Page 22 of Strip Search

M iles Carvello

Jackie’s text said she’d pick me up in front of Dalton’s in a half hour and then she didn’t pick up the phone or respond to any of my texts. I was trying not to be pissed, but it wasn’t working. Thirty minutes later on the dot, she pulled up in her rental car.

“We’re taking my car,” I told her.

She opened her mouth to argue with me, but must have seen the look on my face. “Fine.”

Backing out of my parking spot, I gave her enough room to pull in and then waited for her to get in the car before ripping into her.

“What the fuck was that all about?” I had preset the Moondust Cherry Ranch into the GPS, so I didn’t need to think about directions. I pulled into traffic and glared at her out of the corner of my eye.

“Miles, are you selling drugs?”

“The fuck?” I whipped a glance at her. “Is that what you think you saw?”

“What did I see?”

I shook my head and tried to put a simmer on my temper.

Normally I wouldn’t tell anyone about Grier, but Jackie was leaving in less than two weeks.

“That was an undercover cop trying to get a hold on the drug trade this side of the Strip. I’d appreciate it if you don’t mention that bit of information to anyone. It could literally cost him his life.”

“That’s a convenient story,” she said.

I shook my head. “You can believe me or not. I don’t give a fuck.”

“I want to believe you,” Jackie said. She placed her hand on my arm.

I shook her off, still too pissed at her to want her touch.

I knew this was a bad idea. I should have gently tossed her fine ass out of my club instead of letting her shake it on stage and I definitely shouldn’t have fucked her over a desk.

I should have taken my time with her in bed.

Because that was all I could think about now.

How it was all fucked up and it would have been so damn good.

“You don’t have to take me to Pahrump,” she said quietly.

I pulled over to the side of the road, amidst the blaring of horns. “Do you want me to go with you or not?”

“Yes. Yes, I want you to come with me to Pahrump. Yes, I want to believe you’re not a drug dealer. And yes, I still want to fuck your brains out.”

My lips twitched. “You couldn’t have led off with that last one?” And just like that the anger simmered down to a mild irritation. I got back on the road.

“Here’s the thing,” Jackie said, and I couldn’t wait for what was going to come next. “We missed a few steps in our courtship. I’m not complaining, because I liked what happened. But I know nothing about you that hasn’t come from the Internet. How would I know you weren’t a drug dealer?”

“Fair enough.” I shrugged. “The Internet has most of it. What holes do you want me to fill in?”

“Are we still talking about sex? Because all of them.”

“All?” I drawled. The day was looking up. Another notch of tension eased in my back. Maybe this situation wasn’t completely fucked up.

“Why did you come back to Las Vegas? You looked like you were living the dream in Ibiza, London, and Mykonos.” Jackie kicked off her shoes and put her feet on my dashboard. “I bet you saw a lot of exotic dancers.”

I swatted her feet down, avoiding the question. “That’s dangerous. If we get into an accident, your dance career is over.”

“Danger is my middle name,” she said.

“Is it?”

“No it’s Aida. My mom gave us Broadway middle names. Lisa’s middle name is Pippin.”

“You got lucky.”

“One of the few perks of being born first.” Jackie eased the seat back. “Have you got a middle name?”

“No. My parents weren’t too concerned with me. My uncle Johnny raised me for the most part. You would have liked him. He had a weird sense of humor and he loved blondes.”

She was quiet for a moment. “When did he pass away?”

“About two years ago. He died in a fire when some assholes burned down his club.”

“That’s awful.” Jackie gasped and touched my arm again. This time I let her keep it there.

“I rebuilt over the spot. Dalton was his last name. His place was called Uncle Johnny’s Gentlemen’s Club. Full nude. He didn’t serve alcohol. I worked there as a kid.”

“Your parents didn’t mind?”

“If it didn’t involve cards or dice, my parents didn’t care about much. I don’t even know if they’re still alive. I doubt it. They didn’t come to Uncle Johnny’s funeral.”

“Have you ever tried to find them?”

“I haven’t seen them in twenty years. I don’t even remember what they look like.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I couldn’t care less about them. It’s my uncle I want justice for. They never caught the people who set the fire. The cops didn’t even know where to start looking. The first thing I did when I got here was research the local gangs. That’s how I met Grier.”

“Let me guess. You saved him from a beat down too.”

I gave her a strange look.

“Darcy said you took a bottle in the arm for him.”

“That was a long time ago.” I shrugged it off. “Anyway, the gangs were in a turf war. The cops figured Uncle Johnny’s was just collateral damage.”

“What do you think?”

“I think the bail bondsman and the pawnshop across the street weren’t touched because they paid protection.

Uncle Johnny didn’t. I think the other places on the street laundered money or let the gang sell out of their stores.

Uncle Johnny didn’t allow any shit in his bar.

People were banned for life if they brought in drugs, prostitution or if someone started a fight.

He had enemies. It could have been one of them. ”

“Do you have any trouble like that?”

“Not so much. The local gang calls themselves the Rivs after the Riviera Casino that was torn down in 2015. Their leader, Leonidas, and I bumped heads a few years ago but I don’t think he was responsible for burning down my uncle’s bar.”

“Why?”

“At the time, he didn’t have the clout to pull it off. Nowadays, it’s not his style. He’s more a bullets and shanking type of guy.”

“Do you think it was the mob?” Jackie asked.

“Possibly, but not likely. Uncle Johnny’s had a small local following and he liked it that way. He wouldn’t have attracted the attention of the bigger families.”

“It must be frustrating for you.”

“I thought I’d have an answer by now, yeah.

But I like my club. It’s nice to have a home of my own.

Don’t get me wrong, traveling all over the world for ten years was great.

But when I lost Uncle Johnny, all I could think of was that I should have been here.

Maybe, if I had been, he wouldn’t have died. ”

“You don’t know that. You might have died with him.” Jackie’s voice caught.

I gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m a lot tougher than I look. Anyway, I help Grier in his job, and he keeps an ear out. The trail grows colder each day, but I know one day I’ll get Uncle Johnny justice.”

“I believe you,” she said, and leaned her head on my shoulder.

“How did the audition go?” I asked.

She sat up straight again. “It was awesome. I think I did okay. At least I didn’t embarrass myself. The combo was giving me a hard time, but I think I nailed it when I was up there by myself. Anyway, they’ll call if they’re interested—which means I’ll never hear from them again.”

“Think positive.”

“I’m positive I won’t get a callback. But it doesn’t matter. I did it and I’m glad I went.” She leaned over and kissed my cheek.

“What’s that for?”

“For putting up with my shit.” She gave me another. “That one’s for giving a shit about the audition.”

“Like I told you, anytime.” I waited for a stop light, turned her face to mine, and kissed her lips.

The honking told me the light had changed and I reluctantly pulled back.

She seemed as breathless as me. Jackie chattered on about the dance routine and the choreography.

It went over my head, but it made the drive go by easier.

She helped me stop thinking of how I fucked up by letting my temper get to me when I fired Ginny, instead of playing smart and letting Grier handle it.

Being with Jackie reminded me of the good times I had in Ibiza, when the worst problem I had was whether to wear my Bulgari watch or my Rolex.

I had hocked both of them to pay rent on Dalton’s a year ago.

I didn’t miss them, but I did miss cruising with a beautiful woman at my side.

“Are you sure this is it?” Jackie asked as we pulled into the Moondust Cherry Ranch parking lot. It didn’t look like much from the outside, basically several double wide trailers linked together into a ring.

“What were you expecting?”

“Something a little fancier.”

“They don’t need to be fancy on the outside.”

I got out of the car and opened the door for her. I figured taking her to a chicken ranch lost me gentleman points, so I wanted to make up for it.

“Have you . . . have you ever been here before?” she asked, looking up at me with her big green eyes.

“No, but what you’re really asking me is if I’ve ever been to a brothel before, right?”

“More like do you have a frequent fucker card.”

She surprised a laugh out of me. “No. The last time I frequented a house of ill repute I was eighteen. I had just graduated from high school and that was my Uncle Johnny’s present to me.”

“How . . . sweet?” Jackie said tentatively as we walked up to the front door. Sounds of loud bass lines and laughter drifted out through the door.

I snorted. “I would have rather he’d given me the thousand bucks.”

“A thousand?” She gaped at me. “What the hell did you get for that?”

I had to think about it. “I got a hand job. A blow job. Body touching privileges and a quick lay.”

“Did you order that off the menu?”

“Yes,” I said seriously. “That’s how it goes. It took about an hour.”

“A thousand bucks an hour sure beats two fifty.” Jackie inhaled a shaky breath.

“I’m not sure how much the house cut is, but they also pay out to the taxi and limo drivers. I have no idea what the takeaway is. If Broadway didn’t like grinding in the VIP room, your sister would never do what these girls do all day.”