Page 21 of Empire of Seduction (New York State of Mafia #2)

ten

. . .

Vito

Squinting in the low light, I let my eyes adjust to the main room.

The smell of disinfectant assaulted me, the bass rattling in my chest. The sun was shining outside, but you’d never know it inside this dark windowless room.

Lights flashed and the party atmosphere was desperate to catch on.

A guy yelled on the microphone, promoting drink specials to the half-dozen men scattered around the room.

“Welcome to Sparkles,” a girl said, approaching me, Cesare and Tommaso. She held a tray up near her ample tits and eyed me up and down. “I haven’t seen you here before. Want a table, honey?”

I nodded and the three of us were given a horseshoe-shaped booth facing the stage. One dancer gyrated and twirled around a pole, while two other girls worked the floor. I needed to talk to some of the girls first before I approached the owner.

We ordered drinks and the girl left to get them. “I’ll talk to a few of the dancers,” I told Cesare and Tommaso. “Keep ordering drinks but don’t drink them.”

When the drinks arrived, we didn’t have to wait long before the girls on the floor approached our booth. One crawled over Tommaso to sit between us, though her attention was entirely on me. Her lip gloss glistened in the low light. “Hi. Want a dance?”

“Yes,” I said instantly. “Lead the way.”

We slid out of the booth. Tommaso and Cesare stayed behind with two girls, while I trailed mine to a back room.

There, everything was colored red, from the light overhead to the padded benches lining the walls, and every surface sparkled.

The music wasn’t as loud here, which was good. It would allow me to ask questions.

Grabbing my hand, she led me to a seat. This was far from my first lap dance, so I rested my arms on the back of the bench, leaving my hands in plain sight. Though there was no one else in the room, I knew there were cameras. Guards weren’t far away.

Once I was settled, she began moving sensuously, showing off her body, palms sliding over her smooth skin.

Her tits were full and lush, barely contained by her skimpy top, and her hips ground into my dick over and over.

I waited for the automatic response from my body, my dick predictably going rock hard at the friction.

Except nothing happened. I was limp beneath her.

I frowned. I jerked off this morning in bed, so I knew my dick wasn’t broken. Yes, I’d been thinking about Maggie and everything I would do to her if I ever got the chance. Like make her crawl on her hands and knees and beg me to fuck her . . . .

My dick began to thicken.

Fuck.

“That’s enough,” I told the woman grinding on me. “I need to ask you questions and will pay well for the information.”

She crawled off me and adjusted her thong. “I only dance. I’m not going to fuck you back here.”

“No, not that. A friend of mine came in last night. Italian, like me. Did you see him?”

“I didn’t work last night, but I heard some of the girls talking about him today. He threw a lot of cash around.”

“Was there any girl he paid particular attention to?”

“I don’t know, but I could ask.”

“I’d appreciate it. I’d also like to know if there was anyone who approached him, someone he argued with. Someone who might’ve wanted to hurt him.”

Her eyes darted toward the door nervously. She knew something.

“Tell me,” I urged.

“Like I said, I wasn’t here last night.” Crawling back onto my lap, she peeled down the cups of her top, letting her breasts spill out. Was she hoping to distract me?

I held up my palms, trying to stop her. “I’ll pay you. I need to find out what happened to my friend.”

“Why?”

“If you know something, I will make sure you’re compensated.”

“It’s not that.” She turned around and began grinding, her ass bouncing as she moved over my crotch. “I don’t want any trouble.”

I leaned in ever so slightly. “I can protect you. I swear, signorina. I won’t let anyone hurt you if you tell me what I want to know.”

She shook her head.

Frustration tightened in my chest like a fist, but I forced myself to remain calm. “I am more powerful, more dangerous than anyone in this town. If you help me, I will protect you.”

She crawled off my lap and fixed the cups of her top. “That’s two hundred.”

I took out my money clip and peeled off five one-hundred-dollar bills. “If you tell me, I’ll give you these.”

Leaning in, she opened her bikini top. As I slipped the money inside, she whispered, “There were some guys here last night. Red Raiders, a motorcycle club. They treat the girls like shit. If your friend tried to step in, they might have hurt him.”

The same Red Raiders who’d been selling drugs behind Maggie’s kitchen.

I peeled off more bills and tucked them into her top. “Grazie, signorina. If you have any trouble, any at all, or you need me, come to the Fiorentino Winery and ask for Vito.”

“Fiorentino Winery, Vito,” she repeated.

“That’s right.”

“I’m Brittany.” She took my hand and started walking me toward the exit. “Now I know why you didn’t enjoy the lap dance. I worried for a minute that your equipment might be broken.”

“My lack of enthusiasm had nothing to do with you. You’re beautiful.”

“Is it your wife?” She nodded down at the ring I wore.

“Yes,” I lied.

“She’s very lucky. What’s her name?”

“Maggie,” I said before I thought better of it. But as soon as it left my mouth, I realized it was true. Maggie might not be my wife, but she was the woman I was constantly thinking about.

“Aw, that’s cute.”

We entered the main stage area and I said goodbye to Brittany, then strode toward the booth.

Cesare was preoccupied, talking to one of the dancers, but Tommaso was scanning the room, staying alert.

I met his gaze and gave him a lift of my chin.

He stood and met me in the middle of the floor.

“Red Raiders were here last night,” I told him.

“You think they recognized Gaetano? Can’t be, Vito.”

“It seems unlikely, but I don’t like coincidences. Let’s find the owner. These places have cameras and I want to see the footage.”

We approached one of the bouncers. “Where can we find the owner?” I held up two hundred dollars in my fingers just to prove I was serious.

He eyed the money but didn’t take it. “Who is asking?”

I wasn’t giving out that information, not here. “Someone who will be very grateful for your assistance.”

“I’ll get him. He’s in the back.”

I shifted the bills and only gave him one. “Half now, half when you return with him.”

Putting the money in his pocket, he disappeared toward the side of the stage and through a door there.

It only took a few minutes before the bouncer returned, trailed by a short man with a white beard and messy white hair.

He had a pair of wire rimmed glasses on his face and wore a wrinkled suit.

When the pair joined up with me, I handed the bouncer the rest of the money, then put out my hand to the owner. “You are the owner?”

“Clyde Michaels. Nice to meet you, Mr. . . . ?”

“Let’s talk in private, if you don’t mind.”

“What is this about?”

“A friend of mine was here last night. He didn’t come home.”

Clyde’s white brows climbed his forehead. “Follow me.”

Tommaso and I trailed Clyde behind the stage to a set of offices. He opened the door to one and we all went in. I lowered myself into a chair and Clyde took the seat behind the desk.

He straightened his tie. “Now, tell me who you are.”

“My name is Vito D’Agostino and I’m an associate of Luca Benetti. I’m in town with some of my men. One of them was here last night.”

Clyde rubbed his beard. “And you said he didn’t come home.”

“That’s correct. The Red Raiders. Do they stop by often?”

He put up his palms. “Listen, we’re a respectable place. I don’t want any trouble.”

“I understand, but I also need to find out what happened to my friend. I want to see your camera footage.”

His eyes flicked to Tommaso, who had casually moved next to the desk. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“I promise you, Signore Michaels, it’s a very good idea. Because I intend to review that footage by whatever means necessary.”

His throat worked as he swallowed. “I don’t have cameras in the lot. Only inside. So if something happened as he left, it won’t be there.”

That was disappointing. “May I ask why not?”

“We’ve never had an incident here. The bouncers escort the girls to their cars.”

“I’d like to see the indoor footage, then.”

“What time did he come in?”

I looked at Tommaso. “Around ten-thirty,” my guard said. “The last video he recorded was a little after one-thirty.”

Clyde studied me and it was like I could see him weighing his options. “You’re associated with Benetti?”

“I am.”

“Twenty thousand.”

That price was exorbitant, and this wasn’t a negotiation. Did Clyde think he had leverage over me? “I’ll give you ten and this remains friendly.” I gestured to Tommaso, who took out the agreed-upon amount of money and dropped it on Clyde’s desk. I said to the owner, “Now, show me the footage.”

After stashing the money, Clyde began typing on his computer. He worked for a few minutes, clicking his mouse and pressing the occasional key. “Here.” He spun the monitor to face me.

I edged closer. There were eight video streams showing various parts of the club. “You take the left four,” I told Tommaso. “I’ll take the rest.”

I watched my four tiny screens, looking for any sign of Gaetano. The time stamp started at ten o’clock, so I knew it wouldn’t take long.

“There,” Tommaso said not long after, pointing at one square. “There he is.”

“Stop. Enlarge that camera,” I ordered Clyde. “Let’s follow him and see what happens.”

Clyde did as I asked and we began tracking Gaetano at double speed.

He paid for a few dances, watched the stage, and drank his beers.

People walked through the camera, but no one stopped to talk to him except the girls.

We continued to watch the footage until Gaetano left.

“Wait to see if anyone follows,” I said.