Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
PIGGY
I pick up my phone and send her a message.
HE JUST LEFT THE STRIP CLUB.
Standing from my seat, I push my chair in, pick up my water glass from the table, and move across the floor. There are men everywhere. That fucking influencer really did some amazing promo for this club. There hasn’t been a night that wasn’t complete insanity since he came here.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I take it out quickly, unlocking it before I move toward the wall. Once I’m leaning against the hard surface of the wall, I open the messaging app so I can read her response.
JULIET: I’m already at his place.
As much as I would like to say that Manny’s ex is trustworthy, she’s not.
There are several brothers there with her, hiding around the perimeter.
This is a recon mission. She’s not just there to wait for him, although she is going to be waiting for him.
She’s also there to see what he is hiding in his place.
I’m not going to just kill him.
I’m going to kill him and ruin his entire reputation at the same time.
Because fuck Manny Garcia and whatever bullshit he rode in on.
LET ME KNOW.
JULIET: Will do.
I shove my phone back in my pocket before I make my way toward the back dressing room. As much as I want to go inside and check on Millie, I decide against it. Instead, I continue down the hall and toward the office.
Without knocking, I walk into Bennet’s office and sink down in the chair across from his desk. I watch as he lifts his gaze and his eyes widen at the sight of me. Then he instantly breaks into a sweat.
Interesting.
I don’t really have the time to deal with a third crisis at the moment, but here I am, staring it down.
And I have a feeling it’s landing straight in my goddamn lap, so I’ll be dealing with it.
But as I watch Bennet panic, I can’t help but wonder if this might be the easiest one to deal with, so I open the door.
“You good?” I ask.
He wraps his fingers around the back of his neck, and he rubs it, as if to release the tension that seems to have appeared instantaneously. Sliding my tongue across my bottom lip, I wait for his response.
“No,” he confesses, which is not what I thought he’d say.
“No?” I ask. “Wanna talk about it?”
He flicks his gaze to the door, then back to meet mine. “I’m fucked,” he hisses.
“Yeah? How?”
I almost tell him that I can probably help him, but decide against it because I don’t think I want to help him in any way whatsoever. I’m still not convinced he didn’t know that Anna was a piece of shit.
“Lorenzo is going to have me killed,” he hisses.
Well, this is indeed getting interesting.
My eyes widen, and I dip my chin as I wait for him to continue.
He clears his throat as he shifts uncomfortably in his seat.
I know I have at least an hour until Millie’s next show, and I don’t really give a shit about watching anyone else, so I patiently wait.
“I fucked up. I thought I could have it handled before he figured it out, but he’s coming here tonight.”
This must be about money. There’s no way he would be sweating this badly if it weren’t. Because I’m pretty sure Lorenzo would be forgiving about a few things, but he isn’t going to fuck around about his money. And I wouldn’t blame him, because I don’t fuck around about that, either.
“You might as well come out with it,” I say when he doesn’t continue.
Bennet continues to massage the back of his neck, clearing his throat a couple of times, almost as if he’s got something caught there.
But I know it’s just him panicking. If I didn’t have a whole other issue happening back in Thunder Rock on my hands, I would probably find his stress a little humorous.
“With the social media influencer coming… I wanted to keep him coming.”
Oh fuck, he gave Lorenzo’s money to someone else. He didn’t just pocket it. He gave it to some social media influencer. If it were an ad for the club, at least he could have shown a receipt or something. Handing some guy cash isn’t going to cut it. Not in the fucking slightest.
“How much did you give him, and did he deliver what he said he would?”
“He came to me,” Bennet begins. “He came to me and said if I paid him fifty grand, he would ensure I’d make that back and more.”
“Have you not?” I’m a bit confused because this place has been hopping since that influencer has been posting about the club and coming here.
“I would have,” he says. “If he hadn’t demanded fifty grand every single time he came here. I didn’t know it was for every visit. Plus, he gets free drinks for his group and free lap dances.”
The little scammer. I mean, I have to admit his shakedown is impressive. “But why are you still paying him?”
Bennet clears his throat again, whimpering before he speaks. “I signed a contract.”
“For how long?”
“Two years.”
That makes sense as to why he was pushing Heidi and Millie to work for two years. The only thing I can think of doing is sending the contract to Ivy. He’s not here tonight, and he will probably never be on the schedule to be here. But that doesn’t mean I can’t guide him to talk to him.
“When Lorenzo gets here, you let me know. I want to be in on that meet. I think Ivy can probably look at that contract and maybe figure out a loophole. But I don’t want to offer that without Lorenzo being cool with it.”
“You’d do that?” he asks.
He sounds beyond hopeful, and I don’t know if this is enough to save his neck, but maybe it’ll be enough that Lorenzo won’t make him suffer.
He did a stupid fucking thing, especially without consulting Lorenzo before he signed anything that involved his money.
I just don’t see how Bennet is going to survive this.
MILLIE
A knock on the door sends a thrill of desire up my spine. I don’t even have to ask who is on the other side to know it’s Axton. Heidi is just tugging her zipper up the center of her hoodie. She gives me a wink, then walks toward the door.
She must know it’s him, too, because without asking, she tugs the door open, slips past, and then he’s in the dressing room with me. I start to say something, but then look into his eyes and pause.
“What’s wrong?” I demand.
He stops a few feet away from me and doesn’t wrap his arms around me or kiss me.
He doesn’t hug me at all. My heart sinks.
Something is wrong, but I can’t put my finger on it.
The only thing I can think of is that, for whatever reason, he’s now not okay with my dancing.
But I have to do this for two more years, so how can he not be okay with it?
“Axton?” I ask softly.
He lifts his hand and runs his fingers through his hair. “I need you to head back to your place with Heidi. I’ll be home in a bit. I have a meeting here.”
My brows furrow as I press my lips together. I don’t understand why he’s acting so serious about this. It’s scaring me. Taking a step toward him, then another, I close the distance between us, and then I reach out and place my palm in the center of his chest.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
He nods once but doesn’t confirm or deny if he’s okay or not. Instead, he lowers his head, and his lips touch mine. He doesn’t deepen the kiss. He keeps his mouth on mine, and I wait for his tongue to peek out, but it doesn’t.
“I’m okay. There’s just a lot going on, and all I want to do is go home and be inside your sweet pussy,” he rasps against my lips.
My entire body breaks out in goose bumps.
I want that, too.
Reaching between us, I slide my fingers beneath the waistband of his jeans and tug. He grunts, shifting his head back slightly so he can look down into my eyes. Tilting my head back, I look up at him, smiling as I do.
“I’ll be waiting for you, but don’t make me wait too long,” I breathe.
He snorts. “It would never be my intention to make you wait for even a fucking minute, Mill.”
After tugging on the waistband of his jeans a second time, I take a step backward and then sink my teeth into the flesh of my bottom lip.
“Don’t start now.”
Then I release him and walk out of the dressing room without looking back. I hope he’s watching every step I take while thinking about coming back to my place. I don’t stop walking until I reach Heidi and Scar.
“You guys ready to go home?”
They look at one another, but I can’t make out the expression that passes between them. Then they shift their attention to me. I’m sure they want to go somewhere and fuck. I have no doubt they already did it on my couch earlier today, but I didn’t point it out or say anything about it.
I almost wonder if they’d been planning on getting a hotel room tonight, the way they’re both hesitating. Clearing my throat, I decide to put them out of their misery.
“You guys can go to your hotel later,” I say. Heidi’s eyes widen, and Scar chuckles. But I don’t let them respond. Instead, I continue. “Axton is coming home, just a little later.”
“Alright, ladies, let’s get the fuck out of here,” Scar murmurs as he turns and heads out the front door.
We follow behind him, but Heidi wraps her arm around mine and leans into me as we walk. “Do you think I’m making a mistake?”
“You’ll be here for two years. You might as well have some fun,” I say.
She hums. “He’s younger than me.”
“Even better.”
She bursts out laughing, and I follow suit. Once we arrive at the car, we both climb in, Scar having taken the keys. Being an alpha motorcycle badass, he clearly does not want me to drive him anywhere. Not even in my own car.