Page 42 of Vengeance

“Ariel.”

“Mikey.”

“Coco.”

Mack holds a hand up. “The Cobra Wrangler?”

“If you have to ask, you aren’t big enough to ride.”

A smile spreads across Heidi’s face as Patriot and Gunner howl. These girls have sass, and she appreciates it. A lot, actually. It gives her hope she might be able to keep things going with the club after all.

“Okay, so here’s the deal. We’ll get the forms filled out, and you make ten an hour starting. We look and adjust within the first thirty days. If we hit maximum capacity, you get a percentage of the door. All tips are yours, and we have VIP rooms with cameras only for protection and legality purposes. They’re stored on a cloud-based system should they ever need to be retrieved.”

“If we want a copy of those videos... can we have them?” Luster Dust asks.

She chuckles. “I suppose, but remember, if they pay you, and you provide sexual favors, that becomes prostitution. The video can be damning if you get caught.”

“What if we want to give a private dance to our boyfriend or girlfriend, and something happens? Since they aren’t paying us, can we get that video?” Ariel asks.

“We have a waiver to sign by both you and your guest before anything happens. That way, if money is exchanged, both of you are responsible for any legal problems, and the club is off the hook.”

“And you don’t, like, give these videos to the motorcycle club to watch and get off on, right?” Sunshine asks. Her yellow-blonde hair would look hideous on anyone, but it surprisingly works for her. The strange hue complements her skin tone and rainbow-colored makeup.

“Absolutely not,” Heidi says, shaking her head. “The only video that has been taken and watched was one between my husband and I during a bachelorette party. Mine, to be specific. And we’re the only ones who have watched it.”

The blonde nods. “And we can get something in writing that guarantees that?”

“What did Christian do with your tape?” she asks, crossing her arms under her chest. “Did he give it to one of his buddies?”

“He gave it to my boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. He basically made me blow this guy, and then, when I told him I was going to quit, he sent the video to ruin my relationship. My boyfriend was already starting to get jealous after seeing how Christian let the men manhandle us on stage, and Christian knew I wasn’t on the lease to the apartment. He kicked me out, and I had nowhere to go.”

“He basically tried to become a pimp,” The Cobra Wrangler says.

“Jesus,” Heidi mutters. “He was bad when I was there, but he never got to that point.”

“That will never happen,” Patriot says and stands. “For starters, Heidi knows the business and how she wants dancers treated. She’ll lay down the law before she lets anyone feel uncomfortable, let alone do anything they don’t want to.”

Gunner nods his head. “We’re also making sure there will be at least two Drifter men here any night we’re open. If we can’t have club protection, the club will be closed.”

The women all look stunned, and Heidi hopes this means they’re impressed and want to work for her. She adds, “And if we’re closed because of the protection coverage, you still get the hourly rate for your scheduled shift.”

The fact Christian thinks he can do anything he wants to women makes her angry. It’s worse than anything she experienced, and she thought it was bad then. He’s escalating, and he’s making something that should be empowering to women into something dirty and greedy. Making Sunshine get on her knees for one of his friends is bad enough. To then turn around and send it to her significant other is worse.

“Do you want to see our routines?” Mikey asks.

“I’ve seen most of you at the Clam Bake. Well, videos from the Clam Bake. And before you give me those looks, I wanted to see who he got to replace everyone who left.”

“Where do we sign?” Coco asks.

Heidi leads them back to the office, and she feels a weight lifted from her shoulders. The club can finally re-open. She’s not a total failure.

Chapter Thirteen

Black Valley

West

The Black Valley clubhouse is a nice change of pace from sitting outside houses in Griffin’s Beach. He’s done a fair share of protection detail in his life, and while he doesn’t mind it, it’ll be nice to sleep in his own bed tonight.

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