“And if he’s skimming?”
“We deal with our own problems. Nobody steals from the club.”
The doorbell rang, and Dolly got up, smiling. “Show time.”
Cole walked out and headed toward the bar as Dolly let in another group of men and the taxi driver that brought them out. Two long-haul truckers followed them in.
Crash looked up as Cole walked in and motioned the boys toward a table with a nod of his head. That meant there was business to discuss. Business Shannon didn’t need to hear. He turned to her, his arm going around her and his mouth at her ear. “I’ll be right over here talking to Cole for a minute, babe.”
She nodded glancing back at the table that Red Dog, Green and Wolf had already moved off to. With a kiss on her cheek, Crash walked over to the table as well. The men murmured low amongst themselves. Cole told them the situation and Dolly’s suspicions. Then he dropped the bomb that they were stuck there several more hours waiting for Louie to return.
Shannon waited at the bar. She struck up a conversation with the limo driver next to her. “You come here often?” she joked.
He gave her a half grin. “Actually, yeah. I bring ‘em all the business I can. I get commission on it.”
“Really?” she asked, fascinated.
“Yup. A third of whatever my passengers spend.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope.” He took a sip of his drink and nodded toward the parlor where he’d left his passengers. “The minimum’s two hundred a piece. I figure those three are good for twice that. So, yeah. Probably gonna be about four hundred dollar payoff for me.”
“That’s amazing. How many trips do you make out here a night?”
He shrugged. “Many as I can. This is my second tonight. Maybe I’ll have time for one more trip.”
“From Reno?”
“Yeah.”
“So, where do you find these guys?”
He grinned. “Everywhere. These guys were in town for a bachelor party.” He shrugged. “Sometimes they’re in town for a convention or event. The sporting events are always real big nights. Whether they win big and want to celebrate or lose big and want to drown their sorrows.”
“What types of sporting events?”
“Anything big they can bet on. Super Bowl. March Madness. The fights. Boxing. The MMA cage fights are really becoming big.”
She nodded.
“The annual car show and auction is when I do some of my best business, though. A bunch of old guys with lots of money hit town. Whether they buy or sell, they’re always up for a trip out here before they head home to their wives.” He winked.
She smiled. “I’ll bet.”
Dolly walked over and reached between Shannon and the driver with her back to Shannon. She laid a stack of money on the bar in front of the man and said, “Thanks, Karl. Keep ‘em coming.”
He grabbed up the money and laughed. “That’s your girls’ job, Doll.”
Dolly laughed and walked off. “You know it, Karl. You’re boys’ will be out soon.”
He got up, downed the remainder of his drink and said, “Nice to meet you, darlin’.”
“Goodbye,” Shannon replied and watched him move out the door to presumably wait in the car. She sipped her drink and glanced back at the table. Crash and his brothers were still deep in conversation. Hearing the doorbell ring again, she watched as Dolly seated another group of men. A moment later that bell chimed calling the next lineup. In a spur of the moment decision, she picked her drink up and moved toward the archway to get a better look.
Crash ran his hand over his face. “So, if he’s skimming, Cole, what’s the plan?”
“What do you mean?” Cole frowned back at him. “We get the fucking money back, and we beat the crap out of him, dumbass.”