11
“Sit!” he admonished, pointing at the spot next to where he was sitting.
His gruff voice startled her, and she jumped slightly. Isis hesitantly did as she was told. That was her way — following the rules. It was like her drug. She would never admit to him, but it was strangely arousing. Her head was spinning and didn’t know how to get out of this or if she even wanted to. She wanted far away from Gage, her handsome tormentor. Or did she?
Memories of bullies as a child flashed through her mind, mixed amongst a grim past filled with broken relationships. It all seemed too familiar. Confusion roared within her. Was this like when she was a child on the playground or was this the secret sexual urge for domination that she had hidden for so long?
Regardless of her inner conflict, she hated strip clubs. She had only been to one that her ex-boyfriend forced her to attend to embarrass her. The same reaction of her staring at the floor the whole evening was all too familiar, even a little frightening. It wasn’t the women. It was being outnumbered by men, and so many of them were watching her like a piece of meat dangling in front of a hungry dog.
She felt Gage swirl his fingers in the back of her hair as he sat beside her. His other hand rested on her thigh. His touch repulsed her, mixed with the thought of sexual conquest that surely was surrounding her in that club. She cringed at the thought of how many men before Gage had touched the woman who was dancing for him now. Here he was, touching Isis the same way. This was something she was not accustomed to, and the turmoil built within her.
Isis tried to wriggle from Gage’s grip as the feeling of being closed-in heightened her anxiety, but he pulled her closer. There was no escape now. Gage waved two of the girls back and motioned them to dance for Isis.
“Ladies, our guest just had her first appearance on IWX. Why don’t you show her some moves? She’s a dancer herself. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”
He ran his fingers through the side of her hair, and she pulled away, eyes wide, looking at him in a panic. Her years of struggling with a phobia of being trapped fell on her like a ton of bricks.
Jacob noticed her sudden look of terror. He felt bad for her, but if he crossed Gage, he knew he would catch hell for it later. He was Gage’s mentor, but Gage was twice his size. He couldn’t fight him if he tried.
“No, please. I’m fine.” In a small, shy voice, she pleaded as she tried to push them aside.
As they danced for her, one girl got on top of Isis, giving a lap dance. Her crotch grinding and hands rubbing over Isis’s body.
“No. Please. I don’t like this.”
Isis felt more trapped as panic set in. She pulled back, trying to move the girl’s hand away. Gage put his arm around her, almost holding her in her spot with a maniacal grin on his face.
“It’s okay, ladies. Keep dancing. It’s her first lap dance from someone else. She’s a little shy, is all. Come on, Isis. It’s just dancing. This is how you do it, right? Maybe you can offer me one later tonight in my hotel room,” Gage teased, holding her tight.
“STOP! Please... I don’t want this!” Isis jumped up, throwing the girl off her.
The girl fell with a thud on the floor, cursing at Isis as she ran from the building. Drake saw the entire ordeal and went after her. He had always been nice to her since they met a year before at the convention. Drake saw her as a friend and was not okay with Gage’s attitude.
“Gage! Bro! What the hell was that? Get your shit together,” Drake yelled as he headed out to find her.
Jacob asked the girls to leave, disappointed in his protege’s behavior. He went and sat by Gage, trying to give him that fatherly support he always had.
“What are you doing? You have that girl scared to death. Can’t you see she doesn’t like it here? Let’s just go somewhere else.”
“No, Jacob. If she wants to hang out with us, she needs to be one of us.” With irritation, Gage’s lips pressed firmly, watching a dancer across the room while he drank from his champagne flute.
“We never even come to strip clubs. We hang out in classier places than this. Why are you treating her this way? This isn’t like you, champ. Isis ran out of here in tears, and not for the first time tonight.”
Jacob looked questioningly at his friend, trying to get some answers to this madness. He knew Gage was not like this. Something was wrong, and he needed to figure it out before someone got hurt.
“She needs to learn who’s in charge, Jacob.” Gage motioned for a stripper to come over, and she sat on his lap once more.
“Isis is not the kind of girl who regulars in a place like this. You know that. We’ve heard Cyrus gush over her for years. She doesn’t belong here.”
“She sure as hell looked like it earlier, didn’t she? She looks like she spends a lot of time working a pole. Do me a solid. Why don’t you have a talk with her about dressing a little classier? I don’t appreciate being escorted to the ring by a whore,” Gage said with a slight drunken slur in his voice.
Jacob sat watching Gage in stunned disapproval, not sure what to say or do. Gage stood and paid the girls to take him to the champagne room as if he didn’t care one bit about what his mentor thought. He instructed Jacob to send Isis to the room when she returned.
“Gage, I won’t do that. You’ve done enough to upset her tonight. I think this evening is over. We’ll see you tomorrow. You’re usually the one to tell me this. Sober up. You’re drunk. We’re done here.”
Jacob left Gage standing there with a woman pawing at him. Gage looked at the woman in disgust, mostly disgusted with himself. He pushed her lightly away and ran his hands over his face. Frustrated with his actions, he followed his mentor out of the club. He knew Jacob was right. This was not who he was. Gage wasn’t interested in the stripper, to begin with.
“Fine! Let’s go.”
***
In the limo, Isis huddled in Drake’s arms, crying so hard she couldn’t catch her breath. Sucking air, she tried to catch any wind that would enter her lungs as she sobbed uncontrollably. No one had ever made her feel so dirty.
Gage just sat looking out the window, rubbing his lip, thinking about what he had done. Trying to block out Isis’ sobs coming from across the car, he stewed, thinking that he was truly becoming the monster everyone thought he was.
“I… I... hate you.” She finally got out from the sobbing.
He looked over at her long enough to see her tear-stained face and turned back to the window. Who was he? He didn’t know. He had been losing control for a while now. He couldn’t grasp why he was treating an innocent woman this way.
He remembered years ago his friend Wraith telling him Isis was his biggest fan. He hated himself. He didn’t blame her for hating him, too. The alcohol, women, and parties were not who he was. Before his divorce, he never drank and focused on fitness and a healthy lifestyle. Now he was a train wreck controlled by anger.
Gage couldn’t deny that something about Isis intrigued and infuriated him all at the same time. Who was this rookie to talk to him like she did? She needed to learn respect. He was a legend in his world. He didn’t care who her family was. She was still just the new kid on the block. She needed to pay her dues, just like he did for years. Isis did this to herself by pushing her way into his life. He didn’t even have any say in it. She was just going to learn to roll with the punches on his terms.
Isis laid her head on Drake’s lap, covering her face with her hands.
“He hates me. Why doesn’t he just send me home or tell Mr. Preston it will not work?” she thought.
She could talk to Cyrus or Wraith, but it would cause problems for them with Gage, and they respected him. Who was this man? She always heard good things about him in the past. Until the Justice faction started, people knew him to be a good person. He got sucked up into the bachelor lifestyle and it was turning him into a heartless beast.
They reached the hotel and Isis quickly got out of the car, grabbing her bags from the trunk to run inside. Facing him again would not happen tonight. She was too tired and humiliated to face any more of his torment.
