Page 60 of Sawyer

“Gamma,” I say and gently place my wrist through the window.

The beta cocks his head, inhaling deeply. “I could have sworn you were an omega.” He snorts before pulling out solid black bands. “Unbonded females don’t get a band.”

“That’s odd,” I mutter, dropping my wrist.

“No bite, no bond, no band.” He smiles assuredly at me. “Well, for you at least.”

“How many times have you had to say that today?” I rub my wrist, feeling self-conscious, and take a cautious step back.

“Do read the sign.” He smiles before closing the blinds on his little booth and essentially shutting us out.

Bryn stands at the sign, reading it over. Sighing heavily, he glances at us. “No bite means that she’s basically free game in here. Any alpha can buy her a drink, solicit her, or challenge us.”

“What kind of gentleman’s club is this?” I go to push Bryn out of the way to read the sign. We had nothing like this at Haven.

“I wouldn’t worry about that, Lotus,” a smoky voice says, drawing our attention. A short, very short, blonde woman with a curvy, perfect hourglass figure steps up to us barefoot. Her blonde hair falls in waves to her waist, and thick eyeliner gives her an anime appearance. “Come on, I believe you wanted to meet me, and you four are already late.”

“Stefani?” I step forward. I’d never heard of this woman until five minutes ago, and I feel like Tomi wanted to keep it that way.

“The one and only.” She smirks. “Come on now, the show is just about to start.” She pushes through double doors and into a bar lit up with neon red lights. The whole place takes my breath away, and I can’t believe how different it is from Haven.

It’s a mix of old-school theater with modern elements, like black décor, neon red lights, and pristine poles. The bartenders and waitresses walk around wearing uniforms that remind me of an era long ago—black, high-waisted short shorts and red corsets for the women, while the men wear similar colors in suits.

“Right this way,” Stefani says. A black body-con dress accentuates every curve she possesses, and her hips sway as she leads us up to a roped off section on a balcony, where private booths sit. Guiding us to a center one, she pulls the velvet away and gestures for us to take a seat. “Someone will serve drinks shortly.”

Bryn enters first, then Sin, me, and Rumor, who takes up the end, while Stefani takes the other. Awkward tension radiates between the five of us, one that Stefani breaks.

“Once the music starts, the lights and bass will drop. We have exactly half an hour before that occurs. Now” —she laces her fingers together— “my associates have informed me that Tomi and Roger have died in a very unfortunate fire.” The way she arches her brow suggests she doesn’t believe that story, but she also doesn’t appear surprised by it.

“They have.”

“And you, my dear, danced your very last dance only hours before.” There’s amusement on her angular face, but that’s all she allows me to read. Hell, I can’t even tell what designation she is. Her eyes aren’t quite brown. Like mine, they are hazel, which is a rarity.

“I did.” The cash is in my duffle in Rumor’s SUV. “We aren’t here to talk about them. However, I’m surprised Tomi owned two very different clubs.”

“Ah, yes,” she says, leaning back. “Tomi knew that in order to have a thriving business, he needed to appeal to the clientele of any given area. For all his faults, and there were many, he was a suave businessman.”

“I did not know this place existed.”

“We did our best to assure you girls never learned of the other establishment,” she states coolly. “Now, let’s cut to the chase. I know he recorded the girls. They know. Unlike Haven, our girls got a cut of the videos if they chose to allow them.”

“He gave them a choice?”

“I wouldn’t have allowed it otherwise.”

Anger swirls inside of me, and I feel my cheeks get hot. Bryn places a gentle hand on my leg, preventing me from reacting.

Danger lurks here, even more so than at Haven.

“Are any of your girls missing?” Rumor cuts to the chase, an edge in his voice.

“I’ll tell you.” Stefani waves to someone I can’t see. “But first, we drink. I took the liberty of ordering each of you our house special.”

“And what is that?” Sin leans forward as a server places a tray on the table. It isn’t even sticky.

The server hands a shimmering blue cocktail to each of us, smoke bubbling from the top. None of us makes a move to drink it.

“Our house mage—”

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