Chapter 7
Red went into town the following evening. She knew where friends and acquaintances of Darius liked to hang out and since his club, SlaughterHouse had been closed down, there really was only one venue worth visiting.
The Late Lounge was a sublimely fashionable club; it was select and classy, unlike the majority of the other clubs in the town which catered to the less discerning drinking public. Where the other clubs sold alcohol hand-over-fist at bargain-booze prices almost, The Late Lounge sold Cristal and fine whisky to shrewd and sensitive palates and the restaurant downstairs was always full.
Though it was not necessary to entice people up to the club, the restaurant had a policy of complimentary free entry for selected and regular clientele. Red headed right to the restaurant.
The maître d' saw her as she arrived and smiled in greeting. “A table for two madam?” He asked. But his smile slipped a little as she shook her head and told him, “Just for one please.”
The smile returned as she passed him a note as his tip when he seated her at a good table, close enough to the bar to ensure speedy service and far enough away so that she was not disturbed by loud conversation.
Red ate her meal in peace and watched the room from her vantage point. She was tucked out of the way just enough so that she could see who arrived and left but was not immediately obvious to anyone not looking for her.
By the time she got to her coffee, she had seen a few Wolves that she had hoped to and a couple of others that she had not expected to see. The club upstairs was beginning to get lively and the music, though muted, was audible as the restaurant emptied and the ambient sounds diminished.
Red was not the last to leave and the maître d' was still attentive and he asked if she would care to be shown upstairs to the club. There was a door marked ‘Private’ and he opened it and waved her past the receptionist who smiled and nodded as she went up the stairs to The Late Lounge.
It was as though she had been wrapped in a blanket of sound. The music was louder as she climbed the stairs up to the club. She assumed that the acoustics were designed around the bend in the staircase because as she rounded the corner to make the last steps, that’s when the sound altered and it enveloped her.
She had wondered if her dress, a long and simple, but elegant cotton jersey gown was too dressy for the club but she found that she fitted right in. The ‘beautiful people’ were dressed in a wide and varied array of colours, fabrics and styles, but all were fashionable, classy, elegant and most importantly, the ‘In Crowd’.
The youthful and also beautiful members of staff were attentive and polite and when the owner appeared at the DJ box, to cheers and toasts from patrons around the room, she was surprised at how young he was. He worked the room well and it was obvious that the venue was not the only draw – one of the main attractions was the host and his own brand of entertainment.
Red sat at the bar and sipped her drink. She was mildly surprised when her elbow was nudged and the barman handed her a refill. “That is from the lady at the end of the bar.” He said, nodding towards a tall blonde woman who was standing with a group.
Red thanked him and raised her glass to the woman who nodded once and smiled. Red had no clue as to who she was, or if she had ever seen her before and from the distance, with other Wolf and not-Wolf milling around, she couldn’t get a fix on whether she was or wasn’t Wolf.
Red turned back to watch the dance floor.
“You’re Luke’s wife, aren’t you?” The woman had come to talk.
Red looked at her to see if she could gauge her angle and because she didn’t see any spark of jealousy or guile, she decided to answer. “Yes.”
“Is he here with you?”
“No, he’s away on business.” Red said and it was almost the truth.
“So while the cat’s away...”
Red smiled then, a sweet and amused turn of her lips and she looked at the woman. “Yes, something like that.”
“I’m Etienne, I’m pleased to meet you at last, Red.” She held out her hand to Red and she shook it and held it for a moment as she got the feel of the woman. She was definitely Wolf and not malicious – or not yet.
“How do you know Luke, Etienne?”
