“It doesn’t matter. You know I’m out soon.”
“Just a few more weeks, huh? I’m going to miss you around here.” Her reflection pouts at me.
“You could always move with me. There are clubs all over out there. You know that.”
“Are you kidding me? I can’t compete against Vegas dancers!”
“That’s true. You do have two left feet,” I tease as I climb the steps. The sound of a makeup brush hitting the steps has me laughing more.
“Bitch,” she says back, but her voice is a muffled whisper as I open the door at the top of the steps that lead to the main floor.
The sound of the base from the DJ is pounding. The vibrations run under my skin and wrap around my chest. That’s one thing I won’t miss, but I will miss the attention. As I walk through the main floor of the club, hungry eyes follow every one of my movements. I decided to leave my real hair down tonight, and I didn’t put in my usual green contacts. My face hurt too much to do anything besides my makeup. I grabbed a random set of lingerie from my dresser and practically ran out the door. Thank god the bra andthong are a matching red lace. The black chiffon robe is see-through and everyone is watching.
Tony, our main bouncer, nods as I walk past him to go up the steps to Declan’s office. He’s a bit older than me at thirty years old. He towers over me in height and has a body built like a linebacker. His dark hair is slicked back, and his beard is always neat. He’s the most attractive out of all the bouncers here. He’s also the one I get along with the best.
He’s standing guard at his post at the bottom of the staircase. His eyes linger too long on my cheek. He was here last night. Declan threatened Tony when he tried to help me after Declan hit me…punched. He punched me. I can feel the warm, light pressure of Tony grabbing my wrist.
“What’s up, Tony?” I ask as he pulls me down a step so he’s eye level with me.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t step in. Are you…” I cut him off by placing my hand over the top of his around my wrist.
“Tony, you’re fine. I wouldn’t expect you to go against Declan for me. We all know he can be a bit of a dick when he drinks,” I laugh, and Tony chuckles.
He lifts the back of my hand to his lips. The hairs of his beard and mustache are coarse against my skin. We’ve secretly hooked up a few times after a late shift just to blow off some steam, but it’s never gone any further than that. No dates, no cuddles…We don’t even text.
“Just be careful. He’s been throwing a fit for the last hour. Something about some guy that’s here tonight.” He kisses the back of my hand once more before he turns back to manning his post.
The steps leading to Declan’s private skybox, as he callsit, are dimly lit. I can hear the muffled noise of shouting followed by breaking glass behind the door at the top of the steps. Welp here goes nothing.
*Knock* *Knock*
The sounds turn from shouting to frantic noises of him most likely straightening whatever he just knocked over.
“Who is it?” Declan shouts.
“Mina.”
“Fuck,” he hisses. “Come in!”
When I step into his office, the scent of bourbon hits me. The warm, charred vanilla scent wraps around the room. I can practically smell the oak barrel. Declan is looking past me. A large, wet splatter is dripping down the wall. Glass is shattered haphazardly on the floor. Well, at least that’s why the whole room smells like a bourbon barrel.
“Everything okay, Dec?” I hesitantly ask as I turn back toward him. His dark eyes follow up my legs, slowing at my chest, then stopping as he looks at my face. His eyes are narrowed as if the distant memory of last night is cutting through the haze of his hangover.
“Come here,” he orders. Seven more weeks, then I’ll never have to submit to him again. To anyone, for that matter.
When I’m within reach, he grabs my hips and pulls me the rest of the way into his arms. He wraps around me and rests my head against his chest.
“I’m so sorry, babe. I don’t fully remember what happened last night, but I know I hurt you.”
He pulls away to cradle my face. He studies every inchof me. He looks unsettled. He knows he hit me, but this makeup hides everything. His thumb brushes against the hidden bruise, and my breath stutters. His eyes widen ever so slightly as my response to his touch fully confirms that it wasn’t a nightmare.
“It’s fine, Dec. What’s going on? Jaz said you needed me.”
He steps away and walks to the one-way glass wall overlooking the club below. His eyes wildly dart around the floor searching for someone. I take a moment to look over him entirely. This man is a walking sin. Tall with dark green eyes and jet-black hair that’s always swooped to the side. His body is all toned muscle. He’s dangerous and radiates power. It’s one of the things that drew me to him in the first place. He’s only a couple of years older than me. He owns Badlands. He inherited it when his dad, Jocko, was murdered shortly after I got here.
“You see that guy?” he asks as he points to the table in the corner, half hidden in shadows.
“Yeah…”
