Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood #7)(136)

Frowning, he turned back around, fisted his fresh Jack, and focused on the working girls.

Professionals. Who knew the kind of get-off game he was looking to get into. Much better.

He focused on a dark-haired female who had a face like the Virgin Mary. Marie-Terese, he thought he’d heard her name was. She was the boss of the working girls, but she was also available for hire: At the moment, she was hip-out and come-hithering a guy in a three-piece who seemed very interested in her goods.

Come with me, John signed to Qhuinn.

“Where—Okay, gotcha.” Qhuinn polished off his beer and slid out. “Guess we’ll be back, Blay.”

“Yeah. Have…a good time.”

John led the way over to the brunette, and her blue eyes seemed surprised as the two of them came up to her. With some kind of sultry apology, she stepped away from her prospect.

“You need something?” she said, with no come-on whatsoever. She was friendly, though, because she knew that John and the boys were special guests of the Reverend’s. Although naturally not why.

Ask her how much, he signed to Qhuinn. For both of us.

Qhuinn cleared his throat. “He wants to know how much.”

She frowned. “Depends on who you want. The girls have—” John pointed to the woman. “Me?”

John nodded.

As the brunette’s blue eyes narrowed and her red lips pursed, John imagined her mouth on him and his cock liked the picture, popping up an instant, cheering erection. Yeah, she had a very nice mou—

“No,” she said. “You can’t have me.”

Qhuinn spoke up before John’s hands could go flying. “Why? Our money’s as good as anyone else’s.”

“I get to pick who I do business with. Some of the other girls, they might feel differently. You can ask them.”

John was willing to bet the shutdown had something to do with Xhex. God knew there had been a lot of eye contact between him and the club’s head of security and Marie-Terese didn’t want to get in the middle of that, no doubt.

At least, he told himself it was that, as opposed to the fact that even a prostitute couldn’t stand the idea of being with him.

Okay, cool, John signed. Who would you suggest?

After Qhuinn spoke, she said, “I would suggest you go back to your Jack and leave the girls alone.”

Not going to happen, and I want a professional.

Qhuinn translated, and Marie-Terese’s frown got even deeper. “I’ll be honest with you. This feels like a f*ck-you. Like you’re sending a message. You want to get laid, go find some chippie on the dance floor or in one of these booths. Don’t do it with someone who works with her, okay?”

Right. Totally was about Xhex.

The old John would have done what she suggested. Fuck that; the old John wouldn’t be having this conversation in the first place. But things had changed.

Thanks, but I think we’ll ask one of your colleagues. Take care.

John turned away as Qhuinn spoke, but Marie-Terese grabbed his arm. “Fine. You want to be an *, go talk to Gina over there in the red.”

John bowed a little, then took the suggestion, going up to a black-haired woman who was dressed in red vinyl so bright, the shit nearly qualified as a strobe light.

Unlike Marie-Terese, she was on board with the plan before Qhuinn even got to the ask. “Five hundred,” she said with a wide smile. “Each. I’m assuming this is together?”

John nodded, a little astonished that it was so easy. Then again, that was what they were paying for. Easy.

“Shall we go into the back?” Gina positioned herself between him and Qhuinn, took each of them by an arm, and led them past Blay, who was fixated on his beer.

As they went down the hallway that led to the private bathrooms, John felt like he had a fever: Hot and disassociated from what was around him, he was bobbing along, tethered only to the thin arm of the prostitute he was about to pay to f*ck.

If she were to let go, he was quite sure he would simply float away.





FORTY-FIVE




As Xhex came up the steps and into the VIP section, at first she wasn’t sure what the hell she was seeing. It looked like John and Qhuinn were going into the back with Gina. Unless, of course, there happened to be another two guys just like them, one of whom had a tat in the Old Language on the back of his neck and another who had shoulders as big as Rehv’s.

But that absolutely was Gina in her red-don’t-mean-stop dress.

Trez’s voice came through Xhex’s earpiece. “Rehv is here and we’re waiting for you.”

Yeah, well, they were going to wait a little longer.

Xhex turned around and headed back for the velvet rope—at least until her path got blocked by a guy wearing wannabe Prada.

“Hey, baby, where you going so fast.”

Dumb move on his part. The coked-up piece of Euro-irrelevance picked the wrong female to step in front of.

“Get out of my way before I move you.”

“What’s the matter?” He reached out for her hip. “Can’t handle a real man—Ow.”

Xhex turned the guy’s grope into a knuckle-crusher, twisting his hand in her fist until his arm flamingoed on him. “Right,” she said. “About one hour and twenty minutes ago you bought seven hundred dollars’ worth of coke. In spite of the amount you’ve been doing in the bathrooms, I’m wagering you have enough left on you to get popped for possession. So get the f*ck out of my way, and if you try to touch me again, I will break all these fingers, then go to work on your other hand.”