Seconds later it opened and she blinked in surprise. Cody Hurley, a boy she’d gone to high school with stood there wearing dark slacks and a black, long-sleeved shirt with a small security emblem over his left pec. He looked just as surprised as she felt.
“Ellie, what are you doing here?” He looked around the alleyway before stepping back so she could come inside.
The hallway smelled like cheap perfume and cigarettes. Further past the hallway she could feel as well as hear the steady, rattling thump of music. “Hey, Cody, you work here?” It was hard to keep the surprise out of her voice. He’d been a star football player and had received a full scholarship to college because of his talent. Now he was working at Teaser’s?
His jaw tightened as he nodded. “Yeah, lost my scholarship and got into some trouble. Did a short stint in prison and this was the only job I could get. The only legal job,” he added.
Her eyes widened as she tried to think of something polite to say. She wasn’t sure how to respond to a revelation like that. “I’m…sorry. You were so talented. That’s a tough break.”
He gave her a short nod, then glanced over his shoulder before focusing on her. “What the hell are you doing here? This isn’t a place for someone like you,” he said quietly. “I heard you got a really good job with Wyatt Christiansen. You’re not…looking for work here are you?”
She shook her head, embarrassed by the thought. “No, but I need to talk to Leonard if he still owns the place.” Something she probably should have looked up, but she’d been so manic in her need to get cash together fast she hadn’t been thinking everything through.
“He does.”
She raised her eyebrows when he didn’t elaborate. “Well, is he here?” She wrapped her arms around herself when Cody simply stood there, his expression remote and his body like a barrier to the rest of the hallway. As if he wasn’t going to let her pass.
“Yeah, but Ellie, he’s no good. Whatever you’re looking for, find it somewhere else. This is not—”
At the sound of a door opening, Cody stopped talking and turned around. Ellie peered around his broad body and saw Leonard stepping out from what she assumed was his office. With brown hair he’d teased to look bigger—and likely covered with hairspray to get that ridiculous helmet style—and a white T-shirt under his seventies style jacket and a big gold chain, he looked exactly like the man she remembered. Tacky.
He recognized her immediately, if the lecherous grin on his face was any indication. Or maybe that was the way he looked at all females. Whatever. She just needed to borrow money and he would be a hell of a lot easier to borrow from than one of those places that would require paperwork and personal information.
“Ellie Wickliff,” he said, even his voice having an oily quality that made her stomach turn.
Her last name was now Johansen since she’d taken her mother’s maiden name, but she didn’t correct him. It was creepy enough that he remembered her last name. She nodded and stepped around Cody. “Good to see you again,” she murmured, before striding toward Leonard. “You have a few minutes?”
He nodded and held out a hand to the room he’d just stepped from. “Anything for you.”
Ugh, gross. She faltered once, rethinking her decision. But she needed that money. She could push her way through an uncomfortable conversation. She thought she heard Cody mutter a curse behind her as Leonard shut the door to his office. At least he didn’t attempt to lock it.
As he moved to the other side of his desk, some of her tension faded and she didn’t feel quite so caged. “You here for a job?” he asked as he raked a gaze over her body.
It didn’t matter that she was completely clothed, the man made her feel exposed with that look. She wanted to cross her arms over her chest, but resisted the instinct. She couldn’t let him see that he bothered her. “No, but I know you lend money. I need ten thousand and I can pay it back within four weeks.” Since she wasn’t selling her car and she hadn’t been able to get as much for her earrings as she’d hoped, she’d known that guy at the pawn would give her the same crappy deal on her diamond bracelet. She didn’t think she’d need the full ten thousand, but wanted a little buffer of funds. Before Leonard could answer, she pulled the bracelet from the side pocket of her purse. “This was six thousand, but you could probably sell it for half that. I’ll give you this as collateral and collect once I’ve paid you back everything.”
His eyebrows rose as he shifted in his seat, his chair creaking. “Ten thousand is a lot.”
She nearly snorted. He probably had triple that in one of his safes. And thanks to Kevin, she knew Leonard had multiple safes here. She didn’t respond though, just waited for him to continue since he hadn’t asked a question.
“What do you need it for?”
“Why does it matter? Either you’ll lend it to me or you won’t.” She knew she couldn’t act too desperate or he’d pounce. Of course the fact that she was here made it clear she needed the funds in a bad way.
His eyes held a speculative gleam. “How do I know you’re good for it?”
She set the bracelet on the desk, then pulled out a copy of one of her retirement funds. She’d blacked out her account information and her address, but her name was still visible. Sliding it across the desk, she said, “I’ve got the money, but it’s not liquid right now. I need a couple weeks to withdraw the funds and for them to send me a check. It might not take that long, but it’ll be at least a week.” They made taking money out of retirement funds early hard for a reason. You weren’t supposed to do it.
He let out a low whistle. “You certainly are good for it. Tell you what.” He looked up, pinning her with that jarring gaze that made her want to wrap up in a thick robe so he couldn’t see an inch of her. “You give me a private dance, right here, right now, and I’ll give you the cash. 3.5 percent interest too.”
She blinked at his words, grossed out by the dance request and stunned by the percentage. That was incredibly low for a loan shark, a bank, or anyone lending money. It didn’t make sense for him to offer it. “I’m not going to dance for you.”
He shrugged and lifted his arms, setting his hands behind his head as he leaned back. “Why not? I’m not going to touch you and you’ll never get that interest rate anywhere else.” He sounded smug, as if he already assumed she’d say yes.
Desperate or not, she wasn’t taking off her damn clothes for anyone. She snagged her bracelet from the desk and shoved it in her purse. “No thanks.” Since there was no more to say, she turned for the door. She’d get the money another way.
As her hand touched the doorknob, a sharp tug on her hair made her cry out. Her eyes watered as her head jerked back under the force of Leonard’s grip.
“You always thought you were better than everyone,” he snarled as he slung her to the floor by her hair. She fell to her knees, pain shooting through them as they slammed against the hardwood.
She reached up and struggled to dislodge his hand from her hair when he kicked her in the ribs. She screamed from the shooting agony and instinctively went to grip her side when he ripped open the front of her blouse with a vicious tug.
Iciness slammed through her as she realized his intent. At the same time, her position on the floor registered and she hauled back and punched him between the legs.
“Bitch!” Crying out, he let go of her hair as he doubled over. Holding onto her purse, she jumped to her feet, ready to clock him across the head with it when the door flew open.
Cody stood there, taking in the scene with a grim expression.
“Shut and lock that door,” Leonard wheezed out as she managed to stand. “You’re going to help me teach this bitch a lesson or you’re fired.”
Terror punched through Ellie as she looked between the man blocking her getaway and the one she’d just punched in the nuts.
Chapter 4
Jay felt as if he was running on autopilot as he pushed open one of the darkly tinted glass doors of Teaser’s strip club. Ther
e was a small entryway with a scantily dressed woman sitting behind a cash register. She wore a see-through black lace bra and a plaid skirt the size of a band-aid. Her legs were crossed, a bored expression on her face until she saw him. Her eyes lit up as she looked him over with a lustful gaze. Before he could say anything she nodded toward the doorway covered by sparkly hanging beads. “No charge, honey.” Despite her likely being in her early twenties, her voice was raspy like a decade’s-long smoker.
He nodded politely, his body disrupting the beads with a noisy jangle as he stepped into a darker room with a steady thump of rock filtrating through the place. A half naked woman was on one of the five stages dressed in a school girl outfit while Cherry Pie blared. Ignoring the sight the dozen or so men closest to the stage were glued to, he scanned the place until he saw Wyatt and Brannon talking to another scantily dressed woman. Also wearing one of those plaid school girl skirts. Maybe it was a theme today.
Jay hurried over and realized the woman was holding a drink tray as she leaned against the only bar that appeared to be in use. Sidestepping a woman who asked if he wanted a private dance, he nodded once at Wyatt when the other man spotted him. All he cared about was finding Ellie and making sure she was okay.
Breaking away from Brannon and the female, Wyatt met him halfway, about ten feet away from the other two. They wouldn’t have been able to overhear him and Wyatt with the music anyway. “Where’s Ellie?” Jay asked.
“Not sure. She went in the side door and we haven’t seen her anywhere in here, but she didn’t leave. Brannon knows that dancer,” he said with a tilt of his head. “She says the owner isn’t exactly a loan shark, but he lends money sometimes to locals. His office is in the back so she might be—”