City of Sins

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After making all the right noises, the little party in the office broke up, Michael heading out to check with his alphas while Bella headed back to the casino level and the Pyramid Cafe, the Luxor’s basic diner that had nice, touristy staples and the full menu available 24/7. Telling the hostess her party was already there, Bella searched the tables for her client. Without a description, only a name, it narrowed it down to two tables, both with single female occupants. One youngish female that looked a little worn around the edges stank of fear, the aroma so thick around her it had Bella’s beast licking its lips in anticipation. Shoving the reaction down, she approached as unthreatening as possible with hands open and at her sides. “Jenna Watson?”

Jumping visibly, the woman swallowed and stared at Bella, eyes wide. She was pretty in a small town way, red hair straight from a bottle to mid-back, hazel eyes with dark circles under them and a body that had obviously had work done considering how unnaturally perky her DD cups were. “You are?”

Sliding into the other side of the booth, Bella slid her business card across the table. “Bella Talos. You called my office.”

With what sounded like a forced laugh, Jenna nodded and played with the straw in her soft drink. “Yeah… I did. Sorry. Things have been a little…” She took a sip, then rolled the straw around between her fingers again, avoiding Bella’s gaze. “Crazy. They’ve been crazy.”

Bella kept quiet and let the girl continue, subtly waving off the waitress as she approached to take their order.

“See, I got this ex…” Jenna leaned back and looked anywhere but at Bella’s face. “I work at the Library and he never liked me working there to begin with, but the money’s not too bad and I’m working on getting in somewhere with better clientele, but they’re really picky……”

Bella could feel her eyes glaze over at the woman’s side track babble and held up a hand to stop the info dump. “So what is the ex doing?”

Jenna blinked in confusion. “OH…yeah. He’s been showing up at work, harassing me, chasing the guys off.” She stopped for a minute and pushed the tea out of the way so she could lean over conspiratorially. “He’s killing my tips. I’m not gonna be able to cover my bills if he won’t go away.”

“Have you talked to the police?” Bella had leaned forward too, getting a whiff of cigarettes, some low end perfume that reeked of musk and lemon, and very recent s*x. Her own beast growled internally and Bella could feel an ache start low in her body. What a time to remember it’s been a hot minute since she got laid. “Or the new boyfriend?”

Jenna jumped and jerked back in surprise. “Cops won’t do anything. The bouncers started tossing him out, but now he just shows up randomly outside. And Frankie isn’t a fighter. He told me I had to handle my own mess, so I thought I’d talk to you.”

Frankie sounded like a real winner, but Bella kept that brief comment inside. “So, what do you want me to do? Talk to him? To your ex?”

“No. I want you to scare him off or something. Make him go away.”

Jenna looked at Bella with such an earnest expression that it took a moment for the PI to process the request. “How do you expect me to do this?” Bella felt what little hope in this being a genuine case dwindle to almost nothing. “I don’t rough up people for money. I think you’ve called the wrong person for this particular job.”

She leaned back and started to slide out of the booth, but Jenna’s outstretched hand grabbed her wrist. Bella turned, her eyes still brown, but something dangerous lurked in their depths. “Please…please. Just talk to him. Maybe you can persuade him to go away. I’ll pay you for the day, whatever the rate is.”

Ah, the one issue with being your own boss, the need to keep working to pay her own bills. Bella sat back down, rubbing her forehead to keep the slow burgeoning headache at bay. If it hadn’t been for the other woman’s air of desperation, Bella would have told her to pound sand on her way out. “Alright, it’s two hundred upfront, then $50 per hour after that, plus expenses.” Normally she’d charge less, but the chances of her getting anything after talking to the ex-boy toy were slim.

When Jenna rooted around in her purse and came up with a checkbook, Bella waved her off. “Sorry, the retainer has to be in cash. Come by the office and Bri can get the contract up for you to sign as soon as you can.” Glancing around, it only took a moment for her to find the closest ATM and jerk her thumb in its general direction. Jenna hustled off to get the money and Bella leaned back, pondering the decision to take the damned case. Easy money if the asshole took a hint. Bella didn’t stress a physical altercation. Human against shifter was a lopsided battle, even if the ex was armed. No, the issue lay in him not letting Jenna go, even if faced with some defiance. Then it would turn into a mess that she couldn’t afford right now.

Jenna, sliding into the booth, drew Bella back to the present as the other woman slid a folded stack of twenties across the slightly sticky table. “Here. I gotta work tonight, so can you meet me there? I can tell Bobby you’re there to help and he shouldn’t hassle you.”

Kissing a call to her favorite FWB goodbye, Bella gave a nod as she slithered off the plastic seat of the booth and stood. “Yeah, what time?”

“Probably not till around eight. Jeff works at Santa Fe Station as a poker dealer.” Jenna got up to leave, stopping and turning around to face Bella, who hadn’t moved. “Thank you. I mean, I know I sound like a flake, but thank you for helping me.”

Bella watched the other woman sashay off and hid her face in her hands for a moment. Why was regret making her stomach muscles tense?

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As soon as Bella pulled into the parking lot of the club, her worst gut instinct proved correct. The Library had originally been an all nude club, but the lack of alcohol took an edge off profits and considering how low the rent it looked now, she could see why. Stuck way, way off strip, other than the sign and complete lack of windows you could see through, the strip mall and parking lot were crumbling after decades in the hot Nevada sun. Now garish lights flashed drink specials and bottle service with ‘the best looking entertainers in Vegas’ in neon red on the sign, a faded plea to come on in.

Snorting in amusement with a shake of her head, she slide out of her car and gave the short silver skirt a tug down to keep things like her asscheeks covered. Bella dressed in tourist club wear, basically the smallest dress one could afford because what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas and dressing like a working girl made the drinks flow. The cami top draped over braless breasts in graceful folds, leaving a line of tan skin at the midriff bare. Slim as most shifters were, the metabolism of the beast made it easy to stay at fighting trim and being athletic helped the body she exposed look fine indeed. Strappy slip on stilettos finished the ensemble, easy to kick off if the need arose.

The bouncer gave her a once over, ingratiating smile widening as he reached a hand out for her ID. “My, my, the clientele tonight is definitely looking top shelf.”

Bella handed over her license. “Why thank you, but I’m looking for Jenna.”

Handing the little plastic card back, the big man shrugged and backed the attitude off a bit, since Bella didn’t seem to wanna play along. “I only know stage names. And there’s a $20 cover. You can pay the cashier on the way in.”

Sighing, Bella made a mental note to add this to the total bill at the end of the job, though she still had little hope of getting paid past the initial cash up front. Jenna had failed to show up to sign the contract with a lame excuse that put Bri’s back up and her part-time receptionist had vowed to ‘hunt that scrawny bish down’ if things didn’t go right. “Thanks ever so much.” The sarcasm was lost on the man and Bella sidled through the doors into the depths of the club. The cashier was in a booth right inside the entrance as promised and accepted the twenty pulled from the down payment, motioning for Bella to enter through a pair of steel doors that made her feel like she was off Industrial instead of a ‘gentleman’s club’.

Never had she been so glad of her beast and its enhanced vision as the only apparent escape from the room closed behind her with a loud clang. Even with a lion peering from the depths of her psyche, the place looked dim and washed out, only a few customers occupying seats at the bar where the poker machines sat and scattered at the end of the lone dancer’s runway though Bella had to admit she didn’t know how they could actually make out that much of the dancer’s physique even as close as they were.

The club was dark, really dark. Like, a blind man would have better luck navigating the maze of tables, even though blue neon seemed to be shoved in every nook and cranny to keep the customers from either running into the rickety furniture or realizing exactly how unclean it was. Ignoring one man who reached a hand out, probably thinking she worked there, Bella made a beeline to the bar, leaning over and waving till he approached.

“You need a drink?” He looked bored and put out she’d made him move.

Bella shook her head, unbound hair swinging around her shoulders. “No, I’m looking for Jenna.”

Wiping a glass clean, he set it down on the drying rack. “I only know them by……”

“Yeah, yeah, their stage name. I get it. She’s a redhead, got a problem ex…”

The light went on behind those sullen eyes. “Yeah, Amber. She’s in the back. I’ll tell her you’re here.” He walked off before asking her name, and a chuff of irritation escaped the slim lioness. Asshole.

Bella found a location far from the woman up on stage, outlined in blue and pink neon, grinding away while popping her gum and judiciously avoiding the stares of the men feeding bills through the slots. A few moments later, Jenna appeared out of the stygian blackness of the back of the club, dropping into the chair across from Bella with a wide smile. “I’m so glad you came! I’m sorry I didn’t make it to your office…”

Bella held her hand up, stopping the flow of bullshit with a flat stare. “It’s fine. I brought the contract with me.” Opening the small clutch, she withdrew an envelope and pulled the three pages out with a flourish, and handed the girl a pen. “You can sign it now.” Jenna’s perky smile faded a bit and Bella pressed on, outlining the terms and payments with a businesslike tone that brooked no argument. When Jenna’s gaze went from paper to Bella’s implacable, now lion yellow stare, she swallowed.

Setting the pen down carefully, Bella linked her fingers and stared at the stripper, all signs of relaxed, friendly discourse evaporating in an instant, her beast moving in the depths of her eyes. It disliked the stench of the place and the people milling about and hovered so close that the urge to pull back lips from teeth in a snarl seemed almost too much to resist. “Listen sweetness. You sign this or you forfeit the down payment and I walk out of here and enjoy the rest of my night.”

For a moment, the cute facade dropped, and an aggrieved expression crossed Jenna’s face, making evident that the woman had other ideas when it came to what was owed but when she stared at Bella, something must have clued her into the error of her ways. Without another word, Jenna grabbed the pen and did as ordered, pushing the paper back with ill-disguised anger.

“Good girl. Now has your ex appeared yet?” Bella asked as she tucked the contract back into her bag.

Jenna pouted, but it left the slender woman across from her unmoved. When she got no reaction, she shook her head. “He should be here in about half an hour if he got off on time.”

Nodding, Bella pulled her cell out. “I need a pic. You got one on your phone?”

With no little resentment, Jenna swiped thru screen after screen till she found what she wanted, shoving the phone across the table. “Here, from his Insta feed.”

Snapping a photo with her own phone, Bella handed Jenna her iPhone back. “Okay, well, I’ll keep an eye out.”

Knocking the chair back with barely concealed annoyance, Jenna stalked off, drawing eyes of a few of the patrons who were making their way in after a long workday. Gods above, why they’d drop in here when there were classier places less than half a mile away.

Half an hour passed and nothing, nothing but a watered down drink and half a dozen unrepeatable offers from customers who had realized that Bella looked much more delectable than the dancer currently gyrating on stage with a thong and way too much body glitter. If they could see her, to be honest, and Bella doubted, half the patrons could see past the edge of their table.

Then she felt it, a buzz along the edge of her perception at first, one that doubled and redoubled till the sensation of fur along the skin made her shiver. Anger flared, hot and wild, as the one behind it slipped into the chair on her left.

“Damn. I never would have figured you were into places like this.” Law leaned on bare forearms, tribal tattoos on them only visible to the lion that now paced just under her skin because of the dimness.

Adam Lawson. How in the holy hell had he tracked her down this time?