I think about the men of Dante’s Nine. When Sam was still around, the idea of hanging around as a mama was more than a little appealing. As long as he’d claim me for his own eventually, that is. But with Declan spoken for, I’m not sure there’s anyone that I’d really want to stick with for the long game. Ollie’s alright, and cute as hell, but a little manic. Not quite my type. Kip and Chuck are twisted and grizzly, lovable but not very fuckable. Teddy and Frank may not actually know more than ten words between them. John Baxter has a long-time civilian wife, as does Saul. And the new prospect Tot creeps me out a little bit with those pretty features of his. I’m not sure that there’s a man for me within the Nine. But I don’t want to tell that to Kassie. She might think my eyes, and loyalty, are wandering.
And I’m terrified that she may be right.
As we walk up the Forty-Five Club just after ten o’clock that night, a wave of apprehension surprises me. What do I have to be nervous about? I’m decked out in black skinny jeans and a thin white tank, my eyes lined with perfect smoky precision. Am I really that nervous about being accepted by the women here? I don’t think so, but my gut tells a different story. And my gut is rarely wrong.
“What is it?” Kassie asks, as I look back over my shoulder, scanning the long deserted road we traversed to get here.
“Nothing,” I say slowly, “Something just feels a little off.”
“What kind of ‘off’?” she asks.
“It’s probably nothing,” I reply, “Just the jitters, maybe.”
“You don’t have to be nervous here,” Kassie says, taking my hand, “This place can be your home, if you’ll have it. Don’t let the girls bother you, they’re all talk. And besides, I think Dani has a crush on you.”
“Really?” I laugh. “So if none of the available brothers suit my fancy, maybe I could go a whole other route to feeling at home around here.” Kassie shoots me a sideways glance. “Kidding of course!”
We make our way into the clubhouse and encounter the familiar sight of Sherry, Courtney, and Wendy hanging around their end of the bar while Dani furnishes them with drinks. I spot Wendy rolling her eyes as she sees me, but I can’t really give a damn about that when Dani shoots me a wide, happy smile. It’s just the six of us here tonight, no men to keep watch over us. Usually, that would seem like the recipe for an awesome evening. But for some reason, it makes me more nervous than it might.
“Maybe we should lock the door or something?” I whisper to Kassie.
“What?” she says, “Why?”
“If it’s just us here, you know...”
“Kelly, nothing’s going to happen to us,” Kassie says, tugging me over to the bar, “Come on. You seriously need a drink.”
I swallow my protestations. Kassie is still more naive than she’d like to admit. Up until a year ago, she was just a rich girl from Connecticut with no street smarts to speak of. I can tell she’s learned a lot since coming to Vegas, but she didn’t grow up in a neighborhood like mine. There’s no such thing as being “safe” when the club you follow has a score to settle.
“Drink up,” Dani winks, handing me a double shot of whiskey, “Looks like you need it.”
“We’ve just been working hard,” I tell her, slugging back the smoky booze.
“Look at you go!” Sherry exclaims, “Keep up like that, maybe you can knock the new prospect out of the running for getting patched. I bet you’re more of a man than he is.”
“I have no idea if that’s supposed to be a compliment,” I say, “But...thanks. I guess.”
I relax a little as the liquor hits my system. The time passes, more shots are poured, it’s business as usual. The other women fall to chatting about club matters; which girl is after which brother, how the guys stack up against each other, all that stuff. I can’t kick in much intel, but I’m happy to have their words distract me from my lingering unease.
I pull myself up off my barstool and head over to the dusty juke box. My feet drag strangely as I make my way across the bar. The corners of my vision are blurry, and the lights in the bar sport hazy halos. That whiskey went to my head faster than I thought. Am I becoming a light weight in my old age? Reaching the ancient machine, I peer down at the albums and songs, the titles blurring together.
“Jesus, Dani,” I mutter, “How much whiskey...did you just feed me?”
“Just...a lil’...” I hear her voice slur.
I look back toward the bar, surprised to hear her sounding so sloshed. My vision swims as I look at the other women, and I have to steady myself against the juke box just to stay standing. Dani holds herself up on the bar, her head nodding. The three sweet butts have fallen into heavy silence, and Kassie teeters on her stool. We haven’t even been here an hour. How are we all this far gone?
My legs turn to jelly beneath me, and I slide down onto the floor. It’s a struggle to form any words at all, let alone coherent thoughts. But I have to try.
“Dani...” I murmur, “Was that a...new bottle...of whiskey...?”
“Hmm?” she replies, her eyes fluttering closed.
“Was the bottle...already open...?” I insist, straining for clarity, “Could someone...have messed with...?”
“Oh shit...” she says, her eyes popping open in alarm, “Oh shit...Kassie?”
Kassie is sprawled across the bar, unconscious by the looks of it. Panic starts to pulse through my blood as I realize just how dire this situation has become. We’re not just drunk, the six of us. There was something slipped into that bottle of whiskey, I’m sure of it. I’ve heard enough stories about date rape to know a thing or two about the drugs that enable it. But who would want to set us up like this? Here we are, a bar full of incapacitated women, unguarded...this is not good.
“I’m gonna lock...I’m gonna...” I slur, crawling toward the front door, “We...have to be...safe...”
Every inch is a struggle as I fight like hell to make it across the bar. My heart thumps desperately as every cell in my body battles to stay alert. I reach out my hand to bolt the door, my arm feeling heavy as lead. But before I can lock us in, the front door clatters open, pinning me back against the wall. I’m hidden there, behind the door, as three burly forms saunter over the threshold. A strangled scream rises up from Dani’s loose lips, and the mamas tumble off their stools, clamoring as best they can to get behind the bar. They move slowly, as if the air had turned to molasses. Raucous laughter rings out as the three masked men stroll through the bar. They’re massive, these intruders, unearthly and terrifying in their size.