“Don’t go off alone again, Vida.” Hearing the threat in his voice, she nodded her agreement before slipping out the door and closing it behind her.
The rest of the day was slow. Tessa and Carlito left early when no other clients came in and they had finished with their scheduled appointments.
“Let’s go.” Colton was leaning against the counter. “Reverend said he would close up the shop.”
Vida rose from her chair when Tessa came back in the door. They both tensed, expecting the woman to pick up where the argument ended this morning. Instead, she walked directly to Colton and handed him a sealed envelope.
“I signed the divorce papers. I took them by your lawyer’s office. That’s a copy of them.” Her face was expressionless, but Vida could tell by the pain in her eyes how badly she was hurting.
Colton’s hand gripped the envelope. “Thanks, Tessa.”
Tessa shrugged. “It’s obvious you’re moving on with several women.” Turning around, she left them, leaving them in the silence of her sudden departure.
Vida started to say something then closed her mouth, not knowing exactly what to say. The end of a marriage was never a good thing. It was the ending of a dream that two people shared in that moment, Vida could tell that Colton had cared for Tessa at one time and had tried to save his marriage. He’d even gone to prison, still trying to hold it together and protect his child.
Vida came to the conclusion in that moment that he wasn’t like the men her mother had attached herself to. Colton, when he had decided to marry, had committed himself and given it every chance. It was Tessa who, despite her last harsh words at parting, had turned her back on their marriage.
Colton unlocked the apartment door, holding it open for Vida to enter. Vida came to a standstill when she saw King sitting on the chair in the room.
Colton’s brow rose as he came in the door, closing it behind him.
“How many keys to this apartment are floating around?” he asked King.
King gave him a smile. “I didn’t use a key.”
“Figures, you might not want to draw attention to your talent of B and E with the cops listening in to your every move.”
The smile disappeared in a flash. “What do you mean by that remark?”
Colton and Vida both sat down on the couch and went over the talk that Seth had with Vida earlier in the day.
Vida watched as King’s impassive face turned angry when he found out his club had been bugged and was under police surveillance.
“What do you think we should do?” Vida asked before he could become too angry, wanting him to focus on how to keep Sawyer safe. King rose from the chair, going to the window and staring out for several minutes before turning back to them.
“I’m afraid they’re right. The only way to stop Digger is to let the FBI have him.” King put his hands in his pockets and stared at Vida. “Looks like Trouble will be taking the stage one last time.”
Vida looked unhappily back at King. She had known all along it was the best course of action to take, but it wasn’t going to make it any easier going on that stage to perform.
“Do you think Briggs will slip up?” Vida asked.
“I don’t know. He’s pretty loyal to Digger,” Colton told her.
“Let’s see if we can’t help that along then. He likes to drink while he watches you on the stage. I’ll make sure his glass doesn’t stay empty, so that, by the time he gets his lap dance, he might not be in a clear-headed frame of mind.” King plotted Briggs’s downfall.
“That might help. You could also get a couple of the shot girls to pay him some extra attention, have him worked up.” King’s mouth twitched into a grin at Colton’s suggestion.
“How are you going to keep him under control when you want to get away? The worst thing you could do is let him know he slipped up, and realizing it when one of the men have to pull him off you,” King asked Vida.
“Let me handle that. I have an idea that might work,” Colton answered for her.
“I’ll leave that in your hands then. Good luck, Vida.” King walked towards the door. “I need to get back to the club; I have to find someone to debug it tomorrow. When I find out who placed them in the first place, they are going to be fucked up,” he stated ruthlessly.
“King, they couldn’t find anything to get you for, could they?” Vida would feel terrible if King ended up in prison when he had offered to help. Vida didn’t know how many of his activities were illegal, yet she was sure that he didn’t always stay within the limits of the law.
“Don’t worry about it, Vida. They have bigger fish to fry besides me.” Vida wasn’t so sure, however she had to let it go. King wasn’t about to discuss his business with her, now or ever. Vida didn’t know if anyone knew the complexities of King’s business other than the man himself.
Colton locked the door behind King, glancing at his watch. “You need to start getting ready.”
“All right.” She gathered her clothes, trying not to be upset that King had looked more upset about her having to strip again than Colton had. He had claimed to care about her, yet he didn’t seem the least perturbed about how she would be giving a private lap dance later that night.
Vida showered, making sure she shaved and moisturized her skin with the expensive smelling lotion that Sherri had told her drove the men crazy. Vida thought it was a little heady, but Sherri said that men found it sensual. Her boyfriend always provided her insights into a male’s point-of-view and she had passed on the information to Vida.
Blowing out her hair until it lay straight and silky against her back, Vida dressed in a thick pair of sweats and a long sleeved t-shirt as the night would be cool on the back of Colton’s bike. Deciding to wear the red outfit for the last time, she packed her bag and left the bathroom.
The living room and kitchen were empty. Fixing herself some soup, she heard Colton go into the shower. Pouring the hot soup into bowls and making a couple of fresh salads she sat down just as Colton came into the room, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. Vida spooned some of her soup into her suddenly dry mouth. It wasn’t fair that he was so sexy without the least effort. He had grown a small goatee and it only made him appear more like a bad boy biker, especially since the t-shirt was short sleeved and showed off his tats.
He sat down at the table and began eating, seeming as preoccupied as she did. Vida couldn’t help wondering if he was regretting his divorce now that it was final. Not liking the feeling in her stomach when she discovered that she cared that he might regret his decision.
“Feeling nervous?” Vida smoothed out her expression at Colton’s question.
“Not really. It’s not like it’s my first time.” Vida blushed when she realized her choice of words.
Colton tried to smother his laughter. “Was it bad?”
Vida shuddered, remembering. “It was a joke. I’m surprised the men didn’t ask for their cover charge back.”
“It couldn’t have been that bad.”
“It took my dance, and two other women’s turns on the stage to just get my top off. It was a nightmare. Wh
en it was over, I cried for two hours straight. You don’t even want to know about my first lap dance. King did have to refund the man his money for that one.”
This time Colton couldn’t hold back his laughter. Rising to his feet, he took their dirty dishes to the sink.
Vida stood up, going to get her bag, but Colton forestalled her by taking her hand. “I’m not happy letting you do this, but I know you feel that you need to do this for Sawyer and the other women. No more after tonight, though,” Colton forewarned her.
“Maybe the club won’t be busy tonight.” Vida hoped she was right.
“It’s Friday, and all the horny men with no dates who want something to jerk of to will be there,” he said sarcastically.
“Gee, thanks, I’ll have that picture in my head now while I’m dancing.”
“You better not be thinking of any of them fuckwads jerking off. I’ll be there. Pretend it’s just me you’re dancing for.”
“I don’t think that will make it any easier,” Vida said under her breath, not wanting to confess his presence would make her even more nervous.
“What?” Colton asked with a smile.
His arrogant attitude reminded her of the addition to her tattoo. “Why did you put your initials in my tattoo?”
Colton lost his smile becoming serious. “Because when other men look at you, both of us will know who you really belong to, Vida.”
“I don’t belong to you,” she protested.
“Baby, when you’re on that stage tonight and I want to kill one of those motherfuckers staring at you, the only thing holding me back will be when I see my mark on you.”
“Oh.” Vida stared at his composed expression, sensing the lethal intent buried just below the surface.
“We done?” Vida nodded her head. “Let’s go.” She followed Colton out the door, dreading the next few hours.
It was going to be hard to go back on that stage when she had been so overjoyed that she was free from the humiliating experience. The lap dance she looked at with even more trepidation of having to be so close to Briggs. She really hated him and knew if he thought he could get away with it, he would take her, with or without her consent.