Cervena (10 page)

All three shook their heads.

“I have no idea what Karel’s up to or why he’s done all this. I suspect he’s in some kind of trouble and is trying to make extra money.”

“That would make sense,” Tomáš put in. “None of us get to keep half of our tips anymore, including the bar staff. He makes us dance naked and let the customers grope us because they pay more for that. I’m sorry for what you saw. I probably looked like I was enjoying it, and to be honest having that many guys falling all over me made me feel good. But it’s not what I signed up for. I’d rather just dance.”

Marek nodded in agreement. “The stuff we have to do in those rooms… I hate that.”

“What have you had to do?”

“Let them touch. Give them hand jobs if they ask. Blow jobs if we want to. Sasha got a guy who didn’t want to take no for an answer. Sasha pushed him off and hit him and ended up being punched in the face. He had two black eyes for a week. He—”

“Marek, shut the fuck up!” Tomáš hissed and slapped his friend on the arm.

I took a couple of steadying breaths again. “I’m going to get to the bottom of this as soon as I can speak to Karel. All I wanted to see you boys for is to tell you things will go back to normal on Monday. You’ll dance, but I don’t want to see your dicks out. Whatever tips you collect, you keep half as before. That reminds me….” I pulled the wad of cash out of my pocket and passed it to Tomáš. “You left this on the podium.”

Tomáš took the money with a grateful look. He offered me half of it back but I shook my head.

“One more thing. I don’t think any of you received your Christmas bonuses?”

“Um, no. But it doesn’t matter. It’s not your fault,” Marek answered.

“Yes, it does matter, and it is my fault because I usually arrange the bonuses personally. This year I didn’t. I trusted Karel when I shouldn’t have. You’ll need to bear with me for a little while, but you’ll get them soon.”

“I’d barely worked here five minutes before Christmas,” Gabriel reminded me.

“It doesn’t matter. You’ll still receive something.” I gave him a small smile. “Okay, you can all go. Try to get some sleep, and I’ll see you on Monday in the dressing room before we open.”

The three boys thanked me and left me alone. I remained there for a few minutes, pondering on what to do. I had to talk to Karel, but as he hadn’t returned to the club, he’d probably be in bed, fucking or sleeping. It was three in the morning and I was exhausted. And I didn’t want to leave Sasha fretting in his room for any longer than necessary. I decided to talk to him, then go home for a few hours. I would confront Karel in the morning before he’d had the chance to wake up properly.

I turned off all the lights and made my way up to Sasha’s studio. When I knocked on the door, he opened it immediately, as if he’d been waiting the other side of it. His wet and ruffled hair indicated he’d toweled it briskly and not bothered to comb it. He said nothing, but stood aside to let me in. I closed the door behind me and hovered, waiting for an invitation before I took a seat. Sasha stared at me for a moment, then flushed.

“I’m sorry. Please, sit down.” He waited for me to sit on one end of the worn sofa, before he joined me and perched awkwardly on the edge of the cushion.

“You said no one hurt you.” I met his eyes but he dropped his gaze away immediately. “Marek told me someone hit you.”

“It was nothing. At least he didn’t do… anything else. It was because I refused. I hit him first.”

“And there’s nothing else you should tell me?” I couldn’t stand the thought of some man making him do things he didn’t want to. He seemed capable of taking care of himself, but I needed to know for sure. He looked up again.

“No. I had to do some lap dances but only in the last couple of weeks. Karel threatened to fire me.”

“Because you didn’t want to do it?”

“At first. But then when I did it, I got complaints. I wouldn’t do… other stuff. I wouldn’t touch them. The customers didn’t like it when they paid for more than they got. When I hit that other guy, I thought Karel would fire me for sure, but he didn’t because I… I’m… popular.” He whispered the last word as if he were ashamed to admit the men liked him.

“That bastard,” I muttered. Exhaustion, delayed by anxiety and anger, hit full force, and I blinked rapidly and rubbed my temples. When I looked at Sasha again his head was low, but I didn’t miss a tear glistening in the corner of his eye. I wanted to reach out to him, to take his hand or touch his face, but I didn’t know if we were in the right place for me to do that. Instead I clasped my hands together and pressed them between my knees.

“I, uh, I wanted to tell you what was happening.” He paused and cleared his throat. “Tomáš gave me your number, but no one wanted to bother you after you lost your mother.”

The fears I’d harbored returned. I had to ask, although it probably wasn’t the best time. Pausing, I took a deep breath. “I thought maybe you’d changed your mind. You know, after our dinner?”

Sasha shook his head. “That was the first time I’d enjoyed myself in forever.” He glanced up at me and bit his lip, then lowered his head again. “I kept thinking about it and hoping one day you’d come back. But Karel said he thought you were staying in England. I thought it had been a one-off for you.”

My heart lifted at his words and for the first time in two months, it seemed I might have something to look forward to. “It wasn’t. I tried calling you that first day. Tomáš said you’d gone to the supermarket. I would have called again, but the text you sent me was cool and distant. I didn’t want to push you, if you’d decided you didn’t want to see me again.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want you to feel obligated to keep in contact with me when you had so much to worry about.”

“Look, I have to sort out this situation with the club,” I began.

“I know. It’s fine. I didn’t expect you to come back and continue from where you left off.”

“Let me finish.” Finally, I reached out to touch his shoulder. “I was going to say I’d like for us to start this again, if you want to. But I need a few days to deal with everything first.”

“I do want to.” Sasha’s gorgeous green eyes lit up as he smiled. “And I can wait.”

“I’m glad.” I lifted my hand from his shoulder and touched his face. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to prevent all this. I hate the thought of what might have happened.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m okay.”

He didn’t look okay, but I let it go. Reluctantly, I rose from the sofa. “I’ll be here tomorrow. I asked for the bar staff and Ralph to come in and meet me at two o’clock. Perhaps we could have a late lunch afterward and talk some more?”

Sasha nodded and stood too. “I’ll be ready. Let me know when you’ve finished with your meeting.”

I lingered another moment, longing to give him a kiss. Even if it were only a peck on the lips, it would have been something. But I felt as if we needed to start at the beginning again. There’d be plenty of time. I was delighted he still wanted to see me.

“Wait. Your coat.” Sasha stopped me as I opened the door. He grabbed up my overcoat from a chair.

“Thanks.” I took it and left him alone. I shivered as I left the building, and I quickly found a taxi to take me home. As soon as I sank into the warm interior of the car, the adrenaline that kept me going for the past few hours deserted me. I could barely keep my eyes open and was only blearily aware of the driver stopping the car. Mumbling an apology, I pulled out my wallet to pay him. When I reached my penthouse, I merely stripped down to my underwear and fell into bed. Everything else could wait a few hours.

Despite my exhaustion, I found it impossible to fall asleep right away. Everything that had happened that day went around and around in my head. The missing money, Karel’s behavior, the prostitutes, the treatment of the staff. One thing I hadn’t considered was the trouble the club could have been in if anyone reported sex workers being on the premises. At least one of them, Rosta, was a minor. My instinct was to report Karel for everything he’d done, but in doing so, I’d probably bring myself down with him. I couldn’t be held to blame, but what about the staff? There’d be an investigation and the club would probably have to close for a while. They’d temporarily lose their jobs and perhaps look for others. The club’s and my own reputation would plummet, and business would suffer in the future.

All those thoughts made me toss and turn, rubbing my throbbing temples as I struggled to make the right decision. I hadn’t even spoken to Karel yet, but it seemed that whatever I did, I was going to have to do it myself. It would be the best thing for everyone. With Rosta gone and the other two boys to be dealt with the next day, perhaps that part of it could be forgotten without any comeback. I had yet to decide what to do about Karel’s betrayal.

Eventually, I slipped into a fitful sleep, my dreams haunted by what had happened already, and what was to come.

Chapter Seven

I MANAGED
to get five hours sleep before I dragged myself out of bed and into a hot shower. I found bread in the freezer and made toast to go with the strong coffee I brewed. Feeling more human, I put on my fleece-lined leather jacket and a pair of gloves. It took me ten minutes to find a taxi, and by the time I climbed into the back seat, the temperature had numbed my feet and made my face tingle. My leg ached and I rubbed it in an effort to relieve the pain.

The driver took me to Karel’s address, and I spent the journey steeling myself for the confrontation. Karel would usually deny anything he was accused of and try to blame somebody else, but there was no one he could pin this situation on. I wondered whether there was a chance Rosta might have called him to let him know what had happened, but I dismissed the idea. If he had, so be it, but somehow I didn’t think the kid would have thought of doing that.

I rang Karel’s doorbell, and after a minute or so had passed, I rang again. I doubted he’d be anywhere else on a Sunday morning. He rarely went back to other men’s homes, preferring to bring them to his own. It was late morning, and I imagined him to be in the throes of passion, or sleeping with one of the club’s new employees coiled around him.

Impatient, I punched the bell a third time and the door opened immediately. Karel was half-dressed in baggy pants and an unfastened shirt, his face stubbly and his hair standing on end as if he’d just hauled himself out of bed.

“Joel!” His eyes widened, and he took a step backward. “What are you…? Why didn’t you call?”

“I thought I’d surprise you. Did I interrupt something?”

“No. I’m alone.” He ran a hand through his hair and licked his lips. His eyes darted about and avoided mine. “When did you get back?”

“Early this morning.”

He looked marginally relieved as he stepped aside to let me in. “I suppose you must have, um, gone straight home. Coffee? I was going to make some.”

“No. And no.”

Karel’s brow wrinkled and he looked puzzled, as if he were trying to work out what I’d said no to.

“No, I didn’t go straight home,” I clarified. “I was pretty keen to check out ‘The Full Monty.’”

“I, uh, I thought it was time we tried something a bit raunchier. You know, the customers love it.”

“We’ve never made decisions without us both agreeing to it.” I ground my teeth together, trying to stay calm.

“You weren’t here. I didn’t want to bother you with work stuff when you were with your family. Family comes first, especially at a time like that. All of us were very sorry to hear about your mother.”

“Thanks. So what made you think it was okay to have Tomáš and whoever else dance naked and let the customers jerk them off? To have them perform more than just lap dances? And threaten them with being fired and losing their homes if they didn’t do it?”

“I didn’t threaten anybody. Those boys will make up any old shit. They were probably embarrassed when you walked in,” Karel muttered.

“Tomáš and Sasha don’t lie,” I gritted out.

“Well, you’ll believe anything that little Russian slut says, I’m sure. You know, he’s not as innocent as he seems. He does the same as any of them, but he’s a troublemaker. I’d have got rid of him if he wasn’t so damn popular.”

“You’re an asshole, Karel.” I couldn’t contain myself any longer. “What the fuck happened to you? I thought I could trust you, but the minute my back is turned, you’re threatening the boys, hiring minors as
whores
—”

“They’re not minors.”

“Rosta is seventeen. I don’t know about the other two yet. Clearly you didn’t bother to check.” I paused to get back on track after the interruption. “What the hell happened to the security guys? You think it’s okay to run a place like Červenà above capacity with no security? And no one watching the cameras in the private rooms?”

“We were spending a lot of money we didn’t need to.”

“
You
were spending a lot of money you didn’t need to!” I growled. “I didn’t check anything while I was away, until yesterday. I’ve always thought I could trust you, Karel. Up to now you’ve proved I could. So what went wrong? I got an e-mail from Pavel saying he’d quit and that he didn’t like the ‘changes’ you’d made. I looked at the website and there’s a picture of Tomáš naked, inviting all the sleazy guys in Europe to have a taste, and while they’re at it, go fuck some nameless rent boy upstairs? And then I checked the bank and what did I find? What the hell did you do with ten million korunas, Karel?” I stopped, breathless, aware that I’d been yelling. I unclenched my fists and winced at the sting in my palms where my nails had cut into my flesh. “On top of everything else, you stole from our business. From me. Why?”

Karel sighed heavily and indicated his sofa. “Sit down, Joel.”

“I’d rather stand.”

“Please.” He looked defeated, and as inclined as I was to resist, I moved to the sofa and sat. My leg ached and I stretched it out. Karel sidled to one of the armchairs opposite and sank into it.

“Go on. I can’t wait to hear your explanation.”

“Everything else was incidental,” he began.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the pros and the security leaving—”