Page 50 of Breaking the Rules
Petra’s eyes were as wide as the lipstick stained mouths of the martini glasses scattered on the table behind her. “Sure. Just let me—”
Waverly wasn’t sure if she or Petra was more surprised when Petra took off running. She dodged behind a booth and shoved through an Employees Only door.
Waverly, with two guards hot on her heels, sprinted to the door. She slipped through and slammed it behind her and thanked her lucky stars that there was a deadbolt on the door. She threw it just as the first guard gripped the handle. She was running down the short hallway after Petra by the time someone put their shoulder into the door. Hopefully the bolt would hold, she prayed. Petra dashed down a rickety set of stairs, and Waverly followed her, regretting her choice of footwear with the delicately heeled boots. Petra, on the other hand moved like a sprinter in sneakers.The girl must have been born in stilettos.
“Petra, wait!” Waverly called out. But Petra was turning a corner at the foot of the stairs.
Waverly followed and found herself in the club’s greasy kitchen. If the staff was confused by two well-dressed women sprinting through the prep area, they didn’t show it. When Petra pushed through the side door in the kitchen, Waverly poured on the speed—feet be damned—and caught her on the sidewalk off the side street that ran parallel to the length of the club’s squat brick building. To the left, Waverly could see the flashing neon of the club’s signage reflected in the glass of the building across the road.
“Please don’t hate me!” Petra cried out as Waverly held her by the forearm. “I feel so guilty already! I wanted to call you and tell you, but my father wouldn’t let me. He thinks you’re trouble.”
“Petra, what are you talking about?” Waverly demanded, loosening her hold and praying the woman stayed put.
“Dante. I feel terrible about Dante, and I know you’re mad at me, and I’m just the worst person in the universe. I mean, you saved my life, and look what I go and do.”
“What did you go and do?” Waverly asked, fear icing her belly. “He’s alive, isn’t he?”
Petra frowned. “You don’t know?”
“Know what?” Waverly squashed her urge to take Petra by the shoulders and shake the answers out of her.
A compact car with rust around the fenders pulled up with a squeal of poorly maintained brakes. The passenger side window rolled down with a squeak.
A skinny guy with thick glasses leaned over from the driver’s seat. “Uh, hi. This is my first time doing this. It really wasn’t my idea. It was kind of a dare. My cousin bet me a hundred bucks that I wouldn’t get laid by the time I turned twenty-two, and well, my birthday is tomorrow. So, I don’t know how this works…”
Waverly blinked.
Petra frowned. “Does he think we’re—”
“Prostitutes.”
Petra put her hands on her hips. “Excuse me, that’s just offensive. Do you think a prostitute can afford this outfit?” She gestured at her Valentino dress and Manolo Blahniks.
“Uh, maybe a good one can?” the guy ventured. “Are you a good one?” he asked.
“No wonder they call this place La La Land,” Petra huffed.
The squeal of tires caught Waverly’s attention. Two black SUVs careened around the corner from the front of the club. They came to an abrupt stop, and with the engines still running, doors flew open.
“Are these your guards?” Waverly asked, already knowing the answer.
Petra was shaking her head when the first man jumped out and started toward them. He made no bones about flashing the gun he had in his hand.
“Shit.” Four more men dressed in head-to-toe black got out and started down the sidewalk toward them.
“Petra, get in the car,” Waverly whispered.
“Okay, but I’m not having sex with him.”
“Just get in the car!”
Waverly yanked the passenger door open and shoved her inside. “You are not having sex with this woman. You’re taking her home. Petra, I’ll talk to you soon.”
The goon squad was closing in at a run. “Go! Before someone gets shot.”
The little car peeled away from the sidewalk.
One of the men raced back to the first SUV and jumped in, squealing after them. Waverly grabbed her cell and dialed Burke.
