Page 67 of Jackal

“Fun,” I said when I walked in. Blue was apparently getting serviced by one of the ladies when we decided to drop in.

“Sorry for the intrusion, miss,” Hawk said, pulling some cash from his wallet. “For your troubles.”

The bleach-blonde wiped the side of her mouth. “Maybe you can come trouble me when you’re done,” she said as her eyes raked over Hawk.

He smiled and stepped out of her way. Once the woman was gone, Hawk took a seat across from Blue. “Mixing business with pleasure, I see.”

“Hey, it’s nice to be the boss,” Blue said. His beady eyes were like a rat staring back at Hawk. His dark hair was slicked back and his cheeks were still ruddy from his visitor.

“Last time I checked, that’s sexual harassment,” I said from the door.

Blue cackled, but when he realized Hawk wasn’t laughing with him, he stopped. “I mean, you know how it is.”

“Can’t say that we have to force employees to fuck us. Maybe it’s the leather.”

Blue’s face went red, but he had the sense to not snap back at Hawk. Instead, he cleared his throat and asked, “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Who you working with?” Hawk asked.

“I don’t work with anyone. This is my club,” Blue said, his brow furrowed.

“Couldn’t help but notice some new faces. Turnover is a bitch, am I right?” Hawk asked.

“Can’t fucking keep girls here. If I don’t hire those bitches, I’d be out of a job.”

“So, the women willing to come work for you are bitches? No wonder you gotta force ‘em to suck your cock,” I said. I hadn’t had many interactions with this guy, but I’d met him. I always knew he was a snake, but I was struggling to not rock his shit.

“What’s this about, Hawk? I’m just trying to keep my head above water, man. I don’t come to your business and start trouble.”

“If we were starting trouble, you’d know,” Hawk said. “But I’m trying to find out who this trafficking ring is. Have your regular ladies gone missing?”

“Nope. I mean, maybe. But they all cluck like chickens. The rumor mill was spouting that they all just started quitting.”

“Any idea where they’d be going? Women like that don’t exactly look for office jobs.”

Blue scoffed. “Ask them and they’re all putting themselves through college.”

Hawk was doing business, but if I ever got the chance, I’d love to take a round with this guy.

“I just assumed they went to a different club, or found some sugar daddy to take care of them.”

“You know anything about a madame in the area?”

Blue leaned back, blowing out a deep breath. “I’m sure there are some, but I haven’t heard anything for a while. Mostly pimps around these parts, you know?”

There were a lot of pimps in this area. Some weren’t complete assholes, others were. Either way, they wouldn’t be above selling off women. Still, women that worked in the mid-to-nicer clubs wouldn’t go work for men like that. Not unless they got desperate. And if they were scared to dance, they wouldn’t work the streets, knowing women were going missing.

Hawk tapped the arm of the chair he was sitting in. “True. Any other clubs been in here hanging out, or asking to partner up?”

“Like motorcycle clubs? No. And like I said, I work alone.”

Hawk nodded. “Let’s hope you’re telling the truth, Blue.” Hawk stood up. “If you get any visitors like that, you be sure to let me know immediately.”

“Got a little competition?” Blue asked.

There was a flash as Hawk jumped over the desk and slammed Blue’s face to the desk. The gun was still in my hand, but I threw my elbow to the nose of the guy from the hall and, with a pop, blood spurted out.

Falcon was wailing on the other guy, while Rooster shoved my guy to the floor as I trained my gun on him. Eagle had his gun aimed at Blue, still smashed against the papers on his messy desk.

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