Teased (The VIP Room, #1) (18 page)

“
How can you help me, Seth?” Vida
tried to loosen her tight grip on her cup, afraid she was going to
burn herself if she wasn’t careful.

“
I’m an undercover agent, working to
get back Sawyer and several other women like her that have been
taken against their will.” Seth reached into his pocket and as best
he could, without drawing attention to what he was doing, showed
her his badge.

“
You’re with the FBI?” Vida stared at
him in disbelief.

Vida couldn’t believe that Seth was a FBI
agent. He looked like he was still in high school.

“
The FBI has been trying to shut down
Digger for years. Every time we get close, he manages to wiggle his
way out of it or get information he’s about to be arrested, and
moves the women to another location. He’s responsible for a
pipeline, not only of illegal drugs, but he also uses that same
route to sell women.”

Vida was sick to her stomach that she was
ever in the vicinity of the man that Seth was discussing, becoming
even more thankful to Colton and the Predators for saving her.

Seth leaned closer, lowering his voice.
“We’re getting closer. We managed to shut down his informant on the
force so, if we could find the location where he’s keeping the
woman, we can get a conviction this time.”

“
Thank God.”

“
That’s why they wanted me to make
friends with you. To find out what you and King know. The day in
your shop, I recognized the friend of Colton’s that came in. I
think I got out of there before he recognized me, but I don’t know.
Max is a hard ass and not much gets by him. After I talked to the
task force, we decided it was worth letting you know about the
operation so that we could ask for your help in finding the
women.”

“
Me? How can I find out where the
women are? I really, really don’t want to play bait and have you
following me. I don’t think those scenarios turn out too
well.”

Seth laughed while still retaining his
serious expression. That convinced Vida more than his badge that he
was telling her the truth.

“
You’ve been watching too much
television. I wouldn’t place your safety in danger to that extent.
What we need from you is to do what you have been doing until
recently, go to King’s and try to get what we need out of
Briggs.”

“
How do you know what I’ve been doing
with Brigg’s?” Vida’s asked.

Seth remained quiet, taking a drink from his
coffee.

Realization dawned on Vida.

“
You have King’s place
bugged?”

“
I can’t reveal how we know what
you’ve been up to, only that we know. It’s because of your prying
that we’ve learned as much as we have.”

“
I was scheduled to dance tonight, but
Colton cancelled with King.”

“
We know. That’s why we want you to
call King and tell him that you want to work tonight. Briggs is
expecting you there, and after they kidnapped you, he’s going to
try to convince you to trust him. We’re hoping he tries to convince
you by letting a little too much slip with your probing,” Seth said
tactfully. Vida understood that his tact with using “probing”
actually meant “while you’re grinding your ass on his
lap”.

“
I’ll tell Colton…”

Seth shook his head. “No, he has several
connections that aren’t trustworthy. If he isn’t careful, he could
let information out that leaks back to Digger. Digger has a few
friends left in the Predators, not many, but a few that would warn
him. You’ve managed, hopefully, to get Sawyer back, but you don’t
know for sure. This gets us closer and will help those women that
aren’t ever going to get found without your help.”

Vida only had one recourse, and that was to
do as he asked. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if Sawyer
wasn’t returned, and she had an opportunity to help other women in
the same horrific situation.

“
I’ll help, but I don’t know what I’ll
tell King or Colton,” Vida agreed.

“
Think of something, anything, but
keep the focus off Briggs,” Seth told her.

“
All right, I’ll do my best. I better
get back,” Vida said, standing up.

“
Thanks, Vida. You have my number if
anything happens, and if you need my help, just call. Be careful.
Don’t underestimate, Briggs. He’s as dangerous as Digger.” His
warning had her pausing at the concerned look on his
face.

“
I know.” Vida still remembered
Briggs’s reaction when Digger had told him to take her to his
bedroom. He had planned to use her also.

Vida shuddered at the lucky escape she’d
had. Sawyer hadn’t been so fortunate. Vida prayed against all odds
that whoever had her wasn’t treating her badly.

Vida crossed the street, leaving Seth at the
coffee shop while she tried to decide what to do because she was
afraid that, if she chose wrong, Sawyer’s life would be the price
of her failure.

Chapter 15

Colton was staring out the window when she
entered the tattoo shop, making no pretence that he had been
watching her, or that he was angry with her.

Taking her arm, he led her into his room and
then closed the door.

“
What were you thinking of leaving the
shop without telling me? One of Digger’s men could have grabbed
you.” His hard voice left no doubt in Vida’s mind of his concern
for her safety. It convinced Vida of what the best course of action
she should take.

“
Colton, calm down. I need to tell you
something.” Quickly as possible, she told Colton about her
conversation with Seth, including the part about Digger still
having friends in the Predators.

Colton sat down on his stool, deep in
thought. “He’s right, I know of a couple and a few more might even
be in with him and are just playing it cool so that no one knows of
their involvement with Digger’s activities. The Predators are not
exactly law abiding, but they don’t go for selling women against
their will.”

“
What should I do? I don’t want to
jeopardize Sawyer’s safety, but I can’t simply not help those other
women, either.”

“
Did Seth say my shop is bugged?”
Colton asked.

“
I didn’t think to ask,” Vida
confessed, angry with herself.

“
I don’t think it is, but I don’t want
to tip the FBI off to what we’re going to do.”

“
What are we going to do?”

“
Talk to King.” Colton wrote the words
down on his drawing pad. Vida agreed. King had offered his help
before anyone else, including the police.

“
Go back out front,” he said while he
continued to write. “I’ll call King and set up a meeting,” he
wrote.

Vida started to open the door, but Colton’s
voice had her pausing and looking back towards him.

“
Don’t go off alone again, Vida.”
Hearing the threat in his voice, she nodded her agreement before
slipping out the door and closing it behind her.

The rest of the day was slow. Tessa and
Carlito left early when no other clients came in and they had
finished with their scheduled appointments.

“
Let’s go.” Colton was leaning against
the counter. “Reverend said he would close up the shop.”

Vida rose from her chair when Tessa came
back in the door. They both tensed, expecting the woman to pick up
where the argument ended this morning. Instead, she walked directly
to Colton and handed him a sealed envelope.

“
I signed the divorce papers. I took
them by your lawyer’s office. That’s a copy of them.” Her face was
expressionless, but Vida could tell by the pain in her eyes how
badly she was hurting.

Colton’s hand gripped the envelope. “Thanks,
Tessa.”

Tessa shrugged. “It’s obvious you’re moving
on with several women.” Turning around, she left them, leaving them
in the silence of her sudden departure.

Vida started to say something then closed
her mouth, not knowing exactly what to say. The end of a marriage
was never a good thing. It was the ending of a dream that two
people shared in that moment, Vida could tell that Colton had cared
for Tessa at one time and had tried to save his marriage. He’d even
gone to prison, still trying to hold it together and protect his
child.

Vida came to the conclusion in that moment
that he wasn’t like the men her mother had attached herself to.
Colton, when he had decided to marry, had committed himself and
given it every chance. It was Tessa who, despite her last harsh
words at parting, had turned her back on their marriage.

Colton unlocked the apartment door, holding
it open for Vida to enter. Vida came to a standstill when she saw
King sitting on the chair in the room.

Colton’s brow rose as he came in the door,
closing it behind him.

“
How many keys to this apartment are
floating around?” he asked King.

King gave him a smile. “I didn’t use a
key.”

“
Figures, you might not want to draw
attention to your talent of B and E with the cops listening in to
your every move.”

The smile disappeared in a flash. “What do
you mean by that remark?”

Colton and Vida both sat down on the couch
and went over the talk that Seth had with Vida earlier in the
day.

Vida watched as King’s impassive face turned
angry when he found out his club had been bugged and was under
police surveillance.

“
What do you think we should do?” Vida
asked before he could become too angry, wanting him to focus on how
to keep Sawyer safe. King rose from the chair, going to the window
and staring out for several minutes before turning back to
them.

“
I’m afraid they’re right. The only
way to stop Digger is to let the FBI have him.” King put his hands
in his pockets and stared at Vida. “Looks like Trouble will be
taking the stage one last time.”

Vida looked unhappily back at King. She had
known all along it was the best course of action to take, but it
wasn’t going to make it any easier going on that stage to
perform.

“
Do you think Briggs will slip up?”
Vida asked.

“
I don’t know. He’s pretty loyal to
Digger,” Colton told her.

“
Let’s see if we can’t help that along
then. He likes to drink while he watches you on the stage. I’ll
make sure his glass doesn’t stay empty, so that, by the time he
gets his lap dance, he might not be in a clear-headed frame of
mind.” King plotted Briggs’s downfall.

“
That might help. You could also get a
couple of the shot girls to pay him some extra attention, have him
worked up.” King’s mouth twitched into a grin at Colton’s
suggestion.

“
How are you going to keep him under
control when you want to get away? The worst thing you could do is
let him know he slipped up, and realizing it when one of the men
have to pull him off you,” King asked Vida.

“
Let me handle that. I have an idea
that might work,” Colton answered for her.

“
I’ll leave that in your hands then.
Good luck, Vida.” King walked towards the door. “I need to get back
to the club; I have to find someone to debug it tomorrow. When I
find out who placed them in the first place, they are going to be
fucked up,” he stated ruthlessly.

“
King, they couldn’t find anything to
get you for, could they?” Vida would feel terrible if King ended up
in prison when he had offered to help. Vida didn’t know how many of
his activities were illegal, yet she was sure that he didn’t always
stay within the limits of the law.

“
Don’t worry about it, Vida. They have
bigger fish to fry besides me.” Vida wasn’t so sure, however she
had to let it go. King wasn’t about to discuss his business with
her, now or ever. Vida didn’t know if anyone knew the complexities
of King’s business other than the man himself.

Colton locked the door behind King, glancing
at his watch. “You need to start getting ready.”

“
All right.” She gathered her clothes,
trying not to be upset that King had looked more upset about her
having to strip again than Colton had. He had claimed to care about
her, yet he didn’t seem the least perturbed about how she would be
giving a private lap dance later that night.

Vida showered, making sure she shaved and
moisturized her skin with the expensive smelling lotion that Sherri
had told her drove the men crazy. Vida thought it was a little
heady, but Sherri said that men found it sensual. Her boyfriend
always provided her insights into a male’s point-of-view and she
had passed on the information to Vida.

Blowing out her hair until it lay straight
and silky against her back, Vida dressed in a thick pair of sweats
and a long sleeved t-shirt as the night would be cool on the back
of Colton’s bike. Deciding to wear the red outfit for the last
time, she packed her bag and left the bathroom.

The living room and kitchen were empty.
Fixing herself some soup, she heard Colton go into the shower.
Pouring the hot soup into bowls and making a couple of fresh salads
she sat down just as Colton came into the room, wearing a black
t-shirt and jeans. Vida spooned some of her soup into her suddenly
dry mouth. It wasn’t fair that he was so sexy without the least
effort. He had grown a small goatee and it only made him appear
more like a bad boy biker, especially since the t-shirt was short
sleeved and showed off his tats.

He sat down at the table and began eating,
seeming as preoccupied as she did. Vida couldn’t help wondering if
he was regretting his divorce now that it was final. Not liking the
feeling in her stomach when she discovered that she cared that he
might regret his decision.