“Already done.” Country shook his head. “Fire’s out, but we’ve got ourselves one helluva mess.”
Widow and I followed him towards the hallway where the guest bathrooms used to be, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was nothing left, just a gaping fucking hole. Brick and splintered wood were strewn all over the floor, while blackened char and extinguisher residue marked what remained of the walls. Widow looked around in awe. “Damn.”
“I told ya.” Country looked over at me. “You think someone planted a fucking bomb in here?”
“Certainly looks that way, but we won’t know for sure until we start sorting through all this shit. For now, that’s gonna have to wait.” I took a step back. “We need to find out if anyone else is hurt.”
The words had barely left my mouth when Candy and Misty, two of our strippers, came rushing over to us. They’d changed out of their skimpy dance numbers and were now wearing jeans, and they both looked utterly distraught as they surveyed all the wreckage.
Candy’s mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened in horror as she gasped. “Oh, my God! What happened?”
“No idea. We’re still trying to figure it out,” I answered. “You girls okay?”
“Yeah, we’re good.” Candy winced when she saw that we were covered in dust and blood. “What about you guys?”
“We’re fine. Just a few scratches.” Widow glanced over his shoulder as he asked, “Anyone else still in the dressing rooms?”
Candy shook her head. “No, it’s just us. Everyone else had already gone home for the night.”
“Good.” Knowing time wasn’t on our side, Widow ordered, “You two best do the same.”
“You sure?” Misty asked. “You don’t need a hand with anything?”
“No, we got it covered. You girls get out of here.”
Misty nodded, and then she and Candy slipped out the back door. As soon as it closed behind them, Widow announced, “It won’t be long before the fire department and cops show up, and we need to make sure all our goods have been secured and get ourselves cleaned up.”
Country and I agreed, then followed him down to Menace’s office.
When we walked in, we were all relieved that there appeared to be no damage to the strip club’s main office. Widow walked over, and a slight groan slipped through his lips as he knelt down next to the vault that was hidden beneath the subfloor. When he saw that the latch was still secured and well-concealed, he turned back to us. “Looks like we’re good.”
Knowing time wasn’t on our side, we each stepped into the bathroom and took a moment to clean ourselves up before the cops showed up. Country had just finished washing up when he asked, “What the fuck do you think this shit was all about? Some retaliation bullshit or—”
“No need in wasting time with fucking guessing games.” I knew Country was just as concerned as Widow and me, but I’d learned a long time ago that without cold, hard facts, we got nothing. I motioned my hand towards the camera mounted in the hallway and said, “If someone is behind this, Menace should see something on the security feed.”
Menace was the club’s computer hacker. He was in charge of handling all our security needs at both our strip clubs and the clubhouse. The guy had a real knack for unearthing shit that no one else could, and I had no doubt if there was something to be found on our security feed, he would find it.
The sound of sirens drawing closer brought an immediate end to our conversation. Widow grumbled in annoyance, then turned to me. “Country and I will deal with the cops. You call Viper and let him know what’s going down.”
“And what exactly am I supposed to tell him?” I wasn’t looking forward to talking to Viper. Our president had high expectations and would have questions about what had happened—questions I couldn’t begin to answer. I flung my hand down the hallway. “’Cause I got no fucking clue what the fuck happened. None of us do.”
“Tell him that half our goddamn strip club has just been blown to shit, and we need him to get his ass over here.” Before he and Country headed out of the room, Widow shook his head and grumbled, “Yeah, tell him that.”
Once they were gone, I did as I was told and pulled out my burner to call Viper. I dialed his number, and it had barely started ringing when he answered, “What the fuck is going on over there?”
“No idea, Prez. There’s been some kind of explosion.”
“Yeah, Menace and I just saw it on the security cameras,” Viper replied, his voice sounding troubled. “Any idea what caused it?”
“We’re still trying to figure that out.” Dread washed over me as I added, “The cops just showed.”
“Yeah, I didn’t figure it’d take ‘em long,” he answered, annoyed. “We’ll be there in five.”
“And the cops?”
“Just keep ’em busy until we get there.”
“We’ll do what we can.”