But it wasn’t not even close.
“I know you don’t want to tell me the truth,” Luke said finally. He hadn’t told me where we were going, only said to get up and get dressed, and threw some clothes into my room. I showered and pulled on a pair of jeans that barely fit and a sweatshirt that was way too big for me. “But maybe you’ll change your mind if you meet the guys you’re putting in danger.”
I glanced at him, frowning. “What do you mean?”
“I run a crew. You met German already, but there are seven other guys. You’ll meet a few of them today.”
I sucked in a breath and let it out. “Great, more gangsters.”
He grunted. “You sleep okay last night, princess?”
I glared at him and for one second, I felt a stab of fear. Maybe he knew about my dream somehow, maybe he heard me moaning in my sleep—but no, he would’ve been more explicit about that. I doubted he could control himself if he knew that I wanted him as much as he seemed to want me.
“I slept fine,” I said, purposefully staring out the window. I didn’t want him to notice my skin flushing or my breath coming in fast.
He only laughed softly and parked out front of a rundown strip club on the very far edge of South Philly, right before the neighborhoods transitioned into the stadium area.
“Welcome to Butch’s,” he said, climbing out of the car.
The building was a square concrete structure with almost no identifying features except for the sign out front that said Gentleman’s Club in big, pink, curling script. I followed Luke to the front door but hesitated before going inside.
He looked back at me. “You too special to go into a strip club?”
“No, but this place is shady as hell.”
He leaned closer. “I’m a gangster, darling. Now come on, you’re as safe as you’ll ever be with me.”
I believed him. That scared me almost as much as anything else.
The club inside wasn’t so bad. The floor was sticky, but the bar looked clean and there weren’t any obvious stains anywhere, so well done to the cleaning staff. The stage was empty, the house lights were up, and an older woman stood behind the bar wiping down glasses. The tables were scattered throughout the place, and several guys sat around them, four in all, mostly staring at their phones with glasses of what looked like water, but was probably vodka, knowing these Russian mobsters.
“Boys,” Luke said, clapping his hands once like a gunshot.
All the guys looked over. One was heavyset, bald, in cargo shorts and a wife beater with a hairy chest and tattoos all over his arms. He stood up suddenly and threw his hands in the air. “The fuckin’ boss graces us with his presence. We should be thanking the heavens.”
Luke rolled his eyes. “I don’t need your shit today, Marvin.”
“Oh, right, sorry boss.” Marvin grinned at the others and sat back down.
Luke gestured at me. “This is Cara O’Shay, daughter of Justin.”
A thin, handsome man toward the back grunted in surprise. “The girl everyone’s looking for?”
I felt a chill along my spine and looked down at my hands.
“Don’t worry about that.” Luke pointed at the guy. “This is Yuri, that’s Marvin, and the other two are Vlad and Anton.”
“Pleasure,” Vlad said, a muscular guy with dark hair and a tight t-shirt.
Anton only nodded, a smile on his lips and a glass held up in the air.
“What’s she doing here anyway, boss?” Marvin asked. “We turning her in for the money?”
“Use your head,” Vlad said. “Why the fuck would the boss bring her here if he wanted to turn her over to the Lionettis?”
“Don’t know, maybe he wanted to give her a try on stage first.” Marvin cackled and Luke stalked toward him, jaw set tightly.
“Sit the fuck down,” he said and Marvin sank into a chair. Luke loomed over him for a second, then looked at his other guys. “Cara’s under my protection, which means you all better shut the fuck up and fall into line. She’s not going back to the Lionettis, understood?”
“Sir, yes, sir,” Anton said, grinning huge. “I like this girl already. She managed to whip the boss.”
“Shut up, Anton,” Yuri said, shaking his head. “We don’t need your shit right now, okay?”
“I’m only saying, not many people can tame Luke.” Anton saluted me with his drink again then finished it in two massive gulps. “To your health and well-being. May the Lionettis never catch you and may your enemies—”
“Enough,” Luke said, cutting him off. Anton didn’t seem put out at all though. “We need to start talking about how we’re going to defuse this situation.”
“You could always hand her over,” Marvin grumbled.
Luke suddenly slammed his boot hard against the big man’s chest and smashed him backwards. Marvin’s chair legs slid out from under him and he toppled to the floor with Luke’s foot still pinning him against the tile. He groaned and rubbed the back of his head, then tried to struggle away, but Luke kept standing on him.