The Club (19 page)

Turning her head, Melody gave a silent groan when she saw that Tony was waggling his hard-on at her.

‘Aw, not now, hon,’ she murmured. ‘My nails are all wet.’

Tony’s eyes narrowed.
Not now, hon
 . . . ? What kind of shit was that?

‘You forgetting that little chat we had last night?’ he snapped, marching over to her.

Shaking her head, Melody shrank back, pressing her head deeper into the cushion to escape the bitter stench emanating from his groin.

‘I just don’t feel so good, that’s all.’

Peering at her face, Tony noticed the lack of colour in her cheeks and the dark rings under her eyes. And the deep purple bruise around her lip.

‘Yeah, maybe you don’t look so hot,’ he relented. ‘Maybe
I
should be giving
you
a rub-down, huh?’

Tensing when he reached for her, Melody shook her head. ‘It’s all right, Babe. A shower should do it.’

‘Aw, come on,’ he insisted, his tone cajoling now as he went behind the couch and started roughly kneading her shoulders. ‘It won’t take a minute, and you know I’m good.’

The damp heat of Tony’s palms on her bare shoulders made Melody’s stomach churn. But she steeled herself and let him carry on, scared of him sensing her revulsion and kicking off again.

‘How’s that?’ he asked after a while.

‘Great,’ she lied, her knuckles white from clenching her fists so hard. ‘You’re the best, Babe.’

‘You’d better believe it.’ Tony slipped his hands down to her breasts and tweaked the rigid nipples – the result of tension, not desire. ‘Methinks the lady’s looking for a fucking,’ he said, chuckling huskily.

‘Please, Tony . . . I can’t. I—’

‘Sure you can.’ Coming back around the couch, Tony aimed his resurrected erection at her mouth.

Knowing there was nothing for it but to get it over with, Melody closed her eyes and opened her mouth. The right flick of her tongue would bring him off in two seconds flat – as long as she didn’t puke first.

Just as she’d predicted, it was no time at all before Tony was done. Leaving a slimy trail on her chin, he swaggered towards the bedroom, whistling to himself as he scooped up the towel he’d discarded earlier to wipe himself.

Melody waited a couple of seconds, then strolled calmly into the bathroom. Locking the door, she made a dash for the toilet and puked all the frothy semen down it.

Trembling when the retching finally stopped, she stepped under the shower and leaned back against the cold tiles as the steaming water lashed down on her. She felt like shit. And, yes, she knew it was her own fault for starting on the coke again, but she needed
some
thing to get her through. And at least it wasn’t smack. Coke she could handle, but smack was a complete bastard to get off once you were hooked.

It was nice when you were doing it, though, wasn’t it?
The voice she hadn’t heard in a long time whispered into her ear.
Made you feel wonderful, didn’t it – warm, and safe, and insulated.

Snarling ‘Fuck off!’under her breath, she turned the shower to cold to blast the monkey off her back.

She hadn’t touched smack in five years, and had thought that she was well and truly clear of it. But it was true what they said: once a junkie, always a junkie. There was something about it that you just couldn’t forget. Like your first true love: fantastic when you were in each other’s arms, but so murderously bad when you were apart that all you wanted to do was get back together again.

It was an endless cycle of pleasure and pain. And a damn sight cheaper than coke, which just made it all the more attractive. But the real price came later – as Melody knew only too well. And there was no way she was going down that route again.

Fabian had better come through for her tonight, or she didn’t know what she would do. But what a fucking little weasel, asking her to
pay
for it! She’d like to see what he’d do if she made him pay for all the good sex he’d had off her. He wouldn’t be able to afford to
look
at her tits, never mind touch them.

Tony was still undressed when she went into the bedroom, standing in front of the mirror in all his glory, spraying Lynx all over his furry body. Almost choking on the toxic fumes, Melody sat down on the bed to dry her hair.

‘Room service never showed,’ Tony said, glancing at her in the mirror.

Smiling nervously at his reflection, she shrugged. ‘Oh, well.’

‘Oh, well, nothing,’ he snorted, turning suddenly and sauntering into the lounge. ‘I’m gonna bell the lazy bastards – see what’s taking ’em so long.’

Squeezing her eyes shut when she heard him yelling down the phone, Melody prayed he wouldn’t mention the sandwich she’d never ordered.

Coming back a few seconds later with the phone still clutched in his hand, Tony jerked his head towards the door.

‘They’re sending someone up to restock the booze. Get something on and let them in, will you? And don’t come back till I give you the all-clear,’ he said then, sitting down heavily on the bed. ‘I got a couple of calls to make.’

Pulling her dressing gown on, Melody did as she was told, pulling the door firmly shut behind her.

When the room-service boy had been and gone, she poured herself a neat vodka and switched the TV on. Sitting down on the couch then, she leaned her head back against the cushions and gazed unseeingly at the screen.

All day she’d been trying to hold it together and act like everything was normal. But Tony was getting on her nerves big time, and Fabian had really pissed her off. She didn’t know how much more she could take before she snapped and did something stupid.

Like drug Tony, take her credit cards and passport and book herself onto the first flight home.

And, as a parting shot, she might just let Tony in on her and Fabian’s little secret while she was at it. From the plane, of course. She wasn’t stupid enough to imagine she’d be able to tell him
that
little snippet face to face and survive.

But it was never going to happen, because she’d have to incapacitate Eddie as well – and there weren’t enough drugs in the
world
to knock out that big idiot.

‘You’ve had a call,’ Avril said when Leonard came in from the golf club that evening.

Folding her arms, she watched from the living-room doorway as he heaved his clubs into the cupboard beneath the stairs. Straightening up, he rubbed at the small of his back.

‘From?’

‘That girl, Jenna, from that nightclub you keep dragging me to,’ Avril told him, her tone conveying her disapproval. ‘Apparently, your
friend
Tony Allen is trying to contact you.’

‘Oh?’ Leonard’s eyebrows shot up.

‘Mmm. He called her for your number. Which I found a little surprising, actually, because I’d have thought he’d already have it if you’re the good friends you claim to be.’

‘Would you please stop saying
friends
as if it’s an insult,’ Leonard snapped. ‘And tell me exactly what she said.’

‘
Exactly
what I’ve told you. Tony Allen called her for your number, but she felt it inappropriate to give it to him without okaying it with you first, so she left
his
number instead.’

‘You’ve got Tony Allen’s number?’

‘Isn’t that what I just said?’ Sighing irritably, Avril shook her head. ‘Really, Leonard, these golfing sessions seem to be affecting your memory.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Leonard muttered, walking past her into the lounge and looking around. ‘I trust you wrote it down?’

‘Of course.’

‘Well, do you think you could tell me
where
?’

Avril’s nostrils flared as she inhaled deeply and pursed her lips. She had been in two minds about telling her husband about that call, and had only done so in the end because he’d have been sure to find out as soon as they next went to the club. It was annoying, though, for this to happen now, when she’d been so sure that Leonard was on the verge of giving up his new-found zest for the nightlife.

They had gone to that club every single night without fail for the first two weeks. But that had tapered off to just a couple of nights a week recently, and Avril had sensed that Leonard was becoming disheartened with the whole experience. And like any canny mother having to deal with a wilful child, she had therefore decided to stop complaining about it, knowing that if she allowed it to run its course Leonard would quit going of his own accord. Whereas if she were to try to
make
him stop, it was guaranteed to have the opposite effect. And it seemed to have been working. Until now.

‘Do you think I should call him?’ Leonard murmured, peering nervously at the number on the pad.

‘Well, that’s the only way you’re going to find out what he wants, isn’t it?’

‘I suppose so. Yes, you’re right.’ Nodding decisively, Leonard flopped down onto the couch and reached for the phone. ‘I’ll do it now.’

Going back to her chair, Avril picked up her knitting and feigned a lack of interest as he made his call.

‘Oh, hello, is that Mr Allen?’ Leonard said, sitting up straighter all of a sudden – as if, Avril thought, he were talking to a superior. ‘This is Leonard Drake. We, um, met at the
club
?’

Avril shook her head ever so slightly, wondering why on earth he was introducing himself as if it were
he
who had precipitated the contact.

‘Oh, no, it’s not a problem at all,’ Leonard said now, making Avril’s eyebrows pucker with irritation because he sounded so toadying. ‘Yes, I could be there. Absolutely. What time? Ten? Yes, that’s perfectly acceptable. Right, well, ten it is, then. I shall look forward to it.’

‘What did he want?’ Avril asked when he’d hung up.

‘To meet at the club tonight,’ Leonard told her, getting up and heading for the drinks cabinet.

Watching him out of the corner of her eye, Avril noticed that his hands were shaking.

‘I thought it was supposed to be urgent?’ she said quietly. ‘That was the impression the girl gave when she rang.’

‘Yes, well, he’s too busy to talk right now,’ Leonard said, pouring himself a Scotch. ‘Apparently, he would have liked to have spoken to me earlier, but nobody thought to let me know at the time.’

‘And how was anybody supposed to do that?’ Avril asked, knowing full well that he meant that
she
should have done it. ‘You left your mobile here.’

‘You could have reached me at the clubhouse. They would have called me in.’

‘Yes, well, I didn’t.’ Sighing, Avril laid the knitting aside again. ‘Still, I’m sure you’re quite satisfied with the outcome. I’ll just go and see what I’ve got in the wardrobe, shall I? Wouldn’t want to embarrass you by wearing something I’ve been seen in a thousand times already.’

‘Don’t put yourself to any trouble,’ Leonard said, smiling suddenly – which immediately roused Avril’s suspicions. ‘I know you don’t really like the place, so there’s no need for you to tag along if you’d rather stay at home tonight.’ Another smile. And a bead of sweat on the brow. ‘We’ll only be talking business, and it’s hardly fair to make you sit alone.’

Avril returned his smile, her teeth firmly clenched beneath her tight lips.

‘Not at all, dear. I shall be there for you, as always.’

Relaxed after a shower and a rest, Jenna went back to the club with her tail between her legs. Finding Fabian doing a stock check in the storeroom, she gave him a sheepish smile.

‘I just wanted to apologise for talking to you like that earlier. I was completely out of order, and it should never have happened.’

Getting a waft of Chanel No. 5, which evoked immediate memories of a particularly horny several-night stand with a foxy pole-dancer in Ibiza a few years back, Fabian’s handsome lips arced in a secret smile.

‘Don’t worry about it,’ he said, flicking his gaze over her body. She looked great, as usual, and the sincerity in her gorgeous eyes made them an even richer shade of green. ‘Feeling better now?’

‘Much, thanks.’ Jenna smiled, reluctant to explain what had made her so jumpy earlier. He’d only think she was stupid for letting an idiot on the other end of the phone get to her like that – and he’d be right. ‘I just had a bit of a headache, but it’s gone now. Anyway, I wanted to set things straight with you before we open. And I promise it’ll never happen again.’

Knowing the power of magnanimity, Fabian gave her a reassuring smile. ‘It’s cool, Jenna. You’ve been working too hard, that’s the problem. Any time you want a break, just say the word. I’m more than happy to look after things.’

‘Isn’t that what
I
’ve been trying to tell
you
?’ Jenna raised an eyebrow. ‘I seem to remember that you were supposed to be booking yourself a holiday.’

‘Is that the time?’ Fabian said, grinning as he pantomimed looking at his watch. ‘Best get out of here before we get locked in. And who’s going to look after the place without us?’

‘Okay, I get the point. You don’t want time off. Well, fine. You just keep working till you can’t stand up for exhaustion.’

‘You and me both,’ Fabian quipped, waving her out and locking the door. Strolling up the stairs beside her then, he said, ‘So, it’s Vibes’s last night on Sunday?’

‘Mmmm,’ Jenna murmured, wishing that he hadn’t reminded her.

‘Thought of anyone to take his place yet?’

‘Don’t ask,’ she groaned. ‘I’ve been ringing everyone, and no one can step in at short notice. Marky Day’s going to call me later to let me know if his friend can do it, but I don’t know what we’re going to do if he says no.’

‘Glad you said that,’ Fabian said, grinning. ‘’Cos I know the perfect guy. Fresh in this morning from a winter season in Tenerife and looking for a residency, at least until summer.’

‘Can’t be too well known if he’s been out of the country,’ Jenna commented worriedly. ‘Won’t that be a bit of a risk for the weekend slot?’