Desolate Souls (Forgotten Souls MC, #1) (8 page)

“Twenty per kilo.” His gaze doesn't falter, thinking he’s offering me an unbeatable deal. Twenty thousand definitely includes markup, but knowing where he is getting his supply, his cut isn’t as high as others.

Shaking my head, I rise to my feet. “I can pick it up for ten,” I say, turning to leave. Blaze comes to stand beside me, following my lead on this one.

“Wait!” Hawk calls after me. “If you can get it for that price, what are you doing here?”

“We’re always looking for better options,” I call over my shoulder. The fact is that we can pick up a kilo for four g’s straight from our distributor in Colombia, and turn around and sell it for ten. A six thousand dollar profit is no joking matter, especially when your distributors order a minimum of ten kilos at a time. Multiply that by hundreds of drug lords throughout the country, and The Forgotten Souls are rolling in the dough but we are always up to make more.

“Maybe we can still do business together,” he says, and I know I’ve got him right where I want him.

“What kind of business?” I ask, turning around.

“I’ve got mules. Lots of ‘em. Perhaps you’d be willing to partner with me.”

“The Forgotten Souls aren’t looking for partners,” I say, biting back a smile. “But, we are always interested in opportunities.” I make my way back over to him, Blaze on my heels, and take a seat. “What are you offering?”

“Langley is a small town, but business here is booming. Just in my club alone, I net over six grand a week. Each of my mules brings in an easy ten to fifteen, more when product is good. More pure, more sales.”

“What quantity are we talking about if we did cut a deal?”

He shrugs. “Fifteen kilos a week easy, just in powder. You add some herb, smack or pills into the mix, I can guarantee you one hell of a profit margin. You’ll be making the bucks and so will I.”

Easy as fuckin’ pie
, I think to myself biting back a grin. We continue talking numbers and by the time we are ready to shake on it, he is eating out of my hand. “What if we expand your market? What are we looking at then?”

“Expand? I’m already peddling in a hundred mile radius of my home base.”

“What if we had an additional base to offer? Could you handle that?” The strip club we recently picked up could provide him with an entirely new area and an all-new client basis. If anyone can pull it off, he can.

“I’m listening,” he leans back in his chair, looking at me intently.

“It just so happens that we recently acquired a strip club back home. Nice place, newly renovated.”

He nods his head, raising his brow. “I see where you’re going with this.” He leans forward, tapping his finger to his top lip. “I think we can work something out. How much are we talking?”

“For you, one-twenty. We’ll even allow you to make payments.” Considering The Lusty Lady didn’t cost us a dime, this is just easy money.

“Deal. I've got a guy who runs for me. Bouncer at the club part time. He might be willing to relocate and run it for me.”

“Can he be trusted?”

Again, he nods. “Never had an issue with him. Get more sales from him than anyone else.”

“Good.” He sounds like just the person we need to run the club. “Like I said, club’s already set up. Just needs a new name and staff. Plenty of girls in the area looking for work, so dancers won’t be an issue.”

“I’ll talk to him tonight, but if he agrees he won't be coming alone.”

I’m not keen on bringing too many outsiders into the operation. “No can do.”

“She doesn't run or use, his girl. She’s been headlining at the club. Brings in a lot of business.”

“Alright,” I tell him as I rise to my feet. I have no problem having a new piece of ass in town. “We’ll be in town until tomorrow. Let me know if we can move forward.”

“I’ll be in touch,” he calls after me as we head to the door. I feel confident that all will go according to plan and that we will be doing business in the near future.

S
tepping off stage, a feeling of dread washes over me. I’m surprised I was been able to concentrate at all as I watched Paul and Hawk in a seemingly heated conversation. I have a bad feeling and need to find out why.

I rush towards the dressing room and quickly throw on a pair of jeans and a sweater before heading towards the front. As I round the corner, I see Paul smiling broadly at Hawk, shaking his hand.

Slowly, I make my way over to them, wondering what I am missing. When Paul sees me approach, his smile broadens. “We’ll go over the details some more tomorrow,” Hawk tells him before walking past me, nodding as he goes.

“What was that all about?” I ask, trying not to smile. Seeing Paul this happy is contagious and I want to share in his good news.

“You ready to head out?” he asks, not revealing anything.

“Sure,” I say, looking at him speculatively. Something has happened and whatever it is, he is ecstatic about it.

Taking my hand in his, he leads me from the club and out onto the street. We walk in silence until we reach the apartment. Opening the door, he ushers me inside, still not letting on as to what is going on but I'm finding myself excited just the same.

Taking a seat on the couch beside him, I look over at him expectantly. “Well? Are you gonna spill the beans or keep me in the dark?”

“What would you say if I told you that our troubles are over?”

“I’d tell you you’re full of shit. Seriously, what’s going on?” I press.

“Hawk is looking at expanding his business. He’s opening a new club in Cedar Falls and wants me to run the place.” My heart sinks at his words. If what he’s saying is true, then that means he is leaving Langley. Leaving me.

Taking a deep breath, I force myself not to cry. “That’s great news,” I tell him, plastering a smile on my face. “How soon is he planning on opening it?”

“Everything is in place already. He just needs a manager and staff. Hawk said the club just closed and it’s still in good shape.” He is beaming, excited at the prospect of not only having a job, but running a club on his own.

I know I can’t hide my emotion for long, so I do the most logical thing, burying my head in his chest. “I’m so happy for you,” I say, meaning every word, but at the same time hating the fact that I am losing him.

“This is the opportunity we’ve been waiting for, Lana. Hawk offered me a hefty salary to run the place, plus I’ll still get commission on everything I sell. There’ll be no more worrying about paying the bills, no more ramen noodles, and best of all, no more private rooms.” I lift my head, looking up at him with confusion. “You didn't think I’d leave you behind, did you?” he asks, smiling at me.

“I thought...” I don't finish my sentence because I know what he’ll say if I do. “You want me to go with you?”

He laughs, pulling me close to him. “Not only do I want you to come with me, that would’ve been the deal breaker and Hawk knows it.” My heart swells at his words. “You don't give yourself enough credit. I would be just as lost without you as you would be without me. Like you said, we’re a team.”

He presses his lips to the top of my head as tears stream down my face. My fears were for nothing. He’s not leaving me.

“Hawk wants you to headline at the new club. That’s completely up to you. We’ll probably need your income for a while until the club takes off, but when things kick in, you can find something else or go to school. Hell, you can stay home and sleep all day if you want, just as long as you go with me. Will you?”

I raise my tear filled eyes to meet his, so many emotions rushing through me. Nodding my head, I answer him. “Yes.”

His lips crash onto mine as he pulls me astride him. As his hands reach for the hem of my sweater and his warm fingertips grip my hips, his tongue pushes at the seam of my lips, begging for entrance. Slowly, his tongue enters my mouth, tasting me with such gentleness before passion takes hold and he begins devouring me.

He rises to his feet, holding onto me tightly as I wrap my legs around his waist. His lips still on mine, he walks us to the bedroom and only then does he break our kiss. Lowering me to my feet, he pulls the sweater over my head and tosses it to the floor before gripping my jeans and tugging them off.

Reaching around, I unclasp my bra, letting it fall gently to the floor. Tossing me to the bed, he pulls my thong down and buries his face between my legs, his tongue working me into a frenzy quickly. Paul takes oral sex to a new level, capable of bringing me to multiple orgasms even before penetrating me.

I moan loudly as he sucks my hardened nub into his mouth and bites down on it gently. “Make me come hard,” I plead with him, raising my hips. He obliges, manipulating my clit just the right way that sends me spiraling. I scream out his name as my orgasm takes hold, gripping his hair and pulling him tighter to me.

––––––––

Three Weeks Later

––––––––

“W
ell, what do you think?” I look around the empty strip club, taking everything in. The furniture looks a little outdated but this
is
a strip club. Overall it’s a nice place, better than I had expected. The shiny black floor onstage has me mesmerized, the metallic flecks catching my eye.

I look over at Paul and smile. “It’s better than I thought it would be,” I admit. I was expecting the place to be in shambles but in fact it looks relatively new and I can’t help but wonder why it closed.

“We open for business in exactly one week,” he says, his voice filled with excitement. “Can you believe this? One week and I’ll be running this place.”

Shaking my head, I roll my eyes at him but can’t help but smile. This is definitely better than The Lap Room by far. I’m not sure if the clientele will be any better, but at least the atmosphere is. “Please tell me he’s not keeping the name,” I say, remembering the god awful sign out front. Who names a fuckin’ strip club The Lusty Lady?

“The name goes,” he chuckles. “The new sign is supposed to be delivered tomorrow. Body Shots.”

I nod my head. That isn’t too bad, I think to myself.

I spend the next hour familiarizing myself with the layout of the place. The dressing room in back is ten times larger than the one in Langley. There are mirrors lining the far wall in the room, surrounded by bright light bulbs. It reminds me of something you’d see on a set in Hollywood instead of a strip club. It took me months to get Hawk to splurge on one of those tiny vanity mirrors for my old dressing room that looked more like a broom closet in comparison.

The bar is horseshoe shaped and sits at the back of the club, in line with the stage. There are so many stage lights, it reminds me of something you’d see at a concert. Even the restrooms are huge. The booths within the club are all high backs and circular, reminding me of images I've seen in magazines of Vegas shows. But it is the stage that has me convinced moving here was a good choice. This is where I will spend the majority of my time while within these four walls.

Not only is the floor polished to a high shine, the pole is sturdy. No more worrying about the pole collapsing on me in mid act. Obviously, this place wasn't just thrown together. The amount of room on stage is absurd. There is enough room for three or four dancers at once.

“Enjoying yourself?” a voice calls from behind me.

Turning around, my eyes land on one of the most gorgeous men I’ve ever laid eyes on. He’s tall, maybe six three, and has a beautiful shade of sandy blonde hair that is a little long, but suits him. His arms are complete sleeves of tattoos and rock solid. He looks like he’s spent his entire life working out and it has definitely paid off. My eyes land on his leather clad chest, even though covered, it is obviously well developed and I can imagine the six pack he has hidden underneath the fabric. But it is his eyes that draw me in. Crystal blue, reminding me of pictures of the oceans in Bermuda.

“I was just checking the place out,” I say, tearing my eyes from him.

“You wantin’ to be one of the new girl’s?” he asks, checking me out. Thinking I was going to be doing nothing but cleaning today, I had chosen a pair of my old shorts and a ratty tank top to wear. I look like a bum, especially with my hair thrown on top of my head.