by J. L. McCoy
Archer sighed and explained. “He is a vampire, Skye, but a different species than Jameson and I. He is what we call a Dark One. They are generally a sociopathic and sadistic race. We have been able to live normally amongst each other for the past few decades with no issues. When their new leader was selected, he put a stop to some of their moral depravity and demanded that they follow certain guidelines. Until tonight, I haven’t had a single negative run-in with a Dark One since 1972.”
Jameson looked at Archer. “That was a bold move, brother. They know better than to touch someone in one your clubs.”
Archer nodded. “Aye, Youngblood, which can only mean that he is newly turned or not from Western Europe or America.” He set his glass down and studied the ice in it.
“What did you do with him?” I asked.
Archer looked up at me and smiled. “I had some friends give him a quick message and send him on his way.”
“Oh,” I said as the curtain pulled back and Greyson Mead stepped in.
“That Aoife sure is something,” He said with a smile, sitting down.
Jameson scoffed and Archer chuckled. “That she is, old friend,” Archer said.
I crossed my arms over my chest and silently sang along to the song DJ Dark was playing. I had some scathing thoughts about Aoife and Archer that I didn’t want either of the two mind readers to hear.
Archer and Greyson both looked up at me and Archer shook his head. “What is it now, Skye?”
I sang harder as I answered. “Nothing. Not a thing.”
Archer looked at Greyson and had a silent conversation with him. I narrowed my eyes at Archer as I watched the expressions flicker across both of their faces.
Greyson finally looked back at me and laughed. “You are quite the handful, aren’t you Miss Morrison?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “So I’ve been told, Mr. Mead. What brings you to opening night at The Mausoleum?”
“Vampire business,” He said with a dismissive laugh.
Archer got up from the table and took off his jacket. “Why don’t you and Jameson talk a bit while Skye and I go dance?”
I looked up at Archer in surprise and shrugged my shoulders again. “Sure, why not.”
Archer set down his jacket, took my hand, and helped me up from the table. He wove his arm around my waist and escorted me over to the stairs. I looked over at the VIP bar and noticed Aoife glaring at me with malice.
“Why does she hate me so much?” I asked, leaning into Archer so he could hear me over the music.
“Who?” Archer asked as he led me down the stairs and through the crowd.
“Aoife,” I explained. “She’s always looking at me with such hatred in her eyes. Why?”
Archer stopped at a spot on the dance floor and leaned in to whisper in my ear. “She wants what you have, Skye.”
I leaned back to look at his face. “What do I have that she wants?” I asked totally confused.
Archer just smiled mischievously and started dancing. I watched him for a few frustrated seconds before I gave up on getting an answer and joined in. Why does that man never answer me? Why does everything have to be some big secret? I silently fumed.
A few minutes passed and I stared to have a little fun. Archer, naturally, was drawing a crowd of people and we were surrounded. A few girls tried to dance their way in between Archer and I, but he wouldn’t allow it. He grabbed my hips, spun me around, and pulled my back up against his stomach. We grinded along to the music as the floor lights alternated and changed colors with each beat.
I chanced a glance up at the second floor and was shocked to see Aoife staring at us from behind the bar. She quickly looked away, but not fast enough. So, that’s it. She’s pissed off because I’m dancing with Archer. Well, screw her. At least I don’t have my tongue down his throat like she did.
Archer stopped dancing and turned me around to face him. “What did you say?” he asked, holding my face in his hands as he looked intently into my eyes.
I sighed and jerked my head back away from his grip. “Not everything that goes on in my brain is your business, Archer,” I said, crossing my arms.
Archer huffed in frustration. “No, but what you said has everything to do with me. When did you see Aoife and me kissing?”
I rolled my eyes and started dancing again. “I am not going to have this conversation with you right now.”
Archer grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the crowd. “We ARE going to have this conversation right now, Skye. What were you doing spying on me?”
“I wasn’t spying on you, jackass!” I argued, and then sighed. “Okay, maybe I was. But it wasn’t my intention.”
Archer crossed his arms over his chest. “Tell me,” he demanded.
“No,” I said stubbornly and turned to walk to the bar.
I felt Archer’s hand on my waist as he stopped me and turned me back around. He grabbed my face in his hands again and stared intently into my eyes. I struggled for a few seconds to free my head, but it was no use. He had a firm grasp on me and wasn’t letting go.
Suddenly, my vision swam and the room started to spin. I was overwhelmed with dizziness and motion sickness. I clenched my eyes closed and when I opened them again, Archer looked down at me and he was pissed.
“What the hell just happened?” I asked, confused. “What did you do to me?”
Archer dropped his hands and crossed his arms again. “Why do you always have to fight me on everything, Miss Morrison?!”
“Don’t you ‘Miss Morrison’ me, Archer Rhys!” I hissed heatedly. “What did you do to me that made me so dizzy? I know it was you. It had to be.”
Archer rubbed the back of his neck. “I was trying to force my way into your head, but you were fighting me. You wouldn’t let me in, alright?”
“You asshole!” I spat. “You had no right to force your way into my thoughts!” I stopped and a thought occurred to me. “You’ve done this before, haven’t you?” I asked, hurt and upset. “In your office during my interview…”
“Yes, I have,” Archer growled. “But, I couldn’t get in. You can block me sometimes, and you shouldn’t be able to.”
A self-satisfied smile spread across my face. “Well, how about that! It serves you right, Archer. What goes on in my head is none of your business. If I want you to know something, I’ll open my mouth and tell you. Otherwise, stay your nosy ass OUT of my damn head!”
I turned to walk away but Archer stopped me. “What did you hear up there, Skye? Tell me!” he demanded.
“Get bent, Archer,” I said as I hurried over to the ladies room. It was the one place that I could go where I knew he wouldn’t follow me.
“We WILL talk about this later,” He called after me.
Once in the ladies room, I sat down on one of the sofas in the sitting room and buried my head in my hands. Freakin’ fabulous! I let Archer know that I had seen him and Aoife kissing, before I had intended to tell him. Now he was all pissy at me. Well, screw him. He had no right trying to force his way into my head. I couldn’t believe that he had done that to me before. I suddenly remembered the time that I had passed out at Drop Kick Dan’s. I had gotten dizzy right before I fell. Did Archer cause that? I thought back to that day and realized that he wasn’t even there. Okay, so it really was low blood sugar, I thought, relieved.
I hung out for a few more minutes and then left. The bathroom sitting room had started to get crowded and I wasn’t in the mood to listen to drunken girls boy talk. I made my rounds on the floor and relieved dancers for their breaks. I was careful to avoid Archer until he went back up to the second floor.
Desperately needing a drink, I made my way over to the first floor bar and had one of the bar-backs pour me up a double of Johnny Walker Black. I was quietly enjoying my drink when someone sat down beside me.
“That DJ is something else isn’t he?” the stranger said, turning to me.
I looked up from my glass and over at him. The first thing I noticed about t
he stranger was his chocolate brown eyes and friendly smile. He was part Hispanic with short brown hair, a trim goatee, and perfectly straight teeth. He had light brown skin and dimples in his cheeks. My stomach did a little flip at how handsome he was. “He’s awesome,” I said with a smile. “I’ve wanted to go to one of his shows for a long time.”
The guy smiled and nodded. “Me too.” He got Hunter’s attention and ordered a Dos Equis and a shot of tequila. “Can I buy you a drink?” he asked, turning to me.
I shrugged one shoulder. “Sure. I’ll have a Dos Equis, too.”
He smiled and held up two fingers to Hunter. “Two beers, por favor.”
Hunter glanced back and forth between us for a few seconds, and then went to get our order.
The stranger turned to me and held out his hand. “I’m Dic by the way,” he said, introducing himself.
I bit my lower lip and accepted his hand. “I’m Skye,” I said with a smile.
“Well, Skye, what’s a pretty girl like you doing sitting alone at the bar?”
I chuckled and took a sip from my glass. “I’m taking a break,” I explained. “I work here.”
He laughed and I almost melted at the sound. It was masculine and rumbly. His dimples were more pronounced when he laughed and it made him even more attractive. “You must have an awesome boss if he lets you drink on the job.”
I smirked and bit my tongue. Archer was so far from awesome right now in my book. “Yeah, he’s something else,” I said neutrally.
Hunter returned with our drinks and accepted the money that Dic held out to him. He didn’t say a word to us and I thought that was a little strange. I gave him a questioning look but he just walked away. Hm. I wonder what his deal is…
Dic handed me my beer and clinked bottles with me. “Salud.”
“Salud,” I replied with a smile and took a long drink from the icy bottle. “So, how come a handsome guy like you is sitting alone at the bar?”
He chuckled. “Well, I’m not alone. I have you.”
I shook my head at his silly evasiveness. “No, seriously. Are you here with someone?”
He nodded his head and took his shot of tequila. “Yeah,” he said, sucking air in through his teeth at the strength of the liquor. “I’m here with a friend of mine. He’s in here somewhere,” he said, turning to survey the dance floor. “Hey,” he said turning to me. “Want to come dance with me?”
“I can’t,” I said reluctantly. “I’ve got to get back to work.” I quickly downed my beer and got up. “Maybe next time?”
He laughed and nodded his head. “Most definitely,” he said with a cock of his eyebrow. “I’ll be seeing you again, Skye.”
I smiled and turned to go back to work.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The last few hours of the night went smoothly. I managed to avoid Archer when I escorted Rachel and Peyton up to the second floor cages to relieve Courtney and Alex. I only saw him briefly from across the dance floor during the last hour of business. He was talking to a couple of girls and I quickly found something else to look at.
After the last song was played and the house lights went up, the crowd slowly exited the building with a little help from Quinn and Seamus. One girl had to be carried out by her boyfriend because she couldn’t walk straight.
After the last person was out, Seamus closed the door and leaned against it. “Dat was a feckin’ mad house, it was. Did’ja see da’ feckin’ line dat was wrapped aroun’ da bleedin’ buildin’?”
Quinn shook his head and sighed. “Nope. I was stuck at the stairs all night. How many people do you suppose were here tonight?”
Seamus pushed off from the door, walked over to the bar, and took a seat. “We was at capacity all night, we were,” he said, ordering a shot of whiskey from Trey. “Whenever one lef’, I’d let one in. Thing is, none was feckin’ leavin’.” He turned to Hunter. “How’d you boys fare tonight?”
Hunter shook his head. “I haven’t seen a club this packed in a while. We were slammed all night. Trey and I could hardly keep up, and we couldn’t use our speed to help us out on account of the humans. We had to eventually use two of the human help. It didn’t help much, but just enough to keep going.” He pulled out eight tip jars from under the bar and put them on the counter. “Check out all of these tips Trey and I made. Some lady was tipping me twenties every time she came up here.”
Seamus and Quinn laughed. “You’re sharing dat, right?” Seamus asked.
“Not a chance, old man,” Hunter said, pulling the money out of the jars. “Trey and I worked hard for this.”
“You bet your handsome ass we did,” Trey jumped in, setting Seamus’ drink in front of him. “I was propositioned more than ten times by women in various stages of denial.” He turned to me and gestured to his face with his hand. “Does this face say straight to you?”
I laughed and took a good look at him. His eyebrows were professionally waxed and his arches looked ten times better than mine. He also sported some eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss. I shook my head. “Not in a million years, babe.”
He smiled and curtseyed. “Thank you, darling.”
“So,” Archer said, exiting the doorway of his private stairwell and making his way over to the stairs. “How did everyone’s night go?”
Seamus and Hunter filled him in while Aoife, Jameson, and Lochlan made their way down to the first floor bar.
I quickly excused myself when I noticed that all of the dancers had exited their cages, and I made my way across the floor and to the back. I ran into my two janitors on the way to the lounge and instructed them to go ahead and start cleaning up the club.
When I entered the employee lounge, the music was going and everyone was taking turns changing clothes behind the screens. I walked over to the boom box and lowered the volume so I could speak. “Can I have everyone’s attention?” I called out, raising one of my hands and snapping my fingers. The room quieted to whispers and I continued. “I just want to say that you guys were completely amazing tonight.” A chorus of cheers went up and a few hi-fives were passed around. “I was so proud of each and every one of you and, I have to say, Archer was doubly impressed by you guys.” A few girls squealed and I fought hard not to laugh. “I won’t keep you guys. I just had to tell y’all before you guys took off for the night.” I turned around and started to turn the radio back up. “Drive safe and I’ll see some of you tomorrow!” I called as I made my way back across the room and out the door.
I ran into Ducky, our bar back, and the floater as I was exiting the lounge. “You two did a great job helping Trey and Hunter. Did you get your cut of the tips?” They both nodded their heads and I continued. “You guys go ahead and call it a night. You totally deserve it. I’ll stay behind and restock the bar for y’all.”
“Thanks, Sky,” Ducky said gratefully as they both turned and walked into the employee lounge.
I walked back down the hall and across the floor to the bar. Every vampire employee was seated at the bar and everyone was laughing and cutting up. I went behind the bar where Lochlan was making himself a drink and I poured myself a diet cola.
“Well, hey there pretty girl,” He purred in his thick Irish accent. “Can I get ya' a little whiskey to go with that there drink?”
“No thanks,” I said as I hopped up to sit on the counter. “I had a few drinks earlier and I have to drive home.”
Aoife laughed unkindly and shook her head. “Humans,” she said with a roll of her eyes.
Jameson opened his mouth to say something, but Archer put his hand on his arm, silencing him.
“So, how are the dancers?” Archer asked me with a smile.
“Good,” I said, shrugging one shoulder. “They’re about to leave. Everyone is getting changed.”
“Excellent,” Archer said and took a sip from his glass. He glanced back at the DJ booth and noticed DJ Dark was finished breaking his equipment down. “Quinn, please escort Stellan’s crew out to the van. And make sure Stel
lan is keeping his fangs to himself while in my parking lot.”
“Aye, sir,” Quinn answered as he got up and walked over to the DJ booth.
Seamus pulled out a three massive stacks of cash and handed them over to Archer. “Dis is tonight’s haul from da cover charges, Athair. You’ve got der’ ten thousand an’ twenty dollars.”
Archer took the money and handed it to Jameson. “Thank you, Seamus. Did you have any trouble at the door tonight?”
Seamus cocked his head and shrugged. “Nothin’ I couldn’t handle. Some humans go’ a bit rowdy in line when one thought the other ‘ad cut in.”
“Good,” Archer said, clapping Seamus on the back. “We had a little trouble with a Dark One earlier. I just wanted to make sure no one else stepped out of line.”
“No, sir,” Seamus said and took a sip of his drink.
Just then we heard glass breaking and a scream come from upstairs. One of the cleaning crew stumbled to the second floor railing and vomited over the side before passing out. Jameson flashed up the stairs, followed by Archer and Hunter.
Jameson walked over to the PVIP section and pulled back one of the curtains that surrounded a table. I saw Jameson stumble backwards and put his hand to his mouth.
I didn’t wait another second. I got up from my seat and ran across the floor to the stairs. Seamus flashed up behind me and beat me to the second floor. Everyone was crowded around the table and I couldn’t see past their towering bodies.
“Oh, dear God,” I heard Hunter whisper as he turned around and walked a few steps away.
I saw the janitor lying on the floor and I walked over to check on him. There was no use staring at the men’s backs. Whatever was behind that curtain had them all occupied and they weren’t moving any time soon. I got down on my knees, reached over, and checked the janitor’s pulse. It was strong and steady, so I rolled him onto his side and smacked his face a few times.
“Don’t wake him just yet, Skye,” Jameson called from behind me. I turned around and was stunned by the look on his face. It was full of shock, sadness, and unshed tears.