Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Sienna
I drummed my manicured nails against the polished surface, syncing with the pulsating rhythm barely audible to my sultry performers. It was unusual for me to keep the volume so low, but with a fresh face gracing our stage tonight, I needed to ensure my commands could cut through if necessary.
My new dancer, Annie, was absolutely killing it. She’d mastered Venus’s part in a heartbeat and took direction like a goddamn pro. Never once did she get her panties in a twist when I pointed out her rare missteps, and she powered through repetitive drills without so much as a peep. If only all my dancers had her can-do attitude.
Her presence had lit a fire under JJ’s perfectly toned ass, too. She’d never been a slacker, but Annie’s arrival made me realize that before, this had just been another gig for JJ. Now she was savoring every sensual movement. I couldn’t give two shits if they were hooking up or not from a professional standpoint. Personally? If they were getting freaky, more power to them.
One thing I loved about Club Privé was our “you do you” mentality. We had each other’s backs, whether you wore your heart on your sleeve or kept that shit locked down tight.
Of course, we occasionally had to deal with some overbearing big brother/sister crap. Not the possessive kind—I’d sooner have a root canal than tolerate that here. No, just your garden-variety protective vibes. As someone who grew up without siblings, I actually appreciated it. Most of the time, anyway.
As my dancers’ bodies intertwined on stage, executing their transition with the grace of synchronized swimmers, I nodded my approval. Dana, despite her laser focus, flashed me a victorious grin. I was relieved to see her back in the groove. Though this routine differed from the one she’d previously botched, her renewed concentration was as clear as the sweat glistening on her taut abs.
Ironically, I was the one struggling to concentrate this afternoon.
I’d been grappling with emotions ever since Fury and I had our steamy encounter. The crushing realization that I could never be with him again slammed into me like a ton of bricks. He’d shown up at the club the following night, and the one after that, persistent as hell. I’d kept my lips sealed about the panic attack and those gut-wrenching flashbacks, let alone what he’d unknowingly done to trigger them. Fury was the kind of stand-up guy who’d beat himself up over it, and I didn’t want that on my conscience.
There was also the matter of my checkered past. He might’ve pieced together some bits based on my occasional slip-ups, and Gavin might’ve accidentally spilled some beans. But knowing I’d worked as an “escort” years ago was a far cry from hearing the gritty details.
The last thing I wanted was for Fury to look at me with that same pity everyone else did when they heard about the assaults. Pity... and that unspoken blame. Sure, he had no qualms about getting down and dirty at a sex club, so I doubted he’d slut-shame a woman. But whether that open-mindedness extended to sex workers? I wasn’t about to roll those dice.
Unable to explain any of this to him, I’d resorted to ghosting. Or at least, I’d been trying to. It wasn’t easy to ghost someone who kept showing up at the club like clockwork. I did my damnedest to ignore him, but he seemed oblivious to the fact that my lukewarm responses were more than just being swamped with work.
But last night, for the first time, Fury was a no-show at the club. Maybe he’d finally gotten the message.
Fury had been rolling in like clockwork the past few nights, but when his usual arrival time came and went without a glimpse of those broad shoulders, I got antsy. My neck was getting a workout from constantly looking over my shoulder, hoping to catch sight of him striding towards me with that cocky grin.
But he never showed.
I tried to convince myself it was a relief to do my job without him hovering over me, but the gnawing ache in my gut wouldn’t let up.
He’d thrown in the towel.
Which was exactly what I wanted. Right? Or what I should have wanted, for christ’s sake. After all, I’d been giving him the cold shoulder ever since we’d fucked that second time. I’d figured hooking up twice would’ve been enough to satisfy Fury’s curiosity.
I’d never been the type of woman anyone fought to be around. Even after I got out of the life, guys only wanted me for one thing. Working here had at least given me a safe way to scratch an itch without having to figure out if some dude was going to turn out to be a psycho. I was content with that arrangement. I wanted nothing else.
I should’ve been relieved that Fury had moved on like every other guy. So why did it feel like someone had punched me in the gut?
“Can we get a water break?” JJ’s voice cut through my thoughts and brought me back to what I was supposed to be doing.
“Yeah.” I stood up and stretched my arms over my head, hoping the movement would help clear my mind. “Everyone, take a couple minutes and then we’ll run through it one more time at full volume.”
“Annie’s looking good,” Darcy said as she came up beside me. “Not as good as Venus, but there’s potential there.”
“Have you heard from her?” I asked. “Venus, I mean.”
Darcy shook her head. “We weren’t close or anything, so I didn’t really expect her to reach out to me.” Darby frowned. “I am surprised she hasn’t come back here at all.”
“What do you mean at all?” I asked.
“I overheard Laila saying that Venus still hasn’t come to get her last check.”
“Laila didn’t mail it?”
Darcy shook her head. “I guess there’s something in the file about not mailing it because she didn’t want her roommate taking it.”
Dammit. I rubbed my forehead. While I’d thought of Venus a few times this week, I hadn’t been searching for her as hard as last week. If she’d moved, she should have called to have her check mailed to a new address.
My head hurt.
“Let me know if you hear anything about her,” I told Darcy.
“Will do.” Darcy nodded at me and headed back to her seat.
Deciding water was probably a good idea, I headed to the bar to take a bottle from the fridge as my thoughts turned back to Fury and his absence.
This was the problem. Over and over, I’d concluded about what I should want with Fury and I’d tell myself that I’d accepted it, but then I’d start going over things again, worrying at it like some dog with a bone.
And this time, I actually hoped he hadn’t given up on me. Because what I really wanted, deep down in the darkest corners of my soul, was someone to fight for me. Someone who’d respect my boundaries when I set them but who could see through my smoke and mirrors to know that if they stuck around, proved that I could trust them to be there through thick and thin, something could change. Something electric and raw and real.
The sounds of my dancers returning gave me the distraction I needed to stop thinking about things that would never happen. Taking my water with me, I went back to stand in front of the stage.
“Places,” I called out when everyone had returned.
I signaled for the music to start at full blast, my pulse quickening as the dancers took their positions. The first ninety seconds of the routine unfolded flawlessly, just as I’d choreographed it. But as we approached the climax of the piece, my string of bad luck made a dramatic encore.
With only a few ominous creaks as a warning, the lighting rig came crashing down.
Pandemonium erupted as dancers frantically hurled themselves out of harm’s way, bodies colliding and tumbling across the stage in a desperate scramble for safety. Glass from the shattered lights exploded everywhere, razor-sharp shards raining down. Then, for one heart-stopping moment, an eerie silence fell over the club.
It didn’t last long. Screams of terror and pain pierced the air, jolting me into action.
I bolted for the stage, the crunch of glass under my heels barely registering. Every instinct screamed at me to vault onto the platform, but some last shred of sanity prevailed, reminding me that slicing my palms open wouldn’t help anyone. Taking the stairs two at a time, I surveyed the scene with a mixture of relief and horror.
Thankfully, there weren’t any massive pools of blood, but scattered crimson droplets and many cuts painted a grim picture. I moved from dancer to dancer as other staff members flooded in, their frantic questions adding to the cacophony of chaos.
What the hell happened?
Who’s hurt?
How bad is it?
What the fuck do we do now?
When I reached JJ, I got my answer to at least one of those burning questions. The gash on her shin, while nasty, wasn’t life-threatening thanks to Annie’s quick thinking with a makeshift scarf tourniquet. But JJ’s wrist... Jesus Christ. No bones were sticking out, thank God, but the unnatural angle told me it’d be a miracle if it wasn’t shattered.
JJ’s face had taken on a sickly grayish-green hue as she white-knuckled Annie’s hand, clearly fighting back waves of pain and nausea.
“We need to get you checked out, stat,” I said, praying I sounded more in control than I felt. I’d never felt so inadequate for this job as I did at that moment.
“Sienna!”
Laila’s voice cut through the chaos. “I’ll be right back,” I assured the two women. “We need to figure out if it’s better to call the paramedics or haul ass to the ER ourselves.”
“How bad is it?” Laila asked in a hushed tone as I crouched at the edge of the stage.
“Mostly minor stuff, except for JJ,” I replied grimly. “Her wrist is bad.”
Laila cursed colorfully. “It’ll be faster if you take her to the ER yourself. Someone just plowed into a bodega two blocks over.”
“Got it,” I nodded, taking the keys she offered. “You’ll handle everyone else and fill Gavin in?”
Laila’s expression was grim but determined as she nodded. “We’ll sort this out and clean up the mess.”
With a plan of action crystallizing, I returned to JJ and Annie. As we carefully helped JJ to her feet, they anxiously inquired about the night’s performances.
“Don’t even worry about it,” I said firmly. “You’re more important than some show. And before you fret about what Gavin’s going to say, I know he’ll back me up on this one hundred percent.”
I might not have understood why he’d been talking to some suit about selling the club, but if there was one thing I knew with absolute certainty, it was that Gavin always put our well-being first. I trusted him implicitly in that regard.
Hell, he was the only man I did trust, and I didn’t see that changing anytime soon. No matter how incredible the sex with Fury was.