It took most of the day to get the information we needed. Not all of the contacts that I had planned to use still lived where they had five years ago, and tracking them down had been too much of a hassle so we’d had to make do with the ones that we managed to find. But we had eventually gotten the names of some people who could be blackmailed fairly easily. Unfortunately, all of them were straight men, which meant that Audrey would be creating the blackmail material for us.
I glared at the cabaret stage from where I sat at one of the tables in the back. A group of women were currently dancing on it, but Audrey would be on soon. Getting her a spot had required more threats and bribes, but we needed to make sure that our victims truly had something they wanted kept quiet, so Audrey would make sure of that. I hated that part of the plan, though.
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Audrey. I just hated the thought of anyone else’s greedy eyes on her. She was mine.
Cheers and whistles rose as the women on the stage swished their hips in a synchronized move. I shifted my attention to the men who we were planning on blackmailing. Only three out of the five from our plans had actually showed up tonight, but it would have to be enough. With that scowl still on my brow, I studied the expressions on their faces. They were sitting in some of the more secluded spots, as if they didn’t want to be seen, but they looked absolutely riveted by the performance on stage. I could only imagine the look in their eyes when Audrey did her thing. Whatever that was.
Another wave of annoyance washed over me, and I squeezed my hand into a fist. Hell damn it all. Why were straight men always the easiest to blackmail with shit like this? Why was it never straight women? Or gay men, for that matter? Then Audrey could be the one sitting here, trying to suppress the urge to poison the whole room while I made people drool into their drinks. Not that I was much of a dancer, but I was sure that I could have gotten the job done using other methods.
Blowing out a long breath, I drummed my fingers against the tabletop while trying to clear the scowl from my brow. In an audience full of grinning people, my irritation would draw attention. And we couldn’t risk that until after Audrey’s little show.
In an effort to get my anger in check, I instead studied the room. The Black Rose looked more or less the same as it had five years ago. A great stage made of polished dark wood spanned the length of the wall, and rich blue drapes with silver details hung behind it. There was a bar made of the same wooden material close to the front door, and then the private rooms where we had met Levi were located on the opposite side of the room. Small tables with only space for four chairs around each covered the rest of the floor. They were all incredibly luxurious, though.
In the ceiling were crystal chandeliers, holding thousands of candles, and each table was decorated with sparkling candleholders as well. Combined, they created the illusion that the whole room was filled with silver glitter.
My gaze slid to the door to the right of the stage. The dressing rooms that the performers used were in there. And so was Audrey.
I braced myself as the group of dancers at last took a bow to the thunderous applause from the crowd. It was time.
Flexing my fingers, I blew out another deep breath and then checked our marks again. All three men were still seated at their respective tables, drinking from their half-full glasses while waiting for the group to finish filing into the dressing room and for the next act to appear.
A faint murmur spread through the room as people took this opportunity to discuss the performance. I slid my gaze back to the now closed door to the dressing rooms.
It was pushed open.
My heart stopped.
Audrey sauntered onto the stage in a swishing of hips. The black and gold dress she wore looked like it had been made for her body and her body alone. It clung to her chest and waist before flowing down around her legs like a shimmering waterfall. Sleeveless, and with a tantalizing slit down the front, it drew every single eye in the room to the perfect shape of her tits. Blood rushed to my cock just seeing her like that.
A hush fell over the room as she stopped in the middle of the stage. There was a sly smile on her lips as she untied what looked to be a shawl from around her waist. It was made of a sheer black material decorated with golden threads, and it glittered in the sparkling light from the chandeliers as it fluttered through the air.
Then she flicked a glance towards the group of musicians who waited at the edge of the stage. They gave her a nod.
Sultry notes drifted into the perfume-scented air as they began playing. I kept my eyes on Audrey.
At first, she remained standing in the same place. While holding the shawl with her left hand, she curled her right hand around the fabric and then slowly drew it through the circle that her fingers made. That same sly smile still played over her lips while she watched the audience. They stared at her, probably wondering where this was going.
The moment the entire shawl had been pulled through her hand, she lurched into motion.
I sat back in my seat and stared in utter shock as Audrey danced with a confident yet elegant grace. She rolled her hips and moved in tune with the alluring music, making the shawl flutter through the air with the sweep of her arms, only to let it snap tight in her hands again before allowing it to flow freely once more.
My heart stuttered as I watched her become one with the music and the dance. It was spellbinding. Her body twisted and flowed with sensual movements, the shimmering shawl adding to the feeling that she was somehow moving under water. I hadn’t known that she could dance like that.
When she had told me that she would handle the stage tonight, I didn’t know what I had been expecting. But it sure as hell hadn’t been… this.
She had been dancing for almost a minute when I realized that my mouth was open. And that I hadn’t been watching our victims. I snapped my mouth shut and shook my head to clear it of the temptations that ran rampant inside me. With massive effort, I managed to tear my gaze from Audrey and shift it to the audience.
They were all watching her with the same rapture that I had. Light from the thousands of candles glittered in their eyes as they tracked every flick of Audrey’s wrists and every roll of her hips. Fuck, I wanted to blind them all.
I forced out a measured breath and dragged my gaze to our three victims.
The moment my attention was on them, Audrey made her move. As if she had been waiting for me to get my shit together.
A gasp rippled through the warm room as Audrey gracefully leaped down from the stage and continued dancing on the floor between the tables. Jewelry glinted in the flickering candles as people turned in their seats to keep Audrey in view. She lingered at a few of the other tables too before she finally reached our first blackmail victim. It was a man in his forties, with thin blond hair and pale eyes. He grinned widely as Audrey positioned herself right in front of his chair.
With that sly smile still on her lips, she rolled her hips and then leaned forward to drape the shawl around the back of his neck. Holding it like that, she moved into position between his spread legs while she continued dancing. He raked hungry eyes up and down her body.
Fury roared through me, and I gripped the edge of the table so hard that I swore I could hear the wood squeak in distress.
This was the plan. We had to create an event that these men wouldn’t want their wife, girlfriend, and mother, respectively, to hear about so that I could then blackmail them with it. And this was how we did that. But hell damn it all, I fucking hated the way they were looking at my Audrey.
She slowly drew the shawl back so that it slid across his neck in an incredibly seductive way. He raised his hand slightly. Magic thrummed in my veins. If that bastard put a single finger on her, I was going to cut his hand off. Mission be damned.
Thankfully, the idiot was smart enough to let his hand drop back down to his lap before that could happen. There were places in the city where patrons were allowed to touch the performers. This wasn’t one of them.
With a wink to our first victim, Audrey continued her alluring dance towards our second one.
It was a bloody miracle that the tabletop before me was still intact by the time she finally returned to the stage and executed a dramatic bow. Roars, whistles, and applause cascaded through the packed room. I flexed my hand and forced out a long steadying breath when Audrey had at last disappeared back into the dressing room, but I kept the threat of violence billowing around me like a cloak as I pushed to my feet.
Soft chatter spread through the room as the guests waited for the next person to take the stage. It was accompanied by the clinking of glasses and the occasional giggle.
I strode between the tables, making straight for our first victim. He looked up from his now almost empty glass of red wine and blinked at me in surprise as I stopped in front of his table and pulled out a chair.
“That seat is taken,” he said.
Not bothering to reply, I simply dropped into the chair. It creaked in alarm at the sudden weight and the forceful way in which it had been applied.
“Fred Turner,” I said right as the man opened his mouth to protest.
He drew back slightly. Then his pale eyes darted to the sides, as if checking to make sure that no one had overheard me. After drawing a hand over his thin blond hair, he returned his attention to me. “Who are you?”
“The guy who’s about to tell your wife about what I saw here tonight.”
Fred shot to his feet, almost toppling the chair in his hurry. “You—”
“Sit the fuck down,” I interrupted. Raising my eyebrows, I leveled a smug look full of challenge at him. “You don’t want to cause a scene, now do you?”
A few of the people from the closest tables had glanced over at us. Fred flicked another quick look around the room, noting their gazes, and then lowered himself into his seat again.
“Good,” I drawled. “You’re smart enough to understand the situation you’re in. Maybe we’ll be able to make a deal after all.”
Fred glared at me. “Why do you care if my wife knows about this or not?”
“I don’t. But you do. So here’s what I’m gonna do now. I’m gonna go to your lovely little home on Baker Street right now and tell your wife how you just ogled that last performer while she danced between your legs…”
He began spluttering something incoherent, but I kept talking.
“And then she’ll probably rush right over here where all of these other people will be able to verify my claim.”
Panic pushed out the anger in his eyes, and he swallowed. “What do you want?”
“Money.”
He pulled out a truly pathetic little stack of paper bills from his pocket and put it on the table. I just cocked an eyebrow at him without making a move to take the money.
“That’s all I have,” he said.
Placing my hands on the tabletop, I made as if to push myself to my feet. “Deal’s off.”
“Wait!”
With desperation flickering in his eyes, he shoved his hand into his pocket again and pulled out another, much larger, stack of money. His hands trembled slightly as he pushed the crumpled bills towards me.
“Here. Here. Take it.”
I flicked an unimpressed glance down at it before fixing him with a hard stare. “That’s not a lot.”
“It’s all I have. I swear it.”
For a few seconds, I just watched him in silence. He squirmed slightly in his seat. Then I clicked my tongue.
“Alright.” Reaching out, I gathered up the money he had offered. “I’ll take this. And you’ll owe me a favor too.”
He paled. “What?”
“A favor. To be called in at a place and time of my choosing.”
Something that looked a lot like realization blew across his features, as if he had just figured out that he could tell Levi about this before I could call in that favor.
Clearing his throat, he gave me a nod. “Okay.”
I chuckled and shoved the money into my pocket while standing up. “A pleasure doing business.”
With a mocking smile, I strode away.
And towards our next victim.
