Chapter 4

Grace

"He's drunk, Marco." I didn't know why I was trying to rationalize with him, it was impossible where money was concerned.

"They're all drunk, Ruby." He flashed a wide smile that gave his teeth a nuclear white glow under the red and black lights.

"He's too drunk to be anything but a problem." I didn't like the private dances because the men—all of them—expected more than a private dance, and the drunk ones tried to take that more.

"Look, Ruby." I hated the way he said my name, emphasizing that he knew I had a secret. "This is your chance to make more money on top of what you've already made tonight. Now," he gripped my arm tight enough to draw a whimper from me, "rub those gorgeous tits in his face and take him for all he has."

I looked at the man holding the wad of cash. He swayed on his feet, his glassy eyes raking over my body in a way that wasn't just gross, it was alarming. "Give it to someone else. He's too drunk to know the difference."

"He asked for you, so you'll do this. Don't disappointment me, Ruby." He shoved me towards the man like I was his to give away.

"Marco!" A tall man with broad shoulders, thick auburn hair, and a leather vest shouted over the music, drawing my attention and Marco's, as well as my would-be customer.

"Hey, Maverick. Sorry, but Ruby is busy right now. She's great, though, isn't she?"

I shuddered at the way he talked about me, like I was some prized heifer, and looked away from the man. I didn't know why I felt ashamed in that moment, only that I did.

"Here you go, honey." Brandi handed me a shot of clear liquid and offered up a sympathetic smile. "It'll take the edge off and give you the courage to kick ass if it comes to that."

"Thanks," I whispered, and looked away again, feeling silly for being close to tears. I took the shot and pushed my shoulders back, walking a few steps towards the drunken customer.

As soon as I was within reach, he grabbed my arm and pulled me flush against his chest. I gasped loudly and shoved at his chest, but he had at least sixty pounds on me. "Oh boy, you're a ripe little thing, aren't ya? I'll give you an extra three hundred bucks if you open up that cunt for me to do whatever I want." He laughed, the stink of cheap beer wafting towards me and making me sick. "Good thing for you, probably won't take me too long to fill you up."

I opened my mouth to tell him thanks but no thanks, when the broad-shouldered biker clapped a hand—a very big hand—on his shoulder.

"Fuck off, asshole. This one's mine. You can have her when I'm done with her."

"She doesn't look like yours," he said in a smooth, even tone. His voice was baritone deep and thick like honey. It was a nice voice. "In fact, she doesn't seem into you at all."

"For three hundred bucks she can sure as fuck pretend. Now fuck off before I make you."

The man in the leather vest laughed, but there wasn't a trace of humor in the sound. "Right, I'm sorry. I didn't make myself clear. The woman wants nothing to do with you or your money, so it's you who should fuck off. Or else."

That finally got his attention off my tits and on the giant of a man behind him. His eyes widened instantly as he looked up and up into angry blue eyes. But he had drunk courage and laughed. "Or else what?"

He smiled at me and kept on smiling when he looked down at the man. "Or else you'll see what it's like to do some shit you don't want to do, like shit out your teeth."

I heard his swallow over Tyrone's latest dance track while Bunny and Heather danced together on stage. "I paid for the dance."

"Not yet you didn't, so why don't you get the fuck out of here while you still can?"

He was so calm even though his anger was palpable, and it was fascinating to witness. Trent had a hair-trigger temper that he couldn't hide if his life depended on it.

But like a true drunken bully, the man pulled his arm back and swung on the redhead, who easily ducked the shot.

He didn't just duck the shot and retaliate, oh no, he smiled at the man like he was happy he'd swung on him. "Okay, the hard way, then." Amazingly, he gripped the man by the throat and lifted him clean off his feet, leaving his feet dangling a few inches above the floor. "You can either walk out of here on your own two legs or get wheeled out on a gurney. Your choice."

Holy shit. This was a man who didn't issue idle threats.

"Fine. She's not that fucking hot anyway. Stuck up bitch." He glared at me still holding his stack of twenties.

The biker leaned over and plucked a few notes out of the bundle.

"What the fuck? No dance, no cash." The drunken asshole complained.

The big man smiled again. "Consider it a fee for having to put up with your shit. Leave it."

He could see the biker wasn't budging, so he stormed out of the club, grumbling angrily to himself.

"Thank you," I whispered so softly, even I wasn't sure if I'd actually said anything.

"Are you all right?" His deep voice was soft and gentle, full of genuine concern, which was something I hadn't experienced much in the past few years.

More tears sprang to my eyes. "I am, thanks to you." I couldn't look at him because my body was frozen with fear even though I wasn't scared of him. "You can have a private dance, but you're not allowed to touch me."

"I didn't do that for a fucking dance."

"You didn't?"

He shook his head, smiling.

"So you don't want a dance?"

He lifted his broad shoulders and dropped them with a grace a man his size didn't usually possess. "I'd love one, but only if you wanted to give me one, and right now you don't seem in the mood. He handed out the money he'd taken from the customer."

I shook my head. "I can't take it, it's not mine."

"Of course it is. He paid for your time, which he wasted. It's yours." He watched me until I finally took the money. "You hate this shit. Why do you do it?"

And now I was offended. "What do you care?" I snapped. "You're here too."

He smiled. "No judgment. It's just, a lot of the girls here want to be here, some tolerate it and put on a show for the money, but even from across the room I saw the fear in your eyes. This isn't your scene."

"No," I admitted. "It's not."

"Let me buy you a drink," he offered. "No strings. Just to warm you up and dry those tears."

I wasn't sure what his angle was, but I nodded. "Yeah, okay, sure."

He guided me to a booth and pointed to the lone chair while he took a seat in the booth. "Ruby, huh?"

I nodded. "Yep."

"Okay, Ruby. What kind of job are you looking for?" His blue gaze studied me so carefully it felt as if he could see my innermost thoughts.

"I'm not sure. I, um, my situation is complicated."

"Fugitive on the run complicated?"

"No," I answered with a small laugh. "Nothing like that." Not exactly, anyway. I was on the run, but not from the law.

"Okay. I have a proposition for you."

I froze and pushed away from the table immediately. I should have known. Stupid Grace will never learn her lesson, always seeing the good in bad men.

"The job doesn't require you to get naked or fuck, Ruby." When my gaze met his, he smiled. "It's a legit job offer, along with a place to stay."

"A real job?" And a place to stay. It was so unbelievable that warning bells sounded in my mind.

"Yeah, a real job."

I frowned, unable to really believe the words I heard. "I can't go with you now. I'm working and I don't know you."

His lips pulled into an all too alluring grin. "Smart woman. I understand your hesitation. "Ask the girls about me to ease your mind. I'll be here for the next thirty to forty-five minutes. Come find me. Or don't."

I watched him for a few minutes, trying to see the evil, the mean spirit, the wickedness hidden in his depths. I knew what to look for after years spent in the same room as Trent, but I couldn't see it or feel it. There were no warning signs, so, eventually, I nodded. "I will do that."

"Good. Do." He smiled again and it made my knees wobble.

"Okay." I pushed away from the table and stood, nodding resolutely as if I knew what the hell was going on. But I kept my shoulders squared and my spine straight as I walked away, ignoring the men who waved cash to get my attention.

At the bar, I found Brandi and Toni, two dancers who have been doing this for a few years and likely knew all the regulars. "Ruby, what magic have you weaved on Maverick?"

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

Toni laughed. "He comes in often, buys his drinks and tips well. Never buys dances, rarely talks to girls but he's never rude. Always nice and sweet and courteous."

I nodded at their effusive praise of the big man. "Why does he come here?"

"Who knows," they said at the same time.

"Probably because he's a biker and he can relax here without anyone starting any shit," Toni explained. "Mostly."

"He even walks us to our cars at the end of the night just to make sure we're safe. Never makes a move," she said with a pout. "No matter how much we want him to or tempt him."

That sounded almost too good to be true, but it also meant he was exactly the kind of guy who might have a legitimate job offer for me. "A biker?"

They both nodded.

"He's a member of the Steel Demons MC," Brandi said.

I nodded as if I knew what that meant. These women were more worldly than I was. They knew so much more about everything, and the last thing I wanted was to look even more na?ve in front of them. "Okay. Thank you, ladies."

They flashed identical smiles before going their separate ways, both summoned by different customers in need of some one-on-one attention.

A few more dancers told me pretty much the same thing about Maverick and I knew, deep down, that I couldn't afford to walk away from this offer without giving it a shot—or at least finding out what he was offering. Even with the money, I hated my job, and I would rather do something else making less money if I could look at myself in the mirror.

"So, what did you find out?"

"The girls all love you, which begs the question why haven't you asked any of them to do this job."

"They are all happy or at least content with their lot in life. They don't tremble in fear at the thought of a private dance. You do, and it's the right day and time for both of us."

I crossed my arms, open to hearing him out without promising anything. "Okay. What's this offer?"

"My grandmother, Mabel. She raised me for most of my life and she's the only blood family I have in this world. She means everything to me, and, recently, she's lost a step."

I gasped. "Stroke or heart attack?"

"Not yet, but I was away on business and when I came back, she was in the hospital. Took her blood pressure medicine twice in one day."

"Oh no!"

Maverick nodded, but I could see the pain he tried to hide, the worry he masked behind a masculine fa?ade. "She's not so far gone that she can't take care of herself, but she needs help around the house. Someone to make sure she takes her meds when she's supposed to, help her with meals and running errands so she can have a normal life without putting herself in danger."

It sounded reasonable enough. What was the catch? "You can't do it yourself?"

"No. I have obligations that sometimes take me out of town for days or weeks at a time. She means everything to me, but to be able to afford her care, I need to work. Her last caregiver fucked off back to Trinidad because her own son became a father."

"How dare she," I deadpanned.

He smiled. "I know I sound like an asshole, but it was abrupt and without any notice. It takes nine months to have a baby and she didn't say shit until a week before she left, and it was fine," he insisted, and looked away.

"Until it wasn't?"

His brows perked up. "Exactly."

"Tell me about her." A man who loved his grandma couldn't be all bad, could he?

He smiled and holy shit was he handsome. "She's great, a spitfire who never fails to put me in my place. Regularly threatens to wash my mouth out with soap. We're a team. She took me in when my folks couldn't take care of me and kept me, making sure I finished high school and made it to the Marine Corps."

He was a biker and a veteran, which seemed odd to me, but I'd spent most of the past ten years locked inside a single-family home. "Okay."

"Okay? It would be a live-in position with a cash stipend. You'd have to monitor her meds, make sure she makes it to doctor's appointments, and keep her safe as much as possible."

This sounded good, like really, really good. Almost too good to be true, but also too good to pass up.

"There's something else you should know, Maverick. In the spirit of full disclosure."

"What is it?"

"It's not just me. I have a six-year-old daughter. Would she be welcome too?"

"Of course. The house is big enough for you each to have your own rooms, but I have to warn you. Mabel is desperate for great-grandchildren to spoil, and your little girl will be her main target."

His words tugged a laugh out of me. "Duly noted."

His blue gaze slammed into mine and the force and weight of his stare was palpable, almost like a full body caress. "And she hasn't lost one step when it comes to baked goods."

"She sounds wonderful." My grandparents had all died before I was born, and I lost my own parents before Sophie came along. That thirst for family and for a connection was probably why I'd been susceptible to Trent as a younger woman. I saw it clearly now, how he'd honed in on me and gave me exactly what I needed, before he ripped it all away.

"She's great," he assured me with another affectionate smile.

This sounded like the perfect job for me right now. A place to live without putting my name on a lease or utilities. It would make it virtually impossible for Trent to track us. "Is she all right with a caregiver and a set of roommates?"

"She will be," he said with confidence. "I'll talk to her tomorrow when I go back to visit before she's discharged."

"So this isn't a done deal? You don't know anything about me, she might not even like me."

"It is, and she will. I'm a good judge of character. She's in the hospital now, and trust me, she'd rather stay in her home than go somewhere with around the clock care." He shook his head, a worried smile on his face. "I promised her I would figure this out, and you've just landed in my lap, figuratively of course."

"Of course," I echoed with a shaky smile. I believed him, but what if this was just some ruse to get me into a vulnerable position where he'd hold me hostage just as much as Trent had? "This sounds too good to be true," I told him honestly.

Maverick nodded. "I agree. I came here because I was overwhelmed with what I had to do and there you were. I'm not sure if this will work out for either of us, but we need each other right now, Ruby, don't you think?"

"It seems so," I tentatively agreed. "But I can't afford to trust a strange man with a job offer that sounds too good to be true." My heart raced as I said the words. Too many years with Trent made it difficult to stand up for myself without fear, but now was as good a time as any to learn.

"What do you propose we do?"

Good question. I thought about it for a long moment and sighed. "Talk to your grandmother tomorrow about this arrangement, and if she's up for it, I'll come by to meet her." That sounded reasonable. I hoped.

"And if all goes well?"

I sighed, feeling a flutter deep in my belly and electricity skittering over my skin. It could be attraction, but I told myself it was just excitement about leaving The Den for good. No more taking off my clothes for money. No more objectifying myself just to survive.

"If it all goes well, then I'll quit and take the job. Full time." Feeling brave, possibly even bold, I extended my hand to seal the tentative deal. "Sound good?"

"Sounds great," he said with a grin as he shook my hand. It was a great smile, the contagious kind that made you want to smile back as if you both shared some kind of secret. It was dangerous to think like that. He was, or would be, my employer. "I look forward to it."

So did I. "Until tomorrow, Maverick." I stood up and smoothed a nervous hand over the sparkly bikini that left very little to the imagination. "Have a good evening."

"You too." His lips tugged up into a lopsided grin that had warmth shooting throughout my body as I walked away. "Ruby?"

I stopped and turned. "Yeah?"

"I need your number so I can call you after I talk to my grandma."

It felt like a trap, but I knew we needed to be able to communicate, so I nodded, returned to the table, and scribbled my number on a napkin. "Get home safely, Maverick."

Something like surprise flashed in his eyes and his smile softened. "I will. You do the same, Ruby."

The interaction with Maverick left me off-kilter for the rest of the evening. I couldn't focus during my last three sets, my mind wondering who he really was. A biker, sure. A veteran and a man who loved his grandmother too, but there was more to him than that.

I knew it. I could feel it.

But did I really want to know? I wasn't sure.

The one thing I was sure about? The details of Maverick's life were none of my business, and I'd do well to remember that if anything ever came of this too good to be true job offer.