Possession

by K. M. Scott

  Terror raced through me. “You didn’t tell me I’d have to dance tonight, Gemma! How am I going to do that? I’m not dressed for it, and every muscle in my body still hurts.”

  She held me by the shoulders and stared into my eyes. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. It wouldn’t matter if you were wearing a burlap sack. Just listen to the music and dance. You can do this. I know it will hurt, but this can be the start of a new life for you.”

  “It’s a big jump from cheerleader to dancer, Gemma. What if he doesn’t like me? What if I’m not good enough? I’ve never even seen you dance.” I hung my head as the tears began to well in my eyes. “This was a mistake.”

  As I stood there with Gemma, my emotions began to run away with me. Between the knockdown drag-out with Aaron and my body still aching like a bus hit it, I couldn’t handle this. Kane obviously didn’t like me—or maybe he didn’t like Gemma helping me get an interview? I had no idea. All I knew was I couldn’t do this.

  “…you’ll be fine. Abbi? Abbi, talk to me. It’s going to be okay.”

  I looked up behind Gemma and saw Kane leave Cassian’s office. Still wearing the same deep frown, he walked toward us in all his miserable, hulking glory. Whoever he was with Gemma, this guy definitely wasn’t a fan of mine.

  “Gemma, come here.”

  His deep, husky voice resonated around us, and Gemma obeyed immediately. I imagined most people reacted that way to his voice. It hit me like one of Aaron’s punches, sending fear tearing through me.

  Straining to listen to their conversation, I leaned toward them and heard him say, “Gemma, you’ve always been a good employee, so I trust you. Can she even do this job? She looks like she’s afraid of her own shadow. What’s going on with her?”

  Gemma whispered, “She’s a good person who needs a break, Kane. I’ll give my word on it she can dance as well as anyone here. She thinks you don’t like her, so she’s unsure of herself. That’s why she looks so frightened.”

  He looked past her directly at me and twisted his face into an expression even more miserable than before. Then our gazes met and for a moment he didn’t look so terrible. I saw a gentleness in his eyes that made all my fear ebb away. Unfortunately, that moment passed quickly and he knitted his brows as he turned back to Gemma.

  “I don’t need some frightened bird working for me. She needs to be able to handle herself. Right now, I don’t think she can.”

  “Kane, give her a chance. She’s much tougher than you think. Trust me. I know. She’s a survivor.”

  “Fine. Give me a couple minutes and send her up.”

  With that, he stomped away toward the stairs on the far side of the room, never even speaking a word to me. Gemma walked back and gave me what could only be described as a forced smile. Even she knew this was a mistake.

  “Okay, I guess I should admit that Kane can be a little grumpy.”

  “Grumpy? Grumpy’s a dwarf who’s a little cranky, Gemma. Your boss hasn’t done anything but frown since he first looked at me. He won’t even speak to me.”

  “I know. I don’t understand why he’s acting like this. Maybe he’s having a bad day. Don’t pay any attention to that. Just go up to his office on the top floor and show him your stuff. I’ll be down here waiting for you, okay?”

  “Okay, but if this goes like I think it’s going to, I want you to know I appreciate you trying to help me.”

  “None of that talk.” Gently pushing me toward the staircase, she added, “Just ignore his mood and show him the real you.”

  With each step, the real me felt like she was going to throw up, either from nerves or the pain in my hip. The knot in my stomach that had begun to form during the interview tightened into a ball of fear so intense I almost turned around as I hit the last step on the top floor. I didn’t, but as I searched for Kane, I wanted to. I just didn’t want to let Gemma down.

  “Hello?” I tentatively called out as I walked down the dimly lit hallway.

  “In here,” he barked from a room behind me.

  Turning around, I made my way to where his voice had come from and found him sitting behind a wooden desk that seemed too small for someone his size. For the first time, he didn’t frown when he looked at me, and those blue eyes of his didn’t seem to shoot daggers in my direction.

  “Come in.”

  I stepped into his office and stood there as he had no chairs in front of his desk like Cassian had. He continued to stare at me, and while I wanted to break my stare, something inside me told me not to. He didn’t need to think he scared me as much as he really did.

  “You don’t say much, do you?”

  “I could say the same,” I answered, suddenly accepting that if this wasn’t going to end up with me getting a job at least I’d be myself. Gemma had said to show him the real me.

  “Do I frighten you?” he asked, never taking his gaze off my face. I’d expected him to be more interested in my body.

  “You did for a little while, but I’ve had to deal with much worse than you.”

  For the first time, his eyes trailed down my body and then made their way back up to my face. With the frown he’d worn for nearly every minute since meeting me, he said in a low voice, “I bet you have.”

  I had no idea how to respond or if I was even supposed to say anything to that, so I stood there in his office as he sat behind his desk staring back at me. I’d had some odd interviews, but this definitely ranked high on the bizarre meter. Even worse, I doubted I’d get the job after all his weird behavior.

  “I need to see your body, and I can’t in those pants. You look fine otherwise, but you’ll have to put a skirt on.”

  Confused as to where I’d produce this necessary skirt from, I opened my mouth to explain I didn’t have one, but he cut me off and handed me a black skirt I instantly knew would barely touch the middle of my thighs.

  “Where do you want me to change?” I asked, worried about that bruise on my leg.

  “Go out into the hallway and go in the first door on the right. Change and then go through the back door of that room into the hallway and look for the room with the light on.”

  Still confused but sure I had nothing to lose, I followed his directions to the letter and when I had changed into the skirt, I walked toward the room with the light, noticing the glass on the left wall of the hallway. This was how the dancers appeared in the rooms behind the windows.

  Stopping when I reached the light, I turned to see him sitting on a couch in the room, his long legs casually spread in front of him and his arms fully extended out to the sides. For the first time, Kane looked appealing, even sexy. He said nothing and made no movement to instruct me on what he wanted me to do. Unsure of what he expected, I simply stared out through the window at him. He stared back, locking his gaze on mine, and I thought I saw the hint of a smile.

  Just as I opened my mouth to ask what I should do, soft music began playing. Still, he made no movement to let me know what he wanted me to do, so I closed my eyes and listened as the sensual rhythm washed over me. Then I did as Gemma had told me to and danced for him.

  * * *

  AS SOON as Abbi showed up in front of that window, I knew what I’d suspected was true. The reason she seemed so frightened became clear. Gemma had done a great job hiding the bruise on her face, but I’d seen enough girls in this job to know when makeup was being used to conceal instead of enhance. Then when I saw Abbi standing there in that skirt, the huge purple bruise on the inside of her knee told me all I needed to know.

  I watched as she danced for me, easily better than any of the dancers I already had. As she moved, her body seduced me, and I knew she’d be a favorite of club members. Petite, she possessed a gracefulness that reminded me of a swan, delicate and soft. She was beautiful like an angel in the soft light of the room with her long blond hair gently flowing over the pale skin of her shoulders.

  Just watching her behind that window made me want her.

  But for all that, I saw things i
n her that signaled trouble. The bruises told me the ugly secrets of her private life, and I didn’t need a dancer who brought that to my work. Beneath the telltale signs of abuse were the more subtle signs, like the wince that marred her beautiful face when she moved the wrong way and likely hurt already painful ribs.

  Somebody had beaten her and recently too.

  It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen this before. My line of work involved more of this kind of behavior than I preferred to see. That someone much bigger than she had laid their hands on her body in anger sickened me. No matter what she’d said or done, she didn’t deserve that.

  The music began to fade away, and even as I regretted that she’d stopped dancing for me, I knew it was for the best. I couldn’t help her, no matter how much I wanted to.

  When she finished her audition, I forced myself to wave her away, and she left, her expression one of confusion and rejection. I saw her minutes later after she’d changed out of the loaner skirt into the pants meant to hide the evidence of what some boyfriend had done to her. Looking up at me, she waited for me to tell her she’d gotten the job.

  “One of us will let you know,” I said flatly, unable to tell her I’d already made my decision as she stared at me with hope in her big blue eyes.

  I watched her walk away as I tried to convince myself I’d done the right thing. If only the twinge in my chest didn’t make me feel like shit for doing it.

  By the time I reached the first floor, I’d pushed aside whatever she’d brought out in me. Entering Cash’s office, I found him and Stefan still there.

  “How’d the girl work out?” Stefan asked in his usual enthusiastic tone. “She seemed perfect to me.”

  Eager to take the attention off myself and my decision, I said, “I thought you’d given up on molesting the help since you and Shay got together. Back to your old tricks?”

  A look of hurt crossed his face. “No. I just thought she’d be a good dancer. She has a great body, and she’s cute. Nice eyes. The members who like the dancers would love her.”

  Leave it to Stefan to hit the nail perfectly on the head. The members would love her. She’d probably make a killing every night she worked. Too bad she’d never get the chance.

  Cassian looked at me and shrugged. “So? Can she dance or not?”

  “Not really,” I lied. “I don’t think she’ll work out.”

  “Are you fucking crazy? How bad was she?” Stefan asked, instantly pushing my buttons.

  I sat down in the chair next to him and shook my head, trying to remain aloof. “She’s just not right for what I need up there. I’ll let her know tomorrow.”

  “Forget that. I’ll take her. She may not be able to dance, but I bet she can serve drinks like a champ. My regulars will love her. Those big blue eyes will have them throwing money at her and us. Give me her number and I’ll call her. Better to hear good news from me instead of your bad news from you.”

  Stefan’s interest in Abbi bothered me. It shouldn’t have, but it did. He’d seemed to have turned over a new leaf since Shay, but was it possible that was all an act? Was he back to fucking the women who worked under him? I knew almost nothing about Abbi, but she didn’t need someone like the old Stefan in her life.

  I couldn’t let him or Cash see I cared one way or another, though. “Whatever. I’ll get you the number when I go back upstairs.”

  “Great! Maybe she can start tomorrow.”

  Cash seemed to not notice Stefan’s enthusiasm at the prospect of Abbi’s becoming a bartender or my apprehension over her working at the club at all. “Well, now that that’s settled, Mason called me for a meeting. I think I’m beginning to miss Shank.”

  “He saved our asses, Cash. Mason can’t be that bad,” Stefan said quietly.

  “What he is is demanding. I’m worried one of these days that councilman of ours is going to make a demand we can’t meet. Then we’ll have problems.”

  The three of us sat silently as the thought of someone even worse than Shank made me worry about the future of our club. Every night it became harder and harder. Hopefully, the deal with Mason to secure Club X wouldn’t turn out to be a deal with the devil.

  “You and Olivia going to Mom’s tomorrow?” Stefan asked in an effort to change the subject.

  “Of course. You’ll be there? I’m sure she wants to hear all about what’s going on with you and Shay,” Cash said with a chuckle. “How is she?”

  “She’s good. She’ll be back in a few months and maybe I can even convince her to come back to bartend while she’s here.”

  Cash moved around his desk toward the door. “As long as she’s not going to sue us for sexual harassment, I’m fine with whatever she wants to do here.”

  “She loves me, so it can’t be sexual harassment. I’m a changed man, gentlemen.”

  I rolled my eyes at Stefan’s remark, secretly hoping it was the truth. I might not be able to hire Abbi, but I wanted to believe she’d be okay bartending for him.

  Standing to follow Cash, I felt Stefan jab me in the shoulder. “What the hell was that look for?”

  “No look. Just hoping we don’t have to shell out any more money on bartenders who aren’t as in love with you as you think.”

  He walked beside me as I headed out into the club. “I’m not the one Cash should be worrying about. I saw the way you looked at that girl, Kane. I get the feeling she’s just your type.”

  “Shut up, Stefan. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I know what I saw. You can put that miserable guy face on all you want. You liked her. Not that I blame you. I like my women a little feistier, but whatever floats your boat. All I know is you liked her.”

  I stopped and turned to face him, hating that he could goad me like this. “If she was my type, wouldn’t I have hired her to dance for me?”

  He gave me a sneer. “I never claimed to understand how your mind works. I just saw the way you reacted when I said she could bartend for me. You can fool Cash since he’s not paying attention because his head is full of all that wedding business, but I saw that look in your eyes. You don’t have to worry. I told you. I’m a changed man. She’s safe with me. I can even make sure nobody gets a chance with her, if you want.”

  “I don’t care what you do, Stefan. What that girl does or doesn’t do is none of my business. Now if you don’t mind, I have work to do upstairs.”

  I quickly got away from him before he saw how much it bothered me to think of Abbi with him. I didn’t know why, but it did and it had nothing to do with him being unfaithful to Shay.

  “Hey, don’t forget to give me her number,” he yelled as I hit the stairs. “I want to get her in here as soon as possible.”

  Waving him off, I headed back up to my office to bury myself in work and forget about Abbi, her big blue eyes, and the ugliness of her life I couldn’t seem to get out of my mind.

  I knew from Stefan’s nightly reports to me that Abbi learned her job as a bartender pretty easily. Much to his amazement, she was a quick study. After he’d gotten over his surprise at her being more than just a gorgeous outside, he saw her as someone who could handle the highly coveted position of front bartender.

  Even as he told me these things night after night, I tried to convince him I didn’t want to know about her or how great she was at her job. Standing in front of me at my usual post on the top floor, he yammered on about her, and I held my hand up to stop him.

  “Why are you telling me all this?”

  “Because I know you like her, Kane. I don’t know why you didn’t hire her, but your loss is my gain. She’s a natural down there. Men love her. Hell, even women seem to like her serving them. You should come down and say hi.”

  “Thanks, but she and I aren’t friends.”

  I busied myself with paperwork, hoping to give him the clear hint that I wasn’t interested in what he had to say. Unfortunately, that’s not how Stefan worked. He’d gotten it into his head that I liked Abbi, and until that t
hought was proven wrong, he’d continue with these reports every night.

  “Kane, what is it with you? You never touch the dancers, and even though we have some gorgeous women working as bartenders downstairs, you never bother with them either. You live in that tiny apartment at the back of the building like some weird hermit. For the first time since we all began this thing, you like one of the girls. Why won’t you admit that and do something about it?”

  Stefan may have been my brother—or half-brother, to be more accurate—but he knew little about me. I’d made sure of that from day one, even as we’d hung out together as drinking buddies in the beginning. As different as night and day, he and I had few things in common. I was closer to Cash, maybe because we were almost the same age, but probably because his temperament was closer to mine. You could talk to Cash and trust him with what you said. Stefan was an entirely different story. Even if I wanted to admit that Abbi had moved me in some strange way, I could never say it to my younger brother.

  “There’s nothing to admit, and as far as I’m concerned, you can quit telling me this shit every fucking night.”

  Frustrated, he shrugged and shook his head. “Whatever. Just keep in mind that you can always stop down and say hi. She might like that. Maybe you could try to smile too. It might help.”

  Stefan turned and headed back down the stairs, disappearing into the darkness of the club. The truth was as much as I tried to act disinterested in his nightly rundown on Abbi, I began to look forward to hearing about her progress behind the bar. I didn’t understand it, but there it was. I couldn’t put my finger on how, but in just those few minutes with her she’d made me feel something I hadn’t felt in years.

  And that’s what it would remain. A feeling and nothing more. Whatever spark she’d ignited in me as I watched her dance couldn’t be fed. It, like any other feelings I could have for her, needed to be extinguished for the good of both of us.