Page 10 of Ghost (Iron Thunder MC 4)
He clenched his jaws. I was being sarcastic and he wasn’t pleased about that. I thought maybe he would snap at me, but he didn’t. He just waited a beat before continuing.
“How did you start working at Teasers?”
“I was recruited. By one of my friends…well, she used to be my friend. She is kinda like a scout for them. She thought I would be perfect for the job.” I made it a point to stare at him as I spoke this time. Held his gaze. I knew he thought I was weak and like a wounded bird, but I needed him to see I could be strong too. That he couldn’t keep scaring me into submission.
Besides, I wanted to hide the other thing I was feeling.
Hot and bothered, because he was the sexiest man I had encountered.
A sexy, dangerous man I should have been keeping my distance from.
“And are you?” he asked, and I realized I wasn’t paying attention.
“Am I what?”
“Perfect at the job?” When he spoke, his eyes narrowed and his gaze dropped down to my breasts. I was still wearing a tight red cocktail dress that I had put on last night at the club. It was uncomfortable and too small, and now it felt like it was beginning to itch too. But the neck of the dress was low and my cleavage spilled out. One thing was for sure—I was dressed like a stripper.
“I make good tips,” I replied. This time, I had to look away. I couldn’t bear the heavy scrutiny.
“So you’re comfortable with the work? It’s the life you always dreamed of?” he continued. His words bit into my skin like pinpricks. He knew nothing about me! How dare he suggest such a thing?
“It’s the life I have been given!”
“So you’ve not always wanted to be a stripper?”
“Of course not! Which girl grows up dreaming to become one?” I snapped.
Now I noticed a kind of pleased expression in his eyes. Did he think this was funny? Clearly, he was enjoying seeing me all worked up like this.
I wanted to get up and leave. It didn’t matter how sexy this man was. He was starting to get on my nerves. Besides, what did any of this have to do with Crash and Eagle?
“Why do you care about my personal life, anyway?” I hissed.
That seemed to catch him by surprise. Ghost ran a hand through his hair and shrugged.
“I don’t. I’m just trying to find any clues I can on the information I need. Your job is to simply answer all my questions. Do you think you can do that?”I refused to look at him now. I thought this was an interrogation about Crash and Eagle and the workings of the Silver Knights MC. Now it was beginning to seem like he was on a mission to embarrass and humiliate me.
“So if this isn’t the life you dreamed of, why did you become a stripper?” he asked. I didn’t want to answer so I remained silent. But he was really good at this waiting game. He made it clear that he would wait for as long as he needed to. I had no choice but to give him an answer.
“I needed the money, okay? So when Nancy offered me this job and made it sound easy, I figured why not.”
Ghost searched my eyes when I met his, like he was trying to figure out if I was telling him the truth. Then it struck me…he wasn’t trying to humiliate me. Well, not really. He was trying to find loopholes in my story to see if I was telling the truth, if I was reliable. Clearly, he was a very suspicious man.
“I was supposed to work there for just six months and leave. That was the plan. I had no intention of turning this into a long-term gig.”
His brows furrowed.
“How long did you end up working there?”
“Five months and eighteen days,” I replied and hung my head.
One more reminder of how close I was to getting out. A few more days and I wouldn’t be in this mess right now.
“What did you need the money for?” he asked in a quieter voice.
I met his eyes, enraged.
“That is personal information.”
“You will have to answer the question, Mercy. You can either choose to do so right now which will save you a lot of trouble. Or we can wait till you have no choice but to tell me.”
I didn’t want to discuss my grandmother. I didn’t want to clue him in on how vulnerable she was, and I was too. I didn’t know if I could trust him. What made any of these people better than the guys who ran the Silver Knights?
Even though I kept my head down back there, I noticed the stuff that went on. How they treated the women who worked at the club. We were looked down upon, called names behind our backs, and I knew that eventually, a day would come when the men would start passing me around like they did with some of the others. I wouldn’t be able to protest because it would become a part of my job. I wanted to get out of there before that happened.
