I swallowed hard. There it was, the question I wanted to avoid. If he knew about my past, he’d never let me step foot through that door. “Nothing important.”
A beat passed in brutal silence. His eyes bored into the very depths of me. At least, that was what it felt like.
“I see. What’s your name?”
I frowned. What was with the fifty questions? I didn’t want to tell him my full name. He would look me up—they all did. And nothing good ever came of that. But if he decided to hire me, he’d have to know my name for the paperwork. Ugh.
“Mia McNally.”
“Hmm.” His sharp blue eyes flashed as he took a step toward me. I stiffened, and my breath caught in my throat. He was taller than I’d realized. At least six foot and brimming with pure muscle. I swore I could smell a hint of bonfire rippling off his skin. The tension in my body rocketed up a notch. “I’ll give you five minutes for an audition, but only because I can’t quite figure you out.”
I swallowed hard and laughed awkwardly. That made two of us. Who the hell was this guy? Why was he such an asshole? And did Ireallywant to work for him?
He turned and stepped into the shadows of his club. Without another glance in my direction, he held the door open and waited. “Aren’t you coming?”
I pulled the night air into my lungs and stepped intoInfernal.
2
“Welcome to my club.” The owner, whose name I still didn’t know, led me through a dimly-lit corridor. The walls were lined with framed photographs of famous people. Actors and pop singers, politicians and reality stars. My heart thumped as we drew close to a gleaming oak door. Had all of these people been here? What kind of place had I ended up in, and why had I never heard of it before?
This guy’s opinion of me was starting to make a little more sense. With my casual, well-worn clothes and flaming red hair, I wasn’t exactly a shiny, glamorous kind of girl. I was more at home stomping on a bar top than mingling with women who wore glittering jewels that cost more than my entire life’s earnings.
He pushed open the oak door, and I followed him into the main section of his club. The once-gritty warehouse had been transformed. A black marble floor stretched out before us, leading to a small stage with a DJ stand. Intimate booths ran along the walls where leather seats curved around tables stocked with champagne buckets. Above the dance floor, seven human-sized birdcages hung from the lofted ceiling. Diamonds glittered along the bottom of each one.
Infernalwas a club alright, but it was unlike any I’d ever been in before. This place was meant for people with money.
“What do you think?” the owner asked.
I jumped at the sound of his deep voice, and then inwardly cursed at myself for the reaction. “It looks expensive.”
His lips curved into a wicked smile. “That’s because it is.”
“So, that’s why you didn’t want to give me an audition. Because I look like I’m poor.” Again, my stupid mouth betrayed me. I really should learn how to keep my thoughts to myself in situations like this. But something about this guy really brought out my snark.
“That’s not entirely accurate,” he said smoothly before strolling across the floor with his hands slung into his jean pockets. I watched him. I couldn’t help myself. His dark hair was the color of night itself, and something about the way he moved reminded me of shadows. Very mesmerizing shadows. Gritting my teeth, I glanced away.
“This is where you’d be dancing.” I turned back to find him gazing at me with those sharp blue eyes. Something flashed in the depths of them, something I couldn’t read. I followed the line of his arm, and then his finger. He was pointing up at the oversized birdcages. Just as I’d thought. “Is that a problem?”
“Why would it be?” I strode over to him with all of the bravado I didn’t feel. “It’s just a platform for dancing as far as I can tell.”
He shot me a dark smile. “You’d be trapped. If you wanted to leave, you couldn’t. Not until the end of your shift when we lower the cages.”
My stomach flipped. Well, that was more than a little unnerving. Plus, shivers coursed down my spine from thewayhe’d said it. Like it was a threat. But I knew he was only trying to get a reaction out of me. Probably. And I wouldn’t let him see that he’d gotten one.
“No big deal,” I said as breezily as possible. “What kind of hours are we talking about? Are there any breaks?”
“The dancers work from eleven to three. No breaks while you’re up there. The guests enjoy the dance floor during those hours, and lowering the cages is a logistical nightmare.”
I nodded as if the idea of being trapped inside a cage for four hours was at all reasonable. “Do dancers get any tips?”
The owner motioned at something—orsomeone—hidden in the dark shadows near the ceiling. Were we being watched? A moment later, chains groaned as the nearest cage lowered to the ground. He opened the door and pointed at a small golden bucket. “If someone seems interested in your dancing, you can lower that with a rope. But be sure to pocket anything you receive. If you lower it with cash still inside, the tricksters in the crowd will happily take it.”
“Tricksters? Sure.” I nodded again.Who uses the word tricksters?
“Are you ready to audition now?”
I swallowed hard. “One last question.”
