“No, no, my giant friend,” Bushnik crooned. “This one will serve me very well. Let her go.”
Reluctantly, Andre did. Bushnik pointed to Izzy’s lip and asked her, “Did you talk back to Andre?”
“Yes.”
Bushnik sat down in the chair one of his flunkies held out for him and patted his lap, indicating she sit down there. Shaking, Izzy did as instructed. Rigidly, she sat on his hard lap. Bushnik was big, he was ugly as hell, but he was in great shape. His thighs were hard as oak beneath her bottom. He grasped her chin and turned her face to look at him. “You ever talk back to me, I will cut your lips off.” He shoved her off his lap, then snapped his fingers. “Vodka, then dance.”
“You heard, vodka, now!” Andre bellowed to Izzy. She hurried off to the bar. When she looked for Flynn, her stress level skyrocketed. He was nowhere to be found. Maddox had moved to a table closer to her side of the room. She saw Justin and a few others she was sure were undercover cops. Their presence should have reassured her, but unless they were right on her, Bushnik could break her neck with a snap of his fingers before any of them got close enough to stop him.
Izzy pulled it together. She could do this. Keep calm and carry on.
With her tray full, Izzy strode back to the table like she owned the place. “Good evening, gentlemen,” she said cheerfully, placing a chilled shot glass in front of each of them, “Welcome to Surf’s Up, where for a dollar, the tits always shine.” Grasping the bottle of subzero vodka from her tray, Izzy filled each glass, starting with Bushnik, then poured one for herself. Grasping it, she raised it and said, “Выпьем за то, чтобы у нас всегда был повод для праздника!”
The shocked look on the men’s faces was priceless. “What?” she said, “You can’t toast to more reasons to party?”
Bushnik laughed heartily and threw back his shot, then slammed his glass down, calling for another round. Izzy poured several more rounds before she picked up her tray and started to move away from the table.
Andre grabbed her arm and yanked her toward him. “Where you go?”
“I have others tables to serve.”
“Only one table you serve tonight. Time for dance.”
“Get someone else,” she said, looking around the room for help.
“You do it now or I break arm.”
She wasn’t going to do it. Not again. Not even for Alex.
“Please, Andre, ask someone else.”
“Miroslav want you and only you.”
“I don’t want to,” she said her voice higher now, catching the attention of other tables.
“Boss say give guest whatever guest want. He want you, I give you.”
“I’m not for sale, Andre,” she said, not backing down. She wouldn’t get up on the table and strip.
His hand squeezed her arm tighter and twisted. “You are if I say so.”
“Andre, you’re hurting me!” she cried.
“Take your hand off her.” It was Flynn.
Izzy bit back a cry of surprise. Flynn was going to blow her cover and his!
All of her work, all of her plans would be for nothing. Alex would die if she wasn’t dead already.
“I’m okay,” she said to him, moving into Andre.
Izzy’s next words lodged in her throat when she looked up into a pair of murderous blue eyes. There was no doubt in her that if Andre didn’t release her, Flynn was going to kill him.
“Butt out, cop,” Andre said, turning to Flynn, taking her arm with him.
In a lightning quick move, Flynn jabbed his fist up into Andre’s throat. The effect was immediate. Andre released her arm and grabbed for his throat as he fought for breath.
In the next instant, with an absurd amount of force, Flynn brought his elbow around and slammed it hard into Andre’s solar plexus, dropping him to his knees.
The table of Russians behind her stood, nearly turning the table over with their zeal to get to Flynn. He pulled Izzy behind him as he took a step toward them. “Her shift’s over,” Flynn bit out. Grasping her hand, he pulled her away from the writhing giant and the table of pissed-off Russians, through the front door of the club where Maddox stood waiting.
Tightening his grip, Flynn led her around the back of the building, stopping beneath a security light. Gently, he took her chin in his hand and lifted it for a better look. He brushed his thumb across her split bottom lip. As light as his touch was, it smarted. She winced. “When this is all over, I’m going to kill him for that,” he said roughly.
Without another word, Flynn handed her off to Maddox, who had followed them, then strode from the parking lot.
“I need to get my things,” Izzy said, shaking as she watched the rigid line of Flynn’s back and the long angry strides that took him farther away from her.
“Let’s get in and out before the giant and those goons come looking for you.”
“Is Andre going to be okay?” she asked, wondering why she cared. Andre had showed his hand. And it was ugly.
"His pride is going to suffer the most,” Maddox said, following her into the back door of the club.
Unseen, Izzy slipped into her dressing room.
As she assumed, Andre was nowhere to be found; luckily, neither were Bushnik’s men. She didn’t bother changing; she just grabbed her bag and headed back outside with Maddox and hurried down the street with him, her heart pounding a mile a minute.
Once they were safely crossing the bridge back to Oakland, Maddox reached over and grabbed her cold hands. “You okay?”
“Yes. No. I think so.”
“You did great, I’m just sorry we didn’t get the bug planted.”
Izzy grinned. “What makes you think I didn’t plant it?”
Maddox looked over at her. “Did you?”
“Of course I did. When I pretended to stumble I slipped it in to his pants pocket.”
“Why didn’t you say something!” Maddox quickly called in to his task force confirming the device had been activated and was receiving properly.
“Hot damn,” Maddox whooped, “we’re already receiving intel.” When he hit the ‘End’ button, he grinned widely. “You were pretty amazing in there, yucking it up with those guys.”
Maddox’s excitement calmed her nerves a little. “I was scared to death. I just wish Flynn hadn’t had to step in. Going back with the thumb drive will be hard.”
“Flynn did what needed to be done. If it hadn’t been him, it would have been me. There’s no getting around what was out of our control. Andre would have broken your arm unless you climbed up on that table.”
“Will I have to go back?”
Maddox nodded. “I don’t think what happened tonight is a deal breaker for you and Andre. If anything, he’ll have a hard-on for Flynn’s takedown. With the video, that’s a guarantee.” He smiled, though it wasn’t a happy one. “It’ll all come down to how you sell it, Isadora.”
Chapter Thirty-two
Two hours later, after Maddox had walked her to her room and instructed her not to open the door for anyone except him, Izzy managed to get a handle on her nerves. Well, as much as one whose life was completely turned upside down and inside out could. Still jumpy, she hopped into the shower, wondering if they had been followed back to the hotel and if her life would ever go back to its pre-Surf’s Up, boring normal.
Just as Izzy stepped out of the shower there was a knock on her hotel door. Stifling a cry of surprise, she stiffened, standing silent, afraid if she moved, whoever was at the door would kick the door down and come after her. Her cell phone was in the bedroom. It was almost three in the morning and the person knocking on her door had to be up to no good.
Only thing to do was get her phone, call Maddox and lock herself in the bathroom until he got to her.
Tiptoeing to the nightstand, she grabbed her phone.
“Open the door.”
Her heart thudded and she nearly dropped the phone as if it was a hot coal.