Tearing Down Walls (Love Under Construction Series Book 2) (3 page)

“Molly? Nice? Those two words don’t belong in the same sentence,” Tony said, shaking his head.

“I’m telling you, it’s true. You’ll have to come see her to believe it. Anyway, so I went over to Steve’s club and looked the place over like you asked.”

“Oh, yeah? What do you think?”

“The building looks good. It’s been well-maintained. If I were looking for investment property, I think I’d buy it,” Vic said, taking a long draw from his bottle.

“That’s what I wanted to know. It’s got a guaranteed income, and it’ll help Steve out. He seems to be happy with the building for his club, whatever it is. He was afraid the guy who owns the building now would sell it right out from under him, and he’d have to move it.”

“Which brings me to the ‘whatever it is’ issue,” Vic said, setting his bottle down and leaning forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “What do you know about this club of his?”

“Not much,” Tony said, catching the serious look on Vic’s face. “I just assumed it was, I don’t know, maybe poker or something? I’m sure it’s questionable if it’s Steve’s. You know how he likes to play the edgy rebel.”

“Nope, not poker or anything like it,” Vic said and fought off the urge to make the “poke her” homonym joke. “You don’t have any idea, do you?” Tony shook his head and took a swig. “It’s a fet club.” Tony gave him a puzzled frown. “You know, fetish? BDSM?”

“Whaaa . . . You’re kidding, right?” Vic could tell from the look on Tony’s face that he hadn’t had a clue. “Um, define fetish – in this instance.”

Vic picked his bottle back up and took another long draw. “It’s got a big main room with performance areas, and seven or eight private rooms of different kinds. And one is a dungeon. All kinds of tools of discipline and torture. BDSM, through and through.

“BDSM? Come on – you’re joking? Steve?” Of all the things Tony might’ve guessed about Steve, being in that lifestyle had never crossed his mind.

“Hell no, I’m not joking,” Vic said. “I wouldn’t joke about a thing like that.”

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Tony poured half the bottle down his throat. “I knew McCoy wasn’t your average garden-variety guy on the dating scene, but I had no idea that’s what he was into. So is it nice?”

“Oh, it’s
very
nice. Top quality furnishings. Top-of-the-line everything. Nice bar, too, plenty of liquor and about fifteen draft taps.”

“No shit! Wow. So it’s a club. I assume he sells memberships?”

“Oh yeah, and they’re very picky about their members too. By the way, Peyton and José pick up hours as bartenders and bouncers there. But they don’t call them bouncers in the lifestyle. They’re called dungeon monitors or just monitors.” Vic had known that Tony would be surprised, but he never guessed his older cousin would be clueless.

“Had he planned to tell me about this before I bought the building?” Tony asked. He decided he definitely needed another beer.

“I don’t think so. I don’t know if he thought you already knew, but he didn’t have any problem with showing me around. Told me to come back anytime; I’d have a permanent guest designation unless or until I decided to take a membership.”

Tony’s eyes went round. “Would you want to do that?”

“You couldn’t have known,” Vic said, emptying his bottle, “but I’ve dabbled in it over the years. Until my, um, problem surfaced. Then I was too scared to anymore.”

“Yeah?” Laura Butler snapped when she answered her phone to Peyton Stokes’ name on her phone’s screen.

“Got plans for tonight?”

“I’m guessing you have plans for me?” she asked. Damn; so much for a quiet weekend.

“I’ve got security detail for the mayor and his wife, some friggin’ fundraiser; god, I hate those things. Could you take my bartending shift at the club for the night?” Peyton’s fingers were crossed as he asked.

Laura thought for a minute. “Yeah, sure. I could use the cash.” Steve paid her well, but it was nice to have extra income any time she could get it. It didn’t change the fact that she hated that club.

“Thanks. I owe you,” Peyton told her. “Could I buy you dinner tomorrow night?”

“Not necessary.” Laura wasn’t sure if he meant it as a date or not, but she’d just nip that in the bud regardless.

“Okay, well, let me know if you change your mind. See ya. And thanks,” Peyton said as Laura hit END and dropped the phone.
Never happen,
she thought. Peyton was a nice-enough guy, nice looking too, but no way was she going out – not with him, not with anybody.

God, she hated going to that club, all those needy people wandering around, begging to be abused. Laura couldn’t understand that for the world. It was easier to feel nothing. She wouldn’t want to need anyone, especially for that kind of thing. That was just so damn weak, and she was absolutely not weak.

Before leaving to go to the club, Laura pulled on a tee-shirt one size too large, a pair of men’s jeans, and her old combat boots. Steve had harped at her every time she’d worked there: “Hey, Butler, why don’t you show some skin? You know, something sexy with some cleavage?” How could she tell him that nobody would want to see what was under her shirt? Nope. Nobody was going to know about that.

Except for Steve’s car, the parking lot was empty when she pulled up to the club. There was very little difference between Peyton’s setup and the way Laura liked to tend bar, so it took no time at all to get ready. José came through and talked to her for a few minutes before he went out to man the front entry. By ten after five, members had started to trickle in. The bar was busy, and time flew. At eight the stages were full, and the sounds of implements making contact with bare skin and the moans of submissives and bottoms rose above the crowd noise. Laura watched on and off, but for the most part she kept her head down and kept pouring drinks.

At a little after eight, Laura turned and asked the customer sitting with his back to the bar, “Sir, what would you like to drink?” He turned to face her, and Laura felt faint.

Vic Cabrizzi. What the hell was
he
doing there?

He looked as stunned as she did. “Laura? Um, you work here?” he asked, looking flushed.

“Only when I have to. Want something to drink?” she asked, feeling a little lightheaded.

“Uh, yeah, um, what do you have on tap?”

She rattled off their beers, and the last was Samuel Adams. “I’ll take the Sam,” Vic said and put down a twenty.
If she’s going to be serving, I’m going to need a lot of alcohol,
he thought.

Laura was thinking about throwing back a couple of shots herself. She hated the way she felt when the huge Italian was around. It was an unfamiliar feeling, a tightening of everything below her belt, and she didn’t like it one bit. And to top it all off, her face got red too, something she didn’t understand and despised.

Drawing the beer and setting it down, she eyed Vic as he turned his back to the bar again and watched the night’s scenes. She didn’t remember ever seeing him in there before, but then she wasn’t there very often. He could be a regular and she’d never know it, but she hadn’t pegged him for being in the lifestyle. For his size and build, not to mention his dark coloring, he was surprisingly meek and soft-spoken. She started to ask, then decided it was information she didn’t want.

“Do you work here very much?” he asked, almost as if he could hear her thoughts.

“No. I’m filling in for Peyton tonight. He had security detail,” she answered.
I don’t want to get into a conversation with you about all of this,
she thought.

“Oh,” he said to her over his shoulder. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a club like this.”
Well, that answers
that
question,
she thought.

“I try not to be here unless I just have to be. To each his own.” She started wiping down the bar in front of him and used that activity to walk farther down and away. The way she felt when he was around was something she couldn’t identify and didn’t want to. The more distance she put between them, the better off she was. She was relieved when he got up and walked back up toward the front of the building. But it was weird – it was like there was a giant hole left in the room where he’d been. Laura tried to shake the sensation, but she couldn’t, and she caught herself looking for him, even though she didn’t want to see him.

As Vic headed toward the front door, he thought about Laura. She’d always been so prickly toward him, and when he’d mentioned it to Nikki, she’d assured him that it wasn’t him, that Laura treated everyone that way, at least until very recently. But it still felt personal. As far as he knew, he didn’t have a single enemy in the world, and yet she always treated him like she despised him.

He thought back to the time she and Nikki had been in the hospital, both shot while Citadel was providing security for most of Tony’s family. Laura had been unconscious, and he’d gone by to see her every day. No one knew that. The nurses had told him no one had been there to see her, and so he took it upon himself to come by. He’d held her hand and talked to her, and he’d hoped that somehow when she woke up she’d know that he’d been there, that he’d given her something of himself. But as soon as her eyes opened she’d been the same ice princess he’d always found her to be. She’d even started socializing some with Tony and Nikki and their family and friends, but when he was around she treated him like he’d done something terrible to her. It hurt him, but he’d never let her know.

As he passed through the entrance door, he turned to wave at José. “Hey, Vic, man, in a hurry?” José asked.

“Nah. Want some company?”

“Sure! Come on in and have a seat.” José Flores worked for Steve’s security firm, and he and Peyton were two of the most likeable guys Vic had met in a long time. José buzzed Vic back in. “So, how’s it going, man? Haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Yeah, been busy. We’re getting ready to break ground on Tony and Nikki’s new project. Then I’m going to be
really
busy.” The facility they were planning to build was going to be world class and huge, and Vic’s office would be responsible for its construction.

“Yeah? Haven’t heard about that. Big secret?” José asked.

“It kinda is. I’m not at liberty to talk about it,” Vic answered, and José nodded understanding.

“So what are you doing here tonight? I’ve never known you to come here before.”

“I had to come by and check out the property for Tony yesterday. I think he’s going to buy it,” Vic said.

“
Gracias a dios!
So he’ll lease it to Steve? The club won’t have to move?” José asked, relief written all over his face.

“Well, I told him I thought it was a good investment, and Steve invited me to come back any time, check out the action. Been a long time since I’ve been in a club like this. Long time.” Vic thought back to the last time, and shook his head.

“Well,
mi amigo,
you’ve come to the right place! Of all the clubs I’ve been in, this one is the nicest, cleanest, most tightly-run club I’ve ever seen.”

“Tell me more.”

“Thinking you’d like to join?” José asked.

After thinking for a few seconds, Vic finally nodded. “Yeah, I just might.”

“W
ell, let’s see,” José said. “You’ve seen the stages for scenes. If someone wants to scene, they’re supposed to let us know earlier in the day so we can set everything up for them, and we’d like to have an idea what they’re planning to do. But we have a few who expect to scene every time they’re here, so we set up for them in advance if they tell us they’re coming.”

“That’s accommodating. Do you have a lot of uncollared subs around here?” Vic didn’t want one; he wanted to avoid having one.

“Yeah, quite a few. Steve’s been trying to find someone to work as a house Dom. So far, no luck. He’s the only one, and they’re wearing him out.”

Something was knocking around in Vic’s head. He was trying to get a firm vision of it when, about that time, Laura stuck her head through the door. “We’re having a lull. Want anything from the bar?” She was speaking to José, then noticed Vic and looked at him too.

“Yeah, two beers?” José looked at Vic, who nodded.

“Coming right up,” she said and disappeared. What the hell was Cabrizzi doing hanging out in the front office? She shook her head all the way back to the bar.

“Let’s see . . . Nudity in the open is allowed; well, not just allowed, encouraged. Street clothes are not allowed. This is a fetish club, and Steve wants to keep it that way. Besides, street wear sorts out the onlookers. And the one thing I appreciate most here is that Steve forbids sex out in the open. Do it, and you get tossed. Membership revoked. I went to some clubs when I lived up north that, god, I’ve gotta say, some nights it was pretty bad. That’s why he’s gone to so much trouble with the private rooms,” José continued.

“And the dungeon?” Vic asked.

“Oh, that’s only our regular patrons, and it has to be reserved. Not just anyone can go down there. Too dangerous. The monitors don’t watch that area, so we have to trust anyone who uses it,” José replied. “But anyone can do a scene if they have a partner, they negotiate it, and we have a stage open. The only restriction would be for someone we don’t know that well, and even then, they’ve been vetted in the club rules.”