Serving the Wolf's Den (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (18 page)

Maura had been kind, too kind. Each time Joanie brought up wolves, she had tried to gracefully change the subject. She decided to wait a couple days and talk to Maura again. However, that hadn’t worked out, and now the time for talking was over.

“What can I get you, Joanie?” Katie asked, walking over to where she was sitting at the bar.

“A double Scotch.”

“You’re starting out strong. Something going on you want to talk about?”

“I know you’re one of them, Katie.”

“One of them, what?”

“You howl at the moon, too.”

Katie stared at Joanie for a full minute before she spoke. “So, you want to tell me how many drinks you’ve already had before you came here tonight?”

“My middle name’s Joanie. My first name is Cassandra. Didn’t Sandy ever mention me? I knew your older sister. You look just like her. I heard she passed away. I guess she was almost like a mother to you.”

“You can’t be her.” Katie looked like she had seen a ghost.

“Sometimes I wonder the same thing. However, I can assure you that I’m Frederick’s and Robert’s Cassandra. The woman they loved and who ran away from them with a little help. Your sister loved them, too.”

“Why did you come back here? They’re all dead now.”

“Until now I wasn’t even sure myself. I’m not going to let what happened to me happen to Maura. It took me years to figure out I’d made the biggest mistake of my life, and then it was too late. I was married to someone else, with a child. I can’t go back and change what I did, but I can sure as hell try to change what’s happened between those kids.”

“What have you done, Joanie?” Katie sounded scared, something Joanie had never thought she’d hear from someone as tough and sure of herself as Katie.

“Wouldn’t you just like to know so you can ring the alarm with the rest of your kind. Well, this time, there’s nothing you or anyone can do. There’s no Sandy to make sure Maura keeps on running, never to return. I’m counting on Maura to be a helluva lot smarter and stronger than I was.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“You do?”

“Yes, I guess I do. Sandy knew she had been wrong to deceive you even though at the time she thought she was doing the right thing. Frederick, Robert, Sandy…they were never happy. They all died wishing for something they never had. If Maura loves them, truly loves them, then maybe I’m of enough of a romantic to believe that they can have a happy ending despite their differences. It won’t be easy.”

“Nothing worth having ever is.”

Katie turned away to pour Joanie’s drink. Before she put the bottle down, she poured herself one. Joanie watched her gulp down a double Scotch in seconds flat.

* * * *

Toby jumped in the car beside Max and slammed the passenger-side door as Max sped away from the curb.

He looked over at his brother. “If I hadn’t walked into your office when I did, were you going to just ignore what Rhonda told you about Maura and not tell me?”

“Why did you come to my office anyway?”

“Joanie said you wanted to see me and to just walk in.”

“That’s weird. I never told her that.”

“It doesn’t matter now, does it? The only thing that matters is getting Maura out of that place before she gets raped or worse. You didn’t answer my question.”

Max gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I was going to go myself.”

“Without me. Thanks a lot.”

“I thought it would be less of a scene if only I went.”

“Well, in this case, you thought wrong. You and I both know what the Pink Petunia is. I love you, Max, I really do, but sometimes, like now, all I want to do is haul off and punch you.”

“Save it for later. We might need your hostility.”

The Pink Petunia was all the way on the other side of town in a neighborhood that had seen better days. Before Max turned the engine off, Toby was out of the car, running toward the neon-pink front door. Max ran after him. “Just cool it. You can’t go in there acting crazy. You know who runs this place.”

“I’m not stupid.”

The Pink Petunia was in full swing when they entered the smoke-filled darkness that was broken by scattered spotlights strategically placed above the women as they danced for the customers. Each woman was touching herself erotically while scooping up the money thrown her way.

When their eyes had finally adjusted, Max and Toby scanned the place but didn’t see Maura. A woman dressed in a much more revealing outfit than the Wolf’s Den came up to them and asked what they wanted to drink. The voluptuous blonde had nipples the size of saucers. Max couldn’t help but picture Maura in the revealing top and G-string. He flexed his hands, which curled up in fists. From the look of sheer rage on Toby’s face, he knew his brother was visualizing the same thing.

When the blonde came back with their drinks, Max said, “I’m looking for someone. Her name’s Maura. She’s new here. You know where I can find her?”

“I heard there was a new girl. I saw her earlier, not sure where she is now. But I’m here if you’re looking for some action, baby. I know how to make you forget all about that girl.”

“Thanks, but Maura’s who I’m looking for tonight.”

“That’s a damn shame. How about you, honey,” she said, looking over at Toby.

“Not tonight, but thanks.”

“Well, if you change your mind…” she ended, lingering for a few moments to pull her shirt away from her breasts. “It sure gets hot in here.” She giggled before she walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

“Do you think Maura has any idea what this place really is?” Toby asked, taking a swig of his beer.

Max didn’t answer. His eyes were glued to the woman across the room standing in front of a man who looked familiar. Toby followed his gaze. The man was holding Maura’s arms down at her sides. By the look on Maura’s face, they appeared to be in a less-than-pleasant discussion with a couple other men who had their backs to Max and Toby.

Max put his hand on Toby’s shoulder. “Just wait a minute.”

Toby stopped in his tracks with a growl. “I don’t like the way he’s holding her.”

“I know, but look at the way she’s dressed.” Max wanted Toby to first focus on the fact that Maura was in her street clothes and not dressed for work. She had on a long-sleeved pink blouse that was tucked in her jeans, and her long blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail. Her beautiful face looked worried and agitated all at the same time. As they watched, one of the men in front of her lifted her shirt. Max let out a growl.

They fought their way through the sea of bodies, not caring about the angry looks they were receiving. The man holding her looked their way. He pushed Maura ahead of him toward the back rooms.

Max and Toby followed Maura’s scent into a hallway, but Maura was nowhere in sight. They began opening doors, finding women and clients in various stages of undress and sexual acts. Max cursed as he ran toward the door marked EXIT. They pushed open the door that led them into a parking lot. Maura was being held up against a black car by the same man they had seen her with in the club.

“Listen, Maura, I know you think you’re too good for this place, but you’re forgetting about how much money you can make and how much you need it. The boss wants you. He thinks you can bring in a higher class of customers, which is part of his long-range plans.”

“I told you I don’t want to work here, Bart. I made a mistake. You can’t force me to work here.”

“Like hell I can’t. You really are a naïve little bitch. You’re going to go back in there, take off your street clothes, serve drinks, and be nice to the customers. And if you don’t, you’ll wish you had. Understand?”

“I understand perfectly,” Max said, coming up behind Bart, who whipped around at the sound of Max’s voice.

“This is none of your business. You fired her, remember?”

“She is my business, and she’s coming with me.”

“I don’t think so. Maura belongs here now. Isn’t that right, Maura?” Bart pulled Maura from behind him, slinging his arm around her shoulder. He whispered something in her ear before his hand dropped down to her breast.

“Max,” Maura said, biting her lip, “you shouldn’t be here.”

“No. It’s you who shouldn’t be here.”

Max turned slightly, hearing a growl behind him. He’d been so focused on Maura he had forgotten about Toby.

“Call that fucking dog off, now.” Bart’s eyes darted behind Max. “I’ll shoot it,” Bart threatened as he pulled out a gun from the back of his pants, pointing it toward Toby with a click.

Max heard Maura gasp before he yelled to Toby to get down, but his warning came too late as he caught a blur out of the corner of his eye. There was the sound of a gunshot and Maura’s scream before he heard a thud behind him. Every fiber of his being screamed to change, but the sight of the horror on Maura’s face stopped him from turning into what his brother had been unable to control.

Maura stood by Max’s side, shaking slightly as she held the light.

“Just hold it steady, Maura.”

“I’m trying, Max. I really am.”

“I know. This will be over shortly. I just want to make sure there are no bullet fragments and that the wound is cleaned and irrigated.”

“When I think of what could have happened…”

“Don’t think about it,” Max said before he turned his attention back to Toby.

Maura worked to keep her hand steady. She couldn’t bear to watch Max probing Toby’s wound even though he was sedated. It made her knees weak. She concentrated on a painting on the wall behind Max.

The story Joanie had told her about Max and Toby as well as their whole family being wolves was something out of one of those movies that had become so popular. She had attributed it to an old woman who was losing her grip on reality. She realized now that Joanie’s grip on reality was better than her own.

Joanie was the only one that knew she had gotten a new job, but she hadn’t told her where. It was only that morning, which now seemed like a lifetime ago, that they had talked about it.

“I like having you here, Maura. I want you to stay as long as you want.”

“Well, that’s nice of you, but I can’t stay here forever on your dime. This kind of brings me to something I wanted to tell you.” Maura hesitated. “I’ve got a new job.”

“Really. Where and when do you start?

“I start tonight.”

“You’re not going to tell me where?”

“A guy I met at the Wolf’s Den got me an interview and the guy hired me on the spot. I promise I’ll tell you all about it, but for right now, I just want to keep it on the down low. I only told you because you’d wonder where I was.”

“This doesn’t sound good.”

“If it doesn’t work out, then I don’t have to explain.”

“You’re a big girl, Maura. I’m not your keeper.”

“I know. But you’ve been so good to me.”

“And I told you I would help you. It would be a lot better than working someplace you can’t tell me about.”

“I’m waitressing. It’s an after-hours club, sort of like the Wolf’s Den but not exactly.”

Joanie frowned with disapproval.

Maura felt herself bristle. Without thinking, she said, “I didn’t marry some rich old man for his money so I wouldn’t have to work.”

“So that’s how it is.”

“Joanie,” Maura said, her voice full of regret. “That was uncalled for and untrue. I’m so sorry.”

“No. You said what you thought. I can’t fault you for that.”

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Maura knew she had hurt Joanie’s feelings, something she would never intentionally do. She was still raw emotionally, and she had taken it out on Joanie.

Joanie left the house soon after breakfast. Maura spent the rest of the day on the computer in her room and made phone calls about apartments that she might be able to afford. She loved staying with Joanie, but she might have worn out her welcome, and besides, she needed to stand on her own and not be dependent on anyone else. In the end, she was the only person she could count on.

When her stomach started to growl, she went down to the kitchen to scrounge around for something to eat. The cook left at noon on Saturdays. She used some leftover cold chicken to make a salad.

She thought she heard the front door. Joanie walked into the kitchen with a few bags that contained what looked like clothes.

“Hi, Joanie. I’ve made chicken salad. Would you like to join me?”

“Is there enough?”

“There’s plenty. I’ll get you a plate.” Maura reached for a new plate and proceeded to scoop out the salad onto a bed of lettuce.

“This is good,” Joanie said, digging in. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”

“I’m glad you like it. It’s the least I could do for you.”

“I told you before I like having you here.”

“Even after this morning when I acted so horribly?”

“Stop. That’s all forgotten. Everyone says things they wished they didn’t. I’ve certainly said my share, and many times to you.” Joanie’s laugh was infectious, and Maura began to giggle, too. She was so glad they were back to being what she now thought of as normal.