by Sarra Cannon
One of the guys standing in a group near the dance-floor whistled. “Looking gorgeous, as always, ladies.”
Lyla walked up to him and held out her hand for him to kiss. They shared a look that made me wonder if there was a little something going on between the two of them.
I scanned the gathered crowd. It was about eighty percent women and every single person here was unreasonably good looking. A requirement of working here? Or were they all capable of using these glamours Misty was talking about? Did I measure up?
I had a feeling this job was going to be a constant test of my confidence.
“Let’s get started,” a familiar bass called out.
My heart jumped into my throat at the sound of Rend’s voice. I hadn’t been willing to admit to myself just how much I was looking forward to seeing him again. So much it was scary.
He didn’t seem to notice me at first. The staff gathered in a half-circle around the edge of the dance-floor as Rend went through some basic instructions about how the night would go.
“I want everyone on their very best behavior tonight,” he said, glancing down at a clipboard in his hand. “And I want security at every exit and every single post around the club at all times. I don’t want you ladies to much as think about going to the bathroom or getting a drink of water without making sure someone’s got your post, understand.”
A group of women off to his right nodded and I stared in awe. This was his security team? I had originally thought it was kind of odd to see a pretty woman working as the bouncer out front taking ID’s, but for his entire security team to be women? That was unexpected. Especially in a place this dangerous.
At least they get to wear club staff t-shirts.
I adjusted my weight from one foot to the other and just that slight movement seemed to draw Rend’s attention. He glanced up from his papers while he was talking about assignments, then looked back down.
But then, he stopped mid-sentence, and slowly looked back up, his eyes traveling very deliberately up my body from boot to boobs.
I expected him to say something. Introduce me. Cuss me out. Something. But he just stood there staring, his eyes finally reaching my own. I couldn’t read his expression. Was he angry?
I lifted my chin, not letting myself so much as blink. I wanted him to see that I was still here, doing what needed to be done.
Tension gathered in the room as people looked from Rend to me, whispering. Behind me, Azure cleared her throat a little too loud to sound natural.
I wondered if they could all hear my heart beating. I wondered if they could all see just how much I wanted Rend to cross over to me and take me in his arms.
I forced my eyes down, but that only made it worse. Instead of the jeans and black t-shirt he had on the other night, he wore a pair of perfectly tailored dark grey pants, a pristine white button-up shirt with the top button undone and a matching grey blazer. No tie. My body reacted in ways I hoped to God none of the others could sense.
Finally, Rend shook his head and tore his eyes away from me, looking back down at his clipboard. He flipped through his papers a few times, then found his voice again.
“I want someone stationed by that back door tonight, too. No one goes in or out that way tonight,” he said. “No one in Paris tonight, either. If you need a smoke break or something, just go out to Hubbard and try to keep it to a minimum until we close.”
A few people exchanged looks, as if this was definitely not normal. Was he saying this for my sake? I could have told him I wouldn’t be stupid enough to go out that back door again for the rest of my life if I could help it. And what did he mean by Paris? Was that a special section of the club?
There was a part of me that was touched he seemed to care about keeping me safe. I had no idea what I’d done to deserve that. He could have easily just let me get eaten instead of offering me a job and personal protection.
“I’d also like to introduce everyone to our newest employee.” Before he even said my name, everyone turned to look at me. “This is Franki. I’d like you guys to really welcome her to the club and take some time to introduce yourselves when you get a chance. Look out for her, too. She’s new to all this.”
A few people mumbled casual hello’s, but Rend didn’t give them time to come over and talk.
He went through the last of the instructions for the night and about ten minutes later called an end to the meeting.
Several people made a beeline straight to me to say hi and welcome me to the group. I knew I’d never remember everyone’s names but it was nice to meet some people who were nicer than Azure.
“Franki,” Rend called out. When I turned to him, he cleared his throat. “Can I see you for a moment?”
“Sure,” I said with a smile, doing my best to hide my nerves. I apologized and left the group that had surrounded me, then followed him into the same dark corner he’d brought me to that first night.
Standing this close to him again made my palms sweat.
His eyes drifted down to my cleavage and he ran a hand through his hair. “What are you wearing?”
Okay. Not what I expected him to say.
“I’m wearing what I was told to wear.”
“Unless I’m going insane, I very clearly remember giving you a staff t-shirt to wear,” he said. His voice was gruff. “That is most definitely not a staff t-shirt.”
The girly, highly aroused part of me was loving the fact that he seemed so affected by my new clothing.
The confused, did-not-fucking-want-to-wear-this-outfit-in-the-first-place part of me was angry as hell.
“How observant of you,” I said, standing as tall as I could next to him.
He reached out like he was going to grab my arm, but then spread his fingers wide and pulled back instead.
“Why are you wearing that, then?”
“I don’t know why you’re getting upset with me,” I said. “I wake up Thursday night in my own bed with no memory of how I got there and no idea how you or anyone else here might have known where I lived. I show up to work not knowing if I’m expected to even be here, just because I don’t want to upset you in case you were wanting me to work tonight. Then I get here and am told that Azure is in charge. Well, this is what she told me to wear, so I’m here, doing exactly everything I’ve been asked to do. If you don’t think I look good enough to be one of the dancers on a night when you have friends coming—”
His eyes snapped up to mine. “Is that why you think I’m upset?”
“How am I supposed to know why you’re upset?”
He took a deep breath in through his nose, his chest rising and falling. “Azure told you to wear this.”
I wanted to tell him she threatened my life if I didn’t, but held my tongue. I didn’t want to make her more of an enemy than she already was at this point.
“She said you were short a dancer tonight.”
He glanced over toward the bar, his eyes narrowed.
When he turned his attention back to me, he softened just a little. “I brought you home Thursday,” he said. “I thought you would be able to rest better at your own house. As to how I knew where you lived, well, let’s just say I’m very good at finding people whether they want to be found or not.”
I could hardly breathe as he spoke. He had this way of being hard edges and soft tones all at the same time. I had never met anyone sexier in my entire life.
“As for what you’re wearing? Believe me, it has nothing to do with you not looking good enough.” He cleared his throat again, and I could swear his bottom lip trembled ever so slightly. “I just would have rather had you working behind the scenes tonight instead of on display for everyone to see.”
I moved one step closer to him and his eyes searched my face. “Why are you protecting me? You don’t even know me. Why not just let those guys tear me apart the other night?”
He lifted a hand to my cheek and brushed a strand of hair out of my eyes. His fingers lingered for a moment on my skin and
my insides went up in flames.
“There’s something about you,” he said, his walls down for the briefest of moments. “I can’t explain it more than that. I just knew you were worth saving.”
My breath was shallow and my body yearned to move closer. I wanted to feel his hands on me again. My eyes were drawn to his lips, overcome by the desire to know what it would be like to kiss a man like Rend.
“You don’t have to dance if you don’t want to,” he said. “I can find another job for you if you want to go back and get changed.”
It was a tempting thought, but I refused to let Azure think I had complained to the boss and gotten my way like some child. I wanted her to know I was stronger than that.
“I’m good,” I said, letting a smile tease my lips. “It might even be fun.”
He groaned and clenched his jaw. “I’m going to keep my eye on you tonight,” he said. “If you need anything or anyone so much as offers to buy you a drink, you come find me. I’ll be in the bar or back in the private room behind the curtain most of the night.”
I hoped he couldn’t see me blush in the half-darkness. “I can take care of myself,” I said. “Most of the time.”
He paused, then put a finger under my chin, lifting my face to his. My lips parted and I forced myself to keep breathing. Our eyes locked for a few intense seconds, then he dropped his hand and turned away.
“Azure. My office. Now.”
I looked over just in time to see a look of terror cross her eyes.
What Other Truths
I rejoined the other dancers in a cluster near the black curtain.
Lyla grabbed my hand and pulled me to her side. “Oh, my God, what is going on with you and Rend?”
“You have to tell us everything,” Shay said.
“I have never seen him look so—”
“So shaken.” Lyla’s eyes were huge and glimmering.
At this point, my face was probably beet red, and I was sure they could all see it, even in the sparse lighting.
“There’s nothing going on,” I said.
“Liar,” Cherish said.
“Big, fat liar,” Lyla said. “Listen, Rend is untouchable. Unshakable. He never lets himself get rattled. Not even when he’s about to tear someone to pieces.”
“Literally,” Shay mumbled.
I snapped to look at her. “What do you mean, literally?”
“Why do you think everyone calls him Rend?” Cherish asked.
“Let’s just say he’s known around our kind of people as someone you don’t cross,” Lyla said.
My hand went to my forehead. The spot where his fingers had brushed my skin was still tingling. Surely they didn’t mean that he had killed people before? Is that what they were saying?
It seemed unbelievable, but I had seen the fear in the eyes of those vampires the other night. They had been terrified of him and he hadn’t even lifted a finger toward them.
“I think you definitely picked the right outfit,” Lyla said, giggling. “He could hardly take his eyes off you.”
“I’m so jealous I could kill you,” Peri said. “Seriously, I’ve never seen Rend with a woman and I’ve been working here for almost fifteen years.”
I laughed out loud. “Yeah, right.”
She eyed me. “What?”
“You can’t be much older than I am. How have you been working here fifteen years? You would have been, what? Ten years old when you started?”
“Oh,” she said, lifting the back of her hand up to her mouth to cover her laughter. “Girl, that’s just the glamour. If you saw the real me underneath all this magic, you wouldn’t question it. I’m thirty-nine.”
My jaw dropped open and I shook my head. “There’s no way.”
“I would show you, but no one sees the real, unmagicked me. No one.”
“I think we’re all going to have to take a night off coming up and have a girl’s night in where we teach Frankie here some of our tricks,” Shay said.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Peri. Almost forty years old? It was incredible how young she looked. And I couldn’t help but wonder what other truths were being hidden behind some curtain of magic in this place.
Nothing was as it seemed, and if I could no longer even trust my eyes, what could I trust?
“If you say nothing is happening between the two of you, I’ll believe you,” Lyla said. “But I saw the way you were looking at him, too.”
“All I’m going to say is be careful,” Misty said. “Prettier, more powerful women than you have fallen for him and ended up with nothing more than a broken heart. He’s completely immune to love.”
It occurred to me that I should probably be offended by the fact that she’d offhandedly insulted my looks, but the truth was that I didn’t doubt it. Rend was gorgeous beyond words and it wouldn’t surprise me if the hottest model in the world was in love with him.
“Don’t worry about me,” I said. “I have no delusions about his feelings for me. Besides, I’m just here because I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Rend saved me. End of story.”
I didn’t have a chance to say more, because the lights dimmed further and the music turned up to near-deafening levels.
“Ooh, party time,” Lyla said, raising her voice above the music. “Come with me, Franki. I’ll show you to your spot.”
I followed Lyla through the dark club, my knees weak at the thought of dancing in front of a crowd full of strangers.
She led me to an actual cage with strong black bars. “This is usually my spot, but I thought you might want to be back here where you had a good view of the bar,” she said with a wink.
“Thank you,” I said. I leaned in close to her ear. “What exactly do I do?”
She smiled and squeezed my arm. “Just dance,” she said. Then she reached into a black bag she’d been carrying and pulled out two tubes of clear liquid. She uncapped them, handed one to me and downed the other. “And drink that. Trust me.”
“What is it?” I stared at it, thinking about the shot from the other night. “Is this Red Dragon?”
“Mixed with a few other things,” she said. Her eyes were glimmering again. “This is Rend’s special brew for the dancers.”
“Rend made this?”
She cocked her head to the side. “Rend makes everything we sell in here. He’s the alchemist.”
“Alchemist?” I stared at the tube. Just how much did I still have to learn about this world? It seemed like there was some new surprise around every corner.
“Just drink it and enjoy it,” she said. “You won’t regret it.”
I took a deep breath and lifted the tube up in a kind of salute. “Here’s to no regrets.”
For some reason, an image from a dream appeared in my head. A hallway with a thousand doors, each one opening my eyes to some new secret. Some new mystery.
As I brought the shot up to my lips, I wondered just how far I could go before I lost myself to this new world. And to a man who was immune to love.
Episode 3: The Darkness
So Much Darkness
The shot burned going down.
The heat started on my lips and flowed across my tongue, down my throat, spreading through my body like wildfire. I closed my eyes, drinking in the sensation of being lit up from the inside out. An intense energy filled me from head to toe, its power putting me on the edge of control, as if one more drop would have been too much.
“Good, right?” Lyla asked, smiling.
I opened my eyes and the entire room looked different. The light that flowed through the glass tubes running across the ceiling seemed brighter. The music seemed louder. Every wisp of air across my skin made me shiver. I felt it travel into my body and become a part of me.
“I never felt anything like it,” I said, my voice unsteady. It was different from the plain Red Dragon shot I’d had the other night on my birthday. This was intensified. I was less fuzzy and more awake. On fire.
I felt sexy.
I gripped the bars and pulled myself into the cage with almost no effort. I had more raw energy flowing through me than I could ever remember in my whole life.
Lyla closed me inside. “Now all you have to do is dance,” she said with a giggle. “I’ll come get you when it’s time for a break. Do you smoke?”
I shook my head, having a hard time concentrating on what she was saying. It was like sensory overload.
“Okay, well, you can come outside with us when it’s time or you can go back to the break room or whatever,” she said. “See you in a few hours. Have fun.”
She winked, then made her way to a similar cage on the other side of the room.
The doors to the club must have opened, because there were suddenly all these people moving onto the dance floor and standing in line at the bar. A few minutes ago the place was nearly empty and just like that, it was packed.
If they were selling these homemade potions instead of liquor, it was no wonder there were so many people here. Damn.
I briefly wondered if anything going on in this place was even legal and how in the hell they had managed to stay open this long without getting into trouble. But my mind couldn’t focus on the question long enough to worry about it.
My body wanted to move.
At first, I was hyper-aware of my body. I judged every movement. Was I doing this right? Did I look okay? But then the music consumed me. It swallowed me whole, the beat controlling the beat of my own heart. I couldn’t fight it anymore. I let go, not thinking about how I looked or who was watching me. I just let my body move the way it wanted. I had never felt so free in my life.
Hours must have gone by like that and not once did the energy from the shot let up. Sweat coated the back of my neck and the skin on my arms. My hair caressed my face and shoulders. I could have danced forever.
But then, the dark feeling from the other night was back. It was like being sucked into a black hole. Or maybe more like having a thick, heavy black cloak thrown over my body, covering me in a veil of fear.