Cactus Wren

Chapter Thirteen - New Information

The next few days were pretty quiet at the club. No new information came through about the girls, neither in conversation nor over the bugs we have in place. Now it's Friday night and Eddie received information late last night that Vega will be in VIP this evening with some business associates. I've just arrived at the club, dressed in my new favorite black, knee-high boots and my usual club uniform dress. I've got my tools tucked away in the leather boots hidden perfectly by all the straps and buckles.

When I arrived at the club, Angelica snubbed me again and passed me off, assigning me to the main floor. She'll be upstairs in VIP tonight, working with Jen, who I've only met a few times. I held my tongue, and an eye roll, when Angelica shooed me away with her hand, muttering to Jen in Spanish about "Stupid white girls".

Duke Harris has been everywhere tonight, I keep seeing him climbing the stairs up to VIP where Juan Vega arrived about an hour ago, just a few minutes after several shady business men arrived. Something big is going down tonight and I really need to get up there.

I've just dropped off a few beers to a couple of flirty guys in my section when I see Jen almost stumbling down the bottom of the stairs on her way down to refill the drinks for the guests up in VIP. I give the guys at my table a smile before I leave and walk calmly over to the bar, positioning myself next to her. She's breathing heavily and her usual caramel tanned skin has paled and is covered in a light sheen of sweat. She keeps rubbing her hand over her midsection and taking deep breathes through her nose.

"Jen? Are you doing okay?" I ask her. Her pale, honey brown eyes turn to me and seem wary when she sees who spoke to her. "I saw you stumble a little bit back there," I nod my head back toward the stairs, "Are you feeling alright?" She glances back toward the stairs and then back to me and shakes her head. I move a little closer and place my hand on her upper back. I bend my head down closer to her so not to be overheard by other staff. "Do you need some help? You look like you're about to pass out or puke or something." She hesitates for a beat but then nods. I quickly look over at the bartenders, who were still busy making everyone's order. When I've finally caught the bar manager's attention I signal my hand for five minutes and pointed to us both, he nodded to allow us a quick break. "Come on." I gently touch her elbow to turn her toward the employee hallway. She walks cautiously and breathes heavy through her nose and out of her mouth. I open the locker room door for her, ushering her in and quickly guide her to sit down while I check to see if we are alone. I grab some paper towels and dampen them with some cool water from the sink before returning. I place some of the paper towels on the back of her neck and she breathes a small sigh of relief.

"What's going on? Are you sick?" I ask her gently. I have my suspicions but this is something she needs to tell me herself. Her light brown eyes turn to me and I see them slightly watered and sad.

"I'm pregnant." she confesses in a small voice. "I just found out yesterday. I don't know how I'm going to tell my boyfriend." Her words stumble out and then she presses the rest of the paper towels against her mouth as if she's keeping the rest of her words in. I rub my hand up and down her back gently.

"Is it the nausea? Is it hitting you pretty hard?" I ask with understanding. She nods. "Have you eaten anything?"

"I can only keep crackers down." She tells me.

"Have you had anything to drink lately? Dehydration can make it worse." I tell her and she shakes her head and looks back down to her hands, taking a deep breath in to try to ease her nausea. "Let me get you something, it might help." I offer. When I go to stand she reaches out with her small hand and grabs my arm gently. I stop my movements and look back at her curiously.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" She asks, almost suspiciously. "Angelica says you're usually a bitch." She tells me but she seems to blush slightly at the last part making me laugh.