“I can't pull out of my business arrangement with the Rizzoni family. I'm contractually obligated to do my part. I need to make sure the club is a success.” He looked earnest. “I got at least a year’s worth of commitment to them. Come back with me, baby, and once the club is going strong, we can move back here.” He licked his lips as calculation briefly flashed in his eyes. “We could maybe even get back sooner if you helped with the business. And”—he looked sheepish—“you could keep an eye on me at the same time.”
Obviously Frank didn’t know she was well aware of what her part in the business would be. Yet, for some reason, she had to hear him say it. She had to hear him tell her he only wanted her so she could strip for him.
“I don't know, Frank.” She worked at sounding as though she was being swayed. She could act too. “I don't know what I could do at the club. I don't have any experience with business.”
His eyes flashed with victory. He believed she was hooked. “Baby, you can dance. You know the city’s been desperate to see you dance. You'd be a headliner at the club. You'd have it all—your own dressing room, name in lights. People queuing to watch you perform. It's your dream.”
No. It wasn't. It had never been her dream. She'd performed and danced because she couldn't do anything else. But it wasn't her dream. Especially not the kind of dancing Frank was offering.
“You think people would flock to see a go-go dancer?” She batted her eyelashes at him.
He clenched his jaw as a flash of frustration escaped. “Baby, we're a strip club. You know we're classy, but we don't need a go-go dancer.” He stepped closer to her and lowered his voice until it was pure honey. “We need a headline stripper. We need you. With your skills and reputation, you could put on a real class act. We'd be together, baby. Working side by side. Building something good together.”
Jena hid her anger to give him the same faux-innocent look that Katy used. “I don't know if I can work day in and out with all the women you’ve screwed, Frank.”
His grip tightened on her hands, and for a second she saw a flash of brutality in his eyes. What would he do to get what he wanted? How far would he go? Jena realised in that moment she’d never really known him. She'd been living with a figment of her imagination.
“I'm staying here, Frank. I have a house here. A home. Find another woman. Find another dancer.”
She tried to move away from him, but he held her tight.
“No. I need you.” His lips tightened. “You don’t have a house. You have a dump. I don’t know why you’re desperate to hold on to it. It’s nothing. You're coming back with me. You're going to dance in the club and we're going to start again.”
“I'm not stripping for you.”
“What's the big deal? You dance in the clubs wearing barely anything. Everyone can see your tits anyway. So what if you take your clothes off? Is it too much to ask to save our future?”
“Our future? We have no future. You threw it away when you screwed your staff.”
“Grow up. It wasn't a big deal. It was only sex. You’re my woman. You have your place. You don't need to feel threatened by a bit of pussy. Just ignore it. That's what the other women do.”
Jena stilled. “The other women? What other women?”
Frank let out an aggravated grunt. “The Rizzoni women. They know their place and the benefits of staying in it.”
“Listen to yourself. You honestly believe that's okay. That a woman should turn a blind eye to her man screwing around.”
“I have needs you weren't meeting, baby. If you'd stepped up and kept your man happy, we wouldn't be in this situation.”
Jena gasped. “You did not just say that.”
“I'm done with this shit.” Frank sneered. “We're going home. Now. You're gonna strip and you’re gonna shut your mouth about my extracurricular activities. I shoulda put my foot down with you when Vince told me to. Instead I had to be gentle with you, and now look where we are: you're throwing a tantrum and running halfway round the world to make your point. And I'm chasing you like some dumbass loser. I'm through playing nice. You need to learn your place in the scheme of things. Your job is to listen, do as you’re told, please your man and look sexy. And if you do a good job, you'll get to buy pretty things and hang out gossiping with the girls. It's an offer of a lifetime. What else you got going for you? Nothing. You ain’t got no skills, no money, no family. Nothing but that crap house. You're going to do what you’re told. Or, so help me, I'll make you.” He took a step towards her. “Plus you owe me for the car you stole and sold. Don’t think I forgot about it, baby. That’s fifty grand worth of dancing before I even consider calling us even.”
“In that case, you can give me back the money you borrowed over the years.”
His mask fell away. His face was cold and hard. The slap came out of nowhere as he backhanded her across her cheekbone. For a minute Jena couldn’t feel the pain over the shock of him hitting her. Grunt roared as he lunged towards Frank. Jena got there first. Her knee came up hard. Frank went down with a howl, clutching his most prized possessions as he did so.
“Grunt, deal with that asshole. We’re done with him,” Joe ordered as he followed Jena towards the exit.
Her face throbbed, but all she felt was shock.
“My pleasure,” Grunt said.
Jena heard a thump and looked over her shoulder in time to see Grunt knock his fist into Frank's face. The force sent Frank flying through the air. He hit his head on some rusted piece of crap and slumped to the floor.
“Don't run,” Joe told her. “We'll take you back. We're done here.”
“Consider that our resignation,” Grunt said.