W A S T E D Y O U T H

“Two weeks?” She asked, “Two weeks?!” She added a bit louder, “You’ve been out of jail for two weeks and you’re already hanging around in a strip club? Jesus Christ, Riggs. That is not getting your life together. That’s wasting your time and money.” She hated how fragmented their relationship had become, but when he threw his life away for a fucking needle, he essentially threw his entire family away too. “Do mom and dad know you’re out?” She inquired with a shake of her head. Of course they didn’t. Her mom would have told her. Warned her. Prepared her for such an encounter.

Not wanting to create a scene in her place of employment, Kendall grabbed her brother’s elbow and led him outside. She’d never been so simultaneously elated and infuriated in all her life.  “Now, talk. Explain. Why are you here? Where I work?” She asked pointedly, only to lower her voice to a whisper when she noticed a few interlopers. “As their accountant.” Without giving him a second to breathe, Kendall went right for the heavy hitting questions, “Are you still using?” She inquired, not bothering to sugar coat things. “Let me see your arms.” She loathed how much distrust existed between them, predominantly on her end, but her brother had burned this bridge time and time again. 

Truth be told, she honestly didn’t know if she could go through them rebuilding their relationship only to once again lose him to the drugs. In fact, she was pretty sure they’d had this very same conversation in the past and it always led to disappointment. That being said, she couldn’t bring herself to walk away. “Show me your arms, Riggs..”

***

It shouldn’t have surprised Riggs how quickly Kendall pulled him away from the crowd to talk. There was so much between them that hadn’t been discussed, hadn’t said, and Kendall not losing a breath in venting her anger out wasn’t unwarranted. His face couldn’t hide the surprise that she worked her but softened as she explained it was the books. Riggs mentally kicked himself that his second thought was how much of valuable asset she could end up being. If the cartel was funneling money into the club, it could establish a trail. But Kendall wasn’t an informant. She was his little sister and the anger she had at him was stewing and justified.

It stung how much she distrusted him for a faked drug addiction. That was the cost of his choice. His own family couldn’t trust him. They had made the addiction real to the public eye. It had been painful, sticking needles in his body over and over to convince everyone that Riggs was falling into a hole. Lifting his arms, he rolled his sleeves and showed the scars, clearly old. “I’ve been clean almost three years. Detox in prison sucks K.” There was a laugh, almost automatic. Maybe it wasn’t time for jokes. “I’m working the program. I’m clean. And I’m not going back.” It was a promise that was easy to make for Riggs, seeing as his entire addiction was faked for the sake of appearances. “How’d you end here?” The question was loaded, almost pleading for an answer that told him his sister wasn’t connected to some sort of cartel and drug operation. Looking around, realizing where they were, Riggs knew this wasn’t the question he wanted to ask. “Can we go somewhere else? Talk just not here?”

With a faint smile adorning her lips, Serena looked over at the man and chuckled, “Well, if it makes you feel any better, this is my first time buying a man in a strip club a drink. So look at that. We get to be each other’s firsts.” After swiveling in her seat, the red head crossed her long legs and extended her hand, “I’m Serena by the way and yes, this is my first official visit to a strip club. The last time I came here, I was brought under false pretenses. Meaning, my male colleagues chose the venue. She paused momentarily to look between him and the bartender. “Oh sorry. I suppose we should get you his drink order, so you can be on your merry little way.” Serena was a bitch and not only knew it, but embraced it. Confidence in her world was the key to success. Returning her attention to the gorgeous male specimen sitting beside her, the lawyer asked with a lick of her lips, “so, what will it be? A Suck, Bang and Blow? Liquid Viagra? Royal Fuck or the old classic, Sex on the beach?”

***

There was an immediate low chuckle escaping from Riggs throat as his new companion spoke so freely. At least it was. first for both of them. As soon as she swiveled, Riggs’ perked an eyebrow, elbow on the bar and his head turned. That was the kind of cocky and confident move Riggs remember guys doing when trying for the hot girl. It was almost as though he was the hot girl right now and that alone intrigued him. He mimicked her movement as the bartender waited, glancing between himself and Serena. Turning his head, Riggs chuckled again as his eyes met the bartender. “Just a Jack and Ginger.” Turning back to Serena, Riggs studied her for a moment, trying to get a read and understanding. “I’m not a frilly guy.” He finally said, referencing back to the rather lewd drink suggestions. “Riggs. And yes, that’s my actual God given name from my Mama.” His head cocked to the side, an amused smile on his lips as he looked over Serena. In that moment, Riggs knew there was no way to really figure out what kind of woman she was. An enigma was maybe the best word. “You seem to have a story about this strip club,” Riggs said, emphasizing the strip, “Wanna share with a stranger whose not so much a stranger anymore?”

Serena couldn’t believe she was standing in the middle of the strip club.  The very place she loathed with a passion. However, unlike the needy patrons gawking at the dancers, the red head was there for one reason and one reason only. To find her sister. Despite their previous club encounter, Serena wasn’t there to fight or argue. She had no intention of being judgmental, in fact, her visit was to be completely friendly in nature. Truth be told, the attorney missed her little sister and wanted to surprise her by showing her approval of sorts. Sadly, even after a length survey of the venue, she didn’t see Jessie anywhere. With a soft grumble, she turned to leave when she spotted probably one of the sexiest men she’d ever laid eyes on. Even though the idea of him or men in general wasting their time ogling and objectifying women disgusted her, she found herself sauntering in his direction. He had a dangerous look about him and damn, those fucking eyes. He could probably get her to cum with a solitary look. Once she made her way over to him, she sat down on the seat next to him and ordered a drink, but before the bartender could fill it, announced, “And this gentleman’s next drink is on me.” 

@riggsxc​

It still felt strange to Riggs that he could sit so freely in a place like the club and not worry for his life. It was an assignment, and while the warden and a few others knew the truth that Riggs criminal history was just a fabrication, most did not. He was a prisoner and that life was his for three years. Yet now, on the outside, he had a certain degree of freedom again - as long as it didn’t affect his cover within the cartel. The club had people, and truthfully, Riggs had missed people in prison. Sitting at the bar, he still felt it strange that this was the place to be. People had all the freedom they wanted but knowing his own sister’s connection to the place, it felt strange to gawk at the women and men and hope for something more. He had glanced sideways as a woman took the open seat next to her, instantly draw in by the red hair. As she ordered his drink, a perplexed smile crossed Riggs lips. “Ain’t never had a lady buy me a drink before.” Riggs joked.

Kendall had just finished up for the day when she received a call regarding payroll. Knowing she’d be a while, the brunette texted her husband and slumped down in her seat. Finally, after a good hour on the phone and remotely going over excel spreadsheets, she hung up and once again prepared to leave. After shoving her lap top in her bag, the accountant grabbed her purse and headed towards the club exit. However, before she could get past security, she felt herself collide with a much larger individual.  With a heavy sigh (her day had sucked from the onset), she rubbed her nose and peered up at the man. Suddenly feeling like she’d seen a ghost, a very palpable one, Kendall sucked in a shaky breath and whispered, “Riggs? When did you get out and more importantly, what the hell are you doing here?” Last thing she needed was her druggie brother causing upheaval in her life. Again.

@riggsxc​

For three years, Riggs had willingly given up his freedom for the sake of a DEA operation. He’d let his family truly believe he was a disgraced ex-agent that got hooked on heroine. As difficult as it had been, Riggs tried to play the role and take the anger in stride. If anything went sideways, anything at all, his family would be in too much danger if they knew the truth. If anything happened to Kendall, to Meg, Riggs would have been unable to forgive him. So he dealt with the three years and kept his focus on the endgame - dismantling the cartel. Riggs had gotten in well enough on the inside that once he was out, there was an invitation to see if he could handle the work on the outside. So he lived this life now, a drug felon struggling for that fresh start while keeping a foot in the world he supposedly turn on. As often, Riggs was being taken around, shown the in’s and out’s of Vegas and where the crew preferred to spend their free time. Dark Secrets was the go to spot and Riggs was still trying to get his bearings around the place. It often seemed to be packed and it was no surprise that he ended up bumping into someone. What had to just be divine intervention was that the person he bumped into happened to be his own sister. 

Prison had done a number on their relationship. For Riggs, he was still ready to knock heads at the drop of a pin for Kendall or Meg. The lack of communication however had Riggs knowing that some of that trust had been destroyed. Riggs knew he couldn’t blame Kendall for that, he knew it was the sacrifice of his job. He could see in her face how shocked she was. It felt so strange and difficult to even find words. “Like two weeks ago.” Riggs mumbled, ducking his eyes. Three years and those were his first words? “I’m, uh, you know just trying to get my shit together.” This was too strange, too unwarranted. “I wrote.”

Autumn didn’t have a shoot today, so she thought that she would just stop by for a drink to get herself out of the house. She decided to walk because she didn’t want to waste gas when she wasn’t in a rush and only lived a few blocks away. She was about a block away when someone almost hit her while crossing the cross walk. People are so focused on themselves they don’t even pay any attention to what’s happening around them. When she walked into the club she watched a few guys toss their cans at the trash bin and leave them all over the floor when they missed. Feeling irritable, she kicked the cans back in their direction and picked up the recycling bin. “Someone could get hurt with all this trash on the floor, and it’s no one else’s job to pick them up for you. Act like fucking grown ups,” she said, before irronically tossing the empty bin into the middle of their group. That might not have been the most mature way to handle it, but it certainly wouldn’t be something they forgot. 

It was strange being back in the world. For the last three years, Riggs had surrendered his freedom for the sake of a high stakes risky DEA operation and spent that time in prison. It had paid off and on the inside, Riggs had worked his way into a cartel that had been operating out of Las Vegas. Still working his way to gaining trust of the higher up players had left Riggs with too much time. Some of the guys he had been running with had talked about a called Dark Secrets and spent their time. Figuring it was a good way to start scoping things out, Riggs had found himself in the club, keeping mostly to himself but being irritated by the large group of guys with little regard to everyone else. Riggs had been ready to stand up and say something when he was beat to it by a feisty blonde. Watching her tell them off brought a smirk to his face. Standing up from the bar and making his way to her, Riggs tapped her shoulder. “Can I just say that was impressive?”