Rake (Wolfes of Manhattan 4)

My hand brushed against the object that had hit my belly.

A door knob!

I twisted at it frantically, to no avail.

I’d found the door, but I couldn’t open it. I fumbled along the doorjamb for a deadbolt or something to unlock.

Nothing.

I was locked in.

Locked in a strange room.

Naked and ill and my head throbbing in time with my heart.

I slid down, scratching my unclothed back on the wall.

I sat on the floor, shivering.

Naked, afraid, and shivering.

“If you don’t want him,” Mo said, handing me a glass of wine, “mind if I take a stab?”

I didn’t want the wine. Two flutes of champagne was enough for one evening. Plus, it was my night off, and I really just wanted to go to bed. But Mo was in one of her chatty moods, and we did have the place to ourselves since our other two roomies were out.

I took the goblet from her. “Help yourself.”

“Can you arrange an introduction?”

“I just met him.”

Then her eyes went wide. “Oh. My. God.”

“What?”

“He’s Reid Wolfe!”

“Well…yeah. I believe he introduced himself to you.”

“Reid Wolfe the billionaire!”

“Oh. Yeah.”

“Oh. Yeah.” She mocked me. “Seriously? That’s what you have to say? Spill it, girl. How the hell did you end up getting Reid Wolfe to bring you home tonight?”

Long story. One I didn’t want to rehash now. So I said simply, “Right place at the right time, I guess.”

“What place would that be?” she demanded. “Because I plan to be there tomorrow.”

“I was over at the Wolfe Premiere.”

“What for? You hate gambling.”

“I had a…spa appointment.” A little white lie never hurt anyone.

“Whoa. Expensive stuff when you can hit Massage Avenue for fifty bucks.”

“I won a gift certificate in a contest.” Yeah, the white lies kept coming.

“Oh, that makes more sense. How was it?”

“Good. But no better than Massage Avenue. Definitely not worth the extra expense.”

“Really? I’ve heard their relaxation room is phenomenal. Aromatherapy, hydrotherapy, the works.”

Like I’d know. “Yeah, but not worth the extra, at least not on our income.”

She nodded, finally. Good. I wanted to get off this subject. I hated lying, but I couldn’t tell Mo why I was really at the Wolfe. No one knew my story here in Las Vegas. No one but the Wolfes.

I took a sip of wine and then feigned a yawn. “I’m exhausted. Think I’ll hit the sack.”

She giggled. “Nice try. Drink your wine, and tell me how I can get a stab at Reid Wolfe.”

“I hardly know the man.”

“Didn’t look that way to me. He carried you in here.”

“Because the heel on my shoe broke.”

“And that means you can’t walk, of course.”

“Well, my ankle’s slightly sore.”

“I’ve seen you do a show with an ankle twice the size of what you’ve got now.” Mo shook her head. “Not buying.”

I sighed. “Fine. He’s taking me to dinner tomorrow night after the late show. Why don’t you come along?”

“Dinner? Damn, you’re lucky.”

“I’m trying to help you get lucky.”

“Three’s a crowd, Zee.”

“It’s not a date. I just met the guy.”

“You just met Reid Wolfe, and now you’ve got a date with him. Damn.” She took a big drink of her wine. “You have all the luck!”

All the luck.

Did Mo have any idea how ridiculous her words sounded to me?

All the luck.

I’d been hunted. Then I spent the next several years on drugs, trying to deal with what had happened to me. Finally, I got off the drugs and found the strength to confront Derek Wolfe about what he’d done. That led to the settlement. He paid me off, and I let him.

Then I came to Las Vegas and changed my name. I wasn’t qualified to do anything, so I put those years of dancing classes to good use. Turned out I fit the bill for a showgirl. I was tall, well-built, and strong. The head pieces we wore often weighed twenty pounds or more. The modeling classes helped as well. My posture was outstanding. After two months, I got a job in a revue.

I supposed I was lucky in that respect. I found work. I’d used most of my settlement money then to finance my move to a new city. In retrospect, I should have demanded more. I had a ton of debt from rehab, and a big chunk of that settlement went to pay it off.

And lucky…

In one big respect I was lucky.

Lucky to be alive.

Those other girls…

They weren’t so lucky. I never saw any of them again.

“Earth to Zee.” Mo waved her hands in front of my face.

“Yeah, what?”

“You went catatonic there for a minute. You okay?”

“Yeah, just thinking. You’re right, Mo. I am lucky, in some ways.”

“Try all ways, girl. You’ve got a face and body to die for, and you’re dating a Wolfe.”

“I’m not dating a Wolfe. And not in all ways.”

She scoffed. “I suppose no one is lucky in all ways.”

“True story,” I agreed. If she only knew.