Page 31 of Shadow's Surrender
“Why doesn’t he get his ass out and work?”
“He’s got a bad back. He told me the condition he has but I can’t remember it.”
“How much do you need to make tonight?”
“He’d be good with a couple hundred bucks, but I only got a hundred and twenty.”
Shadow took out his wallet and handed her a hundred dollars. “Take it and go home. I’ll have one of the bartenders drop you at the motel.”
Her eyes widened. “Thanks, mister. Why’re you being so nice to me? Are you sure you don’t want a quickie or something?”
“I’m sure. Hang on a sec.” He sent a text to Gary, and a few minutes later the bartender came outside. Shadow jerked his head at the woman. “Give her a lift back to the Wildflower Motel. I’ll cover for you behind the bar.”
Gary nodded and Shadow helped the woman to the bartender’s car. “Keep your head out the window ’cause you don’t wanna puke in his car.”
“That’s for fucking sure,” Gary said as he closed the passenger door. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“You got your piece on you?” Shadow asked.
“Yeah. Am I going to have to use it?”
“I don’t think so, but she’s got a pimp so be careful. You need one of us to go with you?”
“I should be fine.” Gary slipped into the car and drove away.
The woman’s head hung out the window like a dog, and she kept looking at Shadow until the car turned the corner and disappeared. The hollow feeling that had haunted him since the day he’d first learned his mother worked as a dancer was amplified at that moment. Concern for the young woman tightened his chest.
“You coming in to pick up the slack behind the bar?” Klutch asked.
“Yeah,” Shadow said as he approached the front door.
“It’s fuckin’ crazy in there. We got three of the big tables full of frat jerks who love to spend daddy’s money.” Klutch laughed. “The dancers are loving it.”
“We gotta make sure those pricks keep in line. I don’t want any of the women feeling uncomfortable or cheap.”
The Insurgents were adamant that the dancers be respected by the patrons, but Shadow was particularly obsessed with it, and he knew the brothers thought he was a bit wacko when it came to them. Only his good friends knew the reason why, but they kept it to themselves. He didn’t want the whole club to know that his mother used to dance. When he was younger, he’d heard her and her friend, Flo, talk about the way the men pawed them and how they hated that the owner and manager didn’t protect them.
Shadow clenched his jaw so tightly that a muscle jumped in his cheeks, and molten anger rolled through him when he thought about what his mom had to endure to make ends meet. And it was all because his bastard father used every cent he made to drink and fuck other women.
Shadow lifted his chin at Hubcap and Wheelie who were searching patrons on their way in. When he entered the gentlemen’s club, he was surprised at how many people were packed inside. He glanced over and saw a few people perched on stools that surrounded the big wooden bar, but most of the patrons were standing, crammed around it like sardines in a can.
Bones, Cruiser, and Blade were rushing back and forth trying to keep up with all the orders, and Shadow dashed over to give a helping hand.
“Glad to see you, bro. It’s fuckin’ nuts in here tonight,” Blade said as he poured tequila in several shot glasses.
“Tell me what you need,” Shadow said.
“Ten rum and Cokes. Stella will be by to get them.”
Shadow glanced over the sea of people and noticed Honeysuckle gyrating on stage in a glow of yellow and blue lights. He grabbed the soda gun and squirted Coke into the glasses with one hand while adding shots of rum with the other one.
The whole time he worked, he kept his eye on the guy who was with the hooker in the parking lot. He sat with a group of frat boys who’d reserved several tables for a reunion. Blade had brought him up to speed on the different groups of guys at the club that night. The bikers’ job was to make sure everything ran smoothly at the place and that the men didn’t get out of line.
The Insurgents only employed three citizens at the club: Gary, the bartender, and two bouncers—Bane and Eddie. The rest of the staff were club members. Cruiser, Blade, and Bear were the ones who worked at Dream House most of the time, and Emma, an old lady of one of the bikers, managed the place. Hawk did the books, and the other members helped out when needed. It made the business run like a well-oiled machine.
A half hour later, Gary came behind the bar and nudged Shadow.
“Everything go okay?” Shadow asked.
