her shot. “Why are you here?”

“I-I-um…” I stutter before looking down at my hands. I’m completely lost. If I say the wrong thing, then I’m royally fucked before I even get started. She laughs and shakes her head.

“Honey, you don’t have to be scared of us. We are all here for one reason or another. I’m here because of my gambling issue.” I follow her hand as she gestures to a petite blonde woman whose bare chest is exposed as she raids her locker for something to wear. “Britt is here because she stole from a drug dealer. And Lilly is here because she was ratting to the cops.”

I furrow my brows even deeper as I try to put the pieces together. “You guys are here because you wronged the mob?” I whisper, and she shoots her eyes up at me.

“Domincio gives us a little bit of freedom. We get to choose what we do, and we can set boundaries with the clients. If they don’t follow them, then we tell the bouncer, and they are banned.” She says, ignoring my comment.

“Seriously?” I ask as I try and read her face, looking for signs of deceit.

“Are you a cop or something? Because if you are, I will have to ask you to leave. I can’t get more time. As lenient as he might be, this is still a prison.”

I can’t help but laugh, “I’m not a cop. I’m here because I stole something from him. ”

“You stole from Domincio directly?” She says in a whisper, and her eyes widen.

I shrug. “Yeah.”

She slowly nods before sliding the bottle back over. “So, he personally sent you here?”

I nod as I pour the shot. “That makes sense that you’re here tonight then. Ryker and his men got here a few hours ago.” I choke on the shot as it goes down, and I feel the burning in my nose.

I widen my eyes. “He’s here? Where?”

“In his office…” She gives me a puzzled look. “But he doesn’t come out of it. And Hawkins and Lincoln are here with him. I think they are expanding or something. We have Hawkins’s men out there right now. They normally follow the rules, but you’re fresh meat, so just be careful. What did you choose as your punishment?”

“What do you mean?”

“Every punishment is paid off with favors and time. Bartending takes one day off, stripping takes off three days, lap dances, and anything with physical touch is a week, and sex is a month. The only people who choose the latter are those who got life sentences.”

“Oh, I picked lap dances.”

She nods and stands. “You just have to do the poles until you’re picked.” She hands me a green wristband as we walk out of the back room.

“What’s this?” I ask as I slip it on.

“It lets them know what they can use you for.” I slowly nod.

Since the men here are all Hawkins’s men, I’m hoping none of them recognize me. I hop onto one of the poles and stare out into the room. The men all take their seats as the music starts to play .

I look around and watch as the girls either start to strip or go to the man who chose them. I start at the pole and do the routine I learned as a novice. It’s simple, and I keep it that way so I don’t get picked, and thankfully, it works. Most of the men ignore me and focus on Zoe. I can tell she’s been doing this for a while.

I scan the crowd of men and freeze when I see a familiar face. Nolan. His eyes widen when he sees me, and I look back to the girls who aren’t giving me a second look. I hop off the stage and walk towards him in almost a run. I scan the room as I do, keeping a lookout for one of the Bosses.

“Bianca?”

“Shh.” I shush him as I approach, grab his arm, move the curtain and pull him into one of the private rooms on the far wall.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” He asks as the curtain slides back into place. I flip on one of the switches, letting the people in the main room know this room is occupied.

“I came to get information on Ryker. Why are you here?” “Hawkins called a meeting with Ryker.”

I raise an eyebrow. “And you met here?”

He shrugs. “I’m the Lead of the tactical unit for the Hawkins family, so I guess I needed to be here with my team.”

I nod and look at the door as footsteps pass by. I lower my voice to a whisper. “I thought that was reserved for the Capo’s.”

He nods. “It is.”

“So why the hell are you in charge of it?” I furrow my brows. He rubs the back of his neck, and my eyes widen. “He’s going to make you Capo!” I hiss in a whisper. He flinches but nods again.

“He’s been talking about it. After his father’s death, he needed someone who knows the streets. ”

“What about the men who trained you? They are older and have more experience.”

“I’m more of what he’s looking for. I was going to tell you at breakfast yesterday, but the thought of me being a Lead sent you over the edge.”

I scoff and cross my arms. “And what will happen when they find out you know me?”

“They won’t.”

I let out a sarcastic laugh, “Yeah, right. You will have to choose sides. When that happens, you need to rat me out.”

“What? No.”

“Yes.” I look back at the door when I hear a woman’s laugh. “I'll be fine. Just tell them you didn’t know I was the one who killed Hawkins’s father, and you found out I was staying at the Central Hotel in Times Square. If you don’t come forward now, they will kill you.”

“I can’t.”

I let out a sigh. “If you want to be Capo, tell them something. Anything. Just keep it brief and don’t go into detail. It’s the best solution for you to get out of this unscathed.”

He reluctantly nods. “Fine,” He mutters to himself.

“Can you tell me what’s going on in there?” I gesture to the door. “All I know is Hawkins pulled a lot of his dealers off the streets

to get them to start training with Domincio’s men. Lincoln is taking

half, and I will take the rest. They want us to be prepared if shit goes bad in our territory.”

I nod slowly. “Have they told you why yet?”

“There is a rumor going around that we are teaming up with Domincio to take down Manzo. It’s just speculation right now. We have a few lower-level dealers working for Manzo’s streets, and they’ve told us some of the girls at his clubs have been talking. I’m not sure how long it will be before all of New York knows Bianca Marcello is alive.”

I clench my jaw. “What are the women saying?” “Something about his favorite girl escaping.”

I nod. “And my name is involved?”

“It was mentioned a few times, but I don’t think the lower levels know of you. You’ve been dead for ten years.”

“Good.” I let out a sigh.

“Now, tell me why you are really here?”

“Just like you said, the women talk to each other. I came here to see how the women were treated and to see if they would give me any warnings or implicate Ryker or Hawkins.”

He furrows his brows. “In what way?” “Teaming up with Manzo.”

His eyebrows fly to his hairline. “They aren’t. I wouldn’t be working with them if they were.”

“They wouldn’t tell you until you got the Capo position. As far as I know, the only ones who know are the Bosses, Capos, and maybe one or two Leads, as well as the men under them. I know for a fact Leo and Ryker’s father were involved. It’s not a far fetch to assume they are too.”

“Did you find anything?”

“Not yet…” I pause and look back to the door. “We’ve been in here for too long. We should head back out.”

He pulls me in for a hug. “Be safe, okay? I’ll call you when I can.”

I hug him back, relishing this moment. The moment he tells them he knows me, I won’t be able to see him. It’s better to know he’s safe pretending that way than trying to help me and for him to get himself killed. He kisses the top of my head and lets me go.

I crack the door open and peer into the hallway, checking for anyone who might be lingering. Seeing none, I return to the stage and let the black wig fall in front of my face as I pass the rest of Nolan’s men. They watch as I get back on the platform, and a few of them come to sit in front of me. I scan the room, trying to see where Nolan went, when I see him enter a hallway towards the offices.

I swallow the lump of worry as I begin my routine. I get about halfway through it when Zoe comes up to my podium. I bend down to hear her, but she just mouths, “Back room.” I nod and hop off the stage. I look through the room again. Nolan had been gone for at least thirty minutes. I shake out my nerves as I follow her into the back.

“Are you okay?” She asks as she grips my shoulders and scans me from head to toe.

“Yes? Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Good. No new bruises…” She mutters to herself as she lets go of me and takes a step back. “I’m sorry. I got so worried when I saw you go into that room with one of the leaders. They are always the roughest with the new girls.”

“Oh… He just wanted a lap dance. He got a little handsy, but I’ve dealt with worse.” I give her a small smile, and she returns it.

“Sorry. We had a girl named Ava here for a long time. She disappeared a few days ago after talking with Domincio, and I heard the rumor about the other girl, and I just…” She shakes her head.

“What girl?” I pull my eyebrows together.

She looks at me momentarily, and I can see the indecision in her eyes. She eventually caves and lets out a sigh, “Domincio’s men are picking up one of Manzo’s women tonight. God, I don’t want to know what they will do with her. ”

My jaw drops to the floor, and I quickly shut it. “What happened?”

She shrugs. “He wants her, I guess; we haven’t heard anything.” “Has this happened before?” I furrow my brows and she shakes

her head as she pours us another shot.

“A few days ago, one of the women who works in Manzo’s house came here for some extra cash. She said that Manzo was gifting one of his girls to Mr. Domincio for helping him find one of the girls who left before she completed her sentence.”

Before I can stop it, a scoff escapes me. I quickly cover it up as best I can. “Do you know who it is?”

She looks up, thinking as she leans against the table. “Maggie, something? I don’t know her last name.”

My eyes widen as the shot glass slips from my grasp and shatters onto the tile. I feel my face pale, and my heart completely stops beating. I try to swallow, but my mouth is dry and feels like sandpaper.

“Are you okay?” I hear Zoe ask, but I don’t answer.

I take a shaky step back, hitting my back against the lockers. I touch my thumb to each of my fingers. Counting. 1…2…3…4… I repeat it over and over as I close my eyes.

It can’t be. Maggie is dead. If she isn’t, that means that Manzo has had his hands on her for the past six years. Who knows what she’s been put through. Manzo gave me the worst of it, but I was only there for four years. It can’t be the same one. It can’t be.

I take deep breaths as I open my eyes to meet Zoe’s concerned ones. “Sorry.” I croak.

She gives me a small smile as she stands there, sweeping the broken glass from the shot glass. “Go take a minute.” She gestures to the empty chair, which I gladly take .

Once she’s thrown the glass away and returns the broom to its spot, she makes her way back out onto the stage. I knew Ryker was just as fucked up as the rest of them.