Page 87 of Dare to Dance
His eyes became as big as basketballs.
I removed my hand. “Talk.”
“Maybe I should call Kross’s friend, Dillon. Oh, what did you tell me one time about Dillon.” Ruby pressed her forefinger to her mouth. “Yeah. ‘He’ll fuck me up. Well, it’s not just Dillon, but his crazy brothers.’ That’s what you told me. Not that Kross can’t put you in the hospital.”
Fear slashed Tommy’s ugly features at Ruby’s threat.
I couldn’t help but smirk at Ruby. “Good one.” I’d forgotten that Tommy shit his pants every time he saw Dillon.
“You need to talk to Alex.” Tommy raised his hands. “Honestly, I don’t get involved with Trent except for the fights here.”
Ruby and I backed up as Tommy held onto his cluttered desk.
“Do you know anything about Trent kidnapping my little girl?” Ruby asked.
“I haven’t spoken to Trent in two days,” Tommy said. The serious expression on his face led me to believe he was telling the truth.
Splotchy red marks dotted Ruby’s face and neck. “Were you lying when you and Trent told me that you lost ten thousand dollars because I was late for the fight?”
I noticed when she got nervous, her fair, creamy skin showed the signs.
Tommy scratched his dark head. “No. When you didn’t show that night, Trent and I were furious. But he stood to lose more than me. He’s a greedy bastard. He said you would pay us back no matter if you won or lost.”
Greedy or not, ten thousand dollars was nothing to a man like Trent, who was richer than Donald Trump. Maybe Trent lured Ruby into his deal to have sex with her. Part of me believed that was one of the reasons. I did agree with Tommy, though. Trent gave me the vibe of being quite greedy. What didn’t register in my brain, though, was kidnapping someone for the measly money.People do things all the time that don’t make sense. Greed and power are usually at the crux of people’s actions.Again, I shouldn’t have been questioning any of this since Lacey’s grandfather had kidnapped her until her old man could produce a book that was a map to buried money. Not only that, Trent stood to make more than the ten Gs if I threw my fight.
Ruby let out an exasperated breath.
“Look,” Tommy said, “I’m into petty shit, but not kidnapping. No fucking way.” His tone was serious and firm. “Trent, aside from his greed, he’s got one big fucking ego. His actions are driven by power. He’ll stomp on you until you’re nothing, and he gets what he wants.”
I believed him. Penelope’s old man, Mr. Harris, had been through the wringer when Trent tried to buy his company. I wasn’t certain of all the details, but Mr. Harris’s company went bankrupt because of Trent Baker.
“What’s he making you do?” Tommy asked.
Ruby raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know? You’re his business partner.”
Tommy pressed his lips into a thin line. “Again, I haven’t talked to him.”
“He wants me to throw my fight tonight.” I had come in there with the intent to beat answers out of Tommy. But his meaningful tone and expression led me to believe he wanted to help.
“So he can get his ten Gs and then some,” Tommy said.
“I know Alex works for Trent, but why would she know where Trent was?” Ruby asked.
That revelation was news to me. I was beginning to wonder if all waitresses at Firefly worked for Trent.
Tommy sucked on his cheek. “Mm. If you knew she worked for Trent, then I thought you would know the rest of the story. Alex is in charge of all his girls. She’s responsible for getting them outfitted, giving them pointers, the whole nine yards before they meet with clients.”
My jaw hit the floor.
On the other hand, Ruby didn’t seem too surprised.
“Why does she work here?” I asked. I was missing something. If she worked for Trent, he had to be paying her a decent wage or better money than she was making waitressing at Firefly. Maybe Trent was so power-hungry that he wouldn’t pay Alex enough to support herself. Or maybe he was holding something over her head like he was with Ruby.
“Or live in that dump above the bakery?” Ruby asked.
“I can’t answer that. What I do know is Alex hasn’t shown up for work in two days. I’ve tried her cell phone. All I get is her voicemail. You live with her,” Tommy said to Ruby. “Don’t you know where she is?”
Ruby released a frustrated sigh. “I’ve been staying at Kross’s a lot.”
