Page 33

The strip club was wild tonight. Almost frantic.

Perhaps it was just the antsy buzz that sat in Wolf’s gut like a lead weight.

A few patrons had asked about Candie, but so far no one had complained.

The newest girl, Sheila, made up for the missing headliner, and the enthusiasm showed in the collection of green bills hanging in a row from her G-string.

Quillon was there for a change, mostly because the two of them had to show a united front to the other club members—and, if needed, to the Slaggers. They stood close to the front door, continuously scanning the crowd for trouble.

“My gut says something’s about to go down, but I can’t put my finger on it.” Quillon had a knack for reading people. So far, nothing had sent up alarms, but his words belied his easy demeanor.

“I’m getting the same vibe, brother. Shit is about to hit the fan, and I wish I knew who was throwing it or which direction it’ll come from.”

Quillon grunted and nodded at Camshaft, who’d stationed himself on the other side. “Any blowback from the Candie thing?”

“Nothing so far. Kinda strange. I expected her to come blustering in by now and offer to blow Scrap to get her job back.”

“She might as well suck off a stone statue. Scrap has nothing to do with women. Any woman.”

“Why is that?”

Quillon scratched his chin. “Wife left him before his accident. Rumor is, she took off for some guy she met online. Baghouse said she tried to come back once, and Scrap threw her out. Said she ended up in Florida of all places. He won’t talk about it or speak her name.

You already know Scrap is one of the bitterest human beings on this planet.

He cares for no one, and that’s getting more and more apparent by how he treats this club. ”

Wolf glanced over the row of men and thought about Quillon’s insight.

It explained a lot, but it was no excuse for the half-hearted leadership.

He was convinced they were on the right path in seeking a new president.

Part of him wanted Quillon to fill that role. The other part wanted to do it himself.

“I know what you’re thinking, brother,” Quillon stated.

“Let me tell you straight, I do not have the time nor the energy to turn this club around. I can help, but I can’t lead.

We’ve been talking a lot, and I had a personal conversation with Scrap.

We’ll take a formal vote soon, but for all intents and purposes, you’re in the hot seat now.

You tell me what you need from me and you’ll have it. ”

An invisible weight landed on Wolf’s shoulders. The responsibility of leading and rebuilding this club intimidated him, but someone had to step up. He guessed that someone was him.

“Through the fires of hell, men of steel are forged.”

Time to ignite the furnace.

Sheila finished her set and bounced off the stage, her fake double-D’s having a party all to themselves.

Wolf grinned in amusement as he saw Camshaft shift his junk from one side of his jeans to the other.

The younger man had always been vigilant when he came to his security job, but it was a nice distraction to see his human reaction to a great pair of tits.

Yeah, they were nice, but he preferred the natural movement of Jazz’s breasts.

The night wore on, but Wolf’s gut instincts never waned.

His muscles grew sore from the constant ready tension, and his head started buzzing with an impending headache.

He thought about texting Jazz to see if she could bring him a migraine injection but decided against it.

Her sleep patterns were just as irregular as his, so she should be in bed getting some shut-eye.

At least he hoped she was. He didn’t remember her saying she would hold off on the hacking thing.

Quillon raised a concerned eyebrow at Wolf’s muttered curse. “What’s on your mind?”

“I should have made her promise me.”

Quillon grunted. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but if it’s over a woman, I’m glad you found someone. I never thought I’d get Tracie, but we’re coming up on our anniversary. Best thing I’ve ever done is put a ring on her finger.”

Wolf nodded. “That’s in the plans.”

Crossman appeared before them, nervous as hell. “Yinz gotta come out now. Denny is here. Somethin’ happened over at the motel, and you’re not gonna like it.”

Wolf and Quillon exchanged glances before moving as a unit to the front door.

Officer Denny was standing outside, along with four other policemen in full uniform.

The man’s face showed his age with every year of hard living from his chosen profession.

“Evenin’, Wolf. I gotta ask you a couple questions.

” He sighed, and his mouth turned down farther. “Where were you earlier tonight?”

“I was at home with my girl, then ran by the bakery to check on things before coming to work.”

Denny shook his head. “Shit. What time frame was that?”

Wolf’s senses shot to high alert. “I left Jazz around seven thirty and got here around nine thirty.”

“Did you go by the motel?”

Wolf didn’t have to ask which motel Denny referred to. “No. What’s going on?”

“When was the last time you saw Candie Sweet? I understand you two had a fight when you fired her. Was it a lovers’ quarrel?”

“Candie was fired because she broke too many rules too many times. We haven’t been lovers in years. Did something happen to her?”

Denny let out a breath. “Yeah, something happened. We got an anonymous tip that someone heard screams coming from that place, and not the good-time kind. We found your former stripper lying face down with a scarf around her neck. She’d been torn up pretty bad and strangled to death.

The caller told us he saw you leave her room.

Named you specifically as the one who killed her.

We have to do a more thorough investigation, but until we get more evidence, I got no choice.

” He shook his head. “You have no clue how much I hate doin’ this.

Wolf, I’m afraid you’re under arrest for the murder of Candie Sweet. ”