Undercover with a SEAL. Cindy DeesЧитать онлайн книгу.
href="#ulink_5a800a4e-1c88-560e-969a-50cd268a7e5c">Chapter 4
Hank stood at the bar, yawning. The combination of jumping at every sound outside and jangling nerves leftover from her intense encounter with Asher Konig had added up to a basically sleepless night for her.
The bartender was just filling her tray with beers when she felt his presence. It raced across her skin and sank into her awareness like hot sunshine before she could register dismay that he was back. What the hell was Ashe trying to do? He was going to mess up everything!
It was a busy Saturday night. Football season had started and Vitaly had installed a bunch of flat-screen TVs a few weeks back. The customers could toss back a brew, watch football, and get a lap dance from an underage girl. What more could a guy want? It also meant Vitaly would be watching the bar closely. He wouldn’t fail to notice that the patron who’d shown an interest in her last night had returned tonight. Crap, crap, crap. She had to ignore Ashe and hope he caught the hint and ignored her back.
She studiously avoided even looking at him until it dawned on her that she might be avoiding him so much that her body language would draw Vitaly’s attention, anyway. Damn. She hated trying to outthink her diabolically smart boss. What to do?
Her dilemma was interrupted as she passed close to the doorway into the lap dance lounge.
“Psst,” someone hissed.
Startled, she glanced at the door. The usual bouncer wasn’t there. He’d probably gone to the bathroom for a minute.
“Psst.”
She stepped close to the door. A girl stood there, dressed in a pair of skimpy satin boxer shorts and an even skimpier tank top that her large breasts all but spilled out of in multiple directions. The girl’s mascara was almost clown-like on ridiculously long false eyelashes, and a generous helping of mascara was running down her cheeks.
“Have you been crying?” Hank asked in alarm. “Are you all right?”
The girl patted her cheeks absently as if they had no feeling in them. “Oh. That. Huh. Can’t feel my face...” Her voice trailed off. Then she asked abruptly, “Have you seen the blue man?”
Hank frowned. “What blue man?”
“In the bowler hat. He’s all blue and his suit is melting. And his tie was purple, but it turned green...”
Wow. This girl was high as a kite on something. Hank ducked inside the lap dance lounge, backing the girl up, out of sight of the main bar. She leaned close to whisper, “Do you need me to get you out of here?”
“Out?” The girl stared blankly. “What? No. You got more juice? Need my juice.”
The girl looked plenty juiced up already. “What’s your name?” Hank asked.
“Sveta. You likey? Call me Jane. Or Grrmblahhumbugama...” Sveta dissolved into laughter. Assuming that was her name. Hank whipped out her cell phone and took a quick photo of the girl.
“Do you want to take a walk with me, Sveta? Maybe outside? To clear your head?” And call an ambulance and the cops?
“Wanna go to my room. Sleep.” And all of a sudden, the girl drooped like she was on the verge of passing out.
“Umm, okay. Let me help you.” Hank wedged her shoulder under the taller girl’s armpit as Sveta sagged.
She’d taken maybe a half dozen awkward steps beside the staggering girl, guiding her toward the back of the lap dance lounge and the emergency exit to an alley, when a sharp male voice bit out from behind them, “What are you doing down here, Sveta? You know that’s against the rules.”
Crap. Vitaly.
The girl whimpered and shrank against Hank’s side. “She was on her way out into the bar in search of a drink,” Hank explained lamely.
Vitaly moved swiftly to Sveta’s other side, pulling the girl toward the stairs that led upward into the bowels of whatever went on up there. “I’ll take her from here, Hank.”
“I can help you get her upstairs.”
“No!” She started at the harshness of Vitaly’s tone. “You are never to go up there. I don’t want you getting near any of what goes on up there. You understand?” He stared at her intently over the nearly unconscious hooker’s head.
“Uhh, sure,” Hank stammered.
“You stay away from that place.”
She frowned, confused. The guy almost sounded concerned for her. Like he was trying to protect her from upstairs, not urge her into it. He all but lifted Sveta off her shoulder, muttering under his breath in Russian to the hooker, “C’mon. Let’s get you some candy. Let’s find you a sugar daddy to love you, baby. Does that sound good? Say goodbye to the real world, baby doll...”
He and Sveta disappeared around a corner in the stairs.
“Hey? Whatchoo doing back he’uh?” another male voice demanded from behind her.
The bouncer. Back from the restroom or wherever he’d disappeared to.
“You ain’t s’posed to be in he’uh.” His Cajun accent was so thick she could barely make out the words.
“Yeah, well, a girl came out looking for some juice. Vitaly just took her back upstairs.”
The bouncer pulled a face. “Dang ho. How she git loose?”
Loose? As in the girls were locked in or restrained in some way? Horror skittered down Hank’s spine. She managed a reasonably unconcerned shrug and pushed past the bouncer into the main bar. She paused for a moment to catch her breath. God. That poor girl. She’d been stoned out of her mind.
“You okay?” yet another male voice asked from behind her.
Ashe.
Vitaly was upstairs for the moment and the bouncer back at his post. She hurried over to Ashe’s table and spoke fast and low. “I just saw one of the girls from upstairs. She was high on something psychedelic. Vitaly’s taking her back upstairs. We’ve got to shut this place down. Now.”
“Patience, Hank. Let the cops do it right.”
“But they’re on it? They’re getting everything in place?”
“Yeah.” He glanced over her shoulder and bit out, “Bring me a vodka, neat.” Under his breath, he added, “We’re on camera. We’ll talk later.”
Vitaly moved up beside her. “Everything okay here? My girl taking care of you?” He gave her backside a stinging slap that she expected was meant to serve as a warning to keep her mouth shut about what she’d just seen.
“Yes, she’s doing fine,” Ashe answered easily. He looked over at her, letting his gaze roam boldly up and down her body. Heat burst through her. Even her face grew hot. Great! How in the heck was she supposed to convince Vitaly she had no interest in Ashe if he made her freaking blush?
She headed toward the bar and was alarmed when Vitaly followed, crowding her against the wood and brass counter. He leaned in close and muttered, “Forget what you saw, Hank. You’re a good kid, understand? You don’t want any part of what goes on up there. The clients would mistake you for someone you’re not.”
Once again, he sounded genuinely concerned for her. She half turned to look him in the eye. “Thanks for looking out for me, Vitaly. I appreciate it.”
He nodded tersely and headed into his office. Son of a gun. Who’d have thunk the SOB would look out for her like that? Or was he just trying to get on her good side to prevent her from telling anyone about Sveta? Man, she sucked at all this undercover stuff. She was by nature a straightforward person, and subterfuge of any kind messed with her head. Although her family hadn’t been exactly the most forthcoming bunch to grow up around. Maybe her honesty was a twisted form of youthful