I straightened up from my slouch. That was good news: a request meant one of my regulars, and I was fond of all of them, or fond enough. They tipped well and didn’t try to push for more than I was willing to give them. A request would keep me off the stage and in a private room for most of the evening, but it was a worthwhile trade-off. But there was still something weird about Germaine’s expression, like she wasn’t thrilled about the request, and that set my Spidey senses tingling. Something was off.

I had a feeling that I knew who it was: the man from yesterday. But if Germaine knew him too…

“It isn’t one of your regulars,” she said. “But he’s an… established member of the club. You’re free to say no.” But her expression said I probably shouldn’t.

Super weird. “So it’s someone you know, then,” I said.

She hesitated, her mouth pursed, and then nodded.

“Germaine, you’re really wigging me out,” I said. “Is this guy, like, the Boston Strangler or something?”

She frowned at me. “You know I wouldn’t vouch for a client who I thought would ever—”

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” I said. Germaine was good about that. She wanted us to be safe, and she took the screening process for new clients pretty seriously. “So there’s something weird about him, but you’re cool with him. Okay, sure, why not? Just tell me when and where.” Maybe I could even turn this guy into another regular.

Her mouth twitched in a way that I couldn’t decipher, and she said, “He’s waiting for you in room 10. I told him that you would need time to get ready, and he said he didn’t mind waiting. But I wouldn’t keep him waiting for too long.”

God, so weird. The club didn’t even open for another hour—why was a client already there and waiting for me? Some of them were pretty eccentric, but Germaine didn’t usually indulge them to this extent. Maybe I was right, and it was the guy from yesterday, and he really was a secret agent. “I need at least twenty minutes,” I said.

“I told him thirty, but don’t dally,” she said.

“Aye aye, showering now,” I said, and took myself off to the seraglio.

Alone in the shower stall, I stood beneath the pounding spray and scrubbed my skin until I was pink all over. My conversation with Germaine had unsettled me. I’d never seen her like that, so—worried? Nervous? I still wasn’t even sure how she had been acting, but whatever it was, I didn’t like it.

It probably wasn’t the man in the dark suit. That would just be way too weird. It was probably someone who saw me dancing the night before. Maybe he was ugly or something. That would be okay. I didn’t mind ugly. They were usually so grateful to have a woman touching them that they tipped extravagantly and were kind. I liked the nice clients. It was easier, being touched by someone who was careful and happy to see you.

Maybe it was someone with a Band-Aid fetish.

No point worrying about it. I would find out soon enough.

I got ready in record time, slapping on makeup, my wig, a long silky robe with nothing underneath, and my highest, tackiest stripper heels, six inches with a thick platform and a stiletto heel so spindly I could barely walk. It was the same as the name thing: stripper heels told the clients they were getting the authentic experience.

It wasn’t false advertising. I was authentic, and I was definitely an experience.

Dressed, game face on, I teetered down the hall to room 10. It was one of the sex rooms down the hallway, with the bed and the tub. It was the largest and most decadent of the private rooms, and I was kind of surprised that Poppy hadn’t already laid claim to it for the evening. Maybe the client knew it was the best and had requested it specifically. Maybe he had paid extra. Germaine was a pretty shrewd businesswoman; I wouldn’t have put it past her to charge the clients extra if they wanted a particular room.

I stopped in front of the door and looked at the shiny metal 10 for a few moments. A new client was always a gamble. Would he be weird? Would he push my boundaries? You just never knew, and I’d had a few unpleasant surprises over the years. Nothing awful—there were hidden cameras in all of the rooms, and Germaine sent someone in if the clients got too rough—but enough to make my skin crawl. My blacklist was short, but it existed, and Germaine knew to tell those men I was busy if they ever requested me.

Whatever. It would be fine. Money.

Sad, maybe, that money was my primary motivation in life.

Whatever.

I knocked on the door, and then opened it a crack and poked my head inside.

I didn’t see him immediately. The room was dim, windowless and lit only by a lamp beside the bed, and he was wearing dark clothing and sitting in the corner, not moving. But when I spotted him, I recognized him right away, and my breath caught as my heartbeat leaped into high gear.

It was the man from the day before, the man in the dark suit.

I didn’t know what to think, and so I didn’t try. Thinking wasn’t my strong suit anyway.

I slipped into the room and shut the door behind me, leaning back against it, hands pressed against the smooth wood. “Good evening, sir,” I said, in my breathy, smoky Sassy voice.

He stood, slowly unfolding his body from the chair, and walked toward me.

I kept my lips curled into a slight smile, eyelids lowered seductively, but I didn’t feel seductive or glad. I was terrified. Not of him, or at least not physically; I was reasonably certain that he wouldn’t hurt me. I was terrified of my response to him. I thought I was immune, after years of dealing with clients, to their various charms. But this man, whoever he was, and for whatever reason, made me feel like I was on one of those roller coasters that turned upside down in big loops, and your stomach dropped and you thought you would puke or die or let out a shout of joy like a thunderclap.

He came closer, and all I could think about was how tall he was, easily over six feet. I was a pretty average height for a woman, but I wore heels most of the time, and I wasn’t used to having to look up to meet a man’s eyes—but the closer he came, the higher my chin lifted, and by the time he stopped a foot in front of me, my head was tipped back against the door and I felt small and helpless, completely at his mercy, and I didn’t like it, but I did. I wanted to be at his mercy.

It terrified me.

He wasn’t wearing a suit, which should have made him less intimidating, but instead had the opposite effect. He wore gray trousers and a black knit shirt, probably expensive, with the sleeves pushed up to expose his forearms. He looked down at me, face stern, eyes dark and deep as the ocean, and I waited for him to speak.