Duplicity (2 page)

Chapter Two

Zowie could honestly say she’d not expected her day to be quite this eventful. When she had been approached about bartending at Hell’s Belles, she didn’t picture herself being choked out on said bar. This was also not an ideal way to meet her boss. Treating him like an annoying barfly upon first glance was only the first of many things she regretted about today.

How she ended up sitting next to Maxx while the police asked her the same questions about what happened today, she wasn’t sure. Every so often, Maxx would interrupt or redirect the questions from the police, and she had to wonder if they just didn’t notice he was running the show.

“Ma’am, have you ever seen the assailant before today?” the lead officer asked her again, after she’d already told him she hadn’t.

“No, this was my first week here, though, so I haven’t seen many people before today.” Her patience was wearing thin and she was getting tired as her adrenaline dissipated. The shaking of her hands was an obvious sign to her that she was going to crash soon.

Maxx reached over and covered her shaking hands with one of his. “She is done. She’s been through a traumatic experience and needs to rest. She’s talked to you for two hours now. If there’s anything else you need, she can come to the station with me another time. Thank you.”

The officers had her sign a statement they had written and then left. She was once again surprised by the fact that they obeyed Maxx with no question. When they left the room, Maxx shut the door and locked it behind them.

“I thought they’d never fucking quit. Jesus, it’s like they thought you strangled yourself.” He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

She had to force herself not to stare at him. He was handsome, even angry. His long hair was in a neat ponytail, but he was messing it up with each swipe of his fingers. She fought the urge to touch it.

Zowie jumped when she felt his fingers on her neck next and realized she had been fantasizing rather than listening to what he was saying. He had his fingers on the spots where bruising was likely starting.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I can take you to the doctor to get checked out. I’ll foot the bill if you don’t have insurance.” He was concerned and the deep blue of his eyes had her shaking again for an entirely different reason.

“Nah, I’m okay. I’m just tired from all of the questions on top of everything else. I think I’ll go home early, if that’s okay with you.” She mainly wanted to leave before she made a fool of herself and blew her chances at working there.

“Yeah, of course, why don’t you take a few days off? I can get it covered.” He moved back from her finally, and she expelled a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding at his nearness.  There was something so intense about his presence that when he was less than a bar top away she couldn’t be sure of control over her reaction to him.

“No, I can be back tomorrow. No point in staying home. Just the rest of today will work.” She picked up her purse and moved for the door. Maxx must have had the same idea as he pushed into her while going to unlock the door. He froze when her breast made contact with his arm and looked her in the eyes.

“I’m sorry this shit happened today. You didn’t deserve it, and I appreciate that you were trying to distract that fucker. From now on, though, you tell ‘em where I’m at if they come in like that. I can deal with them. I don’t want you getting hurt in the mix. You feel me?”

Maxx’s voice was rough and she felt it glide over her skin, causing her to have nearly painful goose bumps. His last question also made her painfully aware that she could indeed feel his muscled arm against her now hard nipple.

“I … yes. I wasn’t really thinking. I just didn’t want things to escalate. I honestly wasn’t expecting he’d flip out on me physically in a room full of people.” Her voice shook and she hated herself for it.

“Zowie…” Maxx growled long and low before he pushed forward and slipped his free hand behind her neck. Leaning his forehead against hers, he gently pressed his lips to hers. He then moved to her neck to gently lap and nibble the spots where the brute had his fingers. It was a sharp pleasure that caused her to gasp.

“Something about this has me jazzed, and it’s not a good idea to be around me. Take off and get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow. If you need me, I added my number to your phone while you were talking to the police.” Maxx pulled away. His soft voice wasn’t any less intense than his stern one.

“Yes. Okay ... thank you.” Zowie nearly fell out of the doorway when he opened it. She took no time in making her exit amid well-wishes from the customers who had witnessed the earlier attack.  

Chapter Three

Maxx was fairly certain Zowie would not be returning after the previous day’s events. He couldn’t say what had compelled him to touch her, let alone put his mouth on her skin. All he knew was that he hadn’t been able to resist the urge. While not a stranger to casual close encounters of the sexual kind, Maxx typically didn’t mess with women who didn’t know the score. One look at Zowie had the word
complications
flashing like a neon warning label in his brain.

Maxx was pulled from his musings by the click of the oak door opening to his office.

Jerald didn’t have good news judging by the looks of it.

“They got Rick’s guy. He’s under arrest and in the hoosegow as we speak.” Jerald made no move to come farther into the room and did not appear as relaxed as those words would have conveyed normally.

“That’s good, so why do you look like you’ve been kicked in the balls by steel-toed boots?” Maxx waited for the bad news piece of this shit pie. There was always the other proverbial shoe waiting to drop.

“Yeah, well, about that, he’s insisting it was a lover’s quarrel with the bartender. How well do you know the new chick, Maxx?” Jerald’s tone was even, carefully so, hinting at a more serious reason for the question than just idle chitchat.

“I don’t know Zowie very well, but I do know that douche was asking her where I was while choking the life out of her, so it didn’t sound like your average dick-head boyfriend.” Maxx had to put his hand in his pocket to hide the fact that his fist was balled.

“Well, I’m hearing things about her, like she’s working for Rick. He bragged around town about how one of his favorite girls managed to go undercover. Then I saw in the security tapes that you damn near had her on her back right after the police left yesterday.” Jerald winced as Maxx stood up, as though expecting a blow.

It never came, but Maxx did use the most restraint he could muster to refrain from dotting Jerald’s eye. “You don’t say. Well, I am going to have to look into her friends and connections, but I certainly doubt any of that. As to having her on her back, that is not what happened. It’s my fucking club and none of your goddamned business. Who hired her anyway?” Maxx raised a brow as he hadn’t thought to ask her that yesterday.

Jerald had the grace to look sheepish. “I did. She seemed fine, but obviously she knew all the right things to say. We should fire her and just cut our losses.”

Maxx shook his head. “I don’t know that she’ll be back anyway. Yesterday wasn’t exactly pleasant for her regardless of her motives.”

“She’s back, and why would you fire me?” The voice of both his dreams and nightmares interrupted from behind Jerald. They hadn’t heard the door open.

Maxx silently cursed what he would call Murphy’s Law and walked over to Zowie. She was wearing a scarf over where he knew there were marks both from the choking and possibly from where he grazed her with his teeth. “I’m glad you’re back, and we’re not. Jerald heard a rumor that you were dating the guy that attacked you. I put it to rest.”

Zowie looked at Jerald and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, cause boy I do love it rough and on the bar top. You’re something else, aren’t you?” She turned and walked back into the bar to get started on her shift.

Maxx had to fight the laugh creeping up his chest. Looking at Jerald, he shrugged. “Seems to me like your information isn’t very reliable. Why don’t you worry about nailing that fucker for causing a ruckus? I want my lawyer all over him. Make Rick squirm.”

Jerald sighed and headed out of the office, visibly giving up at obvious defeat. “Yeah, okay, Maxx. Just be careful, okay?”

Maxx clapped him on the shoulder and smiled reassuringly. “Aren’t I always?”

The look Jerald returned before leaving the room was doubtful.

Chapter Four

Zowie didn’t know what to make of the conversation she had walked in on between Maxx and Jerald. She also didn’t know why Jerald was suspicious of her, but it made her uncomfortable to be around him. Deciding the best course of action was to ignore it entirely, she went back to working the bar. The scarf she wore covered the bruises from the attack. More importantly, it concealed the love bites and suspicious hickey Maxx’s brief but intense and stinging treatment on her skin had left.

“You holding up okay?” Zowie jumped as the deep voice of the man she couldn’t stop thinking about entered her ears as she was pouring drafts for customers. Happy hour was always a steady stream of people coming in after work.

“Yeah, I’m good. You?” She wished she could sound as calm and unaffected as she always did.

“Well, I had a pretty shitty morning, but things seem to be looking up. How’s your throat?” The look in his eyes suggested he wasn’t only referring to the attack.

“Colorful. How’s your mouth?” She didn’t know what possessed her to poke the bear, so to speak, but he brought out the crazy in her.

“Hungry, but now isn’t a good time, so I’d better get to work before it gets us both in trouble.” Maxx winked and wandered off.

Zowie didn’t really have words to describe the way the longhaired smooth talker made her feel. She also didn’t understand it. Typically, she was not the kind of girl that fell for someone instantly or was even attracted to the caveman type of sexuality Maxx wielded so effortlessly.

The night went on and the club became packed with its usual mix of regulars and tourists looking for an upscale good time. She became very busy with the bottle service that had to be sent upstairs to the private suites and was pretty grateful she didn’t have to serve them herself. She had once gone upstairs when they were down waitresses, and to say it was strange to enter a suite with people in various states of dress and undress would be an understatement. She had learned after that the members of the club paid for those private suites and that typically the waitresses delivered the bottle service to the door and she didn’t have to enter. She had received a huge tip that night, so she could only assume the members were more than thrilled at the exhibitionistic encounter they’d had at her expense.

While finishing up another bottle to be sent upstairs, she once again was startled when Jerald appeared at the bar next to her.

“You’re awful jumpy. Got a guilty conscience?” The way he slowly drawled out the words made her want to slap him in his smugly face. There was nothing attractive about the man, and it was obvious that the only reason he worked there was due to friendship with Maxx. He was a squat, mean looking bastard who currently flaunted a huge beard and greasy ponytail.

“Not at all, but when an ogre appears out of nowhere, it’s natural to flinch. What do you want?” She hoped she could convince him to leave her alone just by limiting her interaction with him.

“The truth, obviously. If you’re in league with Rick, it’s best to just tell us now before we catch you. It’d be best if you just quit really. It’s only a matter of time before we figure things out.” Jerald leaned against the bar while she finished pouring shots.

“The truth is exactly what I said. I never met that guy before his hands were around my throat. Get fucked if you think I’m going to quit just to make you happy, or worse yet, make you look right.” Slamming a bottle chiller on the bar, she filled it with ice for the next bottle service.

“Well, if you weren’t waving your ass in front of the boss, I’d fire you. Now that room upstairs asked for bottle service and the waitresses are all busy. You will be covering the bottle serving for them, and I’ll cover the bar in the meantime.” The way he spat orders out at her made the hair on her neck stand up, but she didn’t have any way of disobeying him without getting herself fired with actual cause.

“Yeah, okay.” She grabbed the requested bottle of high priced vodka and stomped her way up the stairs to the VIP area. She opened the door and brought the bottle and chiller in with a plastered on smile.

The smile slipped when she saw that one of the men in the room was the man that had attacked her in the bar. The other man standing next to him looked equally scary. She dropped the bottle service and turned to exit the room, but the man whom she had nightmares about slammed the door behind her.

“I don’t think so, bitch. This time you’re not getting out of things so easily.” His face was bruised from where Maxx had punched him, and she found some satisfaction in that.

“I heard you were in jail. What, did you trade favors with the guards or something?” She really wished her reaction to fear wasn’t sarcasm.

“No, I just know who not to piss off, and who to make friends with. That’s something you and your stupid boss don’t seem to get. I’ll give you both an education, though it won’t help when you’re too dead to use it.”

Before she could get away from him or scream, he cocked his hand back and the shooting pain in her head was the last thing she registered before her eyelids fell and she lost her hold on gravity.