Tough Guy: A Hero Club Novel by Jamie Schmidt (the reading list .TXT) 📗

“Yes.”

“How? We’ve only known each other a few days.”

“I’ve seen you dance. You’re gorgeous. You have great legs.” Miles ticked off the list on his fingers. “You’re not afraid of anything.”

I gave a short laugh. I was afraid of everything.

“You’re a free spirit.”

“Me?”

“Who else would decide to become a stripper to find her sister? And did I mention, you’re the best dancer I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot of them. Granted, most of them were naked,” he admitted. “But you outshone them all. If I didn’t want you for myself, you’d be making thirty thousand a month in my club until someone stole you away from me.”

This time I did laugh. “Only if all my VIP clients were you and Chance.”

Miles scowled. “Forget about Chance.”

“He’s going to help us find Lisa.” I recounted the conversation Chance and I had.

“It’s really tough to hate him,” he said. “He’s a nice bloke.”

“Then don’t. You’ve got nothing to be jealous about. I want you, not him.”

“Good.” Miles gave me a cocky smile and I was in the mood again.

Too bad we had arrived at Dee’s mother’s place.

We were in a more upscale part of town than before. I knew this because the communities were gated and the security at the kiosk outside of Dee’s mother’s condo was eyeballing Miles’s tattoos.

“Who are you here to see?”

Miles looked at his sticky note. “Eleanor Brandon.”

“One moment.”

“If she tells us to fuck off, let’s go to the Wynn,” I said in Miles’s ear while fondling him through his jeans when the guard was busy calling to see if we were welcome or not.

“You got it.” He thumbed my nipple and it made me gasp.

Unfortunately, the guard waved us through and told us where to park. Inside the gates, we could be in any city in the world. The shrubs and bushes were green and healthy, even though we were in the desert. As we walked up to the condo, a stunning woman in her mid-fifties stormed out of the house wearing a white one-piece bathing suit and a turban. The gauzy coverup she was hastily pulling on floated behind her like a cape.

“Eleanor Brandon?” I asked.

The woman nodded and turned to Miles. “Are you Miles Carvello?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Because of you, my daughter is a whore.”

And then she slapped Miles hard across the face.

Chapter Eleven

Miles Carvello

I took the crack even though I could have easily avoided it. It stung, but I sold it by rocking my head to the side. If it made Dee’s mother feel good, and calm enough to explain the bullshit she was spewing, it would be worth it.

“She was going to be a chef. She was going to Cordon Bleu. Did you know that? Do you even care?”

“She was a shitty cook.” At least that’s what Liu always said. “Lazy in the kitchen and her knife skills just plain sucked.”

Yeah, that wasn’t the right thing to say. So much for calming her down. Before she could swing again, Jackie stepped in. I squared off on the mother and she blinked at me, probably noticing that I could break her in half and stuff her in the dumpster. Not that I would, but she didn’t have to know that.

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” Jackie said soothingly.

“No, there hasn’t.” Eleanor’s eyes filled with tears. “She’s a hooker at the Moondust Cherry Ranch.”

“In Pahrump?” Jackie whispered.

“Yes.” Eleanor started to cry.

I hated when chicks did that. Jackie found some tissues in that gargantuan purse she carried and handed her some.

“Thank you.”

“My name is Jackie Mitchell. Miles is helping me look for my sister, Lisa, and I think . . .” Jackie took a shaky breath. “I think Lisa might be with Dee. Can we go inside and talk?”

Eleanor glared at me. “He led them to do it. It’s that damn club. I knew I should have forbidden her to work there.”

“No.” Jackie shook her head. “Miles is trying to find them. He cares about all his employees. When he found out Dee went missing, he went to Zeke’s place to track her down.”

“That boy.” Dee’s mother shook her head. “He’s trouble. If Miles didn’t convince her she could make more money selling her body, then Zeke did.” She scrubbed at her tears angrily. “You might as well come in.”

I nodded brusquely, but Jackie jammed an elbow into my side. “I wish we were meeting under different circumstances,” I said, absently rubbing my ribs.

Eleanor really looked at me this time and I could tell she liked what she saw. Well, maybe that would help open her up to our questions. I didn’t feel like smiling at her, but it seemed she didn’t need it. Straightening her shoulders, she let the gauzy wrap flutter down her back and put a sway in her step as she led us inside her condo.

“Behave,” Jackie whispered fiercely to me.

I kissed Jackie quick because I wanted to, and she gaped at me. She was still blushing when Eleanor led us to what she called the sunroom and bade us to sit on uncomfortable steel chairs that had been polished like chrome on a Harley. “Can I get you something to eat or drink?” Eleanor rang a little bell and an honest-to-God manservant appeared out of nowhere. He was dressed in a formal suit and jacket with tails. In this heat?

“We’re good,” I said.

“Nonsense, let me get you a drink. It’s the least I can do after behaving so horribly.” Eleanor leaned a little to give me a flash of cleavage, but I didn’t drop my eyes. Tits were a dime a dozen in my line of work and the only ones I wanted were Jackie’s.

“I’ll have a beer,” I said to the manservant.

“Oh you must try the lemon shandy.”

I winced. “Yeah, no. Fruit doesn’t belong in beer.”

I got elbowed again.

“That sounds very refreshing,” Jackie said.

I made eye contact with the manservant and he gave me a small nod and left the room.

“This is my sister, Lisa.” Jackie pulled out