They’d complained loudly. The lady who owned the place had started out as a server and told them to take their crappy business elsewhere.
She, Megan, and the crew educated those goons on how to treat people. The same as she and the others here had done in Hard Lust. If the demons wanted their drinks delivered promptly, they had to be nice and offer tips for decent service.
Most protested at first. Katie fixed that. She might have been timid but was also observant, listening to the demons bragging about fudging on their hours or the work they’d done. Some stole items from the company store. When she and everyone else threatened to expose their larceny, they were suddenly onboard with gratuities.
Okay, so maybe it was blackmail. But this wasn’t only Hell, it was war.
To Megan’s relief, Cecil had also played into the plan. Servers, not demons, approached the bar for drinks, arguments to the contrary not allowed. That douche didn’t like any changes in the program.
Rather than divvying up the spoils, Dolly pushed everything toward Megan. “Here you go.”
“No, I couldn’t.”
Katie touched her arm. “You have to.” She kept her voice low. “This way you’ll soon have the bribe you need to get out of here.”
“Or buy an audience with Satan,” Jahzara said.
She’d told them her plan and they’d offered to help. Still, this was too much. “Guys, really. You can buy food and water with your portions.”
Dolly patted her rounded stomach. “I’m full.”
“Me, too,” Katie said.
Jahzara nodded. So did Queenie, Francine, and Petra, the newest members of their circle, each great ladies.
Damn, she loved them. They hugged. She fought tears. “Once I get the answers I need, I’m helping each of you to escape.”
“Not me,” Katie said but didn’t look sad. “I made my bed.”
“Fuck that.” Megan squeezed her hand. “You were being human. Last I looked that isn’t a crime. I’m helping you, too, and anyone else here who doesn’t belong.”
“That would only leave Giselle and Sapphira,” Dolly said.
They laughed.
Megan calmed first. “During the time we’re still forced to stay, I intend to make things much better in Hard Lust.” For them. As far as Andros, Racan, and Vespar were concerned, karma could be a real bitch. She revealed her next plans.
Katie held her fists to her chest. “Do you think it will work?”
“You’re asking Megan that?” Jahzara elbowed Katie. “She’s the one.”
Their praise made her smile. “Thanks. But I’m just an average person who demands justice. Hardly like Neo in The Matrix.”
They looked at her blankly.
She’d forgotten they’d arrived here before the film released and gave them a brief rundown on the action.
Dolly spoke to the others. “Sounds like her, right? Even better because she’s a woman.”
They nodded.
Screeeeeeeech.
Megan made a face. “Back to the salt mines.” She pulled on her heels. Ugh. Her blisters had popped, but at least she had renewed hope in her situation. “You guys get some rest. See you back at the club later.”
Chapter Twelve
Vespar
Something was up. Vespar wasn’t sure what but wouldn’t depend on the cameras to show him. Earlier, he’d focused on images in the ladies’ dorm.
Megan and her new BFFs had gathered on her mattress and talked up a storm. He would have given several eons of his existence to know what they discussed and possibly hid.
Heads down, they struck a pose like football players in a huddle, blocking the camera from showing their faces or moods.
Their secrecy had to stop.
He’d reached the office door when Andros and Racan caught up.
Andros leaned against the panel, keeping it closed. “Where are you going?”
“Where do you think? I’m tired of getting my information from that.” He flung his hand at the monitors. “I want to see what Megan is doing while I’m in the same room.”
“Sounds good,” Racan said. He pushed Andros aside and opened the door.
Shoulder-to-shoulder they tore down the hall.
Vespar stopped first and gripped the others’ arms to keep them from bursting into the club. “How about we play this cool rather than show how eager we are to be near her?”
Andros pulled away and smoothed his sleeve. “Speak for yourself.”
Give me a break. If Andros’s dick was any harder, it would rip his pants.
Racan’s threatened to break through his fly in its effort to be free. He, however, didn’t hide his feelings, his breathing hard, color high. “I wouldn’t mind seeing her.”
Andros tilted his chin to the ceiling and sighed loudly.
Racan growled. “So kill me for having feelings.”
“If that were only possible,” Andros said.
Vespar exchanged a glance with Racan. They strode into the club, leaving Andros in the hall.
Not for long. He was right behind them.
Demons filled every table, the servers, including Megan, zipping faster than the Road Runner in kiddie cartoons.
Impatient, Vespar flicked his hand. Devils at the table closest to them flew up, then toward the BDSM and stadium areas. He sank into a now empty chair. Racan and Andros did the same with theirs. The demons’ abandoned booze fizzed, flamed, or made popping sounds.
Vespar smacked his palm on the wood. “This table is dirty!” His shout competed with the music. He tried to detect Megan’s location but couldn’t, the ladies’ speeds smearing them equally, the sulfur and demon scents overwhelming her fragrance. “Someone had better clean it up!”
Giselle strolled toward them. The only server on her own clock. “Hey handsome.” She spoke to Andros, a crazed look in her gray eyes, similar to Charlie Manson’s unnerving stare. “How’ve you been?”
He pushed his chair back, putting distance between them.
Vespar slammed his fist on the table. The drinks sloshed, one burning holes in the wood. “Did you hear us speaking to you? The handbook specifies you do not utter one sound unless spoken to first.”
She gave him a sideways glance. “I bet you’re trouble in bed.” She refocused on Andros, adoration on her face. “Though not as much as you will be.”
Racan brought both fists down. “He’s off limits to you. Understand?”