Sonnet Ellison
When we pulled up, I had no idea where Vega had brought me.
The building was lit up against the night.
Music was vibrating from the club through the car.
I wanted to ask where we were, but I stayed quiet because beggars couldn’t be choosers.
I had been trapped inside houses for too long, and at that point, I would’ve accepted almost any destination with walls that didn’t belong to Vega.
Not that Vega was the worst person to be in hiding with.
He was great to look at. Still, beautiful kidnappers didn’t cure cabin fever.
I needed noise, movement, strangers, and proof that the world still existed beyond locked doors, security systems, and his intense eyes watching me like I was something he’d decided to keep.
Wise, Prodigy, Lux, and Lowe parked beside us. The moment we all got out, we walked toward the entrance.
Lux and Lowe were already bouncing around and talking shit to everyone.
I loved when they came around. They were hilarious.
Lux and Lowe looked nothing like Wise, Vega, and Prodigy, which made their place in the family even more interesting to me.
Wise, Vega, and Prodigy had that mixed Black and Italian look, sharp features, lighter eyes, and the kind of beauty that made people stare before they realized they were staring.
Lux and Lowe were the complete opposite.
They were dark-skinned and fine in a more athletic, street-pretty way.
Their features were softer but still masculine, with clean haircuts, full lips, sharp cheekbones, and bodies that looked built from sports, trouble, and genetics.
They had matching faces, but their energy separated them.
Lux had the louder presence. Lowe seemed quieter, more watchful, and less reckless, though I could tell he was just as much of a problem when he wanted to be.
Together, they brought a different kind of flavor to the group.
They were younger, flashier, and more playful, but still carrying that same Street King aura that warned people not to mistake pretty for harmless.
“Lux, don’t start no shit in here tonight,” Lowe said.
Lux sucked his teeth. “Why y’all always putting that on me?”
“Because last time you told two friends you were taking both of them home right in front of their boyfriends,” Prodigy chuckled.
Lux grinned. “What the fuck was those niggas gon’ do?”
Wise laughed and shook his head. “That’s exactly why we said don’t start no shit.”
“I’m here to drink, tip women, and mind my business,” Lux said, lifting his hands in surrender.
Lowe glanced at him. “You get bored if you not causing problems.”
“Shut up. Soon as we get in here, you gon’ find the thickest dancer with a bad attitude and fall in love for forty-five minutes.”
Prodigy smirked. “That’s his type. Thick and crazy.”
Lowe shrugged. “At least I got a type. Lux just like anything with lashes and a cash app.”
“Damn right,” Lux said. “I’m inclusive.”
I smiled to myself. The closeness of Vega and his crew fascinated me.
Vega placed his hand at the small of my back and guided me inside.
The second we entered, I gasped.
“Oh my God,” I uttered under my breath.
This was a strip club. It was after midnight, and the place was so packed and alive that it was a bit overwhelming.
Music pounded through my chest. Lights moved over bodies, bottles, smoke, diamonds, and money.
Naked women were everywhere. Women were on the poles, stages, and floor, shaking ass in a way that made me forget to blink.
They bent backward until their hair brushed the money beneath them, climbed poles like gravity didn’t apply, spun upside down with their legs locked perfectly in place, and slid down slowly enough to make every man nearby lose his train of thought.
Even the women who were there as patrons were half-naked in tiny outfits, dancing beside tables, in walkways, and near the bar like they were competing with the damn strippers.
They had on barely-there dresses, shorts that looked more like underwear, mesh tops, glittery heels, and confidence that matched the strippers.
There was money everywhere. The floor looked like somebody had replaced the carpet with cash. Bills covered so much space that I couldn’t tell what color the floor was supposed to be.
I had never been to a strip club before. I didn’t know where to look, which meant I looked at everything. One woman climbed high on the pole, hooked one leg, dropped backward, then caught herself. Another spun upside down so smoothly that my mouth fell open.
Vega looked down at me, amused. “You good?”
“I don’t know,” I replied slowly.
He chuckled as my eyes drifted to a woman giving a lap dance nearby. The way she moved was slow and intimate enough to make heat crawl up my neck. I looked away too fast and pretended I was interested in the ceiling.
When Vega noticed, his hand lightly rubbed my back. “Relax.”
“I am relaxed.”
“You look like you’re solving equations in your head. That’s how you look when you’re playing those nerdy ass logic games.”
Looking around, I muttered, “I’m calculating several things.”
He laughed and led me to a section. There was already a guy sitting there. He was introduced to me as Knox, Prodigy’s best friend. Prodigy had let Knox know we were going to be there and Knox had beat us there.
As soon as Vega and his crew settled in within minutes, bottle girls appeared with sparklers, mixers, glasses, ice buckets, and at least ten bottles of liquor that looked too expensive for anybody to open.
Everybody greeted Vega, Wise, Prodigy, Lux, Lowe, and Knox with respect.
Men nodded. Women smiled. Security moved out of their way.
I leaned closer to Vega. “Y’all must come here a lot.”
He smiled, as if my naivety was cute. “We own it.”
My eyes widened. “Oh.”
Before I could say anything else, a woman entered the section. She was stunning, so sexy that it was unfair. She had wide hips, thick legs, a tiny waist, a phat ass, perfect breasts, long hair, and glossy skin.
Her eyes locked on Vega as she walked straight to him and sat on his lap.
My stomach dropped.
She leaned in like kissing Vega was automatic, but his hand clamped around her waist before her mouth reached his.
“Elana, get the fuck off me.”
Her smile twitched, but she stayed where she was. “What’s wrong with you? You don’t talk to me like that.”
“I just did.”
Knox leaned back with his drink halfway to his mouth. “Well, damn.”
She tried to laugh it off, but her ego had already been bruised. “You must’ve forgot who I am.”
“I know exactly who you are,” Vega said. “That’s why I’m telling you to move before I make you move.”
Elana finally noticed me. Her eyes looked over my glasses, outfit, and hands folded in my lap. She looked at me, very unimpressed.
“This why you talking to me like this?” she asked Vega, but her eyes stayed on me.
Vega moved before I understood what was happening. One second, he was seated. The next, he was standing, which forced her to her feet.
“Don’t do that,” he said.
Elana’s chin lifted. “Do what?”
“Don’t look at her like that. Don’t talk about her like that. And don’t make me repeat myself in front of all these people.”
The warning in his voice made my skin heat.
Elana swallowed, but she didn’t back down all the way.
Vega looked her dead in the eyes. “Walk away while I’m still asking.”
Even with the music blasting, I felt the silence from the men around us. Lux stopped joking. Lowe sat forward. Prodigy’s drink lowered. Wise watched Vega with a raised brow.
Elana looked around and realized she had lost. Her pride wouldn’t let her leave softly, though. She smoothed her hands down her hips, gave Vega a bitter smile, and stepped back.
“You’ll be calling by next week,” she said.
Vega sat down beside me again. “Good luck with that, sweetheart.”
She walked away with her head high, hips swaying, making sure every man in the club remembered why she deserved every dollar in their pockets.
I watched her disappear into the crowd.
Of course Vega had connections with women here.
He owned the club. He had money, power, a face women probably lost sense over, and a body that made bad decisions feel reasonable.
Women were half-naked all around him, dancing for him, smiling at him, waiting for him to look their way.
It would’ve been stupid to think he hadn’t touched some of them.
It would’ve been delusional to think Elana was the only one.
Vega leaned closer. “Sonnet.”
I kept my eyes on the stage. “I’m fine.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m processing.”
“Look at me.”
I didn’t want to, but I did anyway. His eyes held mine with no apology in them, but there was no game either. “My past is my past. She’s my past.”
“That isn’t my business. I’m not your woman, just your prisoner, remember?”
Vega cut his eyes at me, but I looked back toward where Elana had gone. “She’s beautiful.”
“She’s not you.”
My lips parted, but no words came out.
Vega’s gaze dropped to my mouth, then returned to my eyes. “And before you start over-thinking, understand this. If I wanted her, I wouldn’t be sitting here worried about what you’re thinking right now.”
The party went on around us while we stayed locked in the moment.
I finally looked away first because if I didn’t, I was going to forget every reason I was supposed to protect myself from him.