Helena Hunting - Inked Armour

“Is she work—”

She slipped through a door guarded by another heavily muscled man before I could finish the sentence.

“Hey,” I shouted to him over the pounding music, my uneasy feeling growing. “I’m looking for my friend Sarah. She works here.”

He tapped his ear and mouthed, “I can’t hear you.” Then he went back to staring menacingly at the crowd.

Frustrated, I turned to look for her. The interior of the club was painted midnight black, casting shadows over the clientele. I searched for Sarah’s almost-white blond hair, but couldn’t locate her through the flicker of strobe lights. Tables full of men watched a naked woman gyrating on a pole, their eyes straying only when a mostly undressed waitress passed by. I hated that my friend waitressed here, and that Hayden had once been immersed in this lifestyle.

The door beside the bouncer slammed opened and Sienna appeared in all her red-patent-leather glory. The dress she wore was suctioned to her body. Her fake breasts were pushed up so high they looked like flesh-colored grapes ready to burst. Marks were on her arms, as if someone had been holding on to her hard, and one of her cheeks was bright red. A man dressed just like the one guarding the door came out behind her, adjusting his belt.

She snapped at the security guard, clearly put out. He motioned to the front; I saw Sarah’s name form on his lips; then he gestured to me. Sienna glanced at me and hatred flashed across her face, before she recovered her composure and a grin distorted her mouth.

I was confused. Hayden had said Sienna used to dance here. But as I saw the way everyone deferred to her, I realized he’d failed to fill in the rest of the blanks. Despite what her state of undress suggested, Sienna wasn’t a stripper anymore; she was in charge of this club. And I was in a bad spot.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise,” she purred. She sauntered over to the bar and leaned on the brass rail, eyes fixed on me. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m looking for—”

Her fake smile dropped and she cut me off. “Oh, I know exactly who you’re looking for. I told Hayden he’d get bored. I told him you wouldn’t be able to handle him, and he didn’t listen.” She towered over me in her absurd heels. “He’s so fucking pathetic. Always thinking he can be better than he is, but we both know that isn’t true—don’t we?”

“I-I don’t—” I was stunned. He’d told me that his life was different, that he was different, prior to me, but I hadn’t imagined anything like this.

“I-I don’t. I-I,” she mocked. “You’re a waste of his time. Did you come here thinking I might give you some pointers on how to keep him interested?” She sounded bitter. “I can save you the trouble, sweetheart. There’s nothing you can do. Hayden likes to keep his options open. He’ll never be satisfied with you; it’s just a matter of time before he comes running back to me.”

It had been a long, difficult day and my nerves were already frayed. This was not what I needed. If I let my emotions get the better of me in front of her, I was liable to lose it.

“I shouldn’t have come here,” I said, backing up. “I’ll go.”

Sienna stepped to the side, trapping me between the bar and the wall. “You sure you don’t want to have a look around? See what it’s going to take to keep him for a while longer?”

“I should just leave.” I swallowed hard as she came closer, penning me in.

She tilted her head to the side. “I don’t get it. What does he see in you? Look at you.” She picked up my ponytail and wrinkled her nose, then dragged a fake nail down my cheek.

I jerked my head away. “Don’t touch me.”

She caught me by the chin, holding on hard. We were in the shadows, covered by her entourage of security. She leaned in close, her mouth beside my ear. “You think you know Hayden, but you don’t. When I discovered him, he was busy fucking his way through the girls in this club. Everybody wanted him and I was the only one he came back to, over and over again. I gave him what he needed, any way he needed it. You know what’s going to happen when you can’t keep up? He’s going to come back to me. He always does.”

“Let go of me.” I pulled at her hand.

Her grip tightened, nails digging into my skin. “I’m feeling generous, so I’ll give you a little tip. If Hayden starts to wander, there’s one sure way to get his attention. Do you want to know what it is?”

When I didn’t react, she said, “Just fuck Chris. That’s what I did when I found Hayden fucking three other girls at the same time.” Sienna let go of my face and stepped back. “Oh, you look shocked. You poor little thing. Didn’t he tell you about that?”

“You manipulative whore,” I whispered, stepping away from her.

“ What did you just call me?”

I should have expected the backhand. I was a second too late when I raised my arm to deflect it, although I prevented the full force of the hit. As her nails raked across my cheek, my elbow connected with her nose. There was a satisfying crunch; she screeched an expletive and shoved me; and I went down. Unable to brace for the impact, I landed on my tailbone and my head smacked the black tile, starbursts obscuring my vision and sharp pain shooting through my hip. Her security detail intervened as she came after me again; a massive arm wrapped around her waist and hoisted her in the air as she kicked and screamed obscenities.

“Put me down! I’m going to fuck that bitch up!” Blood ran down her mouth and chin, dripping on her plastic dress. She was hauled back through the door she’d come out of, the security guy struggling to keep a solid grip on her.

I pushed up on weak arms. My hip was screaming; my head didn’t feel much better. I gathered the scattered items on the floor and shoved them back in my purse, checking for my keys and wallet. Both were there. I could sense eyes on me even though the music was blaring and the girl on the stage was still gyrating away. If I weren’t so focused on the pain in my body I would have been mortified.

I had to use the brass rail along the bar to pull myself up. It hurt so much, I tasted bile in the back of my throat. I looked around, searching for the exit.

When I finally found it, the bouncer who’d let me in was heading my way, eyes narrowed, hands clenched into fists. I looked around for another way out, but the emergency exit sign was all the way across the club.

I’d never make it.

It was one in the morning. The TV was on but I wasn’t watching it. I was staring at the series of pictures on my wall. All Tenley. All the time. My phone rang. “What?” I grunted, aggravated by the interruption.

“You need to get your ass over to The Dollhouse and clean up your mess.”

“The fuck? Who is this?” I held out the phone and checked the screen. The number came up as unknown.

“It’s Jay, dipshit. Your girl broke Sienna’s nose.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jay was head of security. We’d known each other for years and we didn’t have any problems.

“Jesus. Don’t you keep tabs on the bitches you’re fucking?”

“Wait. What?”

“For the love of Christ, I thought you quit the blow. Your little china doll came here looking for you and got into it with Sienna. Get your ass in gear and come get your girl before Sienna puts her in a ditch.”

“You mean Tenley ?”

“How the fuck should I know?” There was an irritated sigh. “Long black hair, tiny thing. Knows one of Sienna’s girls, Sarah. Ring any bells?”

“That’s not possible. She’s not even in Chicago.”

“I don’t know where she told you she was, but right now she’s in the damn club, and Sienna’s on lockdown. You have ten minutes to get here.”