Uhh, sure, Hank stammered.
You stay away from that place.
She frowned, confused. The guy almost sounded concerned for her. Like he was trying to protect her from upstairs, not urge her into it. He all but lifted Sveta off her shoulder, muttering under his breath in Russian to the hooker, Cmon. Lets get you some candy. Lets find you a sugar daddy to love you, baby. Does that sound good? Say goodbye to the real world, baby doll...
He and Sveta disappeared around a corner in the stairs.
Hey? Whatchoo doing back heuh? another male voice demanded from behind her.
The bouncer. Back from the restroom or wherever hed disappeared to.
You aint sposed to be in heuh. His Cajun accent was so thick she could barely make out the words.
Yeah, well, a girl came out looking for some juice. Vitaly just took her back upstairs.
The bouncer pulled a face. Dang ho. How she git loose?
Loose? As in the girls were locked in or restrained in some way? Horror skittered down Hanks spine. She managed a reasonably unconcerned shrug and pushed past the bouncer into the main bar. She paused for a moment to catch her breath. God. That poor girl. Shed been stoned out of her mind.
You okay? yet another male voice asked from behind her.
Ashe.
Vitaly was upstairs for the moment and the bouncer back at his post. She hurried over to Ashes table and spoke fast and low. I just saw one of the girls from upstairs. She was high on something psychedelic. Vitalys taking her back upstairs. Weve got to shut this place down. Now.
Patience, Hank. Let the cops do it right.
But theyre on it? Theyre getting everything in place?
Yeah. He glanced over her shoulder and bit out, Bring me a vodka, neat. Under his breath, he added, Were on camera. Well talk later.
Vitaly moved up beside her. Everything okay here? My girl taking care of you? He gave her backside a stinging slap that she expected was meant to serve as a warning to keep her mouth shut about what shed just seen.
Yes, shes doing fine, Ashe answered easily. He looked over at her, letting his gaze roam boldly up and down her body. Heat burst through her. Even her face grew hot. Great! How in the heck was she supposed to convince Vitaly she had no interest in Ashe if he made her freaking blush?
She headed toward the bar and was alarmed when Vitaly followed, crowding her against the wood and brass counter. He leaned in close and muttered, Forget what you saw, Hank. Youre a good kid, understand? You dont want any part of what goes on up there. The clients would mistake you for someone youre not.
Once again, he sounded genuinely concerned for her. She half turned to look him in the eye. Thanks for looking out for me, Vitaly. I appreciate it.
He nodded tersely and headed into his office. Son of a gun. Whod have thunk the SOB would look out for her like that? Or was he just trying to get on her good side to prevent her from telling anyone about Sveta? Man, she sucked at all this undercover stuff. She was by nature a straightforward person, and subterfuge of any kind messed with her head. Although her family hadnt been exactly the most forthcoming bunch to grow up around. Maybe her honesty was a twisted form of youthful rebellion.
Or maybe she was just overthinking Vitalys motives. Maybe he really did want to protect her. Cripes, this place was making a cynic out of her. But then, she got to see the worst humanity had to offer in this den of iniquity.
The next two weeks couldnt pass fast enough for her. When they talked later, she would ask Ashe to move up the timetable of the FBI raid...or whatever it was hed arranged with his girlfriend on the phone last night.
Shed been startled by the surge of jealousy that had swept through her when shed realized that was a woman hed been flirting with so comfortably on the phone. Shed give anything to have a man like him flirt with her like that. Maybe someday when this nightmare passed.
Assuming she survived it.
The bartender plunked a glass down in front of her and poured a sloppy shot of vodka into it. For your boyfriend, he announced.
She snapped back, Hes not my boyfriend.
Hes watching you like he is. Guys warning off every dude in the room with his glare.
Was that why no one had been groping or swatting her tonight? Except, of course, Vitaly. Crud. Ashe wasnt helping matters by protecting her. He had to ignore her...or at least just treat her like one of the other girls. He mustnt give any sign that she was anything special to him. Vitaly saw everything that went on around here. The man was like a spider sitting in his web.
The other waitresses whispered that Vitaly had secret cameras in the club and spied on them. Hank had even seen him sitting at his desk from time to time, studying his computer screen intently. But any time shed had an excuse to go into his office, hed turned off his monitor before she could glimpse whatever had been on it.
Hence her need for caution now. She ignored Ashes whiskey on the bar and instead delivered a tray of drinks to a table full of regulars. They were Russians, but just customers who came in for the good vodka Vitaly stocked.
Hey, Hank, Vitaly called from the doorway of his office. Your boyfriend is waiting for his drink. Go serve him...and be nice to him.
She winced. Drat. Hed seen her skip giving Ashe his drink. Shed hoped another one of the waitresses would want to flirt with the hunk in the corner and take his vodka to him in her place. No such luck.
She nodded in Vitalys direction without making eye contact with her boss and swerved toward Ashes table. He took the shot glass directly out of her hand. Their fingertips brushed, and she gasped as her pulse jumped. Lord, he had a crazy effect on her.
Can I get you another drink? she asked him mechanically as he handed the empty shot glass back to her.
Do you carry Kauffman Vintage Vodka?
She stared at him in surprise. You know premium vodkas?
I like to think so.
I dont know if we carry that. Ill ask the bartender.
If not, Ill take a shot of Russian Standard or the best the house has got.
She headed for the bar and got raised eyebrows from the bartender at the request for Kauffman. He commented, That stuff runs over two hundred bucks a bottle. Maybe Vitaly has some in his special stock. Youll have to ask him.
Hank poked her head into her bosss office. The guy from last night is asking for some vodka called Kauffman. The bartender told me to come ask you for it.
Kauffman, eh? Perhaps I should meet your boyfriend.
Hes not my boyfriend, she retorted in exasperation she didnt have to fake.
You a lesbian or something? Vitaly asked.
She bit back a snappy reply and merely mumbled, Nah. Hes just not my boyfriend. Sometimes it was a struggle to keep up her charade of not being the brightest bulb in the box.
Vitaly got up from his desk and moved to a tall locked wooden cabinet in the corner. She moved a little to have a sight line into the cabinet and was stunned to see several big honking weapons standing in the case. They looked like machine guns. Holy cow
Here we go. Vitaly pulled out a fat spherical bottle with a big silver cap that reminded her of a parrots beak. Clear liquid filled the round belly of the bottle. She shifted back to her original position and pasted a look of dull disinterest on her face as he locked the case and turned to face her.
Here we go. Vitaly pulled out a fat spherical bottle with a big silver cap that reminded her of a parrots beak. Clear liquid filled the round belly of the bottle. She shifted back to her original position and pasted a look of dull disinterest on her face as he locked the case and turned to face her.
Bring us two of the good vodka shot glasses in a bowl of ice, he ordered as he herded her out of the office and headed for Ashes table. Planning on checking out the new patron personally, was he? Sheesh, Vitaly was paranoid.
She dutifully brought the men a deep bowl with two crystal shot glasses nestled in crushed ice. She set the bowl on the table and Vitaly ordered her brusquely, Go away. My new friend and I want private conversation.
Every now and then, Vitalys flawless American accent slipped a little and took on a faint Russian tinge like it just had. But that usually happened only when he was furious or under stress. Alarmed, she glanced between the two men. Dammit, there was no way to warn Ashe that Vitaly was on high alert.
She made brief eye contact with Ashe, who merely looked vaguely irritated that she was still hanging around. Frustrated, she retreated to the bar. Whats Kauffman, anyway? she asked the barkeep, even though she knew full well what it was. Her brother used to drink it from time to time.
One of the best Russian vodkas on earth. They only make it in years when the wheat crop is of especially high quality.
She sniffed. Sounds snooty to me.
Its not the stuff regular guys order, thats for sure. Whos that dude Vitalys sitting with?
No idea. Just some customer.
Isnt he the one who broke up the fight last night?
Crap, crap, crap. Ashe had called attention to himselfand now to herby coming back tonight. I dunno. I guess so.
Looks like he and the boss are hitting it off.
Great. Ashe was horning in on her investigation. Shed kill him if he messed it all up. What could Ashe and Vitaly be talking about so intently anyway?
He hot for you or something? The bartenders blunt question quickly derailed her curiosity.
She rolled her eyes at the bartender. As if Id date any of the slimeballs who come in here.
The guy guffawed and poured her a plain soda with a twist of lemon, the way she liked it. She sipped at the drink for a few seconds, her back pointedly turned to Ashe and Vitaly and whatever bromance the two of them were having.
She moved around the club, serving patrons and enduring their lewd comments. Just another night in downtown hell. Except that it wasnt. She couldnt shake her hyperawareness of Ashe sitting in the corner with her boss. Her dangerous mobster boss. Their heads were close together, and they laughed uproariously now and then like they were trading war stories.
Vitaly called for a refill of crushed ice, and when she approached the table, she was stunned to hear them conversing in Russian. Ashe was freaking fluent? Bastard. Unreasonable jealousy surged through her that he was getting further with her boss in one lousy hour than she had in months.
It wasnt fair. She was a no-account female, and Vitaly ignored her existence for the most part. But Ashe could stroll in here and order some hoity-toity vodka, and just like that, Vitaly was hanging on his every word.
The level of vodka in the parrot-beak bottle dropped steadily over the next hour, and Vitaly demanded yet another refill on the ice. But this time, when she approached the table, her boss grabbed her rear end under her short skirt and gave it a humiliatingly familiar squeeze through her panties.
It was all she could do not to pull away from his hard fingers digging into her tender flesh. Evgeniya the Ice Queen, he drawled in Russian. Needs a man to screw her lights out. I tell her the pay is much better in the lap dance lounge, but always she refuses.
Maybe a real man hasnt offered to do the job right, Ashe replied drily in the same language.
It was all she could do not to stick her tongue out at him. To date, Vitaly thought she understood only a few words of the simplest Russian, and she needed to keep it that way. Shed been able to eavesdrop on countless conversations between him and his associates because of it.
You think youre man enough? Vitaly hooted. Ill give you a bottle of this vodka on the house if you convince her to do it. Make a lap dancer of her if you can. Ill earn a fortune on her in the lap dance lounge if I can get her back there. Get a load of those legs. And just feel this ass...
Ashe glanced up at her for just a moment, his eyes mirroring regret for just an instant. But it was enough for her to know he was not enjoying this any more than she was. Come over here, he drawled in English. Vitaly says you have a great ass. I want to check it out.
Was he kidding? Apparently not, for he stared at her expectantly. Silently livid at her boss, she stepped away from his invasive grip and moved to Ashes side, standing so close that her knees rubbed his thigh. Go ahead, buddy. Its not like youll ever get more than a handful of this action.
Vitaly hooted with laughter. He sounded more drunk than not, but she never could tell with him. He held vodka like nobodys business.
Ashes palm cupped the back of her knee, sliding up the back of her thigh with maddening slowness. With light pressure, he pushed her leg until she took a step to the side, turning so her back was to the room. What? He didnt want the other patrons to see him checking out her posterior regions? If the man werent feeling her up, she might actually think his action was chivalrous. But as it was, his hand headed inexorably toward her rear end.
His fingertips traced the seam of her stockings up under her miniskirt, up to the swell of her backside, paused, and then continued higher until her entire cheek was cupped in his big, warm hand. Her glute muscles clenched involuntarily.
His hand kneaded her gently and he murmured cajolingly, Relax, baby. Im not gonna hurt you.
No, but he was embarrassing her to death. It was one thing to have random drunk strangers grab her as she passed by them. But he was no stranger, and this was no random grope. It was a full-scale invasion. His fingers dipped into the tight crevasse between her cheeks, in the same place Vitalys had, but where her bosss grasp had been rough and impersonal, Ashes fingers were beguiling. Intent on winning her acceptance. They stroked and probed gently, asking and waiting for her to relax and give him access to her most secret places. Something hot and liquid erupted low in her belly, startling the hell out of her and momentarily distracting her long enough that she did relax her tush.
Ashes hand dipped deep between her legs immediately, and she tensed up once more. But the damage was done. His hand cupped her lady parts with shocking intimacy, and any move she made would rub said parts against said hand. She froze, staring down at him in shock. It was one thing to go along with Vitalys misogyny for the sake of gaining the guys trust. It was another thing entirely to embarrass her in public. Although, truth be told, the worst of her embarrassment stemmed from the fact that she was a little turned on by Ashes hand cupping her like she already belonged to him.
Trust me, Vitaly, he declared in Russian. Shes no ice queen. Shes all woman. And hot for me.
She didnt stop to think about it. She went with her reflex reaction and slapped Ashes cheek with all her might.