Betrayed: Breaking the Darkness Series Book Two

by Felicia Starr

"I wish it was more, I am hoping to find out when we can get back into the office to remediate the issues. I have contacted the contractor you suggested and have him on standby to come start the work." She looked at me. "So I don't mean to be rude, but who exactly are you?" She addressed me in a way that sounded like she was trying to protect Graven from me.

  "I am- I will be--"

  "What she is trying to say is that she will be working here. I need you to help me get her into a position here that is easy enough for her to start immediately. She has no experience. Just so you know, Kasha will be staying with me as well.

  "There will be extra eyes on things around here. We will talk about it later, but make sure that everyone is at his or her best."

  "Whatever you need, sir, I am here at your service. Did you have an idea about what position she might qualify for?" Maritza stood with her back to me while she spoke to Graven.

  "She is standing right here. My name is Kasha." I really hated it when someone talked about me as if I wasn't in the room with them. It was rude.

  "Whatever you ladies need to do to figure it out. I need to have a meeting with the bartenders. and I also have a meeting with Mayson. Has he arrived yet?"

  "No, your cousin called and said that he had something come up and he would reach out to you as soon as he could."

  "Well that takes care of that. I will be back in a little bit. Maybe you can show Kasha around and see what would be a good fit for her. It is imperative that she is provided with a suitable job." Graven gave her a hard look before leaving the storeroom.

  "Ok, sweetie, let's walk and talk, shall we?" Maritza said as if there was never an awkward moment. "Have you ever worked in a club before?"

  "No, I worked at the book store at my college. So I do have retail customer service type experience." My response was less than mature and professional. I bit my lip.

  "Well, we don't have time for customer service here. We have one opportunity to serve our clientele and it has to be perfect the first time. We cater to a lot of different types of people, if you know what I mean." She probed me, fishing to see if I knew about this supernatural world they belonged to or if I was just a naive human girl. I guess I was a little bit of both.

  "I do. So how do you know how to cater to the individual, if so many different types of people come here?" I asked her.

  "We will go over all of that. It usually takes a few weeks for us to train new employees, no matter what their position. I am sure that Graven will fill me in on what he wants me to do with you. Let's just try to get you acquainted with the facility and our daily routine so that you can get a feel for what you think you would be good at, or what I think you would be good at."

  "Ok, sounds good to me. How long have you worked for Graven?" I asked her.

  "He is the only employer I have ever had. It feels like forever." She put her clipboard down on the desk.

  "So right now we are in the liquor room. The only people that have keys to this room are Graven, Deen, Tracey, and myself. Inventory is taken every night at the end of shift and in the morning when we come in. The liquor is where we make our money. All the employees are taken care of very well here. Although they should not be tempted to steal, it is only natural for someone to think they are owed more. Graven has eyes everywhere in this building and does not tolerate funny business.

  "Right now I am having extra cameras installed in here because more staff will be in and out if Graven needs to meet with them. All the bartenders will bring their drawers in here to be counted at the end of the night.

  "You saw the main dance floor, but let me show you around the rest of that level. If you have any questions about anything, let me know." Maritza retrieved her cell phone and the clip board before they left the storeroom.

  "Ok, so far I am just soaking it all in," I replied and followed her out to the staircase.

  We went back to the main level and Maritza showed me where each bar was located and explained how many bartenders were staffed at each location. She said that there were two bar backs on each night; they rotated between each bar to make sure that everything was stocked.

  Of course she showed me where all the restrooms were located. No matter what position I took on at the club, I would need to direct someone to the restrooms.

  "I love what you did to this tee shirt," Maritza pointed to my shirt.

  "Oh thanks, I didn't have anything to wear and I didn't want to come here looking like I was swimming in someone else's shirt. I kind of lost all my belongings." I figured I would throw that out there as an excuse for my attire.

  "Well it looks awesome. We have a strict dress code here...look hot. The staff is color coded for their position, it helps us spot who is doing what in the middle of the night when the place is packed," Maritza explained.

  "Graven and I have discussed wanting some of the staff to wear clothing labeled with the company name, but did not want them to look casual. This is an upscale club and we cater to some elite clientele. But I think we could maybe do something with that look. Maybe one day we can get together to experiment with some different types of shirts and materials? See that, we found something for you to do."

  "Yeah, that could be fun. I like to get creative with recycling things, that is how I learned to transform thrift shop finds that I liked to fit me. I was on a college budget of next to nothing, I preferred to spend my money on food and art supplies rather than clothes."

  "I can see that by your shoes. Do you have any nice boots or pumps to wear when you are working?"

  "I don't have anything right now. There was an incident at my house; I am staying with Graven temporarily. I was planning on shopping tomorrow afternoon."

  "Great. I will meet you at the plaza at eleven a.m. We will shop together; I can help you pick out some things to wear for work. Maybe we can get some supplies for our shirt experiment."

  "Ok, I will ask Graven to drop me off, he said he would take me."

  "Let's go up to the catwalk. There is a great view of the club from up there. We have some VIP seating and private rooms available, for a price of course."

  We continued to talk as we walked up a flight of stairs located inside the club, different from the stairs that were behind the doors for the employees to get around the building.

  The catwalk was cool and at either end there were rooms that they called VIP boxes. The rooms were made of frosted glass. You could see out, but all you could see if you were looking in was the silhouette of the people behind the walls.

  "These rooms are very expensive. Before anything else, it is a ten thousand dollar deposit. They then need to pay for their host or hostesses. We require a minimum of two hosts per room; they can have up to five hosts. Each host is two grand and that money is split with the house. The hosts also get tipped at the end of the night. There are drink and food packages that guests can choose from.

  "We do not serve food anywhere else in the club. The food is ordered ahead of time from an exclusive caterer. I have ten hosts on staff including myself. I decide who will suit the client's needs. Some of our clientele can be very demanding and require a certain type of hospitality.

  "I am the only person in charge of booking private parties. I do have two recruiters that work for me. Actually, I think that Graven's brother is sending over a new one for me later today. We need to start training new staff for the opening of the new club. It might be a month away, but we want a full staff ready to go once the doors are ready to open. So what do you think so far?"

  "It is a little bit overwhelming. I am not sure where I would fit. I didn't realize how much went into operating this kind of an establishment, and I'm sure you have only just touched on the surface." I rubbed my hands together.

  "Maybe we can just have you follow a few different people for a few nights and see where things go. We are only open on Friday and Saturday. The rest of the week we only open for special events or private functions. Believe it or not we have had a few weddings here."

  "That
was probably pretty cool."

  "It was actually. Come on, I can introduce you to a few more people when we get downstairs."

  We got back to the main bar and Graven was standing there chatting with Deen and Tracey. As awful as my life had been over the past few weeks, I felt lucky that I got to go home with one of the most handsome men I ever laid eyes on and he had vowed to be my personal body guard. We might not have been a real couple, but it was a tad bit fun having people think we were.

  The front doors to the club opened and in walked a familiar face. He was tall and built like a farm boy. He looked like he had plenty of muscle hiding under a layer of baby fat. His sandy brown hair was combed over to the side and he was wearing a pair of aviators. His cheap suit gave him away as a cop the second he walked in.

  I was walking with Maritza and she stopped dead in her tracks when he walked in. I could feel the shift in her energy. I had never noticed being able to feel someone's mood shift like that before.

  I wondered if it had something to do with whatever supernatural creature or powers she maybe had, or if I was developing a new one of my own. Either way, I felt her heart skip a beat and start to flutter as he approached her.

  He walked strong across the room. Even though we all stopped and watched him, our stares did not seem to bother him.

  "How are you today, Miss Maritza? Am I early?"

  "Hmm... Um no, I don't think so." Maritza looked down at a tiny wristlet watch on her arm. "Right on time, actually it is I who is running late. I had a last minute obligation. If you could give me a few minutes to finish up here I can meet you upstairs. If you wouldn't mind, please just wait on one of the sofas. I prefer we go into the office together."

  "That works for me." With his sunglasses still in hand he waved at the rest of the people in the room. We all watched him walk up to the catwalk.

  "Is that your boyfriend?" I asked Maritza, even though I knew exactly who that was.

  "No, he is a detective. We had a fire and someone got hurt in the fire. He has been here every day since, investigating." Maritza fumbled a little with her phone and clipboard.

  "Oh no. I hope it wasn't serious." I feigned a surprised expression.

  "Graven can fill you in. I almost forgot I had an appointment with Ryan, I mean Detective Ryan at six p.m. I will call Graven later to inform him on how it goes and I will see you tomorrow morning?"

  "Yes, I am looking forward to it." That was not completely true, I hated shopping, but it would be the most normal thing I had done in a quite a while. Graven said he was going to take me shopping, I guess we could all go together or Graven could just drop me off.

  "Great. I will do whatever Graven needs me to do to help you out, we will get you squared away." Maritza walked quickly toward the stairs. I had the feeling she wanted to run, but didn't. I watched as she fixed her hair and rubbed her lips together as she walked.

  I finished the few steps to the bar on my own to rejoin Graven.

  "How did things go with Maritza?" Graven asked me. He was leaning on one elbow on the bar. He always looked like he was posing for a picture.

  "Oh, great. She showed me the club and explained a bunch of stuff."

  "Did you guys come up with a plan?" he asked me.

  "Two actually."

  Graven stood up straight. "Deen, are we good?"

  Deen put up a fist and they punched each other's fists. "All set. Tracy and I will take care of everything. I will send you all the reports in the morning. See you tomorrow?"

  "We will see you then." Graven waved to Tracy who was counting money for the drawers at the other end of the bar.

  Graven tapped me on the elbow. "Let's hit the road."

  We were about to walk out the side door to the back alley when we almost got knocked over by the door flying open in front of us.

  A young man that looked like he was around nineteen years old ran right into Graven. It was like he hit a brick wall and almost fell back on his rear.

  "Yo, bro!" the kid said to Graven.

  "Yo, bro? Who exactly are you?" Graven almost growled.

  I could see the muscles across his back tighten. He looked like he was looking right through the kid.

  "I'm Nate who are you?" This kid had a real attitude problem.

  "I own this place, what are you doing in here, kid?"

  "Are you Graven?"

  "Indeed I am.

  "Oh cool, your brother told me to come here for a job. He said that you were looking for a promoter. I talked to some chick earlier, she said to be here after five to talk to her." He shoved his hands in his way too skinny black jeans.

  "Well Maritza is in a meeting right now. My brother sent you here?"

  "That's right dude." Nate played with his mess of black hair.

  "I am going to tell you this once and only once. If you want to work here, you will respect me and every person that walks in and out of this club. Don't call me dude or bro. I have a zero tolerance policy. I don't give second chances. Pull your pants up and show some respect."

  "Deen!" Graven shouted. "This kid is here to interview with Maritza to be a club promoter. Can you screen him and have him fill out some paperwork while he waits for her to finish her meeting with the cop?"

  "You got it, boss," Deen called back.

  Chapter Seven

  AS SOON AS WE GOT in the truck, Graven's phone rang. "Sorry I have to take this." Graven answered the phone, "Hey what's up?"

  "Seriously? We need to go tonight."

  "I really don't love the idea of both of us not being at the club."

  It was always frustrating listening to one side of a conversation. I resisted the urge to ask him who he was talking to.

  "Kasha is going to have to come with us. It will give us an opportunity to talk about a few things. How did things go with the cop?"

  "I know his name is Ryan, I will refer to him as the cop. You should too. Careful, if I didn't know any better I would think you are sweet on him."

  "Ok, we are going back to the house. We will meet you at The Bell."

  "Sorry about that. That was Maritza. Something has come up with the club that we are trying to open in Santa Fe. We are going to have to take a trip tonight."

  "We are going to Santa Fe, tonight? I am going to your meeting with you? Are we staying there tonight then?" Santa Fe? I wasn't sure how I felt about going back.

  "Slow down. Yes, we will go there tonight. We can stay there if you like. It won't be a problem for me to arrange a suite for us."

  "I forgot to tell you, Maritza and I were supposed to go shopping tomorrow. Maybe we can go while we are there. I don't have any clothes to wear at the club or anywhere else for that matter. I can't go with you to a meeting dressed like this."

  "We can plan a shopping trip while we are there tomorrow, that will be acceptable. You told me the two of you came up with two plans, was that one of them?"

  "Yes, the other was that she wanted me to follow some people at the club to see what would be a good fit for me. She wanted me to see what I thought I could do there ."

  "I want you following Maritza. If I am not around you can trust her. There is no one I trust as much as I trust her. Not even my brother."

  I noticed the way his knuckles whitened as he gripped at the steering wheel. "Ok, she said she has worked for you for a long time." I guess you get to know each other when you work so closely together. I wondered if they had ever dated. I didn't get that vibe, but they were both so good looking, it wouldn't have surprised me.

  "Yes, she has been with me for a very long time. Are you going to be ok going to Santa Fe?" Graven asked.

  I wish he hadn't. "Yes, I do wish I could go home." I looked down at my hands that were starting to tremble.

  "Your home is with me now." Graven's statement was like a warm blanket on a cold day.

  "We are going to need to stop at one of the clothing shops on the way back to the house. We are going to need to get you a coat for tonight. The evening air will be cold
for you."

  "Do you think we can check in on Patience and Axel while we are there?" My hands wouldn't stop shaking so I tried wringing them together. When that didn't work I tried to keep them busy be messing with the braid that hung over my shoulder.

  "I don't know if that is a good idea. If they are not on Ziona's radar we don't want to bring any attention to them. Let's see what happens when we get to town."

  I slumped into my seat with concern for their safety.

  "Oh, I talked to Ziona and updated her that you accepted my job offer and that you spent the night at my home. I told her that I would do what I had to do to make you comfortable enough to find yourself. I don't know how much time this is going to buy us."

  "What about The Taker? What does he think about letting me go?" He wasn't involved in the conversation that Graven and Ziona had about letting me go. Was Ziona's relationship with him so strong that he trusted her judgment enough to go against his wishes. Something told me the answer was no.

  "I don't know. I am assuming that they will find a way to use your mother against you. I don't know what their plans are with her. I made arrangements to get into the compound for a meeting with Ziona so we can talk about our plan to get you to come willingly into his fold. When I get there I should be able to astral project to check on your mother's status." We were sitting in stop and go traffic. It felt like we hit every red light in town. I was so caught up in this craziness that I forgot that everyone else went on with their normal life rushing home from work oblivious to what lurked in the shadows.

  "Thank you. I wish I could go with you. I am trying not to be overwhelmed with all of the things that are going on. I don't even know where to put my energy. I think it is just building up in the pit of my stomach." I pulled at the seatbelt strap to loosen it. I felt like it was constricting my ability to breath.

  "You know I still need to find some time to try and figure out what kind of powers or abilities I have or might be developing. I did stuff down in that tunnel that was crazy. I don't know how, but I even started a fire." I blew out the rest of the air I had trapped in my lungs in a hope that I would be able to breathe with more ease.