Page 94 of Rum & Coke

“We just made it official. There’s no way she’d jump ship.”

“Let’s talk to this fucker and see what he says.”

I now knew why Tessa didn’t work Mondays, or mornings for that matter. When Gabe and I walked into Red Diamond, it was dead. There were still dancers on rotation, but besides him and me in the seats, there was only one other guy. I wasn’t sure how I was going to talk to the boss. Galen wasn’t at the doors when we arrived—it was some other dude—and when I asked where he was, we were told he only worked nights. I had no one on the inside that I knew. No Tessa, no Melony, and no Galen.

“Now what?” Gabe asked.

I looked over at him. “Fuck if I know.”

“Are we just going to sit here and wait and see if we spot the owner?”

“Yep.” We saw the guy at the fight, and I was certain if I saw him again I’d know it was him.

“He has to have an office, right? Let’s go there.”

I looked around the dark, red room, looking for a door or something. I spotted stairs behind us and then looked up. There was a glass wall that overlooked the stage. “I bet he’s up there.” I pointed.

“Let’s go.”

“We’re just going to walk up there?”

It probably wasn’t a good idea to go barging into this guy’s office because from what I knew or assumed of drug dealers, they had a gun on them at all times. I was certain that wasn’t only in movies because drugs were a good moneymaker and no drug dealer would want to lose their shit or get robbed.

“I don’t think we should just barge in.” I looked around. “Let me talk to the bartender and see if we can get the okay.”

“Yeah. I’ll wait here.”

I stood and moved to the bar, thinking about what I was going to say. Just as I stepped up, an idea popped into my head.

“What can I getcha?”

I leaned on the wood top. “Actually, I work for Saddles & Racks, and I have this client who wants a woman to come with us on our date.”

The guy grinned. “Really?”

I smiled back. “She doesn’t want any of the women we have at S&R, so I thought I’d come here and see if any of the girls would want to make some extra money.”

“I’m sure they would.”

“Great. Mind if I talk to your boss about it?”

“Yeah, let me buzz him and tell him you’re here.”

“Perfect.”

I watched the guy grab a phone and then speak into it. I couldn’t hear what was said, but after a minute he came back.

“He said to go on up.”

“Thanks, man.” I turned to go back to Gabe. “We’re in.”

Gabe stood. “Really?”

“Told the guy that I have a client who wants a girl to join our date and that I want to check with his boss about it.”

“Smart.”

I grinned. “Yeah, man. Now, let’s go find out where the fuck Tessa is.”