“Who is it?” Clarissa asked from the other side of the door.
Jack held Mandy against his chest. She was asleep, had been since before they left the alley. He quietly replied, “Its Jack.”
“Jack?”
“C’mon, Clarissa. I’m in trouble. Need your help.”
The door opened and Jack was greeted by the gorgeous red head. There weren’t many women who could look him in the eye, but at five foot ten and wearing heels, Clarissa could. She motioned with her hand for Jack to come in. As he walked past her he noticed how great she smelled. She always smelled great. Not cheap like most of the other strippers he knew.
“Who the fuck is this?”
“Her name’s Mandy. She’s lost.” Jack paused a beat. “I was waiting for an associate and spotted her. She was standing there, crying for her mom. No one would help her.”
Clarissa raised a curious eyebrow. “Ahhh, you’ve gone soft, baby.”
“Shut up.”
“So, what, you went up to her and?”
“I offered to help. Figured her mom was in a nearby store. You know something simple like that.”
“I’m guessing you assumed wrong then?”
“Yeah, very wrong. Worst thing is I missed my meeting, which pissed off some very bad people.” He unlocked the handcuffs and set the briefcase down.
Clarissa cast a curious eye toward the briefcase. “So why are you here? You need me to hide you?” She laughed.
“I also pissed off the cops.” He looked up at the ceiling, his hands clasped behind his head.
“Let me get you a drink.”
Jack nodded.
“What do you want? I got beer, whiskey, tequila.”
“One of each,” Jack replied. “Hey, you got somewhere she can lie down?”
“Sure, go ahead and put her in my room for now.” Clarissa pointed to the back of the apartment with one hand as she filled shot glasses with the other.
Jack walked over to the couch and picked up the sleeping girl. It had been a long day for the child. She opened her eyes and stared at him, lips drawn tight and her eyebrows furrowed. He waited for her to ask him a question, but before she could open her mouth, her head fell forward on his shoulder and she went back to sleep. He stroked her hair as he took her to Clarissa’s bedroom. Jack laid her down and covered her up with a blanket.
He walked back to the kitchen and went straight to the counter where his shot glasses were waiting. He threw back a shot of tequila and grimaced at the burn and aftertaste. He’d only had three jobs go bad. Two of those three had been because of tequila.
“I’ve never seen you that gentle with anyone,” Clarissa said. She placed her hand on his shoulder and gave it a soft massage, then dragged her nails lightly across his back.
He picked up the second shot glass and held it to his lips. “I fucked up.” He drank the whiskey, slammed the shot glass down and then cracked opened the bottle of beer. “Big time.”
“More?”
“Yeah, one of each.” He slid the shot glasses across the counter.
Clarissa poured his refills. “How bad can it be?”
Jack said nothing. He drank his shots in succession and returned to his bottle of beer. “We’ll only be here tonight.”
“Jack, you know you can stay as long as you need. I don’t mind. Even with the kid, it’s cool with me.” She put her arm around his shoulders. “As much as you have done for me, it’s the least I can do.”
“It’s the old man,” he said.
Clarissa looked down at the floor, toward the briefcase. “I’m guessing that briefcase has something to do with it?”
Jack nodded and said nothing.
“What’s inside?” she asked.
“Just some papers.” He paused. “It’s better you don’t know.”
“Will he try to kill you?”
Jack thought about it for a moment. Shrugged. Would he kill me? “If he wanted me dead he would have killed me after I botched the deal.”
“So why don’t you go to him tonight and complete the deal?”
“The cop. He saw enough of me to be able to identify me. Plus, the old man said he’d be in contact. Better to just wait it out.”
“You want to turn on the TV? Check the news?”
“Nah, that shit’s depressing.”
They both laughed but the moment was short lived, interrupted by a shrill scream. Jack raced to the back of the apartment to check on Mandy.
“Mommy!”
Jack sat on the edge of the bed and stroked her hair. “Shhh,” he whispered, “we’re gonna get you to your momma. I promise.” He sat with her until she fell back to sleep.
Clarissa greeted him with a smile when he returned to the kitchen. He smiled back. She looked good tonight. Hell, she looked good any time of day. But tonight she seemed move vibrant than usual. Even though he had ten years on her, they’d always had a connection. Things had progressed further the last few years, though, and that scared Jack. In his line of business it didn’t pay to be close to anyone.
“Another drink?” she asked.
Jack nodded.
Clarissa brushed against him on her way to the fridge.
Jack followed her, waiting behind the opened door. The air escaping from the refrigerator felt cool against his flush face.
She stood, turned and stopped inches from him. Bit her bottom lip.
He lifted his hand, brushing strands of her hair behind her ear. Leaned in and kissed her neck. His hands worked down her sides. Steady fingers unbuttoned her jeans and slid them off her waist. “For a stripper you wear some pretty boring panties.”
“Exotic dancer,” she said in between nibbles on his ear. She wrapped a leg around his.
“The little girl,” Jack said. “She’s sleeping in the other room.”
Clarissa waved off Jack’s protest. “I’ll be quiet.”
“But you know I can’t be,” he said with a wry smile.