On the Sly : The Grange Complex Book 2

Ellie

The hugely obese guy was staring at me vacantly, and then he leaned over to speak to the guy who forced me up onto the stage. I felt vulnerable, overly exposed, and quite underdressed in my ridiculously skimpy outfit. I was so scared I could hear my heart thumping in my chest. His black suit was way too tight around his belly, the buttons straining to hold his girth. He looked like an inflated balloon that was ready to burst at any moment.

I needed to pull myself together, focus on the task at hand. They had obviously made a mistake, but I was trapped in this situation. I’d had no idea that they were looking for a dancer. It wouldn’t go over too well if I admitted that I snuck in here in hopes of getting some dirt for a news report. I needed to swallow my pride and give it my best shot. What could go wrong? I could feel my stomach clenching with nerves. All I really wanted to do right now was to have a glass of wine on my comfy sofa, watch TV all evening, and forget about this whole mess. Except, if I could dance for them and stay in the club for a bit longer, I might get the story that I had been waiting for since I’d arrived here in Edinburgh.

I knew what my decision was: there was no way I was leaving after the effort I’d made to get this far inside.

Dragging more oxygen into my lungs, I walked towards the pole, telling myself that I was a great dancer, that I had enough talent and charisma to impress them both. They wanted someone who could excite the male audience; well, I was ready to give them the most sensual and sinfully erotic performance of my life. Andrew had loved it when I danced for him, and now I had two jaded men in front of me who wanted to see something special. I grabbed the metal bar and spun around lifting my leg up, showing my toned thighs, keeping my eyes on the fatty in front of me, who finally shifted on his chair. This was just the warm up. All I wanted from them was the connection; once I saw a hint of lust in their eyes I knew I had this in the bag.

After I had fatty’s full attention, I positioned myself in front of the pole, facing them. I reached out above my head and gripped the bar tightly. I lifted my legs slowly feeling my stomach muscles tense while I raised my legs and secured them in place around the pole, I smiled seductively, gazing at them from under my lashes, concentrating on my routine. My heart was racing a little, probably because of the adrenaline my nerves jump-started. After a moment I released my hands from the pole and I started sliding down until my hands touched the stage. When I was a child, I went to the best ballet school in Scotland. Dad paid a fortune for private lessons for both me and my sister and we had excelled. We both loved it so much, although the training was hard. I never lost the flexibility or core strength; after I went back to exercising on the pole I was fitter than all my friends.

Slowly, I spread my legs apart showing my leather panties, leaving nothing to the imagination, teasing; I lowered my legs down, until I touched the floor. I winked at fatty and then stood up, keeping my balance. I was improvising now but getting into it, picturing Mack in front of me, wondering how he would react if he saw me on the pole right now.

I walked closer to them, turned around and bent over, showing my firm cheeks, teasing them a little more moving my hips to the rhythm of the soundtrack. I then ran towards the pole and began more complicated spins. By the time the half hour was up, my muscles were burning. I was panting when I finished the performance.

“Excellent, excellent. I like you, girl,” said the obese guy, clapping enthusiastically. His piggy face was bright red and he looked like he was having trouble breathing. “We will make you a star of the evening. Nathan, get all her details and start the ball rolling.”

I stared at him feeling slightly disorientated. Shit, I didn’t expect it to be this easy. They really were expecting me to work for them. My girlfriends knew that I loved pole dancing, but they were never too keen to try it for themselves. Andrew loved it; he got turned on every time I mentioned it to him.

Nathan switched on the lights and the room brightened. The obese guy was speaking to him quickly, waving his sausage fingers at me. After a moment, he said something else and vanished behind the red doors, answering his phone to talk to someone.

“I’m Nathan; sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier. That was Hugo, the main events manager. Dorothy, our housemother, is currently out sick, so I’m taking care of everything. I hope she’ll be back soon; otherwise this job is going to kill me. We need someone who can perform mostly on the weekends and for private members of the club. Here are all the details, read it and get back to me if something is not clear,” Nathan explained, handing me a white envelope. “Inside there is a pass and my business card. If any of the bouncers give you any trouble, call me immediately.”

I was still quite overwhelmed, but I didn’t say anything, trying to digest how quickly things were developing. All of a sudden I had a job in the strip club. Nathan kept talking, telling me to follow, showing me around the main bar with the wide stage. He also showed me around a few private rooms, where most of the strippers were performing. My heart was thumping loudly and I tried to take it all in without looking like a complete idiot.

Nathan mentioned that the club was very popular amongst wealthy clients and, as long as I was discreet, I wouldn’t have a problem making enough cash. He showed me the changing room and then left when he had a phone call, apologising again.

When I was finally alone, I sat down on the bench going over everything that had just happened in the last hour. My body was pleasantly numb, but my heart kept speeding away. I was absolutely certain I overheard my neighbour Adrian by the entrance. He was angry with that other guy for approaching him here about work. I had no idea what the big deal was. Adrian had his own business, but this whole conversation seemed odd.

Now I was inside the club working as a pole dancer. Jordan had hinted that he had a story here, and if I was lucky enough, I could find out stuff about this guy Johnny Hodges before Jordan and write the article first. I just had to keep my eyes and ears open.

After I calmed down a little, I looked into the envelope, checking the paperwork and the bright pink pass that came with it. The money was very good: the contract stated that during very busy evenings I could make at least a few hundred pounds in tips each weekend shift. This was crazy. I had no idea that pole dancers could earn that much. The extra cash could help. Living the life of luxury wasn’t cheap.

Nathan met up with me again when I was ready to leave. He seemed much less stressed than before my performance.

“Okay, it’s all sorted; thank God we finally have the new schedule. We are expecting you on Saturday, so make sure you’re here on time,” he muttered when I was let back into the main part of the club, through the door that I had sneaked in earlier on. The music was loud and now the dance floor was packed with people.

Suddenly, the idea of being undercover made me excited. I thought that I would get a little drink at the bar to celebrate. I had no idea what was wrong with me. I had danced on the pole before, but never like that and never for this kind of audience. When I lived with my father, I could afford private lessons, now I was on my own. I would need to make up some routines and hope they would be good enough.

I headed to the bar ready to order a shot of tequila. My legs felt a little weak, the adrenaline finally crashing and messing with my equilibrium.

“Ellie, what a surprise. What are you doing here?”

The familiar voice sent a shudder down my spine. I turned around abruptly coming face-to-face with Adrian by the bar with a pint of beer. He shot me his brilliant smile, checking out my cleavage. I hated surprises like that, especially from someone who wasn’t supposed to see me here.

“Nothing really. I’ve arranged to meet a friend, but she hasn’t turned up,” I lied, telling myself to keep calm.

“What would you like to drink?” he asked, nodding to the waiter. I swallowed hard, plastered a smile on my face and sat down next to him. It looked like this evening wasn’t over after all.

Mack

I followed Lurkin all the way from the complex. I saw him visiting a few of his takeaways before he stopped in the city centre. He headed towards that club Coral I had heard about from Claire. I remembered her mentioning a few well- known drug dealers who liked hanging out up there. I doubted that Lurkin wanted to be associated with any of them, but still, it was worth going to see what he was up to. After half an hour, when I found him again, he was at the bar. It took me a moment to recognise that my hot neighbour, Ellie, was with him. This was definitely not what I was expecting. She just didn’t strike me as a person that liked places like this.

Ellie was just a stranger and I kept telling myself that I didn’t care that she was with him, but the problem was, I did care. I dragged my hand through my hair and decided to watch them for a bit. She was sitting close and they looked like they were enjoying themselves.

Lurkin wanted her because she was pretty and maybe a little naïve. That night in my apartment I knew what he was thinking when he looked at her. It was obvious he wanted to fuck her and toss her away like most of his conquests. I had heard the rumours about his ex-girlfriend: he supposedly beat her to death when he caught her with another man.

Her mother had reported her missing, but the police had no leads, no evidence of foul play and no link to Lurkin, so they dropped the case. Lurkin knew how to be invisible. His criminal records were immaculate. The smarmy bastard had been very careful not to slip up yet.

It looked like Ellie was drinking more than usual. I counted at least four shots since I’d sat down. Lurkin was too comfortable with her. She was so beautiful, I could feel my jealousy rising along with the anxiety of seeing them looking so cosy together. She had no idea what she was getting herself into, especially when it came to man like Lurkin.

Another hour passed, and I sat there watching how he flirted with her, or at least he was attempting to. There was a possibility that he was trying to get her drunk. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to take advantage of her on the way home or in her apartment. They talked for a bit longer. Then it looked like she finally decided to get going, heading towards the exit. After I made sure that Lurkin was still at the bar, I decided to follow her.

She had on a short skirt and I bet she was driving back to the complex, after definitely being over the limit. Running my hands through my hair, I exhaled deeply. I’d thought that she was a bit smarter than that; obviously I was wrong.

I followed her outside. The streets were busy; taxis and private cars were parked outside the club. I knew that I was wasting valuable time, running after a woman when my suspect was still inside. My priorities hadn’t changed, but I couldn’t just let her make her way home drunk.

Ellie crossed the street, and a few youths shouted something to her. She showed them the middle finger and carried on walking. I shook my head and caught up with her. After I made sure no one was around, I quietly snuck up on her from behind and dragged her towards the opposite building. She tried to fight, jerking her legs, but I had my palm clasped securely over her sweet mouth. This was too easy. Anyone could attack her here. I was pissed that she didn’t realise how dangerous these streets were. I should have placed her over my knee and spanked her so hard she couldn’t sit down for a week.

“Shhh, stop struggling. You will get us both into trouble,” I hissed at her ear, inhaling her vanilla shampoo. Shit, I recognised that scent—Charlotte had used the same one. Someone upstairs wanted to see us both on the same path.

“Mack?” she mumbled when I pulled away from her.

“What the hell were you doing up there with that idiot?” I demanded, still holding her close to my body, aware that my dick was getting hard. I needed to remember to control myself better. She was just the woman I had fucked.

“I’m not explaining myself to you,” she said, trying to pull away, but I held her close, not wanting to let go. “Did you follow me here?”

I exhaled sharply, grabbed her hand and started dragging her towards my car.

“I need you safe in the car first before we talk about this.”

She protested, but I was too pissed off to get involved in a serious conversation like this on the street. She needed to grasp that she was in danger. Lurkin was crazy.

“This is absurd. You showed up here asking me why I’m drinking with our neighbour and dragging me to your car expecting me not to ask any questions,” she barked as we sat in the car.

“Ellie, be quiet. I need to think for a second,” I said, starting the engine and taking a sharp right towards the city. We were going to drive for a while, until my temper cooled and my pulse slowed enough that I wasn’t about to have a heart attack. I had to think about how much I needed to conceal from her.

She folded her arms over her chest, glaring at me from the passenger seat. I drove around the dark deserted streets; the air was infused with her perfume and the scent of vanilla shampoo.

“Mack, tell me what the hell is going on. Why were you in the club?” she asked again, when I finally parked up in the road that led to the park. It was late and there was another car close by. People didn’t hang around here at this time of night. This area wasn’t safe.

I released my seat belt and turned to face her. Ellie’s makeup was a little smudged, but she looked beautiful and I was ready to fuck her right here.

Shit, Mack, focus; this isn’t the time or the place.

“Lurkin is dangerous and I want you to stay away from him,” I said.

“I’m a reporter, Mack, and that explanation is lame. Besides, you shouldn’t care what I do; you have no hold over me.”

“You have to trust me on this, Angel. Adrian Lurkin is not interested in you. He’s not the guy that you think he is,” I said, giving her enough to understand that I was being serious. She narrowed her eyes, probably not believing anything I said. “I’m taking you out for a dinner.”

“This isn’t a good idea, Mack.”

“Why is that?”

“Because of Claire. We can’t go out for a dinner while your wife is in the apartment, probably waiting for you,” she said.

“She won’t care. Besides I owe you one,” I stated.

I had no idea what I was doing. I should be in the club, tracking Lurkin’s every move, taking notes about people he was talking to.

Instead I was taking my neighbour, whom I had fucked every which way from Sunday, to dinner. I was forgetting about my late wife, the woman that I’d loved for years, because Ellie was in my life right now and was accepting me for who I was. This felt wrong, but I couldn’t let her get involved with Lurkin. He was too dangerous. The bastard was going to make a mistake soon; it was just a matter of time before I would have something on him.

Ten minutes later I parked outside the small bistro, a place I liked eating at when I was younger. My family was from Glasgow. Dad still lived in the same house, but Mum passed away last year. I spent some time with him right before I moved to the Grange for my assignment. Ellie didn’t know any of it, but maybe tonight I was willing to share these real parts of me that were hidden. I needed to gain her trust, but at what cost?