“Theo met those guys atmybar. They tried to drug her and rape her atmybar. They followed her home and tried to kidnap her frommybar. If she had never gone tomybar, Theo wouldn’t have been kidnapped on Christmas Eve.My baris the reason she’s had more shit dumped in her lap that she didn’t fucking deserve and it’s because she didn’t belong there.” Spider glares at me in a way that has me shrinking from its intensity. “Just like you don’t belong atmybar.”
I drop my gaze and stare at my hands as I wring them. “I need to work and I don’t know where else to look.”
Spider pushes up off the couch and snatches his phone from the table. I can see him from the corner of my eye tapping on the screen, a scowl on his handsome face. “You don’t need to work.”
“I really do though. I can’t— “
“The topic is closed. You stay the fuck away from my bar and worry about your son.” Then he stalks off out of the room.
I thought... I thought Spider and I were making progress. He’s grumpy at times, sure, and I’m still struggling with having men treat me as a friend instead of a piece of meat, but he opened up to me a little, and we had a good morning. I… I thought maybe we were moving toward being friends the way I am with Zak and Jackal.
Guess not.
And that just proves I’ve overstayed my welcome as well as solidifies my need to find a job.
Strip club it is then.
At least I know I can do that without needing his approval.
CHAPTERTHREE
TATE
With a deep breathand trembling hands, I walk toward the back door of The Dollhouse, an upper mid-level strip club just outside Sabine Woods. It’s closest to Spider’s place, not that much is close to the farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, but it’s also the closest one to Dori’s that has a relatively decent reputation and a strict no touching the talent policy, so here I am.
It’s been a month since Spider shot me down about a job at the bar and things have been weird ever since.
He’s gone a lot or holed up in his room when he’s home. Spider basically ignores me unless James is around, but thankfully he’s keeping things light for my son. He actually seems to enjoy spending time with him still, so when he’s home, that’s what Spider does. He hangs out with James, hides in his room, or he’s gone.
Shelley, Nadine’s nurse, quit the day after Spider squashed my bartending dreams. Apparently she met some guy on vacation, fell madly in love, and is now permanently staying in the Bahamas with him and that has added to Spider’s overall sour mood.
He was pissed. He didn’t say it, not directly but I’ve learned his tells, learned to read the man who rarely speaks at all, let alone to me. He was pissed, worried as hell and even a touch hurt, which led me to believe Shelley was more than a nurse to him and now he’s left in limbo with his mom.
Not that it’s my business.
Nor is my jealousy over the possible relationship he had with his mother’s nurse warranted.
Whatever.
Spider is mad, isolating, and broody as fuck, and my hopes of being friends with him went right down the drain.
I’ve been caring for Nadine in the meantime though. She listens to me, doesn’t fight me nearly as much as she does Spider. I’m even taking her to get a CT scan next week in hopes of getting a proper diagnosis. If we can get that then there’s a possibility her insurance might cover assisted living. I’ve been looking at places in the area whenever I go to Dori’s apartment, and there are a couple assisted living facilities that look like little towns within smaller communities inside Sabine Woods.
Spider doesn’t know that’s what I’ve been doing, he doesn’t know anything I’ve been doing, honestly, and if he did, well, let’s just say him flying off the handle when I first brought up the idea of working will pale in comparison to what he’ll do if he knew my secrets.
He needs help though, along with someone to push him to get it. Spider won’t ever ask, seems to take the weight of the world on his very broad shoulders and let it hold him down, and I don’t like it.
Which is why I’ve been secretly working with my sister on my master plan, one that will hopefully benefit Spider as much as it will benefit me and James.
Step one, continue as normal when I’m at his house.
Even though Spider is pretty absent, I’m still cooking and cleaning, and still taking care of Nadine. I still carry on business as usual so he doesn’t get suspicious, but as of right now, I’m not sure he’d notice even if I walked around in nothing but a pair of stilettos and a top hat. And I know he wouldn’t like it.
Maybe my confidence is shot in most ways, but I know I’m not a half bad looking girl. Twisted or not, I was Gino’s favorite for a reason; I brought in a lot of money at the club and since he was very careful—most of the time—to beat me when we were going out of town or do it in a way that I was able to hide with makeup, I am aware that my looks were the only thing he liked about me.
That and how terrified I am of him. He gets off on the power, the control, the force, but Gino always made sure I was presentable if I had to be becauseYour face saves you, belle. Your face and your body, they keep you alive,and if I didn’t learn how to use that to my advantage, if I wasn’t good enough for him, I know I wouldn’t be here today.
Spider doesn’t give me a second glance though.
