Page 55 of Retribution
For all she knew, the chick could’ve been a regular for Cobra before he and Dakota had even gotten together. But there was no way to be sure. And everything had been going so well, too well. It was bordering on too-good-to-be-true between them. At least, aside from all the club secrets and late night rendezvous Cobra had going on with his MC. Should she really take it on faith that he wasn’t seeing anyone else on the side while he claimed to be hanging out with his brothers?
With trembling fingers, Dakota tapped in the number for the strip club. She wasn’t ready to talk to this Jenny chick yet and didn’t want to confront her if it was nothing.
“Satin Dolls, how can I help you?” a sultry voice said.
Dakota took a deep breath and forced some cheerfulness into her voice.
“Hi. I was wondering if you’d seen a guy in there recently, like the past few weeks. He’s pretty distinguishable: big guy, biker-type, tats on both arms. His name is Cobra and probably hangs out with Jenny when he’s there.”
“Oh, uh,” the woman hesitated and there was a pause over the line. “I’m not allowed to give out that kind of information—it’s club policy.”
“Yeah, I understand, it was worth a shot.” Dakota’s teeth grazed the bottom of her lips, and her hand tightly clenched the phone. “There isn’t anything you can do? Anything at all? I promise, I’m not trying to cause trouble for the club. I’m a friend of his sister’s and it’s family stuff.”
There was a sound like the woman had cracked her gum over the line, some murmuring, and then a slight shuffle and static.
“Okay, look, I said I’m not supposed to do this, but since you’re his sister’s friend, I’ll help you. Cobra’s a regular and Jenny’s his girl when he’s in town.” The woman sighed, long and drawn out and totally over dramatic. “He comes in to see her. Sometimes they go into one of the back rooms.”
“Back rooms?” Dakota asked.
“The ones for private dances, that kind of thing. That’s all I can give you, and I shouldn’t even have told you that much.”
Her heart sank and her knees felt like they would give out.
“Is there anything else? You’re tangling up the phone line.”
Dakota hung up without saying another word. A sick feeling twisted low in her belly as she tried to clear her head of the information she’d just learned about Cobra—about the man she was seriously falling for more and more every day, and who treated her like gold—the man she’d begun to trust.
While Cobra was taking Dakota out on long bike rides, to dinner, to the lake, and to bed, he’d been watching Jenny strip and do whatever else happened in those rooms. Dakota put her hands against her stomach and bent over, thinking that she might throw up. A small whimper escaped her lips as images of a naked Jenny grinding down on Cobra flashed through her mind like some damn porn flick.
No. Stop.Dakota squeezed her eyes shut and tried to banish the snapshots.
Even though she and Cobra had never said they were exclusive, Dakota thought he would have at least had the decency to tell her he was seeing someone else. Right or wrong, she felt sucker punched by the man she thought cared about her. The realization that Cobra was just another guy who turned out to be an asshole hit her hard.
Tears rushed to her eyes. There was no way Dakota was going to let him know how deeply he’d gotten into her heart. She angrily wiped her wet cheeks. The best way to cope was to put it out of her mind for now, and when Cobra got home that night, she’d ask him about it. If Cobra lied, she’d pack up and leave—it wasn’t like she wasn’t used to doingthat.Dakota didn’t need to stick around for a man who was nothing but a heartbreaking, self-centered thug who was out to fuck his way across the coast.He’s no different than any other asshole I’ve met.She’d be out of there. Simple … but why did it feel so hard and so sad?
Dakota slung open the motel room door and stomped across the hot tarmac without really seeing anything. The late morning heat slapped her in the face, but she barely noticed it as she hauled the bags filled with some ofhisclothes to the laundry room. Her mind kept spinning around all topsy-turvy with images of her and Cobra mixing with those of him with the stripper. Dakota kept shaking her head as if it would make the snapshots scatter away.
The laundry room was on the premises, but it was in a sketchy basement below the main office. The last time she’d gone there it had given her the creeps, but then Cobra had joined her and all was good. The door creaked open and Dakota flipped on the light switch. Two white washing machines and dryers stood against the wall, and a long table shelf lined the opposite side of the room. As Dakota walked to the machines, she made sure that she didn’t look at the cobwebs in the corners of the room; in and out as quick as possible was her goal. She took out a coin purse in her pocket and fished out a bunch of quarters Cobra had given her.
Dakota stared at the coins, barely able to focus. She took out two quarters and slipped them in the slot, but her attention was like a robot: going through the motions as her heart thundered in her chest. Her temples tingled from the adrenaline that had slipped into her bloodstream the second that woman had answered the phone at Satin Dolls. While Dakota wanted to live in the land of denial and think the best of the situation, it wasn’t feasible. Not with the evidence that stared her in the face.
She threw a load carelessly in the washing machine and jerked the settings button, nearly taking off the knob.This was supposed to be different. I really liked him. I fucking trusted him with my secrets and my feelings.Dakota swiped her runny nose with the corner of a towel. She rubbed a hand down her face and turned to face the washer, bracing herself against either side of the casing. A swift wave of panic tightened her chest.
“Not now. Shit. Not now,” she muttered.
Her whole body shook, the world narrowing and swirling like she was on a fast spinning amusement ride. While her fingers gripped the washer for all she was worth, her throat tightened, unable to catch her breath. Everything was moving too fast. Too much. There wasn’t enough time.
“Excuse me.”
The male voice floated up through her clogged senses. Dakota knew in the back of her head that she needed to see what he wanted, that she probably had to move out of his way. But her feet didn’t move; they were locked in what felt like cement as her knees shook like wet noodles. When she tried to turn, nothing moved and Dakota breathed through her mouth like a spaz.
“You doing okay?”
“I’m … um …” She tried to gulp in air to get out an answer, unsure if she needed medical help or if this thing would pass soon. “I …”
“Never mind. No worries.”
A small bit of relief funneled down her system. But not enough to stop the panic in its tracks. She thought she heard footsteps head back up the stairs as she swallowed thickly with a moan, trying to stand up straight, trying to do anything beyond what her brain was telling her, which was to flee.
