CRASH (A Logan Brothers Novel) (10 page)

My curiosity got the better of
me as I passed by, the bathroom just over to my right. I stopped
briefly, lightening my footfall and listening closely. It sounded
like Alice, heightening my interest.

“
I just don't want to be here
any more,” she said, trying to keep her voice down. “Can we just
go Kyle, it's creeping me out.”

“
No one knows you baby. Can't
you just relax and have a good time?”

“
But what if the concierge is
up there, at the front desk. What if he sees me, recognizes me?”
Her words were slightly frantic, no doubt made worse by booze.

“
He's not here any more Alice,
he probably doesn't even work here. Did you see him on the way in?”

“
No, but..”

“
Well then what's the
problem?”

“
He might be working late or
something, I don't fucking know. Why are you being such a dick about
this. You told me yourself not to come here, remember?”

“
Yes, but that was ages ago.
The dust has settled now, nothing's gonna happen to you, to us. What
was I gonna tell my brothers? That I can't come to their birthday. I
had no control over where they planned to host it.”

“
Yeah well I didn't need to
come. I shouldn't have agreed.” Her tone was hardening.

“
OK, lets just give it another
hour. We'll go back in, hang with my brothers, have a drink, and
relax. I swear we'll leave in an hour and then you'll never have to
come back here again. Deal?”

I slowly crept towards the
bathroom as a brief silence fell inside the room. Then I heard Alice
mumble her agreement as I quickly slinked into the bathroom and shut
the door behind me, making sure to close it without a sound.

My breath poured out of me as I
heard Alice and Kyle open the door outside and walk back off down the
corridor.

The mystery of that girl
deepens further.

Crash

The light spilled into the room,
burning through my eyelids and waking me up in a flash.

“
What the hell Mel, I told you
not to open the fucking curtains so early.”

“
Sorry babe, but it helps wake
me up.”

Mel was a 'comfort girl' as I
called her. Not a prostitute. No, I would never pay for it. She was
just a girl I knew. A girl who helped satisfy my needs when I needed
them taken care of.

I rolled over and covered my
eyes up with the pillow. How this girl survived on only a couple of
hours of sleep was beyond me.

My memory swilled with images
from the previous night. I looked over to see my tux hanging loose on
a chair.
Zack and Cade's party, what a fucking drag.

I had no mind for such formal
events right now. No time for them. No interest in them. The thought
of spending hour upon hour chit chatting about nothing of importance
was beneath me. Now I was swimming with the sharks.

I'd seen Elle there, sitting
alone across the room. Poor girl looked like a tree in the middle of
an open field, totally secluded and out of place.

I went over to her and asked if
she wanted to leave. Kill two birds with one stone: save the poor
girl and save myself.

I took her upstairs into the
hotel bar. It was quiet there, only a couple of late night guests
lingering around, nursing whiskey and their troubles. We fitted in
perfectly.

She began to come out of her
shell as we spoke. I guess she wasn't overly comfortable in large
group situations. She was young, only about 20, so that sort of thing
might be intimidating.

She was sweet though, innocent
and untouched. She might have been a virgin for all I knew. It wasn't
just the way she looked: cute blonde hair, big blue eyes, button
nose. It was the way she looked at me, her eyes glancing at me when
she thought I couldn't see, this coy expression on her face when I
said she looked pretty.

It appealed to me in a way I
didn't expect. I'd lived my entire life fast and loose and liked my
women just the same. But I was 27 now and had never had a proper
relationship, never felt anything more than lust towards a girl. Kyle
had been the same as me and now look at him. He was thinking of
giving up everything for a girl. It was a feeling I couldn't compute
in my head.

When I asked her about her
previous relationships, her eyes flashed in a way that told me she
had a serious history with someone. I don't know why, but a tinge of
jealousy struck at my core.

She avoided the question,
though, and turned the spotlight straight back onto me.

I gave the sort of answer that I
always would when a girl asked me that sort of question. “Never
found the right girl. Been really busy with work recently.”

It wasn't much of an explanation
to explain over 10 years without a girlfriend. But then again, maybe
it was the truth. I didn't care to give it much thought. It was
easier that way.

I didn't stay too long with her.
If I did, she'd probably see the real me behind my facade. I saw her
off in a cab back to her dorm at about 2 AM. Weird to think that was
only 4 hours ago now.

She'd given me this look of
thanks when we said goodbye and kissed my cheek. I enjoyed the touch
of her lips. They were soft and warm, her touch as light as she was.

I told the cab driver to get her
home safe. There was a menace to my words. I didn't trust anyone,
that was my problem. His eyes told me that he knew who I was.

She'd be safe then.

One she'd left I hailed my own
cab and made a call, reverting to type. I arrived at Mel's place 20
minutes later and she saw to my needs. Now she was my normal type of
girl. Easy, experienced, hot as fucking hell.

She had this jetblack hair set
against her tanned skin, a set of fake tips making her slightly top
heavy. The surgeon had done a fucking good job - they didn't look
fake at all.

She curve of her ass as she bent
down in front of me was enough to make a man weep. The feel of it
when I slapped it with my hand gave me that feeling of power I'd
always craved. Power over women. Power in business. Now I had power
over my family.

For some reason though. For some
fucked up, deranged reason, this shy little girl from California held
a power over me.

A modicum of power, this tiny
strand of power, but power nonetheless.

Elle

It was a Wednesday evening when
I sat up against the wall of the dance studio, looking at my
reflection in the mirror covering the opposite wall.

Lexi sat beside me, her hair
slick with sweat, darkened by it. We looked like sisters, two little
Aryan girls sat side by side.

Only she was prettier, and a
better dancer. The girl was as graceful as a swan, and just as
flexible.

We sat there now, panting as the
other girls in the class disappeared out of the door. Our instructor,
Claire, lingered for a moment in the corner before setting off as
well.

“
You will remember to lock up
won't you Lexi? I'll leave the keys in the lock for you. Just drop
them through my office letterbox when you're done.”

Lexi had been a student here for
a while, so was entitled to these little perks and privileges. This
one simply meant she could keep on training and dancing in the studio
for as long as she wished on Wednesday evenings.

I'd learned that Wednesday was
her only night off, so we often went for a drink after to catch up.
She might well have been the nicest girl I'd ever met. Everything I
said was greeted with genuine interest. Not feigned or overdone, just
completely real and sincere. She was so smiley and laughy, with one
of the cutest giggles I'd ever seen. I was frankly amazed that she
was single,

“
I don't really have time for
a boyfriend,” was her answer. “What with my classes and my job in
the evening, you know. Anyway, I'm not sure many guys would be happy
about my job.”

It was something that she never
really spoke about. She told me she just worked in a club. I assumed
that she meant behind the bar or in the cloakroom or something. I
wasn't one to probe in general, but had to ask.

“
Why would a guy have a
problem with your job though? Aren't you a waitress or barmaid or
something?”

She screwed up her face a
little. “Not exactly. I used to work behind the bar, now I work in
front of it.” She was suddenly a little abashed, her words less
bouncy and jovial.

“
What do you mean?”

She paused. “I don't know
Elle, its probably not something you wanna hear about.”

“
Oh come on, you can't leave
me hanging like that Lexi!”

“
You'll probably disown me
when I tell you.”

I said nothing but just stared
at her with open eyes, nodding my head a fraction to coax the truth
from her lips.

She took a deep breath. “I'm a
stripper, OK Elle, an exotic dancer.”

My head flew back, shortening my
neck as my eyebrows shot up in a look of genuine surprise.

“
A stripper! No way!”

She nodded coyly.

“
Shit, whoa, I mean seriously?
A stripper? Are you pulling my leg or something? Is this a wind up?”
I was laughing. I don't know if it was awkwardly or nervously or
whatever.

Her tone remained drier than the
Sahara. “Nope, God's honest truth.”

I sat back, my mouth open a
little bit. I'm sure it wasn't the sort of reaction she wanted. But
then, it was probably what she expected. I guess that's why she
hadn't told me before.

“
I never, ever in a million
years would have pegged you for that. Seriously, a stripper?!”

“
YES! I knew I shouldn't have
told you. I knew you wouldn't get it.”

“
Hey now, how do you expect me
to react?! It's just so not you Lexi.”

“
Well, to be fair Elle, you
don't really know me that well.” Her words were a little biting, a
little frosty. What did I expect? I was literally laughing in her
face about her job.

Not cool Elle.

“
I know, look, I'm sorry babe.
I shouldn't have reacted like that. So is it like stage dancing in a
club?”

Gosh this conversation was going
to be totally out of my comfort zone.

“
Sometimes. Sometimes it's
private dancing.”

“
And do you, you know....go
nude?”

She nodded, her face still more
disgruntled than I'd ever seen it. I guess that was understandable.

A short silence cascaded down
onto us, an awkwardness hanging in the air.
Maybe I should never
have asked. Can I go back in time? Where's the Time Traveller and his
machine?!

“
So where is the club?” I
asked finally, breaking this painfully awkward silence.

“
It's on Pine Street, you
probably won't know it. Not much down there really.”

I was careful with my words. I
didn't want to annoy her any more or make her feel ashamed or
embarrassed in any way. I had no place to do that. Lexi was a great
girl, and a great friend. I had no idea why she did it, but she must
have had a damn fine reason.

“
So, how did you get into
that?” I asked, ensuring my tone was light and not interrogatory in
any way.

“
Well, I know this is gonna
sound funny, but I actually wanted to do it. Seriously. I love
dancing, and it's just another style I enjoy. I really don't mind
getting my kit off, never have.”

“
But those guys ogling you.
Isn't that a bit, I dunno, creepy?”

“
That's a frame of mind. I
find it sexy. The power I have over them, it appeals to me. And,
well, this place doesn't come cheap, so the money really helps!”
Her tone was lightening up again, a cheeky grin spreading over her
face.

“
And anyway,” she continued,
“it's not like an open strip club where anyone can come down. Any
potential client is carefully vetted, so it's all safe and secure.
Seriously, any place owned by the Logans is always well organized and
safe.”

No way. The Logans! The name
shot into my head like a bullet.

“
What's than name again?” I
asked, trying to keep a lid on my shock.

“
The Logans. A guy called Kyle
Logan runs it. It was owned by his dad, Charles, but he was killed
not long ago. I guess maybe Kyle owns it now.”

Holy shit! Alice's boyfriend
runs a fucking strip club!

I couldn't contain my amazement
at it, my face flying wide open. “So weird. Such a small world! So
Alice's boyfriend runs a strip club?!”

Alice. It just came to me. She'd
told me a while ago that she met Lexi through work. And she was
seeing Lexi's boss.

NO WAY! That's how they met!
She was a stripper too!

“
Hang on,” I said quickly,
the realization hitting me like a sledgehammer. “Answer me this.
Truthfully. Is Alice a stripper as well? Is that how she and Kyle
met, at the club?”