Hostage (Predators MC 3)(96)
“Well?” Penni raised her brows at her.
“Who did Ice bet on?”
Penni nodded.
“He placed on you, but he wanted me to make sure he shouldn’t change his bet.”
Now Penni could understand Grace’s impromptu return to work.
“You might want to tell Ice to go ahead and change his bet.”
“Really? Um … I’m happy … if you’re happy.” Grace carefully cleaned away the remains of her lunch. “But I wanted to make sure before he risks our money on a stupid bet so we don’t lose.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing’s going to change your mind, right? Even if one of the men tell you something that will upset you?”
Penni folded her hands together on the desk. “Spill.”
“It’s just that Ice is worried one of the men will tell you something about Jackal that would keep him from winning the bet.”
“Like what? If it’s about Raci, we talked, and that’s why I’m still making up mind about him. Before that, he had a solid ninety percent chance of getting me in bed.”
“See, that’s what has Ice worried.”
Penni noticed that Grace had downplayed her own worry.
“What kind of things do you think they would tell me?”
“I don’t know. If I knew, I would tell you. You’re my friend, and I wouldn’t keep anything from you that I thought you deserved to know.”
“That’s good to—”
“Except …” Grace became flustered. “You are aware he’s one of the bouncers at the Purple Pussycat?”
“I’m the one who took you there to show you where the Predators hang out. I also know he’s … slept with most of the women.”
“Cool. I was worried I would have to tell you. I admire you,” she said in a truly awed tone. “I don’t think I could take Ice watching the women working with their clients.”
Penni’s chair fell back as she quickly rose. “What’d you say?”
Grace paled. “I thought you said you knew?”
“That he was lying to me about not sleeping with the strippers. I knew he threw drunks out or men who got too touchy-feely with the dancers, not watching them fuck!” Penni picked up her chair. “Never mind. Tell Ice his bet is safe.” She sat back down, pushing her chair forward to her desk. “Let’s go back to work.”
Grace stood uncertainly. “I feel terrible. It’s not like they’re in the same room. He stays in a separate room behind a two-way mirror so the women stay safe. Usually, it’s high profile men who want a place to have sex without being seen. The men pay for the room and the women with neither of them knowing each other.”
“How do you know about it?”
Grace threw their trash away, going back to her desk. “Ice and I went there a couple times,” she muttered. “You know, to spice things up.”
Penni couldn’t help giggling. “Did it work?”
“God, yes. We usually don’t have a problem, but damn, it was … fantastic. Vida and Colton have, too. And I think that Max wants to, too, so bad. The room is expensive.” Grace waved her hand in front of her face. “If I didn’t want the hot tub fixed, I’d get Ice to splurge on another night.”
Penni went to the temperature control, turning the air conditioner down.
“Do any of the bouncers watch when any of you—”
“Hell, no. Only the customers get watched because Henry doesn’t want any of the women or men to get hurt. Some of their clients have a lot of money and think them giving a beating is included in the price. Ice said one of the men tried to break one of the women’s arms a couple of weeks ago, and Jackal jacked him up.” Grace rolled her eyes at Ice’s choice of words.
“Some of the male workers earn money that way?”
Grace nodded. “A couple of them do. Some of the bartenders are very good-looking, not that I noticed.”
“I have.” Penni picked up her cell phone. She noticed Grace watching her as she asked the voice on the other end of the line to speak to Henry. Penni almost started giggling again as Grace listened to her requests.
When she hung up the call, she turned to her computer.
“Did you just rent Henry’s room tonight?”
“Yes.” Penni read a new email that came in during lunch.
“But … It’s Monday. Jackal’s working there tonight.”
“I know.”
“You sure you’re not here to start trouble?” Henry’s skeptical gaze took in her appearance in her brand new red dress that was so tight and short she had to resist the urge to tug it down.