You're Busting My Nuptials (Tizzy/Ridge Trilogy Book 2) (5 page)

Earlier she’d forced herself to eat a few saltine crackers, thinking they were the only thing she could keep down. Each time she thought of Ridge, she felt sick. Something terrible had happened to him. She was sure of it.
What if I can’t find him in time? What if it’s already too late?

No
. She told herself. If whoever took him wanted him dead, they would have killed him at Browning House. At that thought, she gave an involuntary shudder. She wouldn’t—she couldn’t, think like that. She shoved the fear to the deepest part of her heart. The same place she’d kept the grief and anger when Boone died. She knew from experience, if you kept it down long enough, eventually it would go away.

Clearing her head, she thought back to their earlier planning session as to how the investigation should go. They agreed to ride together, but Jinx would enter separate from the girls. With him appearing to be alone, he’d be able to keep an eye on them and hopefully, not send up any red flags
as they asked questions.

They’d also come up with a cover story. They would pretend to be strippers looking for work. With Christmas only a couple of months away, girls always needed extra cash. The first club on the list was Double D’s on Grand Avenue.

Once on the road, with the plan in place, Rayann dug in her purse and pulled out a piece of paper. “Hey, I thought it would be fun to give ourselves some stripper names. I found this chart online where you take letters from your name and match them with suggested performance names. According to the website, I’ll be Sugar Candy. Tizzy, you’ll be Velvet Blaze and Synola, you’re now Cinnamon Dream. Don’t you love them?”

“You’re kidding,” Tizzy said.

“No. If we want to work as strippers, we need stripper names,” Rayann looked over her shoulder. “Right, Jinx?”

“She has a point.”

“See, Tizzy. Jinx likes the plan.”

Tizzy nodded. “Okay, we’ll do it. You’re Sugar, Synola is Cinnamon, and I’m Velveeta.”

“VELVET, not Vel-vee-ta.”

“Oh, sorry. I got confused since the two of you are in a food group, I thought I was too.”

When they wheeled into Double-D’s parking lot, the sign out front read
Welcome Texas Clowns Association.

Rayann gasped and wrung her hands.
“Oh my Lord! I can’t go in. They’ve got clowns in there. I’m afraid of clowns. I hate clowns. They wear all that scary make-up, big noses and those crazy wigs. I’ll wait here.”

“Good grief, Rayann. You are not sitting in the car.” Synola lowered her voice. “Just think about it. You’ll be in the dark. Clowns will be coming and going. They’ll see you.
Probably want to know why you’re all by yourself and why you don’t want to come inside. They’re clowns for God’s sakes. Bozo, Clarabelle . . .”

“Homey,” Tizzy chimed in.

Rayann winced. “Pennywise, the Joker, John Wayne Gacy.”

Jinx laughed. “Gacy was a serial killer.”

“My point exactly,” Rayann blurted. “He was also Pogo the Clown.”

“Good Lord, Rayann.” Tizzy rolled her eyes. “I’m sure these will be happy clowns. Besides, I don’t think they’ll be in costume. They’re just a bunch of regular guys attending a convention enjoying a night on the town.”

“OKAY, OKAY! I’m going in, but you better stay right with me.” She jerked her head toward Synola and pointed her finger. “You, too. And let’s make it quick. We’ll talk to the bartender and a couple of girls and then we’re out of there. Understand?”

When they stepped inside, Tizzy grabbed Rayann by the arm and hung on tight. An ocean of rainbow wigs ebbed and flowed like the tide.

“Lord have mercy,” Rayann gasped.

Synola reassured her. “It’s gonna be alright.”

Double D’s was exactly as Tizzy expected. Dark and smoky. A dancer on stage, down on all fours, cat-walked toward the edge where a line of men with smiley white faces and red bulbous noses cheered and waved dollar bills in the air.

Tizzy glanced around the room and located Jinx leaning against the bar, looking like he belonged there. He made some type of gesture with his shirt and she realized he wanted her to unbutton hers. She obliged and unfastened the top two, letting plenty of cleavage show. Synola followed suit. Jinx gave a slight nod.

They made their way to a vacant table and immediately a waitress appeared. “Hi, I’m Tawny. What can I get you ladies?” She placed napkins on the table.

“Three shots of tequila.” Tizzy looked up at the tall woman with dark hair and brown eyes. Her skin sparkled like she’d been sprinkled with fairy dust. “Say, is Double D’s hiring? We work the clubs sometimes to pick up a little extra cash.”

“Honey, Double D’s is always hiring.”

“I thought so. I talked to a girl who works here and she mentioned we should check it out. I didn’t get her name, but she’s blonde, brown eyes, had a bluebird tattoo on her ankle. Is she working tonight?”

Tawny eyed Tizzy. “Honey,” she said, propping her foot on the table to show off the same tattoo. “Lots of us get the bird. I’ll be right back with your shots. Talk to Double-D or Three-D about the job.”

“Double-D? I thought the name referred to . . . you know . . .”

The waitress removed her foot. “Yeah, that too, but the owner is Delbert Dawson, Jr. His son, Delbert, the third . . . Three-D is the bartender. You can ask either one about a job.”

Tizzy looked over at her two friends. “Well, I guess I’ll go talk to him.” She straightened to her full height and adjusted her shirt. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Three-D wiped down the bar while two female bartenders dished out drinks as fast as they could. Tizzy took a spot next to Jinx. She leaned over the counter, forced more cleavage out the top of her shirt, and smiled at the bartender. “Hi, I’m Velvet. My friends, Cinnamon, Sugar, and I,” she said, pointing toward Synola and Rayann, “were wondering if y’all are hiring. We moonlight a little on the side from time to time to pick up extra cash. A girl who works here mentioned you might be. I don’t remember her name,” Tizzy said, and gave him the description. “Does she ring a bell?”

Three-D looked at her with serious interest, then craned his neck to check out Synola and Rayann. “We’re always looking for dancers, Babe. Call your friends over and let me get a better look.” Tizzy saw him zero in on her boobs.
Damn, as many as he looks at every night, you’d think he’d be unaffected.

Synola fought her way through the crowd of jesters with Rayann hanging on like a little Spider Monkey.

The dancer on stage wasn’t getting much action. Tizzy couldn’t help but think what a hard life these women experienced.

Just about the time Rayann and Synola reached the bar, Tawny fell in behind them with their shots. Tizzy pulled warm bills from her bra and paid for the drinks. Three-D lifted his brows. “If you got that thing full of money, I don’t understand why you need to work.”

Tizzy sat down on a stool, swung her leg in the air and propped her foot on Jinx’s shoulder and smiled at Three-D. “It’s the shoes. Momma needs new shoes.”
Momma needs new shoes? Where the hell did that come from?”
She looked at Jinx and removed her leg. “Sorry, sir.”

“Anytime,” he said.

Tizzy turned back to the bartender. “Now, about the dancer I mentioned. Is she working tonight?”

“Babe, we have several dancers who fit that description. Where’d you meet her?”

“Oh . . .,” she stammered, the question caught her off guard. “I work at the bakery in Brownsboro. She came in. Said she planned to work a bachelor party in town. So, we got to talking and she mentioned y’all might be hiring.”
I shouldn’t have told him where I work. Damn, I wish I’d thought this through.

Three-D thinned his lips into a tight line.
“I don’t have any idea who she could be. Let me get my dad over here,” he said, and motioned to a big man at the other end of the bar.

“Dad, you know anything about one of the girls doing a bachelor party over at Brownsboro?”

“Nah. Why do you wanna know?” he asked Tizzy.

“Oh, no reason really. I just thought she worked here and I was going to say hello.”

“This is Velvet, Sugar and Cinnamon. They’re looking for extra work.”

Double-D grinned. “If you girls are serious, how ‘bout you show me what you got?”

“What’d you mean?” Tizzy asked.

“Get on stage and do a number.”

“Oh . . . I . . . we . . . didn’t come prepared to perform. We aren’t in costume. I mean, we aren’t dressed to
undress
.”

Jinx leaned forward. “That leg move was pretty damn sexy. I’d vote to see y’all dance, clothes and all.”

Tizzy glared at Jinx. “Thanks for the vote of confidence,
sir
, but we’re really not equipped to perform tonight.”

“C’mon, Babe, the guy’s right. We’ll take into account it’s spur of the moment. One little dance. The excitement has kinda fizzled. I think the crowd is up for something different. You don’t have to take anything off. You get a good reaction from the clowns, you’re hired,” Three-D said.

Tizzy’s stomach flipped-flopped. “I don’t . . .

Synola shoved forward. “I got this.” She pointed to the shots still on the counter. “Bottoms up girls and let’s dance.”

Before Tizzy or Rayann could protest, Three-D picked up a wireless mike and announced. “Put your hands in your pockets, because coming to the stage are three sexy ladies. VELVET, SUGAR, AND CINNAMON!”

Several clowns pulled out their horns and began honking
, along with cheering and chanting, VELVET! SUGAR! CINNAMON! VELVET! SUGAR! CINNAMON!

Synola took the lead and although Tizzy felt Rayann resist with all of her one-hundred-and-ten pounds, Synola pulled them on stage. The music started with a heavy beat. Tizzy didn’t know how Synola did it in stilettos, but she maneuvered into a cartwheel and ended in the splits at center stage next to the pole. She grabbed onto the shaft and pulled her body up straight, then wrapped her legs around the metal stick, and spun in a circle several times. When she stopped, she segued into a thrusting Beyoncé bootie-bounce and motioned for the pair to join her. Tizzy pulled Rayann forward and they danced around Synola, gesturing as if she were a puzzle on
Wheel of Fortune.

The clowns joined Synola
’s enthusiasm and began to honk their horns and chant again.

Tizzy’s head spun from watching Synola strut, bump, and grind. She and Rayann continued their Vanna impersonation, and added some bumps and grinds of their own. Jinx moved closer to the stage and grinned from ear to ear.

Synola turned her back to the spectators, did a butt jiggle-wiggle combination, then bent double and peeked at the crowd from between her legs. She twirled around and began to unbutton her blouse and nodded toward Tizzy and Rayann. Tizzy got the message, swallowed hard and wished she had another shot of tequila.

She walked over to Rayann and started to unbutton Rayann’s lace jacket and whispered for her to return the favor.
They want a show; she could give them a show. A little girl on girl action should do the trick.

As the two unbuttoned each other, the clowns went wild. Dollar bills flew onto the stage. When the music ended, Synola and Tizzy were stripped to their bras, Rayann to her tank top. The threesome went to the edge of the stage to pick up the money.

Tizzy felt a hand clamp her arm. “Damn, Tizzy. Does your momma know you’re dancing in a strip joint?”

She squinted trying to place the clown face with the voice. “Is that you, Billy Bob?”

“Yep.”

“Look, this is just a one-time thing. A double-dog-dare. No need to be telling my momma or anyone else for that matter.”

“I understand. You’ve had a rough day. Getting left at the altar is a bad deal. It’s like all those self-help books say, it’s normal to act out.”

Tizzy wondered if Billy Bob knew how ridiculous he looked in polka-dots. “Gee, Billy Bob, I didn’t know you read self-help books. But then again, I didn’t know you dressed up like a clown either.”

“Here Tizzy, let me help you.”

Before she could protest, he lifted her down next to him. She started putting her blouse back on. “Thanks, but I gotta go,” she said, and turned away from him, but then stopped short. “How’d you know I got left at the altar? It’s only been . . .” she glanced down at her watch, “five hours ago.”

“News travels fast,” he said.

An uneasy feeling settled on her. She backed away from him and stopped with a bump. When she turned around, Tawny faced her. “Hey, it might not be such a good idea for you to be asking questions about the dancer,” she said and walked away.

“What do you mean?” Tizzy called after her, but Tawny didn’t stop.

Synola and Rayann were already at the bar, while Jinx sat at a nearby table. When Tizzy reached them, she heard Three-D say, “Cinnamon, you’re in for sure. I’ll even head-line you.” Then he pointed at Tizzy. “I can use you to. But you,” he said, focused on Rayann, “You’re not ready, unless you’re willing to go a lot farther with the chick on chick act. The crowd loved that.”

“We’ll think about it,” Tizzy said.

He turned back to Synola. “I’ve got a request for a lap-dance from you.”