Page 21 of Strip Search

M iles Carvello

I was happy for Jackie. It was pure selfishness that I hoped she got the job and stayed awhile in Vegas.

The past week had been the best I’d had in a long time.

She made things seem fresh and fun again.

She reminded me that there was a world outside of Dalton’s.

I was looking forward to seeing her reaction to the Moondust Cherry Ranch, but brothels weren’t really my thing.

While I could see the appeal of the lack of strings attached when quick sex was a transaction, I imagined it got old really fast. I could save myself a grand by jacking off to online porn and get the same satisfaction.

In my experience with cathouses and the women who worked them, there were three types of hookers.

The ones there to make as much money as possible in a short period of time gave good customer service, but nickel-and-dimed everything.

The damaged ones looked for love and acceptance and got what they could from pleasing the customer.

They did whatever it took to give the client a good time and keep them spending money because it made the house happy and it made her feel valued.

And then there were the ones that liked sex and getting paid for it.

They got paid for having fun. The last type were few and far between, no matter what hype the madam and her girls told you.

And after listening to their mothers, I’d put Dee as a number one and Jackie’s sister as a number two—if she had made the jump to prostitute.

Grier was late and, while I appreciated that his undercover status made his schedule flexible, I wanted our business over and done with by the time Jackie came back from her audition.

I knew she would be eager to get on the road to find out about her sister, but I was eager to spend some time making love to her first. And it seemed like she felt the same.

Liu and his cousins were in the kitchen making something delicious and I hoped Jackie wouldn’t think I was a cheapskate if I recommended we eat here before heading out.

I wanted more intimate moments with her, like being in my apartment alone instead of surrounded by a hundred other people in a restaurant.

Miranda was lazily swaying around the pole when I went out to check on things. Grier was there at the front table, nursing a beer and a plate of nachos.

“You could have texted me that you were here.”

“I wanted to enjoy the show,” he said, not taking his eyes off Miranda.

Miranda couldn’t dance worth a squat, but her body was banging. The music was low, and the lights were high because it was early in the day.

“You might want to have a talk with her, though. She’s flashed me the goods a few times.”

I glared up at Miranda. She was looking at a two-thousand-dollar fine if she didn’t keep her bits covered. “Dip you tip her?”

“A twenty both times.” He grinned at me. “So you know I won’t bust her because that could be entrapment.”

“Stop leading my dancers into temptation.”

“I think I’m in love. Lighten up.”

“I can’t. Did you hear what happened last night?” I thanked Jilly, his waitress, when she came over with my usual club soda and lime.

“Yeah, from what I gathered some asshole sprayed something that smelled like gas and people panicked and you got shut down.” Grier couldn’t take his eyes off Miranda. I was pretty sure she wasn’t going to flash him again while I was sitting there.

“Let’s go back into my office and I’ll tell you why I think that might be related to a few findings I’ve had this week.”

Grier held up another twenty and Miranda hopped down from the stage. It never failed to amaze me that she did that in five-inch heels.

“Do you want a lap dance?” she purred.

“Later.” He tucked the bill into her G-string and if his fingers lingered a bit, neither one of them minded.

I headed over to my office. Grier knew the way. I had a moment to wish Jackie were here as I sat behind my desk. Grier walked in a few minutes later and closed the door behind him.

“Why am I here?” he asked, sitting in the armchair across from me. He still had half a beer, so I tossed him a coaster while I told him about Ginny selling drugs to frat boys in the dressing room and finding the stash in Paulie’s locker.

“Let me see the haul.”

I opened the safe and handed over the pistol and the drugs.

“This was what I found in the locker.” Grier frowned and turned the bags over and over while he looked at them.

He opened the one with the pills and squinted at the capsule.

Then he took the powder and tentatively sniffed.

Turning away, he sneezed into his shoulder.

“You made me come out here special for this shit? At least Miranda made it worth the trip,” he said.

“What are you talking about?”

“There’s not enough weed here to make a profit. The powder could have traces of coke in it, but it’s mostly talc and I’m pretty sure these are over-the-counter allergy meds.” He waved the bag of pills.

“What the crap?”

“I’ll run a trace on the pistol, but I don’t think it will give us anything. Someone was either setting Paulie up or is fucking with you. Let me see Ginny’s stash.”

Getting the smaller baggies out of the safe, I looked them over and then tossed them to him. It seemed like the same shit to me. “Why would they be setting Paulie up?”

“To get heat taken off of them. Because Paulie pissed them off. There’s a whole host of reasons.” He pocketed the pistol.

I watched as Grier compared the two sets of drugs.

“This shit is real. I’ll see if I can trace them back to a known batch.” Leaning back in his chair. “You shouldn’t have fired Ginny.”

“I wasn’t thinking. I was pissed.”

“Is there any way she’d come back?”

I made a face. “Maybe if I kissed her ass and begged.”

“Do it.”

“Why?”

“Because she’ll behave for a few weeks and then get right back into it. And then I’ll send a frat boy of my own choosing to buy from her and we’ll see if she’ll make a deal.”

“You can pick her up right now based on this stuff, right? I caught her in the act. That’s possession and intent to sell right there.”

Grier held up a hand. “Settle down, Columbo. It’s not that easy. It would be your word against hers. You didn’t actually see money exchange hands, did you?”

“No,” I admitted.

“Did you get the little frat asshole’s name and number?”

“No.”

“Then a competent lawyer would argue that the drugs were his and she’d walk.”

“Fuck.” I rubbed my hand over my face.

“Get Ginny back here and we can try again.” Grier got up to leave. I walked him to the door. Scrolling through my phone, I hoped I had deleted Ginny’s number so I wouldn’t have to call her. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that organized.

Opening the door for him, I said, “I’ll give her a call and grovel.”

“Do that. And if you get any more like this,” he shook the baggies, “give me a call. Oh, excuse me, Miss.”

I looked up from dialing Ginny and saw Jackie standing there, stunned as Grier moved around her and went back into club.

“How did it go?” I asked.

She turned on her heel and stormed away.

“Jackie, wait!”

Ginny took that moment to answer the phone. “I knew you’d call.”

Fuck. I wanted to go after Jackie, but I needed to get on Ginny’s good side first. “Yeah, look. I’m sorry. I was a dick that night. If you still want a job, you got it.” That ought to be enough, right?

“Just like that?”

“Don’t break my balls.” I watched as Jackie stormed past Grier and out of the club. Fuck.

“I don’t want to work Sundays. I want prime time Friday and Saturday.”

“Fine,” I bit out, telling myself I was doing this so Grier would share information with me.

“And I want to negotiate your percentage,” she said.

“My percentage is fair,” I said. If word got out that I was willing to drop my cut, I’d be in a load of trouble. “I don’t charge a house fee or make you tip out.”

Although most of the dancers did tip the bus staff, DJs, and bouncers at the end of the night.

“You owe me for being mean to me,” she wheedled.

I had to get this bitch off the phone and go after Jackie. “If you want the job be here Friday night. If not, don’t. You’re getting the same fifty-fifty split as all the other girls, though.”

“I’ll think about it.” She hung up on me.

I rushed through the bar after Jackie.

JACKIE MITCHELL

Oh my God. Miles was a drug dealer. I barely made it to my car before I started to cry.

How could I have been so stupid? I pulled out into traffic and headed back to the Strip.

I’d go to Pahrump on my own. I should have known better than to get so involved before I knew a thing about Miles aside from the fact he fucked like a Greek god.

I didn’t even get a chance to tell him about the audition.

I realized I was too upset to drive, so I pulled into a parking garage until I got under control.

Did Lisa leave Dalton’s because she didn’t want to be involved with the drug scene?

Miles was blowing up my phone, but I didn’t want to deal with him right now.

Damn it. All I wanted was to ride the buzz of my audition for a little while and have some hot sex with a man I really liked before I had to drive two hours to track down Lisa.

I didn’t even know him. And I had no one to blame, but Las Vegas Jackie.

My stomach growled loudly, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. I’d danced my ass off at the audition, so those calories were long gone.

Getting out of the car, I decided to grab a late lunch and a few cups of coffee before heading out.

Walking down the Strip, I barely registered the sights, but when a convertible started beeping the horn at me it jolted me out of my thoughts.

At first glance it was filled with obnoxious, but gorgeous men.

I did a double take until I recognized Darcy at the wheel.

He pulled to the curb, pissing off everyone on the road, but he didn’t care.

“Want a ride, luv?” he asked, grinning at me.

“Are all Australian men hot? Is it like a requirement for living in the country?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “Get in.”

“I don’t think there’s room for me.”

“I’ll make one of these wankers walk.” Then he looked at me closer. “Have you been crying?”

“No,” I said.

Darcy put the car in park and hopped out.

“You can’t park there,” I said.

The guys in the car did vehicular musical chairs and the new driver took off while the others gave Darcy obscene gestures and called him vulgar names. He flipped them off as they sped away.

“They just stranded you,” I said.

“I’ll catch up.” He took hold of my elbow. “Now tell me who made you cry so I can kick his arse.”

“Miles,” I said.

“He’s a tough bloke,” Darcy said. “And he hits like a fucking sledgehammer. Before I go toe-to-toe with him, do you mind telling me what he did?”

“I don’t know where to start,” I said helplessly.

“Where are you heading?”

“I was going to get something to eat.”

“Bonzer. I know the perfect place. Do you like drag queens?”

“Who doesn’t?”

A few minutes later, we were being serenaded by dual Chers singing Abba. I had an enormous iced coffee in front of me with shaved chocolate chips and real whipped cream. Our burgers and fries were on the way.

“Did you find Lisa?” I asked, wishing there were a way I could inject the caffeine directly into my veins. But that made me think of Miles and that horrid scene at Dalton’s.

“Not a trace, but I think that might be a good thing.”

“I’m heading up there today to see if I can get a lead on where she went. Miles was going to come with me for moral support.” I looked up at Darcy hopefully. “I don’t suppose you want to tag along.”

He shook his head. “I can’t. We’re going to throw axes and joust.”

“Sounds like a great time.”

“I’m in it for the turkey legs the size of dinner platters.”

The food came quickly, and I was dunking a thick steak fry into a puddle of ketchup when Darcy said, “So tell me about Miles.”

I quickly stuffed the fry in my mouth to give me time to compose myself while I chewed. “I went to Dalton’s and caught him making a drug deal.”

“That doesn’t sound like Miles,” Darcy said. “He’s clean and hates the stuff. At least he did in ‘Straya.”

“People change,” I said, drowning my sorrows in the iced coffee.

“Tell me exactly what you saw.” Darcy attacked his burger like he hadn’t eaten in weeks.

“Miles and some other guy were leaving his office. The other guy was carrying some baggies. I saw pills and weed. He told Miles to call him if he got more of the good stuff.”

“What was Miles doing?”

“He was on the phone. I heard him say something along the lines that he had to grovel to someone.”

“I can see why you thought a drug deal was going down, but there could be another explanation,” Darcy said. “What did he say happened?”

“I don’t know. I ran out of there.”

“Has he called?”

“Yeah.” I looked into my purse.

“You owe it to him to hear him out.”

“Why?” I said. I didn’t want him to lie, and worse I didn’t want to believe some half-ass story because I still wanted the bastard.

“In all of the time I’ve known Miles, he’s never dated an exotic dancer. And I’ve seen them throw themselves at him.”

That didn’t surprise me.

“I’ve also never seen him come to personally escort a dancer who wasn’t in trouble out of a VIP room, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say I think you’ve gotten under his skin in a good way. And the way you’re feeling makes me think you’re in the same boat.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

“He’s a good bloke. Give him a chance to explain what you saw. If you still want me to knock him around after, I’ll give it a go.”

“That won’t be necessary.” I pulled out my phone. Three missed calls and two texts.

Where are you? Why did you leave? and Call me.

I showed them to Darcy.

“He’s a man of few words. Put the poor bastard out of his misery. Tell him you’ll be over after we’ve finished lunch.” He checked his phone. “Can you drop me off at the Rio first though? The boys are hitting the tables and I’m feeling lucky.”