Authors: Tamara Larson
“Like who?” Theresa asked.
“Your grandmother, for one.”
Theresa ducked under his arm and made a mad dash down the short hallway to the dressing room.
Duncan
was on her in a second, trying to hold her in a way that would prevent her from hurting herself or him. She fought: kicking and cursing and scratching. Her nails raked his neck before he could get hold of her right hand and he swore under his breath.
“I’m not going back to that bitch,” she screeched when she realized she wasn’t getting loose of the iron grip
Duncan
had on her. “I’ll just run away again. You can’t make me live with her.”
“Theresa, is this really better? Stripping?”
Duncan
asked, quietly and calmly, even though he felt very uncomfortable holding his almost naked sister against his chest.
“Diego says it’s just a stepping stone to better things.” Theresa said defensively. “Besides, it sure as hell beats begging, or living in that mausoleum with that controlling witch.” She gave another fierce wiggle and attempted to grind her heel into his instep.
Duncan
lifted her easily of the ground. She couldn’t weigh much more than a hundred pounds. Probably less. She gave a frustrated grunt and finally quit moving.
Duncan
had to admire her spirit. “If I let you go, do you promise not to run?”
Duncan
looked down at her fluffy blonde head and felt a rush of tenderness toward her. “Maybe we can talk about this.”
“Yeah, alright,” she said grudgingly.
Duncan
eased her back down to the floor and let her go. He also took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders, having a brief flashback to the evening before with Jessie.
“Who are you exactly? How do you know Grandmother?” Theresa asked, looking up at him mistrustfully.
“She raised me.” He said simply.
“You’re
Duncan
, aren’t you?” Theresa asked excitedly. “I should have known. You’ve got grandmother’s eyes.”
Duncan himself had never realized this. He always thought of Evelyn’s eyes as being cold and remote. His eyes weren’t like that, were they? “Yeah, I’m
Duncan
. Your half-brother. Now, what are we going to do about this?” He held out his arms to indicate the club.
Theresa looked up at him slyly. “I don’t suppose we could pretend this was all a big misunderstanding. You could go out there and tell Percy you made a mistake, and I could get ready for the next show.”
“Nice try, but I don’t think so. You don’t actually want to stay here, do you?”
“What choice do I have?” She asked, looking up at him beseechingly. “I don’t have any skills, I can’t even get a crappy job because my social insurance number is traceable. Not to mention the fact that I can’t even use the papers Diego had made for me. He keeps them under lock and key.”
“What would you do if you did have a choice?”
Theresa looked confused, like she’d never even considered the possibility of things working out in her favor. “Well, in two months I’ll be eighteen and able to claim my trust fund. I was just hoping to hang on until then. Once I have my own money, and I’m of age, that woman can’t control me anymore. I’ll be free.” Her eyes lit up as she said these last words. “I was thinking about going to school. Taking theatre maybe. I don’t know.” She shrugged her shoulders and the jacket almost fell to the ground. She caught it and shoved her arms into the sleeves, smiling when the empty cuffs flapped over her fingers.
Duncan
took a deep breath. He had no idea what to do. He couldn’t send her back to Evelyn. Obviously things were too volatile between these two strong-willed women to expect Theresa to quietly return to the old woman’s care. For a second, he thought about putting her in foster care, but he knew what happened to kids there. Occasionally it worked out, but sometimes it was a nightmare. Besides, how could he justify adding her to an already overtaxed foster care system when he was here? Not to mention the fact that his grandmother would never forgive him.
His conversation with Jessie that morning came back to him. She was right. The only real option was taking Theresa on himself. Could he play the caring big brother for two months? Make sure she didn’t return to this life. Didn’t steal him blind or get into even worse trouble. If he could get her admitted to one of
Vancouver
’s universities in another month and a half she might actually have a chance. How could he turn his back on her and look himself in the mirror exactly? Provided she would actually go home with him that is.
“What if I offered to let you come stay with me for a while? Until we can figure out something else.”
Theresa looked at him suspiciously. “Why would you do that?”
“Look, I’m a cop. I’m also your brother. Not some sleazebag off the street.”
“Well, you are in a strip club.” Theresa said, making it sound like he had standing reservations in pervert’s row.
“To find you,” he said, trying to be patient.
“How do I know you’re not some creep? I watch TV. Being related is no obstacle for some people.”
“You’re going to have to trust me. What’s your alternative exactly?”
Theresa’s face fell and she looked very much like a little girl being punished for some imagined infraction. “I’ve done alright,” she said defiantly. “It hasn’t exactly been a trip to
Disneyland
, but at least no one tells me what to do anymore.”
“What about Diego?”
“He doesn’t really tell me what to do. He just makes suggestions.”
“So, he suggested stripping?”
“Yeah, that was his idea. But how else was I going to pay him back? He found me begging outside a donut shop in
Calgary
and told me he could see a big career here for me here. He gave me bus fare and a room to stay in. He even bought me some clothes.”
“What else has he suggested?”
Duncan
tried to keep his voice even. If she knew how tempted he was to go out there and pummel her ‘manager’ she wouldn’t say another word.
“Well, there’s a VIP section of the club where girls give lap dances and stuff. They don’t have to do it. It’s their choice. Apparently the tips are great. Diego’s been trying to make me do that, but I haven’t been able to get up the nerve. It’s one thing to stand up on stage in a bikini, it’s another to stick your butt in some hairy, sweaty guy’s face.” Theresa gave him a disgusted look.
Duncan
dreaded her answer to his next question, but he had to know how much hold Diego had on his sister. He hoped, at least for Theresa’s sake, that there was some validity to the rumors that Diego preferred girls even younger than her. “Is there anything going on between you and Diego? I mean, besides your professional relationship.”
“Gross. He’s like thirty,” Theresa laughed and made a retching sound.
Duncan
tried not to look insulted. “How about drugs? Has he given you drugs?”
Duncan
prayed that Diego hadn’t gotten her hooked. He’d tried to see if she had track marks on her arms when she was on stage earlier, but the dim lighting had made it virtually impossible to tell.
Theresa’s expression became guarded. “What do you mean?”
“I mean; has he tried to give you cocaine or heroine? Ex maybe?”
“NO! Of course not. Well, not really. I never took any of it. At least none of the hard stuff. Some of the other girls he invited over did.” Theresa seemed to realize she was talking to a cop. “Listen, I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. You’re not going to arrest them, are you?” She looked genuinely worried.
Duncan
fought the urge to laugh at her naiveté. Was it possible that she hadn’t suspected that Diego was a pimp in sheep’s clothing? “No, I’m not going to arrest anyone for doing drugs. I’m concerned with you right now. Are you sure there isn’t anything you want to tell me about this Diego character? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“No, not really. He scared me sometimes, but I didn’t have anywhere else to go. He doesn’t like it when I ask him too many questions.”
“But he never touched you?”
“No, sometimes I thought he was going to, but he never did. Mostly he just watched me. It was kind of creepy.”
“Do you have anything at Diego’s? Anything important?”
“Nah, just some clothes. I travel light. Everything I need is in my bag.” She gestured toward the dressing room.
“Is there a back exit?” He didn’t trust himself in a confrontation with Diego. Besides being tired and frustrated, he really wanted to destroy this man that preyed on young girls.
Duncan
couldn’t imagine anything more disgusting than taking an innocent and using their trust to exploit them. He would track Diego down later when he was more in control.
“Yeah, where the dancers come in. Are we leaving? Shouldn’t I say something to my boss? And Diego?”
“Your boss knows the situation and won’t have you back anyway. I’ve already threatened to revoke his liquor license over this. And your relationship with Diego is over, as of now.”
Duncan
wrapped a big hand around the wrist of his jacket and attempted to pull her toward the dressing room.
Theresa put on the breaks and slipped her arm out of the jacket, effectively escaping his grasp. “Hey. Wait just a second here. I never said I was going with you. And besides, you can’t go in there. The girls are changing. How about respecting their privacy?”
“They’re strippers,” he said in exasperation.
“So? Are they non-people because they take their clothes off for a living?” Theresa put her hands on her slight hips. “I don’t think this is going to work. Obviously you have respect issues.”
“I have respect issues?”
Duncan
stuck a thumb in his chest. “You don’t even know me.”
“Exactly my point. How do I know you’re not going to tromp all over my rights, just like Grandmother? From what I’ve seen, you’re just as bossy as she is.”
Duncan
gritted his teeth to prevent himself from yelling. “I’m not like that woman.”
“Could've fooled me,” Theresa said, shrugging back into his jacket.
Duncan
fought the urge to just pick her up and ignore her protests. He’d been fighting that particular impulse a lot lately. He really wished he’d planned this better. “Listen,” he said quietly. “I want to help you. I know it’s been tough, but it doesn’t have to be. I’ve got a spare room and a nice, safe place for you to stay. I can’t promise that I won’t mess up because I have no idea how to do this. I’ve never been responsible for anyone before, except my dog. I will probably drive you completely crazy at times, but I want to try. Give it a chance. It might actually work out.” He put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.
“What's your wife going to think of this arrangement?” Theresa asked, wavering slightly.
“My wife has been in Europe for the past three and a half years, so I don’t think it will effect her much,”
Duncan
’s said coldly.
Theresa looked contrite for a second, but then her tough veneer slid back into place. “Well, we can try it, but you have to promise not to try and control me.”
“I’m sorry.”
Duncan
shrugged. “I can’t promise that. If you’re doing something that I think might harm you, I’m going to say something.”
“Okay, but when I tell you to back off, you’ll listen right? You won’t go behind my back and try to fix everything?”
“Sounds like Evelyn really did a number on you. But yeah, I’ll try.”
Suddenly animated, Theresa said, “Well, what are we waiting for, Roomy? Let’s go.” She opened the dressing room door and stuck her head in. “Everybody decent? Good, because my brother is coming through.” She held the door open for him and smiled widely. “C’mon Bro. I want to check out my new digs.”
Chapter
15
Jessie felt like a complete zombie. She yawned noisily as she unlocked the glossy door to Forgotten Treasures the next morning and shuffled into the store. She closed the door behind her and flipped on the pink neon “open” sign. It was a perfectly sunny July day, but Jessie didn’t feel particularly cheered by the bright light filtering through the stained glass window over the door. In fact, she wished she could go back to her nice quiet apartment and take comfort in several pints of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream.
She was still reeling from the fact that
Duncan
had disappeared from the Kitty-Kat Club without a word to her. He’d just left her there. He hadn’t said good-bye or anything. He hadn’t called or shown up at her apartment last night either. She wasn’t even important enough to warrant a courtesy phone call.
In a way, it was a relief. At least she knew where she stood now. Any delusions she’d had about building a real relationship with
Duncan
were crushed. It was good that she knew that now, instead of later when she was falling in love with him.
But isn’t it too late already?
An annoying little voice in her head asked.
Didn’t you fall in love with him the first time he kissed you?