Hot as Hades (23 page)

***

Afterwards, they sat in the heated water, bodies entwined. Surrounded by candlelight, she leaned back and watched the stars above. Out here, away from the light of the big cities, more of the twinkling lights could be seen. It looked like a massive black blanket, encrusted with millions of silvery dots.

 So beautiful.

She felt serene, for the first time in a very long time. Her life had been on overdrive for so long in Afghanistan, and even when she’d returned stateside, she’d been frantically searching for her sister. It felt good to just be still, drink the night in.

Sex with Cowboy had been different, she’d
felt
it. It hadn’t been the usual fun, raunchy meeting of bodies she forgot the morning after. But right at the moment, she couldn’t muster up the energy to freak out about what it meant. It felt too damn good, to be here in his arms, to relish the moment.

Cowboy cupped her chin, kissed her mouth. “You give me your body so willingly, Wildcat, but I want to be the only man who has ever touched you here.” He grazed her breast, but his hand settled on her chest, coming to rest over her heart.

Daisy was beginning to think he already had.

Not sure what it meant, but she’d worry about it later. Right now, the moment felt too good to break. He kissed her deeply, holding the back of her head, and stealing her breath.

When he pulled away, he said, “you should know something else,
my
woman sleeps in
my
bed. No arguments.”

Too tired to protest, she snuggled up beside him and let her eyes drift clothes. Before she fell completely asleep, she was dimly aware Cowboy hauled her into his arms and carried her to his bed.

Chapter Eighteen

 The next week passed quickly.

At Cowboy’s insistence, Daisy started sleeping beside him every night and it didn’t bother her nearly as much as it should. Oddly enough, she loved it, loved curling up next to his big, warm body, and waking up in his arms. If she wasn’t careful, she could get used to it. Daisy realized for the very first time in her life, she was in an honest to God relationship. She worked with him, shared his meals, made love to him, and slept beside him every night. It didn’t get more serious than that.

But it was temporary. It had to be.

They both knew she’d leave eventually, but they never spoke about it. Once she found Rose, she’d be headed to Fort Bliss. And Daisy refused to think about what might happen if she didn’t find her sister.

 During her weaker moments, Daisy wondered if working at the Pussycat was hopeless. She had gotten no closer finding Rose and frankly she put herself at risk every time she came walking into the godforsaken dump.

***

On a busy Thursday night, she managed to drag herself to the Palace.
Paradise City
by Guns N’ Roses blared from the speakers, and the crowd was in full swing. She’d been scheduled to go on stage in an hour and she seriously dreaded it.

She glanced at herself in one of the shiny mirrors by the bar. Daisy wore a black mesh number, which looked more like a faded Afghan than an actual dress. It stretched over her body and left virtually nothing to the imagination. She’d affixed black star pasties to her nipples and wore a tiny pair of black lacy panties.

She’d managed to tuck a switchblade into the panties. Not an easy task, but the mesh draped over her hips and the bulge didn’t seem immediately apparent. She hoped no one would notice it.

While Cowboy hated watching her dance for other men, she got the sneaking suspicion he didn’t mind the wardrobe. When she’d emerged from the dressing room earlier, wearing this getup, she’d thought his eyes might pop out of his head. She couldn’t help but think about him stripping it off of her later. Maybe with his teeth? The thought alone gave her a wicked little thrill. She discreetly caught Cowboy’s attention with a little wave and he winked at her, before ducking his head, concentrating on his beer once more.

Back to work…

 As she retrieved yet another set of glasses from the dishwasher, Unlucky walked in, dragging a brunette behind him. The girl was petite, maybe around five-foot-two or three and young. Twenty-one or twenty-two? She had wide, anxious green eyes with black smudges underneath, and her hair hung in a bedraggled mess around her pretty face. Daisy also noted the track marks on her arms, though she kept tugging at the sleeves of her shirt to keep them hidden.

They sat down at the opposite end of the bar and Unlucky flagged Daisy down. “Two shots of Jack and two beers,” he called.

Shit.

She groaned inwardly, not wanting to get anywhere near the douchebag again. For a second, she thought about trying to ruin his night. Maybe asking the girl for ID, but pissing him off hadn’t worked out so well for her the first time.

She grudgingly poured the drinks and carried them over. He grunted as she set the glasses down. Unlucky’s arm draped over her the girl’s back, his hand resting along the underside of her breast. The girl looked miserable, eyes downcast, shoulders slumped. She’d probably been expecting to go on a date, not a strip club. She felt a twinge of sympathy for her. If Daisy got the opportunity, she would pull the girl aside and warn her off Unlucky, maybe call her a cab and get her the hell out of here.

 “Can I get you anything else?” she asked Unlucky brightly.

He stared at her chest. Not her face. “Hey, I remember those tits.” He slowly worked his way up to meet her eyes. “I told you if you were a good girl, I’d let you suck my cock.”

A wave of nausea rippled through her stomach. He had another thing coming if he thought she’d be blowing him tonight. Or any night, for that matter. Frankly, she’d rather clean the bathrooms with her tongue than touch his penis.

The biker grabbed the other girl’s breast.
Way to keep it classy, Unlucky.
“Damn. Maybe we’ll have ourselves a little three-way. What do you think, Carrie?”

Daisy forced herself not to comment and then gathered up a couple of discarded beer steins from the counter beside him and placed them on a tray.

 “My name is Katie, Rock,” she whispered.

Rock?

The tray clattered to the floor, shattering the glasses at her feet. Daisy didn’t even notice.

Unlucky is Rock? Rock is Unlucky?!

She stood there, gaping at him, frozen for a moment. Shit. Rock must be short for sham
rock
, like his tats.
Holy shit!

Meanwhile, Rock slapped Katie across the face. “You’ll do what I fucking tell you to, bitch.” Tears appeared in the corner of her eyes.

Daisy shook her head, coming back to herself finally. She reached for the knife, she’d tucked into her panties, automatically. She bit the inside of her cheek, forced herself not to pull it out, hold the sharp blade against his throat, and demand he tell her what the fuck he had done with Rose.

“Why are you still standing here?” Rock growled. “Go away, slut. I’ll call you when I want to fuck your mouth.”

She hesitated, but sanity and reason finally won out. Daisy couldn’t go after him in front of his brothers. She’d have to bide her time and wait for an opportune moment. Daisy was suddenly glad she hadn’t brought a gun tonight, trusting in Cowboy’s shooting skills. Not sure if she could’ve resisted pulling one on him.

She went to the other end of the bar, pulled beers for bikers and tried to pull it together. When it came time to dance, she traded off with another stripper for a later set. She didn’t want to risk Rock disappearing on her. She’d follow his ass if she had to, find out where he stayed.

Although, other thoughts were troubling her. Because he’d shown up here with another girl. Did he discard Rose at the whorehouse? Stash her at his place?

God, what if he’d tired of her and…

No, she couldn’t let herself think negatively. Rose was alive! She had to be.

Cowboy shot her a questioning gaze a couple of times. Finally, she flicked her eyes to Rock and then back to Cowboy. He glanced at Rock and then at her once more. She mouthed
Rock
and his eyes widened. He nodded briskly, getting it. Then, whipped out his phone and fired off what she assumed was a text message to the club.

She went back to her stealthy perusal of her sister’s kidnapper. As Daisy watched, Unlucky placed something under Katie’s tongue. No idea
what, exactly
, but she bet it was a drug of some sort. He plied her with alcohol, too. She’d finished the drinks Daisy has brought over earlier and he’d also grabbed a passing waitress for a couple of more beers. For a girl Katie’s size, that much alcohol would get her plenty drunk, especially in combination with a drug of some sort. And sure enough, Katie soon slumped in her seat, almost completely out of it. Rock opened the buttons on the girl’s shirt, playing with her breasts.

Daisy wanted to intervene. Katie was too drunk to consent to whatever sick ideas Rock had in mind, but she might blow her chances of finding Rose if she put up too much of a fuss. Rock stuck his hand up Katie’s skirt.

What a dickhead.

Daisy bit her lip to keep from saying something. Then the biker suddenly got up and pulled the girl behind him down the hallway. Katie seemed to be shaky on her feet, holding on to chairs, and the wall as she stumbled by. Where the hell was he taking her? To the champagne room? God only knows what he planned to do with her.

Daisy walked out from behind the bar, a plan already forming in her mind. As soon as she got far enough down the hallway, she’d pull her knife out and get it ready.

Cowboy caught her eye and shook his head, almost imperceptibly, silently telling her to wait for backup from his club. Going after Rock here was a dangerous proposition. She understood the battle strategy, but Daisy couldn’t sit by while a girl got raped, and she wouldn’t let the asshole get away either. However, she promised herself she would try and play this cool. Hopefully, she could talk him into back in the bar.

Daisy found them both by the Dumpster. Rock pissed on the wall, while Katie retched. Apparently, whatever drug he’d given her didn’t agree with her stomach.

When he saw Daisy, he gave a dirty chuckle. “What’s wrong? Jealous?”

Ignoring him, she went to Katie, held her hair back and soothed her as she continued to puke. After a few moments, the girl finally stopped, and leaned against the trash bin, breathing in big gulps of air.

Daisy turned slightly so she could keep an eye on Rock. He’d finished pissing, and watched them both, with a speculative look in his eyes.
Yeah, this wasn’t going to end on a peaceful note.
She could feel it coming.

“Okay, time for you to go,” she said to Katie. “When you get inside, call a cab and don’t come back to this place ever again.” The girl stood up and started for the door, but hesitated as the biker got in her way.

“I don’t know what the fuck you think you’re doing, but the slut is mine,” Rock growled.

The girl froze, blinking, knees shaking. She’d seen the reaction before in men she served with. Some people responded to a threat by holding completely still, fear completely immobilize them, even those who had been trained. While others ran away, abandoned their post because self-preservation kicked in and they couldn’t resist the urge to save themselves. And people like Daisy, had the inclination to rush into danger, consequences be damned.

“Go!” she yelled to Katie, pushing her towards the door and snapping her out of the trance momentarily. The girl dashed around to the front of the building, avoiding Rock, who blocked the back door.

The biker hooked his fingers in the belt loops of his jeans. “Since you scared her off, you can take her place, bitch.” He stroked his cock through the denim. “Get on your knees and open your mouth.”

She could feel the blood boiling in her veins. This was the bastard who’d taken her sister, plied her with drugs, and probably prostituted her.

Your ass is mine.

 “The only reason I’d touch your cock is to cut it off,” she drawled.

He didn’t seem intimidated, merely kept on walking right into her trap.

Daisy recognized him for what he really was –a bully. Rock deliberately chose women who were vulnerable. When he looked at her, he only saw a stripper, a sex object. Not a person.  And he assumed Daisy would comply with his demands. Who knows? Maybe he thought all women were sexual objects, to be used and discarded.

“You love to flap your jaws, don’t you?” He strolled towards her. “Get on your knees. I’m going to gag you with my cock, teach you what that mouth of yours is good for.”

Daisy calmly knelt at his feet. She glanced at the parking lot around the side of the building –empty. Then shot a look at the back door. Closed.

Good. No witnesses.

He got even closer, evidently mistaking himself for the aggressor in this situation. “You’re an uppity bitch.” He placed a hand on the Dumpster behind her, thinking he had her pinned.

Come on, get a bit closer…

He unzipped his pants. Rock had a stubby little cock, the tip still damp from urine, and it rose as her fingertips brushed against it.

She calmly gripped the switchblade, concealing it with her hand.

“Come on, suck it!” he demanded. “I ain’t got all night.”

Yeah, me either.

She jabbed the cold steel into his testicles. Not enough to break the skin of course,
not yet
, just enough to get his attention.

He stared down the length of his body and for once, he didn’t seem so cocky. All the color leached from his face, even though his features settled into a snarl. “What the fuck are you’re doing?”

 “I’ll explain it to you and I’ll use small words to match your gherkin of a dick. I’m getting ready to cut your fucking balls off, asshole, unless you tell me what I want to know.”

“What the fuck!?”

“I’m looking for my sister. Her name’s Rose Weston. Tell me where she is and you might just get to keep the family jewels.”