Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Those idiot prospects couldn’t fuck that up.
His brain got whiplash the second it hit him that he hadn’t actually seen Sapphire strip yet. Every night he sat in these seats when she was working, she only made her rounds and headed into one of the two VIP rooms in the back, once she found someone with enough scratch to pay her fee and tip.
Those particular customers were getting to be few and far between.
Mel had been the catalyst keeping the club a success, despite the Demons ripping the club away from its original owner. Now Saint the Taint didn’t even have a good manager. He had slipped into that position and kept his ol’ lady, Cookie, as his assistant manager. Another joke.
Since all the girls were so damn loyal to Mel and hated the direction the club was taking, most had left. One exception was the hot-as-fuck woman warming his roll of quarters.
He still didn’t understand why she stayed, despite her excuses. Of course, that had him thinking like the cop he was. “Is Saint pushing you to do more than dance back there?”
“Always.”
Jesus Christ. “And do you?”
“Again, while I appreciate your concern, what I do in the VIP rooms isn’t your business.”
“Phire,” escaped him in a growl, surprising him. Why the hell did it annoy the fuck out of him what she did with her customers?
When she started to rise, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back down into his lap.
“Rez…”
“Don’t let him force you to do shit you don’t want to do. Especially shit that’s illegal.”
Engaging in sexual activity for money was still a crime in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, whether behind closed doors or not. Whether both were consenting adults are not. Sexual acts could not be done in exchange for money or anything of value.
Just like it was illegal for T-Bone to pay Sadie in meth so he could sell her body to someone else.
He ground his teeth at the thought of him taking advantage of Sloane’s sister.
Some might argue she did it willingly. But in reality, she only did it to feed her habit, making her a slave to her addiction.
If she wasn’t looking for her next high without having to pay for it, she most likely never would be doing what she was doing and with whom she was doing it with.
Sapphire’s next words pulled him out of his head and back to the discussion at hand. “Look, I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. I also don’t do anything illegal. But more importantly, I don’t owe you any explanations or excuses.”
For fuck’s sake, she was right, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. “You’re right in that you don’t owe me shit, but let me make something clear… You’re Mel’s best friend and one thing you should know—if you haven’t figured it out already—is that we’re one big fucking family. We look out for each other.”
“So, now I’m family by association?”
Why did she sound so damn cynical? “You have Mel’s back. She has yours. So, yeah, whether you like it or not, we all come along with Mel.”
Sapphire’s bright blue eyes softened a touch. “Lucky her.”
“Again, you benefit from that, too.”
She shrugged. “Depends on how I see it. I certainly don’t need men in my life, whether I’m sleeping with them or not, to make decisions for me.”
A muscle popped in his jaw from clenching his teeth. “Why are you being difficult?”
“And why are you stepping where you shouldn’t?” she shot back. “I’ll say this one last time… I appreciate your concern, Rez, it’s sweet and all, but I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for a long damn time and I’m sure I’ll continue doing it a lot longer.”
His concern was hardly sweet. “You don’t need to do it alone.”
“And what are you going to do, step in and get me fired?” she hissed.
Before he could respond, Sapphire was yanked right out of his lap and onto her feet. For fuck’s sake, she had distracted him so much, he missed that asshole biker approaching.
“If he ain’t gonna pay, then stop wastin’ your fuckin’ time. Start workin’ the crowd.”
“What crowd?” Rez glanced around to make a point.
Standing just slightly behind Saint, Sapphire bugged her eyes out at him, pretty much telling Rez without words, “Now you’ve gone and done it.”
Saint jabbed a finger at him. “Unless you’re gonna buy a fuckin’ lap dance, don’t hog the goddamn girls.”
“Ain’t buying one tonight. My ass is broke. Thanks for the company, Sapphire,” he called out as she put distance between Saint and her.
She shook her head, and even though she gave him a wink over her bare shoulder, she most likely was happy to get away from Rez, too. He’d been acting like a controlling dick with someone he had no right to be.