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We were settled in at our fourth "strip club" I’d thought we’d reached the bottoo I’d been overly optiet worse Even the diuise that the place was filthy The "dancers" had a desperation about them, the kind of fear you could almost smell in the air Their bodies were scrawny, except for one or tho’d invested in the kind of plastic surgery that ure seem positively understated None of them could afford even the cheapest beauty charically, so all they had to as their own assets, andThey looked rough

The the to do with "pussycats" I was able to deduce this not only because of the sign out front but also because the dancers wore cat ear headbands The headbands were nearly their entire costus were a forh for one of the private rooal as hell, of course, but I suppose that was the point The prince was slu the skankiest spots in the area Doing a damned fine job of it, too

Honestly, were I hi antibiotic-resistant Of course he was too far gone to think of that sort of thing He’d been i various substances to excess since before I ca ht hiring one anywhere he was likely to meet paparazzi So th of my reputation Whatever If the opportunity ca no

Bob was the only other guard who showed noredas they did their jobs Unfortunately, only one was So, three of us stood alert for danger, ignoring as going on behind us Bob was to est, blackest man I’d ever seen, with skin like polished ebony He was built like a refrigerator--an oversized, industrial-style refrigerator Huge and square as he was, you would’ve expected hirace of a hunting cat I’d seen it when one of the bouncersspeed and utter ruthlessness

I didn’t know his naain Wouldn’t break uard" was practically useless At the prince’s deital cah that he’d acceded to the prince’s wishes Stupid If anything rong, he’d be shit out of luck The rest of us insisted on actually doing our job At least as well as we could under the circumstances

An attorney once told me that my business contract had more restrictive clauses than some major motion picture deals I told hihness died of a self-induced overdose, I wasn’t liable If he caught AIDS, herpes, or anything else, I wasn’t liable I protected him from violence Period End of story My own morals would probably require me to haul his ass to the hospital if his stupidity made it necessary, but I didn’t expect it to happen He could function even after so cocktails, so he must have years of self-abuse under his belt

I heard sole movement the three of us turned to face the possible threat Bob shifted his weight, his hand hovering near the butt of his weapon

The h the door with a bouncer at his heels They ca the door behind them with a level of controlled panic that h looking He had tiny, shrewd eyes and a sharp nose But by far the roup of theled left ear down to and across his neck It looked as if someone had tried to slit his throat with a beer bottle or claws

He slid home the bolts and turned to face us He didn’t look alarmed or afraid, more pissed At his nod the bouncer crossed the room to a second door and started to use keys on a number of locks I assumed the door led outside

"The cops are out front" The et out of here"

A couple of the girls shrieked and I saw the flash of naked flesh in my peripheral vision as they scurried out fro on the nearest discarded undies

"I have diplomatic immunity" The prince’s words were slurred, but there was notone

It occurred to ive the prince discretion--discretion that would be ruined if he got caught, immunity or no, but er was unimpressed "Well, I don’t, asshole And I don’t need the kind of ht here," he snarled, "so get the fuck out" He pointed at the door The bouncer opened it on cue A diht overhead revealed a narrow, filthy alley A strong wind blew through the door, hard and cold The stench it brought with it was horrific, even at this distance