by R. Scarlett
“My friend’s missing, Jackson. I’m not going to sit around and do nothing about it,” I fought, shaking my head.
He went to open his mouth, but froze, staring at someone behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Danny standing behind me. Wearing his tailored custom suit of navy, a satin square handkerchief in the breast pocket, he attempted and failed to ooze professionalism and class.
But I tasted his impatience, his anger as he stared down at me.
My heart beat into my throat.
He had heard our conversation.
“We need to speak, little Lex,” Danny said, his hands stuffed into his pocket. “Alone.”
Danny cracked his knuckles as he sat back in his leather chair. I sat across from him in his office, my back straight and my guards up. He had taken me to his office and poured me a glass of rum, but I hadn’t touched it.
For the past minute, he’d been watching me in silence, the noise of the Pit echoing behind me.
“Let’s start by making one thing very clear between the two of us, little Lex. I don’t like people snooping, I don’t like people asking inappropriate questions,” he said, pouring more whisky into his short clear glass as a slow, creepy smile took over his features. The ice cubes danced off of the glass in my hands, melting under the warm rush of alcohol. I studied him—his dark hair, shaved on the sides and the top slicked back. Each time his mouth moved the zigzag scar on his cheek moved in a wave. “A few of the Aphrodites said you were asking them similar questions. Since we both know you don’t plan on selling your body here, stay the fuck away from my girls. I won’t say it twice. If I catch you speaking again to one of them or anyone here, I might just send you out in one of those body bags. Are we clear?”
The cold murkiness of his eyes told me just how true his words rang.
I don’t think I had truly realized just how nasty the man sitting before me was until this moment. Sure, he’d been creepy and had sent a few lustful looks my way. But never had he made it so clear he’d hurt me without a second thought. And enjoy it.
I suppressed a shiver, digging my nails into my thighs. “I don’t completely understand how I’d avoid speaking to anyone if I’m a waitress.”
Danny’s gaze sharpened at that. At the sound of my cool, composed voice.
Oh yes, asshole.
I’d met my fair share of monsters, lived amongst them all my life. I knew how to act around psychos.
Don’t show fear, it’ll only feed their madness.
“Fighters and guests expect the women here to be willing to open their thighs for them. They don’t expect their waitress to drill them with questions,” he said, voice clipped as he picked up his drink and swirled it before licking the edge of the glass. He smiled at me. “Unless you’d like a different position? One to keep that mouth too occupied to speak, little Lex?” One of his brows rose up inquisitively.
I ignored the urge to slap him every time he called me Little Lex. Like we were close. Like I was his pet.
“Just wondering. I want to make sure I understand my job correctly.”
Danny stood, stuffing one hand into his pant pocket and moved around the desk until he sat on the edge in front of me. Too close. “I’m happy to hear that.”
I stayed silent, doubtful my emotions wouldn’t break my bravado if I spoke.
After a moment, Danny tsked. “You know, I’ve looked into you. I do it for all my employees, of course. I like to know who I’m dealing with. What I found out about you was truly fascinating.” He waited a beat, trying to see if his admission stirred anything inside me. It didn’t. Realizing it, he continued. “You worked on the streets as a child. Your mother abandoned you when you were just a toddler and your father died when you were ten. You’ve been on your own ever since. And since they’d been low-class demons who preferred the darkness of their own mind, when they were gone… you were left with no one and nothing.” His eyes filled with fake concern and wonder. “Nothing but a child, fending for herself at such a young age,” he added, as if all those things were what made me—me. As if I added up to a tragic past and nothing else.
I had survived, I was more than a sad childhood and absent parents.
“When your father was murdered because he couldn’t pay his debts, those debts became your own,” he said, tapping his short fingernail to his glass in a rhythm slow and calculated. “For a few years, you worked for men whose livelihood was stealing and selling belladonna, making barely enough money to survive. But then—it gets cloudy. You were on your own—and now you’re here. Under my power.” His eyes gleamed at his own words and I didn’t miss the way he glanced at my chest. “There is no way you survived without help, but whoever helped you remains a well-guarded secret it seems. I don’t like secrets…”
A cold sweat ran through me. I didn’t like hearing this man serve me all my truths on a platter as if they were entertainment.
And I didn’t need him to remind me of what I’d gone through, I knew my past better than anyone else.
My mother left us when I was young. She couldn’t handle a child, never had the maternal instincts. My father had taken over, caring for me. I remembered him as a soft yet hard man. He’d had a rough life, always gambling his way to seeing the next day.
We’d lived that way for years, but as a child, I hadn’t known better. Hadn’t known there were other kids out there who’d been born with a silver spoon in their mouth.
My dad had left me with his old tattered sweater to keep me warm one day, but he never came home.
Turned out he got into a fight over money and they shot him on the spot. He died slowly, drowning in his own blood. I was ten then.
I had learned from him how to survive on the streets. The same men that my father owed money to took me under their wing. I stole drugs for them and they exchanged them for money, giving me a few of those precious dollars.
When I was eleven, Tensley caught me stealing belladonna from Scorpios. Instead of slitting my throat, he took care of me and brought me under Scorpios’ protection.
But no help ever came free. For their protection, I’d had to work for Scorpios.
Salvatore Knight, Tensley and Beau’s father and then-Dux had always been a wise man.
He knew no one would ever expect someone so young and low-class to be working for the powerful Dux of New York City. Undercover. I gave them the information that only someone who lived in the depth of hell would know where to find.
Who was the top dog. Who was selling to who. Who was planning what.
Scorpios was always one step ahead.
“I think I know better than anyone else the shithole of a life I came from, no need to give me a rundown of the facts, Danny. If that’ll be all, I’d like to get back to work.” I flattened my skirt and opened the door only for his low voice to halt me.
“Alexandra,” he said, and my hand squeezed the door handle. I just wanted to get out of his cramped office that smelled of crushed up cigarettes and greed. “Respect me. Respect my position over you and we won’t have problems.”
I gritted my teeth, aching to spin around and tell him he had no power over me, but he did. He was my boss.
Dolores.
Dolores.
Dolores.
That’s why I was here.
To find her.
To find what happened to her.
And this bastard reeked of answers.
I didn’t say a word, pushed open the door and shut it behind me.
The next few days went by in a blur. I barely saw Beau and Danny and as I glanced over at the latter’s closed office door, an itch surfaced. The itch to find out what Danny was hiding, why he was so angered by my questions.
My fingers tapped on the bar, scanning the bouncers lining the wall near the entrance. It was still early, but the Pit was crowded.
The night before, I’d thought up a plan as I laid on the rotten floorboards of my apartment, my father’s sweater wrapped tight around my should
ers. I’d find a way to get into Danny’s office while he wasn’t around and find whatever information I thought would help in finding Dolores.
I knew one of the bouncers had a skeleton key that opened every room at the Pit. I scanned the room, finding him easily, eyes bleary and tight.
He had been smoking pure belladonna all night and chugging down his liquor.
I’d been observing the bouncers for a few nights now, trying to see what the best course of action would be to get the key I needed. By doing so, I’d also noticed how they used their authority to fuck any of the girls they wanted.
And tonight, that would be my job.
I’d pretend I was going to be one of those girls, lure one of them in, the one with the key I needed. Then, I’d find a way to convince him to use it and let us into Danny’s office.
I fixed my tight t-shirt and stood up. My hips swayed back and forth, and I smiled softly at the bouncers.
Aaron, the bouncer who I knew had the skeleton key, eyed me up and down, his tongue coming out to quickly wet his bottom lip. He reached up, his hand gliding across his bald head, which I’d observed was a nervous tick of his. I affected him.
Good, I thought.
“Little souleater… I’ve heard a lot about you,” he said, and I tried not to cringe.
I stepped closer, pressing my finger to my lip and biting the tip. “Oh, did you now. Rumors, rumors. Care to find out if any of them are true?”
His reddened eyes widened for a moment, only to trace down the length of my body and back up to my face.
I touched his chest, leaning in close. “Don’t you wanna let me taste you? See how it feels?”
He visibly gulped, and his hands moved to my hips. “Fuck yeah.”
I gripped the collar of his t-shirt and pulled him against me and we moved into the crowd of couples grinding on each other. His hands slid over each curve until he reached my ass and pressed his pelvis to mine. A disgusted shiver ran through me, but I suppressed it.
Just endure his touch long enough to get him to open Danny’s office, I told myself.
Then it’ll be over.
I tilted my head and his greedy mouth took the opportunity to kiss my exposed neck. As my eyes fluttered open, they caught sight of Beau from across the crowd, seated at the bar, a glass in his hand and a cigarette in the other.
Fuck, what was he doing here? I hadn’t seen him all night and now he had to show up, looking straight at me, with eyes that could burn me from the inside out?
I swallowed tightly when a shiver danced across my spine.
The shadows battled across his steel features and I saw him in quick bursts. His fingers rolling his drag, so thick and long and darkly inked with words that haunted me.
Hell.
Bent.
The letters inked into each of his busted knuckles.
I wanted to taste each one slowly.
He blew out a long puff of smoke, his eyes never leaving mine. I could taste his anger even from this distance, so potent and strong, the swirl of emotions wrapping itself around my neck like an iron fist.
It felt like a brand on my skin and I moaned, the sound too low to be heard over the Pit’s chaos.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I couldn’t think about Beau right now, I had no doubt his possessive fury was all about the position Aaron and I were in. He had no idea why I was doing it, and if he did, I doubted he’d approve any more. But none of that mattered.
I needed answers. I needed to know what Danny was hiding.
I’d deal with Beau later.
“Let’s go somewhere private,” I whispered into Aaron’s ear and I felt him grin against my throat. He gripped my hand and we moved through the crowd toward the dark hallway. I tugged at his hand and he turned to look back at me. “What about Danny’s office? He’s not here tonight, is he?” I arched a brow, smiling at him as seductively as I could for someone I wasn’t attracted to in the least bit.
He paused, glancing over his shoulder at the crowd.
“On his desk…he’ll never know,” I said, and his eyes shot back to me as I licked my lips. “Plus, fucking on your boss’s desk…that must be a nice power trip.”
“Fuck it,” he hissed and grabbed my hand again, changing directions to head towards Danny’s office.
Thank God.
Now I only needed to get the both of us inside the office. Close the door. And I wouldn’t have to keep feeling his slimy hands rubbing all over my skin.
Beau’s eyes were still firmly placed on me, burning even hotter on my skin as Aaron and I stopped in front of Danny’s office door. Aaron fumbled with the skeleton key, and I restrained from looking over my shoulder at Beau. In a sick way, I wanted him to see us. I wanted him to watch and feel his insides twist.
I wanted him to want me. To come here and get me himself. To take me. To use me.
Aaron pushed open the door and I followed in after. Danny’s office was decorated in sleek blacks and with a large wooden desk. Papers were scattered across it and half an empty coffee mug sat on top of them.
I gripped the door handle, closing it. The lock sounded like my saving grace as I watched Aaron shrug out of his jacket.
He barely had a chance to smile my way before I grabbed a heavy metal stapler from nearby and hit him at the base of his skull with all of my strength.
He went down fast and hard.
“Sorry,” I mumbled and dragged him onto one of Danny’s leather couches, unbuttoning his shirt and pants.
When I was satisfied that he looked like someone who’d gotten it on then passed out, I straightened and moved over to the mess of papers scattered on the desk.
Financial statements, work contracts, stupid, pointless letters that had nothing of importance to me.
I opened his drawers, searching through scrunched up papers and bills.
Everything I touched I neatly replaced in the exact same spot.
“Fuck,” I whispered after searching through every spot in the office for a while.
There was nothing but useless junk in here.
No, no, no, no!
Aaron moaned, and I reined in my desperation and annoyance, walking over to him. I touched his shoulder gently as he slowly came out of his imposed slumber.
“What happened?” he muttered once he’d managed to open his eyes. He sat up, looking disoriented as he scratched the back of his head.
“Are you feeling any better? One second, we were kissing and I was pushing you toward the desk. Then the next second, you lost your balance, hit the back of your head against it and fell,” I told him and patted his shoulder, a reassuring smile on my lips. “I guess maybe you had a bit more to drink then you thought. You weren’t all that steady on your feet to begin with.”
“Fucking hell,” he whispered.
This had been such a waste of time. Danny had nothing in this office, but that didn’t mean he didn’t hide his little secrets elsewhere. I still didn’t trust him. I still didn’t believe him innocent in all this.
I knew there was more to it, there had to be. I knew it as much as I knew this place was crawling with sinners.
Aaron stood, unbalanced and I reached for the door, unlocking it.
“Give me a minute, my head feels a bit fuzzy, then we can fuck,” he added, leaning against the wall.
I didn’t wait and opened the door, stumbling out into the humid room.
Aaron followed after, but he halted at the sight of Beau standing next to the door.
All Beau had to do was give Aaron a long hard look and the bouncer backed away immediately, disappearing in the thick crowd of demons.
I clenched my teeth and tried to move past Beau, but he gripped my elbow and pulled me back into a dark corner.
“Did you fuck him?” The snap to his voice startled me and I hated it because I should have known it wouldn’t have been soft. There was nothing soft about Beau Knight. He was all hard ridges and edges and that black heart? It was pure darkness. His fingers c
aught the tip of my chin and squeezed, lifting it so he stared down at me. “Answer me.”
“It’s none of your business,” I hissed back and pushed against him.
But it didn’t solve anything. If anything, I only pressed harder against him, trapped.
“Did you like it?” he spat, and the lights flashed behind him and I saw an ugly fresh cut above his left brow and blood on his knuckles. He had just finished a fight and the powerful adrenaline was still boiling inside of him. “Is that what you like? Filthy bastards?” His fingers dug into the base of my neck and I groaned—the mixture of pain and arousal ached in my bones. “Might as well fuck me if that’s what you’re after.”
Beau’s fingers tensed around my neck, and I was reminded of the feel of his emotions doing the same earlier. Almost as if he’d wanted to choke the air out of my lungs and fill them up with his own. His eyes flared, almost as if he was thinking the same, the darkness in them so prominent, my knees shook.
His inked knuckles moved from my neck and up to my jaw. Gripping there lightly before the tips of his fingers caressed the edge of my cheekbone. Softly, as if he knew he could break me with one stroke. But even the softness in Beau had a sharp bite.
“See all these men here,” he said, that low husk making my thighs clench. His thumb found my bottom lip, caressing the thickness of it, worshiping it. “They thrive off of darkness, off of blood and pain and you—you’re the crowning prize.”
Slowly, he let go and I caught the sight of his chest rising and falling so fast—so heavy.
“You want me to let those dicks keep harassing you? Because I can make it all stop. You only need to ask, Alexandra,” he said with an edge to the low hum of his voice.
And my stomach knotted in heat. Because I knew he was right. I knew he held all the cards in one bruised, bloodied hand and how easy it was to control everyone around him to do his bidding. He trafficked in terror and pain.