Chapter two:
Previously-
Eleanor, Max And Abigail found a lead on a prize they deem worth taking. A mysterious van pulls up with dangerous characters inside.
• • • • • • •
"Let's fucking go Red," Captain looked over at their driver. "I need a drink."
She smirked and turned on the car. Captain leaned back into his seat and fidgeted with the coin in his pocket.
She looked around before starting the car. The last thing they needed was drawing a bunch of unnecessary attention to themselves. When the coast looked clear, she unabashedly pressed on the gas peddle and sped off. As she glanced in the rear view mirror, her eyes caught a pair of bright blue ones. "So just what the fuck exactly are we doing out here, in snob city, in the dead of night?"she squinted her eyes at him for a second before focusing back on the road.
"I've heard whispers of a prize so large, not only would it give whoever took it undeniable status, but they could also disappear from this world forever. Never needing to pull another job again." He replied while his gaze averted back to the streets outside the window.
"And when were you planning on sharing this news with us, Charles?" The man in the front seat twisted around to look back at Charles.
The woman in the drivers seat glanced anxiously in the mirror between the two men.
"When I could make sure this place and prize was real. What's the point in bringing it up if nothing comes from it Jack?" Charles stared warningly up at Jack, who had settled back into his seat with a sigh.
"Anne, darling, if you don't stop gripping the wheel so hard you'll leave dents." Jack addressed the woman driving.
"I can't help it, you idiots stress me out. So if a prize that large did exist, how would we get our hands on it? And better yet, why isn't it being fought for more vigorously?"Anne grumbled and loosened her posture.
Charles sucked at his teeth and kept his eyes on the road, knowing both his crew mates where trying to grab eye contact with him. Maybe there were a few others who knew about the prize lurking between the hands of rich men, but so far it seemed that no one was either capable or stupid enough to brave getting near it."Which one did it make me?" Charles smirked to himself. He knew the bill of sale was somewhere in the Addington Estate, but it's not exactly like either of them could go waltzing in there without raising suspicion. His plan had been to wait for one of the staff to possibly come outside and they could subdue them and switch clothing to sneak inside. No one other than the man who helped the two women came outside however. He'd need a new plan, perhaps with a bigger crew, but that meant a smaller cut for the trio.
"Charles?" Jack repeated at him.
Charles snapped out of his thoughts and looked up the front of the car. "What Jack?"
"Just wondering if you would be interested in going somewhere different than our usual spot? I heard of this interesting strip bar on the other side of town. They have great bar food," Jack looked over at Anne, who was rolling her eyes at him. "And women." Jack glanced back at Charles in the mirror.
"I could eat." Replied Charles with a shrug. "What's it called?"
"The Jolly Roger." Jack grinned.
Charles leaned back in his seat, "alright, well, let's make our way over there Anne."
• • • • • • •
Abigail groaned in the backseat as Max made a sharp turn. Eleanor glanced back at the young woman, she was laying on her back and holding her head. "Why is everything so spinny?" Abigail wailed.
The older women giggled. "You'll be alright Abigail. We'll drop you off at home before we go back home." Eleanor replied softly, reaching over to pat her forearm.
Abigail struggled to sit up. "No, please! I really wanted to spend this night with you guys." She glumly bit her lip. "Besides, my father will be so disappointed if he sees me like this."
Max looked over at Eleanor. It was really her call. Eleanor's eyebrows furrowed as she thought about it. "Okay, you can come with us. Except no more drinking, and I'll make you something to eat. Then it's upstairs and relaxing for you."
Abigail slumped down back in the seats. "I wouldn't want to hang out with all the women anyways."
Eleanor hadn't planned on going back to her fathers estate tonight. He wouldn't notice her not home, even if he wasn't drunk out of his mind. She still kept her room and did spend quite a few nights there, but she mostly considered the piece of property she invested in with Max as home. When they first looked at the location, it was almost completely run down, and Eleanor felt like pulling out of the deal, but Max convinced her that it would be an easy fix. Max pulled her contacts together, and with their help they had started putting the place back into shape. The Jolly Roger wasn't exactly the classiest establishment, and it didn't necessarily have the finest patrons, but everyone who went there was always free to be themselves. The two women would never question anyone's background who walked in so long as they didn't ruin the harmony. When they bought the building, it had had a living space built into it upstairs. Eleanor was thrilled, she felt like she was free. She finally had somewhere she could feel free to run to if her home life ever got too rough.
Eleanor had been sitting with her thoughts when Max cleared her throat. "So, tell us about Rogers." Max broke the silence.
Eleanor groaned. "He's just some creep. Started trying to butter up to Richard for extra funding for his department. He thinks by… associating with me, my father will give him a dowry or some shit." Eleanor covered her face with her hands, mollified. "Not sure what my father gets out of that deal, but probably the fact that his shady moves will be overlooked."
"Hmm, well did you try telling him you weren't into men?" Max teased at Eleanor.
Eleanor laughed. "I feel like that would strangely not bother him. I told him I wasn't interested, but that only seemed to spur him on more!"
"What a sicko." Abigail hiccuped in the back.
"I'm just trying to avoid being in the same spaces as him, hoping he'll find someone else to focus on, but it's like he's stalking me." Eleanor grimaced.
Just then, Max was pulling into a parking lot. The speed bumps sent Abigail tumbling off the back seat and onto the car floor. Eleanor tried to twist around in her seat to check on her when Max's frustrated grumbling pulled her focus back. "It's so damn busy! And someone stole my spot, what the hell, it says "owner" on it for a reason!"
Eleanor patted Max's arm reassuringly. "Just park around back then, it's fine. Abigail can use the walk."
Forced to go around the back of the building, Max circled the car back around the parking lot. The giant neon woman sitting on an anchor smiled down at them as Max angrily took a sharp turn on the corner. There was already another vehicle parked in their mini two-lane parking spot. "Is that Mr. Scott's car?" Max looked over at Eleanor as she put the car into park.
"Yes, he must be here to go over some new property locations he wanted to show you." Eleanor replied, opening her door to step out.
Max walked around to Eleanors side by the time she stepped out. "I thought we were going to wait. I don't want to squander all of the progress and money we've made." Max reached for the back door handle and Eleanor leaned in to pull Abigail standing.
"It's just browsing, seeing what's out there. No pressure in making a decision." Eleanor replied innocently, wrapping her arm around Abigail's waist as Max came over to do the same.
"Thanks so much you guys, I don't know what I'd do without you two." Abigail lazily glanced at the two women who were supporting her weight.
Max laughed, "probably not be here this drunk for one."
The two older women helped Abigail haul herself around the side of the building in the narrow corridor between the fence and the wall. When they got to the front of the building, the security guard at the door hustled to open the doors for them. "Good evening madams!" He called out as they hurriedly rushed inside.
The place was packed. All the seats in front of the stage were filled with men eager to see the next show start. Eleanor took a look around, the bar was packed and their bartender Madi, looked extremely stressed out. She gave the girl a quick flash of her hand as a hello. Abigail was starting to slip in her grip and Eleanor had to wrap both her arms around her waist to pull her back to her feet.
"I'm going to go see what Madi's trying to get my attention for. Will you be okay with her?" Max looked up at Eleanor while pointing to the bar, where Madi was looking at the two of them glaringly.
"You'd better go," Eleanor shook her head, "you know she hates to wait." Eleanor kept her grip on Abigail as Max pulled away. "We'll go in the kitchen." She pulled on the drunken girl. Abigail stumbled a bit as they made their way through the crowd of people. Dancers were walking around, barely clothed, moving through the groups of people. Abigail blushed a little bit even through her drunken state. Eleanor stifled a laugh at the young woman's embarrassment. They made it across the establishment and into the small kitchen, Eleanor looked around. "Where the hell is the chef tonight?" Noticing the piled up order tickets.
The two women walked over to the table in the corner and Eleanor pulled the chair out. Abigail immediately sunk into it, sprawling her torso out onto the table. Eleanor threw her jacket off and onto the back of the chair Abigail was seated in. She looked down at her outfit. Still in her small cocktail dress from the evening, she frowned. "Well, this is going to get trashed in here." She snagged an apron off the wall to wrap around her waist, in some effort of covering herself.
Eleanor looked back over at Abigail, who looked half asleep leaning onto the table. "Stay here Abi, I'm going to go see what's going on here tonight. I'll be right back."
Abigail waved her hand at Eleanor, and she took it as enough of a response.
Eleanor made her way back out of the kitchen and over to the bar. Max had her hand on Madi's forearm tenderly. She caught Eleanor's gaze. "We were fucked tonight!" She shouted over the music at Eleanor. They stood in the corner of the bar, huddled. "The chef decided she was too hungover to come in, two dancers couldn't make it and I've been the only bar person for the last ten hours!"
Eleanor sighed understandingly. "I'll go and work kitchen for the last two hours." She turned to Max, "can you ask someone to come and collect Abigail and bring her upstairs?"
"Of course." Max nodded and then turned to Madi. "Your father is here and wants to speak to me about some things. I will be back down after to give you a hand, promise."
Madi's upset look eased up some. "Sorry guys, it's just that the rush came from nowhere and it blindsided us all." She looked back and forth at the two women.
Max gave Madi's arm a squeeze and then let her go. She looked at Eleanor and gestured to going upstairs. Max turned around, leaving to make her way through the throng of people and disappear behind the employee door.
Eleanor smiled at Madi. "Well, only two more hours, we'll make it." She patted the other woman's shoulders. Madi scoffed at her but returned the smile. "So I noticed all the orders piling up in there." Eleanor pointed in the direction of the kitchen.
Madi grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, well, it took a while for me to actually leave the bar and notice that our fucking chef decided to ditch out on today. That's why I just kept on piling the orders."
Eleanor shook her head, "we're going to need to look into hiring another cook, Joey is too unreliable. I'll turn on the kitchen light to signal we'll take orders now, but just trash all the past orders." Madi looked apologetically at Eleanor, who just shrugged back in response. "Is what it is, don't worry about it. I'm sure everyone's too drunk to notice they paid for something they won't receive."
Madi looked back over at the bar counters and noticed the group of people trying to get her attention. "I should probably get back…" she shook her head and thumbed in the direction behind her.
Eleanor followed her back behind the bar to make herself a drink. Rum and coke, triple shots to deal with tonight. The whole Rogers situation still on her mind. "Would Richard really trade me?" She thought as she filled her mini pitcher with pop. Snagging it, she weaved her way through the crowd of people back into the small kitchen. She slipped through the curtain and kicked her high heeled shoes off. "What a relief." Eleanor looked over at the chair in the corner, now empty of the drunk young woman who was leaning into the table.
She gently padded over to the light switch and flipped on the red light and rang the bell on the wall, signalling that the kitchen was open. Discarding the old order tickets, new ones started coming already. "Fuck me, I thought this would have been an easy night." She was quickly trying to slap burger patties down on the grill, while throwing fries and hot dog wieners into the fryers. Not that this was a hard job, just an exhaustingly heat filled one. Running in small circles back and forth from grill to fryer to cutting board and sauce station was tiresome.
She managed to grab a few minutes of peace in between the rushes, and leaned forward onto the cutting board, looking out the service window. There were two girls on top of tables, dancing for the men sitting around them. The main stage was empty, too late for shows now. The club was starting to empty she noticed as she looked around. Max was at the bar with Madi, making the last of the drink orders as last call was coming. The bar was mainly deserted, except for the few regular drunks. Small groups of people mingled at the smaller tables, playing cards. Girls were trying to pursue the winners with the bigger piles of chips. She was about to turn back to the grill when she noticed a group of people she'd never seen inside before. In the back wall of the club, almost in the shadows were three people. A smaller woman, wearing a dirty cream coloured blouse tucked into high waisted black pants and a tattered brown jacket, was leaning against a taller man. He was gently caressing her shoulder with the arm wrapped around her. The man had interesting facial hair and yellow lensed shades on. He was wearing a puffy long-sleeved button up with some kind of bright tone stuffed into striped pants. They were seated a ways away, chatting intimately, from a larger man.
Eleanor's eyes raked over him. She noticed his long hair draping over his shoulders and thick leather corded necklaces adorning his muscular looking neck. It was almost instantaneous that the moment her eyes laid on him, he looked over at her. It felt like even in the darkness of the club, with only the strobe lights passing around, his bright blue eyes lit through her. "I know those eyes…" but she couldn't place where. "Maybe they've been here before." They stared at each other through the darkness and mess of people, when the strobe flashed by his face and she thought she could see his crooked smile facing right at her. She raised her chin in his direction before turning around and going back to scrape the grill off, right after finishing the rest of her drink. The ice burned the roof of her mouth but satiated the unease she felt from that encounter. "What the hell was that? Get your shit together." She shook her head at herself.
The hour passed by quickly and she decided to call it quits and rang the bell for last call for the kitchen. There were a few more orders, but nothing crazy which meant she could finally turn off the grill and fryers and kill the overwhelming heat accumulating in the small room. "I need some air." She swiped at the sweat running down her forehead. She untied the apron from around her waist and threw it onto the floor.
Eleanor grimaced as she slipped her shoes back on before stepping out from behind the curtain dividing the kitchen from the rest of the club. Max and Madi were starting to take inventory of the booze behind the bar and start clean up. They looked up at her and she motioned smoking and pointed to the back exit. They waved her off and went back to what they were doing. Eleanor rolled her eyes, "whatever then." and started making her way out to the alley for a quick breath of fresh air.
"Hello darling!" Came a drunken voice from her side. Eleanor looked down at one of the remaining tables of men. She rolled her eyes.
"Good evening Edward." She tried to slip around him as he made a move for her wrist, pining her in the spot. She ground her teeth. "How many times do I have to push him away before he fucks off."
"How much for a dance tonight, my love?" He stared into her eyes while his friends at the table chuckled.
She struggled against his grip, "I fucking told you, I'm not a dancer. There's plenty of beautiful woman who would love to provide that service for you." She glared down at him.
His thumb started to caress the inside of her wrist and she felt panic starting to bubble in her stomach. She looked up at the door where their security men were, who had noticed her and started making their way over.
"Is there a problem, Miss Guthrie?" Michael, their head of security, asked walking over.
She ripped her arm from Edwards grip. "No, Mr. Low was actually just going to cash his chips in and leave." She raised her chin at him, arms behind her back. "Weren't you, Ned?"
He pushed his chair back and stood up in front of her. Chest pulled straight out, looking down at her. "Yeah, we're done here for tonight. We'll finish up where we left off next time." He murmured at her as he turned to walk away, slightly pushing into the large man beside her. The rest of his flock stood up and walked towards the ladies behind the barred cash registers.
Michael looked down at Eleanor. "I hate him coming in, I don't know why you ladies let him."
"Money is money." Eleanor responded. "Doesn't matter where it comes from or how it gets here, just don't fuck around." She fished around in her small handbag. "I'm going out back for a quick smoke, if I'm needed." And she turned to walk away from that very uncomfortable situation.
Eleanor walked down the small hallway leading to the fire exit door towards the back of the building. She pushed the door open and the cold air that hit her felt like bliss after the sweltering heat of the club and kitchen.
• • • • • • •
On the ride over to this place Jack was very insistent on, Charles sat mostly in silence. He checked and scrolled through the notifications on his phone every once in a while, occasionally listening in on the couples conversations up front. Jack and Anne sounded like they were making some private plans for the weekend. Charles rolled his eyes. "There's no need for them to be so secretive. Although I suppose I have been as well." He knew he should have talked to them about the lead he'd gotten from his mentor the minute he found out. He just didn't want to bring up their hopes if nothing came together. He still wasn't one hundred percent sure which way to go about it, the lead had been free, but any more information would cost him a cut of the share. He reached into his pocket to pull out his lucky coin. He looked at it in his hand and flipped it around to inspect it. Alright, so it was silly and superstitious to have a 'lucky coin', but every time he'd bring it on a job they'd always find extra treasure or make the perfect get away.
He'll never forget the day his mentor gave it to him as a token of the job he'd been taken along to learn from. The old 1739 dirty Spanish silver dollar gleamed in the street lights up at him. It really could use a polish, but Charles felt like it would wipe away all the mojo it's built. He put it back into his pocket to fidget with. Charles leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes just for a second.
"Charles?" A hand came on his shoulder and Charles' eyes immediately opened. He grabbed at the wrist on his shoulder and pulled.
Jack rammed into his seat as he was twisted back, facing Charles. "Woah, easy man!" Jack tried to pull back away from him.
Charles pushed his arm away, "you couldn't have just called out to me?" he looked out the window. The car was parked in a packed lot. A giant neon sign with a woman sitting on an anchor swung back and forth above them.
"We're here, I tried calling out to you but I think you're too sleep deprived." Jack shook his head and exited the car. Anne was already gone.
Charles ran a hand down his face before leaving the car. Anne was leaning against the wall of the club, smoking. She locked the car as Charles shut the door and snuffed out her cigarette. Jack walked over and wrapped his arm around her waist, they entered the club together.
They were both obviously unhappy at him for not communicating with them. "I'll discuss it with them once I've had time to mull over it."
Charles entered the club. It was dimly lit, with loud music playing. Some 70's psychedelic rock blaring on the PA system. Jack made his way over to the bar and Anne split off to find them a good spot to post up at. Charles started to make his way through the club, looking around. There was a barred cash register area, where dolled up women were eager to take the money from drunken men. The main stage featured a raven haired woman gyrating to the beats playing, scantly clothed. There were plenty of men leaning against the rails trying get closer to her. The bar was surrounded by people trying to get drinks, and Charles could see Jack trying to crush his way into it to grab the bartenders attention. Smaller tables adorned the edges of the club, with men playing all types of card games. Waitress girls walked around with empty shot glasses and bundles of cash stuffed into their stockings. Charles caught sight of Anne, who had managed to grab them a table, slightly off to the end of the club. He slumped into the bench seating against the wall across from her.
Anne looked at Charles across the table. "We're going to go away for the weekend coming up." She leaned onto her elbows.
Charles studied her face, but there was nothing there. "Is it because of me?" He straightened in his seat.
Anne shook her head, "nah, we were going to one of these weekends anyways." She pushed off the table to lean back into her seat.
Charles leaned onto the table, getting closer to her. "Look, there's a lot I want to share. But I want to get my shit together first."
"We know you mean well, but it just feels like there's no trust." Anne stared into his eyes before looking behind her for her partner. Jack was making his way over to them with a tray of drinks.
"Thought I'd grab a few if there's such a huge demand for them." Jack set the tray down on their table. He pulled out the chair beside Anne's side and gestured for them to grab what they wanted. There were three pints of beer and six shots of whiskey. "Well so much for grabbing food. The bartender informed me that their cook was not in tonight."
Charles laughed, "of fucking course." He flexed his arms behind his head, leaning against the wall. "What's the story on this place?" He looked over at Jack.
Jack looked up at Charles from his drink. Clearing his throat and setting his drink down, he leaned back into the chair. "Well, word on the street is it's run by some badass woman who holds the whole community down. This place has garnered the reputation that money is money here, regardless of how it's obtained. It appears lots of shady people meet here." Jack anxiously looked around.
Charles slowly nodded his head, letting the information sink in. "Maybe I'd be able to find some new contacts here." He looked back at the pair who had slid a little closer together. Charles slid out from the bench seat, "I'm going to take a piss." He murmured at them, not looking back to see if they heard.
Charles walked off towards the back of the club into the men's washroom. There was another man standing at the urinals. Charles stood off from him, and unzipped his pants.
"Hey!" The other man called out to him. Charles looked at him from the side of his eye. "Hey, do I know you from somewhere?"
Charles didn't look over at him. "I don't know, man."
The other man flushed his urinal and turned towards Charles. Charles finished his business and zipped his pants back up, still not looking at the other man. The man took a step closer to Charles when he finally turned around to look at him. Charles took note of his one white eye and scar that ran through it. His other eye a pale blue. The man and Charles stood in the middle of the bathroom.
"Yeah, you're Teach's boy aren't ya?" The man stared at Charles, crossing his arms across his chest and straightening out.
Charles clenched his fists at his side. Staring into the face of the man who apparently knew him. "Not sure I know what you're talking about, friend." He went to push past him and walk out of the door. When the other man put his hand on Charles' shoulder. Charles immediately turned around and grabbed his wrist. Holding onto his arm with one hand, the other went for his throat. He shoved him against the nearby wall. He had easily over powered him and the other man didn't even struggle. Instead he actually laughed a bit.
"I think you do know, friend." The other man looked at Charles. Not moving off of him, the other man looked at the hand around his throat. "I'm Edward Low. I was there at the round-up meet of the trades last month with my crew." Charles thought back to the monthly meeting the higher up black market criminals are regularly invited to.
Charles let go of his throat and shoved off Edward. "Great to meet you." He turned back around to leave.
Edward rubbed at his neck, "feel free to come by my table later." He called after Charles leaving the bathroom door.
Charles walked back to his crew. Jack and Anne were now seated off from where they were. They were sitting close together on the bench against the wall, just a bit down from Charles' seat. "That's fine if they want their own time. Better than the usual bickering." He thought as he slumped into his seat and grabbed his pint.
There was a loud commotion as the front door opened and three women walked in. A taller blonde woman was holding onto a smaller brunette. The other dark haired woman stepped away from the other two and ran off to the bar. The blonde struggled with the younger girl and shimmied their way towards the kitchen. "Wasn't that the same woman that was at the mansion? The Guthrie girl?" Charles finished his drink. Looking over at the couple down the bench from him, their drinks untouched, Charles helped himself to the shots that were left over. He watched the kitchen curtain swish open and the Guthrie heiress rush out, apron over her short dress. Charles chuckled to himself, "what a sight. Bet the papers would kill for that shot." She ran off towards the bar, embracing the bartender who looked angrily between the blonde and shorter dark brunette. The other woman ran off towards an employee door and only the two were left. Charles looked down at the whiskey and threw it down his throat. By the time he looked back up, the blonde was gone. He grabbed his empty beer glass and got up to make his way towards the bar.
Charles leaned against the bar counter top and waited for the bartender to come to him. After a few minutes and several customers, she made her way down to him.
"What'll you have?" She took the empty glass from him.
"Whatever on tap IPA you have." He slid her a hundred dollar bill. "For my tab, under Vane. Put anything he ordered on it as well." Charles pointed over to where Jack was.
She looked him over, then took the hundred and checked to see if it was counterfeit. She seemed appeased when she threw it in the lock box and grabbed a pint glass to fill up. "Here you go, Vane." The bartender left the drink on the counter in front of him. She went to go leave when he called out to her. She turned back around, eyebrow arched. "Was there something else?"
"The women who came in here earlier, are they regulars?" Charles grabbed his pint and took a sip.
The bartender scoffed. "That's Madame Max, she owns this place. And the other two," She took a look up and down at him "you don't need to concern yourself with." She wiped the water ring mark his glass had left in front of him before walking away.
Charles took his drink and went to sit back back in his seat when a man carrying the same young girl walked past him and up towards the employee door. As he sat back down, a red light turned on by the kitchen door and a bell rang out.
"Oh, lovely! Let's order something shall we?" Jack eagerly looked towards the kitchen service window. He grabbed the attention of a half dressed waitress and ordered something greasy. Charles waved the invitation of food off. His attention still focused on the service window he was facing. He could make out to the top of a blonde head. He looked over at Jack and Anne, still browsing the menu with interest. He looked over at the tables of cards being played.
Charles stood up, "I'm going to go check out some of the games." He yelled over the music at the pair and walked off.
Charles took a slow lap of the place, taking notice of each table and the patrons at them. He finally settled on a table of high bidders and lots of chips following to and from. He pulled out the chair at his selected table and was told the lowest bid in was a thousand dollars. Charles looked around the table, taking note of everyone's face. From ugly and mean looking to sinister business men around him, the dealer waited for his decision. He pulled out his wallet and handed over several hundred dollar bills. Charles played for about an hour, winning and losing here and there. He eventually decided to cash out when he made more than he bid in with. Giving his opponents parting pleasantries, Charles made his way over to the cash registers.
Charles pulled out his smart phone to check the time, almost 4:30am. They should probably be heading home before the sunrise. He looked around the club, it was mostly empty now. He made his way back to his spot to ask his friends if they were ready to go, but they were so lovingly drunk he decided to hold off. Sitting in his seat, he was watching the bar clear as last call was rung and the two women started cleaning.
That's when he felt the nagging instinct of being watched. He looked around him, but the only people near him were Jack and Anne, hands all over each other; and across from him was Low's table of men playing cards. Charles looked up at the service window to find blue-green eyes boring into him. It was the blonde Guthrie heiress from earlier. She was leaning forward onto something, just clear as day staring straight at him. All he could really make out was the mess of curls pulled back on top of her head, her face red from the heat, those gleaming eyes and the very tops of her shoulders; exposed, except for the thin straps of her dress. She squinted at him and he laughed, flashing a quick smile. She didn't return it however, instead she raised her chin defiantly at him and then turned around and out of view. Charles chuckled, if he didn't know any better, it seemed she was interested in what she saw.
Anne eventually got up to leave to the washrooms and Jack came over to sit across Charles again. "Listen, I'm sorry if we seem like we're being a little unsocial tonight." Jack handed a shot to Charles. "We've been planning this special weekend get away for a while now. And I'm getting Anne to come around to the idea that you're only secretive because you care."
Charles looked at Jack, shot in hand. "We're family. I'd never do anything to put you two in harms way."
"I know." Jack grinned, raising his glass in a toast fashion and the men drank their respective drinks in silence. Anne came and sat down beside Jack, looking over at Charles with a softer expression than all night. The trio talked about the couples weekend plans of flying to New York and enjoying the scenery.
A bell rang out in the kitchen again, signal the last call for food. Charles looked over at the service window when the kitchen curtain flipped open and the blonde came to a stop just outside of it. She was looking over at the women at the bar, motioning smoking over at the them. Charles looked her over while he made a move for his jacket. She stood with her back to him, tall in her heels, making her legs look extra long. The mini figure hugging dress showed off her soft curves and fit physique. He shrugged on his leather jacket, eager to make it outside before her. "What am I doing?" He thought to himself as he rushed, half way out the hall of the back exit when he could hear her heels clicking on the floor behind him. He didn't want to turn around, but was keen to get a good look at her front view. He hung out in the shadows of the hallway a little bit.
"Hello darling!" He heard a mans voice call out. He peered out of the shadow an inch. It was that asshole, Low. Charles saw her roll her eyes at him as she made a move to steer clear of him.
"Good evening Edward." She tightly responded as she tried to walk around him, but he'd grab her wrist. Charles felt something in him rise watching him make her uncomfortable. A strange nostalgic rage.
"How much for a dance tonight, my love?" He peered into her eyes while his shitty friends laughed at the situation.
Charles watched her try to pull out of his grip, "I fucking told you, I'm not a dancer. There's plenty of beautiful woman who would love to provide that service for you." She looked at him angrily.
Charles was just about to step out and intervene when he saw Low caressing her wrist and the uncomfortable look on her face. He caught himself, "what am I thinking? I'd be starting a crew war, not to mention the amount of unnecessary attention that Jack and Anne would maim me for." He froze in the spot then noticed the big man in all black making his way over the her. Charles nodded, of course they'd have security.
"Is there a problem, Miss Guthrie." He heard the man ask as Charlie stepped out the door and into the alley way. The door closed behind him and he slunk over towards the shadowed part of the wall. Reaching into his leather jacket, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. It had just started to rain a little as he leaned against the wall under the small part of an under-covered area. Smoking quietly under the light rain, he could hear the creak of the door open.
A small sigh and the clicks of heels moving further into the outdoors was all he could tell in the darkness. There was a small orange light bulb by the door in which he could faintly make out a woman's small form bent over hugging her stomach.
"Fucking asshole." She shivered as she breathed under her breath. She straightened out, taking a shaky breath. He watched her open her purse and fish around in it. She pulled out a cigarette and put it in her mouth, viciously digging in her purse. "Motherfucker." She shook her bag. Pulling the cigarette out of her mouth and glaring at it, she sighed. She looked at the door behind her and bit her lip.
Charles reached into his pocket and pulled out his lighter. "Looks like you need a light." He stepped out of the shadows.
She jumped and stared at him wide eyed. "Goddamn." She breathed at him.
Charles smirked as he took a step closer to her, and she filled the gap between them with a step of her own. With a shaking hand, she placed the cigarette back to her lips and stared up at him. He held the flame close to her, and it illuminated her face. Soft, glowing eyes kept constant contact with his as she accepted his helped and inhaled. She walked past him towards the under-covered part by a set of stairs and sat down on them. She stared out in front of her, towards the darkness. Her eyes seemed so sad, and her body continued to shake. He took a step towards her and the sound made her turn her head towards him.
"Thanks." She called out to him.
He nodded in response and settled into leaning against the wall beside her. They smoked in silence for a while and Charles snuck glances at her from his peripheral.
Charles cleared his throat. "So, uh, do you always do the cooking?" He looked down at her.
She didn't look at him, or respond, just tapped some ash off her cigarette.
"I heard him ask you for a dance." Charles continued.
A choked laugh came out of her, "like every night."
Charles blew some smoke out. "I take it you're not a dancer?"
She scoffed at him. "Don't play coy."
"Figured someone of your status wouldn't be." He rolled on his shoulder slightly to face her.
She looked up at him fiercely. "I don't give a fuck about my status." She spat at him.
Charles raised his hands in a non offensive way. "Wasn't trying to offend, just wondering what an heiress was doing out of her castle."
The tiniest corners of her lips twitched at him, then she turned her head straight forward. "I'm friends with the owner. Help out when I can." She flicked the end of her cigarette into the dark. She opened her purse, digging through it for something.
"With a bag that small, I'm surprised you can carry anything." He joked, throwing the butt of his cigarette also. He pulled out his pack from his jacket for another one.
Watching her dump the contents of her purse onto the step she was sitting on. He noticed the typical things, her phone and some makeup. It was the mysterious powder, glasses and flashlight that intrigued him. She picked up a cigarette she'd found in the mess but it was snapped in half. "Great." She grumbled and threw it aside. She started shoving everything back into her bag.
Charles was putting a stick to his lips when he pulled out an extra one, putting the case back in his pocket. He reached over and extend it towards her. She looked up at his face, looking into his eyes with a hard expression. He felt like her eyes were an ocean to drown in.
Suddenly it felt like he was falling. There was no more faint club music in the background, or the dark of night. He was staring at her in the bright sun, waves crashing around them. She looked different but the same. Her hair in a messy bun but the same soft eyes. She was in a dirty flowing blouse and when he looked down at himself, he was shirtless. They were on a beach, sand at their feet and no one around.
The feeling of her soft hand brushing against his as she slid the cigarette out of his grip brought him back. Charles looked around, dazed. "What the fuck was that?" He reached into his pocket for his lighter. Charles bent down to sit beside her on the step. She held the cigarette at her lips, watching him earnestly. He leaned in and lit it for her as they held eye contact. Then he lit his own. They both sat on the step, watching the rain start to come down harder, smoking in silence.
"You're the Guthrie heiress aren't you?" Charles called out into the dark.
She signed beside him and nodded. "No, my dad won't pay you a ransom for me."
He looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh please, like you're not a criminal." She laughed, looking him up and down. "The hair and leather jacket practically scream bad man."
He looked her up and down, "oh, I'm a bad man. And I can definitely make you scream, Miss Guthrie." He leaned a smidge closer to her.
She stood up quickly off the step, her back to him. Her creamy thighs were just in front of him. She threw her cigarette out into the night and then turned back to him. "While the offer is so tempting," she rolled her eyes at him, "I must decline." And she went to move past him, up the stairs. She was so close to him he could smell her. Her long legs brushing past him. She stopped at the gate at the top of the stairs to unlock it. "Thanks for the cigarette and company." She said over her shoulder. "Feel free to drop my name to clear your tab for tonight." She stepped through the gate and closed it behind her, the slam and keys jingling bringing twangs of nostalgia into his bones. He stepped off the stairs and looked up at the balcony above.
"Wait." He called out into the night. There was a pause of sound, before heels above him. She leaned forward, looking down at him. "Can we do this again?" He referenced to tonight.
One corner of her lips moved. "I'll be around." She replied softly, and then disappeared.
Charles could hear a door open and close. He turned around to go back through the club door to collect his crew and go home before the sun rises.
"I never even got her name."
If anyone remembers The Nanny with Fran Drescher, that little mini black dress with the tights is what I imagined Eleanor in :)
I feel as I have been writting this for eons. I literally started this after I had published the first chapter, but with no free time I was forced to write this in bit and pieces when I was able to snag precious moments to myself. I have one more day off before back to work for another six, so I'm hoping to write another chapter in that time. If not, definitely in a weeks time! I hope this is enjoyable!
I wrote both sides of the story from each other's perspectives. Would love to hear thoughts on this and any ideas anyone has. I'm super open!
Lots of love!