Page 76 of Trick
“I’m glad we were able to make this happen, my friend. Now, we get to the good part of the evening…a visit to Fallen Angels. I’ve been looking forward to it all week.”
We ended most of our meetings with a trip to our strip club – a tradition that had started several years back as a way to celebrate our continued collaboration – but I’d hoped that tonight would be the exception. I knew from past experience that he expected me to party with him, and I’d always been more than fucking happy to do it.
Tonight, though, the only tits I wanted to look at were Lauren’s. Besides, I would feel a hell of a lot better if she was with me, safely behind the gates at the compound.
I got on my bike and followed his armored, blacked-out SUV to the club. On the way, I called to let Bodhi know we would be there soon. I’d given him a heads-up earlier in the day to keep one of the VIP rooms on standby, just in case.
“The room’s ready,” he confirmed. “Mandy’s working tonight, and she knows to keep the Macallan flowing.”
Rossi was particular about his liquor, so we always made sure to have a few bottles of the high-end brand he favored in stock.
Luckily, I was able to leave less than an hour later, once he decided to spend some quality time with Scarlett and Ginger in one of the private rooms. Although the MC covered the costs of his private lap dances at Fallen Angels, Rossi always tipped the ladies generously, so the two strippers were more than happy to keep him entertained for the rest of the evening.
Before I headed out, I checked in with Bodhi to make sure things were running smoothly.Ace was there for once, although he was kicked back in his office doing fuck all, as far as I could tell. Bodhi was behind the bar, keeping an eye on things and helping the two female bartenders keep up with the drink orders.
“Everything OK tonight,” I asked, leaning over the bar top and raising my voice to be heard over the pounding bass pouring out of the speakers.
“Yeah, man, things are going great. The place started filling up early because of some insurance convention in town, so we’re selling a ton of booze, and the girls are raking in the cash.”
“Glad to hear it. I’m gonna leave Rossi in the capable hands of Scarlett and Ginger, so I can go pick Lauren up.”
Bodhi tipped his head in acknowledgement, then started pouring a round of shots for a table full of frat boy douches who acted like they’d never seen a pair of tits before in their lives.
As soon as I stepped outside, I pulled my phone out of my cut and called Lauren. She didn’t pick up, which wasn’t surprising since I knew she kept it on silent mode when she was recording.
I called Tony to let him know I’d finished early and would meet them at the studio, and frowned when he didn’t answer either.
I called both of them again, with the same result.
Feeling uneasy, I reached out to Bull, who answered on the second ring. I winced and pulled my phone away from my ear a little as the music and general chaos of a Friday night at the clubhouse came through in the background.
“I’ve been trying to get hold of Lauren and Tony at the studio, but they aren’t answering. Can you ping their phone locations?”
“Give me a second to get back to my office,” he replied, then a minute later, “They’re both still at the studio.”
“Shit,” I muttered as my nerves ratcheted up. “I don’t like this, man. Check for movement on Beau. Is he still at work?”
“I’m already ahead of you. The PBF payroll system shows that he’s still clocked in.”
“My gut’s screaming at me that something’s wrong. Tony knows to answer when we call, especially with all this shit going on.” I sprinted for my bike as I told Bull that I was heading to the studio.
“I’m rounding the guys up as we speak, brother. We’ll meet you there.”
I yanked on my helmet and fired up my bike, roaring out of the parking lot as if the devil himself was on my ass. I tried to convince myself that there was a reasonable explanation for why Tony hadn’t answered, but deep down, I knew we’d missed something. If Beau was still at the fire station in Pittsburgh, then maybe we were wrong and he had someone local working for him after all.
My cell phone rang through the Bluetooth speaker. I hoped it would be Tony or Lauren, but when I answered, King’s voice came through loud and clear.
“We’re on our way,” he said as I gunned the engine to make it through a yellow light before it turned red. “We should be there in twenty minutes. Wait for us…I don’t want you goin’ in there without somebody on your six, you hear me?”
“Got it,” I answered, lying to the man for the first time in my life. I had no intention of waiting.
Traffic slowed in front of me, and I swerved into the next lane to go around them, barely sparing a glance over my shoulder to make sure it was clear first.
It would normally take me about fifteen minutes to make it from the strip club to the recording studio. I pushed my bike as fast as I dared and made it in ten.
I pulled to a stop in front of the building, noticing that the only vehicles in the lot were Tony’s bike, Lauren’s car, and JD’s pickup truck.
I hadn’t even thought to call him, so I did just that as I reached into my saddlebag and grabbed my gun. The call went straight to voice mail.
