Rock Chick Redemption
Page 74

I stared at him.
He was right, that sure as hel wasn’t flirting.
Then I scowled at him.
He was entirely unaffected by the scowl.
Then I looked to the ceiling.
“Denver men are nuts,” I told the ceiling.
He walked forward, grabbed my hand and pul ed me toward the door.
“Denver men are men,” he declared.
Good grief.
* * * * *
There was a line out the door and around the building when we arrived at Smithie’s. It was control ed by big, black leather jacket-wearing bouncers and a red velvet rope. Luke parked il egal y right at the front door.
“Hey! You can’t park there,” a bouncer, clearly feeling the need to risk his life, said to Luke, peeling away from his station to confront us.
I opened my purse to pul out the VIP passes and noticed the bouncer got close to me. Luke’s hand went flat against his chest, keeping him at a distance, while his other hand went to my arm and he moved me close to his side.
“Don’t,” Luke said, his deep voice sending a shiver down my spine.
I could only see Luke’s profile but whatever the bouncer saw made him say, “I guess you can park there.” I pul ed out the passes and showed them to the bouncer.
He escorted us to the doors and opened them for us.
The minute the doors closed behind us, I rounded on Luke. “He was only doing his job,” I snapped.
“So am I,” Luke replied.
Not much I could say to that.
“Yoo hoo!” we heard. “Over here!”
Tod was waving at us.
I took in the club, thinking it would be seedy and gross.
It was actual y nice, clean, new furniture, expensive, flashing disco lights, shiny, reflective stage, gleaming silver poles, red neon behind the bar and stage. Al the male staff were dressed in neck to toe black and looked like they could work for Lee.
The place was packed; wal -to-wal people. There was loud music and dancers on the stage, gorgeous girls with oiled, mostly-naked, spectacular bodies. They were making a kil ing, bil s poking out, wil y-nil y from their g-strings.
The only women I saw in the room, other than myself (and the dancers), were my friends.
Luke’s fingers curled around my hip and he propel ed me, part in front of him part beside him, to the tables occupied by our party, situated at the right side of the stage.
Indy, Al y, Daisy, Annette, Jason, Jet, Tod and Stevie were at two connected round tables. Nancy, Uncle Tex and Nancy’s friends Trixie and Ada were at two others with three people I didn’t know. One was a tiny woman with dyed black hair with one-inch, steel-gray roots and a cigarette dangling from her lip. The other a huge, hairy man who made Tex look sane and civilized. The last was a big black woman with an enormous Afro and tawny brown eyes.
I pul ed the wrap off and Daisy squealed, “Sugar, you sure can put the sparkle on.”
“Thanks,” I grinned at her. “So can you.”
And she could, she was sitting and al I could see was her head to her cle**age but she was covered in sparkle, her hair was even sprayed with glitter-spray.
“Are those Jimmy Choo’s?” Tod asked, staring at my feet.
“Yeah,” I told him.
“I have the perfect song for those shoes. I don’t know what it is yet, but I know I have it.”
“You can borrow them,” I said.
“Girlie, you are my new best friend,” he sent me an air-kiss then aimed a meaningful glance at Indy.
I saw Uncle Tex glaring at me, clearly thinking a night out at a strip club was also not the chosen past time for a woman being stalked by a lunatic ex-boyfriend.
Nancy appeared not to agree, she gave me a wink and a wave.
I cal ed my hel os to everyone else and Jet got up and grabbed my hand.
“These are my friends, Lavonne, Bear and Shirleen,” Jet said and then turned to the table. “This is Roxie and Luke.”
“Holy shit but you girls go for the gusto. Look at this f**kin’ guy. Sorry, honey but you ain’t hard on the eyes,” Lavonne said to Luke. Then she squinted toward me through the smoke, “Wel done, girlfriend.”
“We’re not together,” I told her.
She blinked. Her eyes lowered to Luke’s hand, which was stil at my waist. Then she squinted back at me.
“You aren’t?”
“Bodyguard,” Luke said.
Lavonne’s eyes got huge. “You famous?”
“No, I just have a stalker ex-boyfriend who keeps trying to kidnap me and bad guys who are after him. Luke’s here to make sure I don’t get caught in the crossfire.”
“You gonna make sure we al don’t get caught in the crossfire?” Bear asked Luke, butting into the conversation.
“My only focus is Roxie,” Luke answered with brutal honesty.
Bear grunted and rol ed his eyes.
“That’s plain enough to see,” Lavonne said, her lips curling up in a grimacing smile, the cigarette stil dangling precariously there.
Before I could say anything, Luke’s fingers bit into my hip and he pul ed me back and stepped in front of me. Around Luke’s body, I could see a big, black guy jogging up to us, his eyes on Jet.
“Your sister’s gettin’ cold f**kin’ feet. You gotta go back there and talk to her. I got f**kin’ important people here. I got a f**kin’ senator here. She can’t back out. She can’t…” he trailed off when he caught sight of Luke in his peripheral vision and he turned, ful body, to face Luke. “Who the f**k are you?”
“This is Luke. He’s –” Jet started.
“I know who he f**kin’ is. He’s f**kin’ trouble,” the black guy said, not taking his eyes off Luke. “Get the f**k outta here.”
I could swear I saw the air around Luke start shimmering.
Oh shit.
I stepped around Luke and (do not ask me why) said in a girlie, airhead voice (in other words, using lingo punctuated by exclamation and question marks where they did not need to be). “Hi! I’m Roxie! Jet’s friend?” I put my arm through Luke’s and leaned into him, resting my head briefly on his shoulder. “This is my fiancé, Luke? He’s not here to watch the dancers! Real y!” I smiled up at Luke. “Are you, pookie?”
Luke looked down at me and gave one of his half-grins and shifted his body, so instead of my side leaning into him, half of my chest was pressed against him.
I pursed my lips, gave him a quick scowl, then rearranged my face and looked back at the black guy with a smile.