Fucking Diamond.
I should’ve killed the cunt last night, of course she changed her fucking tune. Axe probably fucked her until she caved, I need to go punch the asshole square in the jaw.
Angel twists her shirt in her hands, chews on her lip a little more before clearing her throat. “I just wanted to say thanks… for coming to help me. I know you’re just… protecting property or whatever but, yeah, thanks.”
Her eyes stay on the ground and my jaw locks up from all of the fucking clenching my teeth are doing. Does she even know what she sounds like right now?
Thanking me for dehumanizing her.
It’s the first of many signs to come that something isn’t fucking right.
I don’t see it that way though. I see it as a girl who’s trying to piss me the fuck off, get a rise outta me to chase this patch of mine and fuck if that isn’t the biggest fucking kick in the guts.
I want her.
She’s playing fucking games.
I’m going to end up losing fucking everything to a girl who’s named Angel, looks like just like one but has the fucking devil inside her.
She moves to turn around right as Jameson and his party arrive.
I lose my goddamn head for a second.
“What are you wearing tonight?”
She turns back to me and swallows. “I brought a few options. Speck… Speck said there’s different laws about dancing at this kind of bar so I’ve got a corset instead. Is that… okay?”
I shrug and stand up. “Show me. I’ll take you out back, you can get changed and if it’s not right you can put something else on.”
She bites her lip and jerks her head into a nod. “Thanks. It’s… been weighing on me. I don’t want to… risk the club or my job.”
Another warning sign.
Why the hell does she need the money this badly?
But that thought doesn’t stick in my head like it should. Instead, I walk out to the back rooms and I let her into the staff bathroom. Coulson, the bartender here, sees me and gives me a respectful nod. He’s a good man, the type who knows his place, and when Angel shuts herself up to get ready I lean against the wall opposite like some kinda chump he doesn’t say a fucking word about it.
“You want a drink, boss?”
Good man. “Whiskey. Just bring the bottle and if Rue gets in let him know I need to see him.”
Coulson nods and leaves without a word.
Three minutes later Rue stalks out, the whiskey in his hand, and a pissed look on his face. So a regular Saturday night for him then.
“Is there a reason you’re stalking the fucking bathroom, asshole?”
I shrug. “Diamond changed her mind. Sent Angel to dance.”
Rue groans and opens the bottle, taking a swig straight before handing it over to me. “And she’s in there? Getting ready to dance for all your fucking friends?”
My jaw clenches. “Guess so.”
The bathroom door unlocks and Rue curses, his eyes dropping down to the ground like he’d rather gouge them out than look at her. I know it’s not because he thinks he’ll want her. Nope, he’s so far fucking gone on Graves that he barely fucking notices tits on anyone else.
Nah, he’s respecting me and my fucking rage at the sight of Angel.
A fucking corset.
I didn’t even know what one was but there’s no fucking way, no fucking way, any woman of mine is walking out in that. Fuck, it’s worse than the pasties. White lace clinging to every fucking inch of her, accentuating her every curve, and I want to kill everyone.
“I just got here from the party and they changed their minds, Angel. You head on back to The Boulevard. I have Mel coming over,” Rue says, his eyes still on the ground, digging me out of the fucking murder that’s about to happen.
I finally look up to meet Angel’s eyes.
Her pupils are blown out, her lips are parted and, fuck me, she’s breathing in these little pants that make me wanna push her back into that bathroom and fuck her against the wall.
I step forward and she snaps out of the trance, ducking her head and scurrying backwards.
“No worries, I’ll just get dressed again.”
She snaps the door shut and I start cursing up a storm.
Rue huffs and pulls out his phone to call Diamond and arrange the swap. “You are fucked, brother. You are fucked.”
Chapter Eleven
Angel
After being sent away from the bachelor party, I head over to The Boulevard to cover for Mel’s shift. It’s a long night of dealing with Diamond being pissed off at me and when it’s finally over the last thing I wanna hear is her fucking voice. I’m digging through my locker for my shampoo, ready to scrub myself completely before I head back to my Chevy to pass out, and I damn near hit my head when she speaks to me.
“Tomi wants to see you in the back.”
I glance over my shoulder at her but the only thing on her face is a smug grin.
My stomach drops.
I pull a shirt over my head and when I move to grab up some pants she snorts at me. “He’s an impatient man, you might wanna hurry your ass up. Besides, going in there fully clothed might just piss him off.”
Fuck.
I lock up my shit and then head to the office, my hands shaking a little at whatever it is he could possibly want from me. Fuck, I’ve been dancing my ass off, coming up with new shit so the crowds stay as big as ever around here, I’m always on time, I never gossip or start shit with the other girls… what could I have possibly done wrong?
I take a deep breath before I knock in an attempt to calm my nerves but nothing prepares me for the low tones of Tomi’s voice when he calls out to invite me in.
He doesn’t sound pissed off.
My hands shake a little more as I open the door and step in, finding Tomi behind the desk with a bottle of Jack and two shot glasses.
“Take a seat.”
Why the hell do my legs get weak at the command?
I stumble over and collapse into the chair, telling myself I’m just exhausted. I’ve been working harder than any of the other girls and my muscles are feeling it but I know I’m lying to myself.
Tom is wearing a black shirt under his cut, the sleeves short and tight over his arms. The tattoos flex over his muscles and it’s clear there’s something about this man that draws me in because… I want him. I fucking want him enough that maybe I could touch him and have him touch me.
He smirks at me, still not saying a thing, and slowly picks up the bottle to pour out the shots.
I find my voice, rough and drenched in heady lust, “I don’t drink whiskey.”
Tomi shrugs. “Do the shots with me. What’s it going to hurt?”
Me.
I’ve never had hard liquor before and he’s too intense for me to try it out for the first time. I mean, he’s never tried to touch me, not once, but every time he comes into the club he sits in the corner and watches me all night. I think half the reason the other girls hate me is because he doesn’t watch any of them anymore. I try to tell them I don’t want his attention, I really don’t, but that just makes them even more angry.
Diamond keeps snapping at me, like I’m acting ‘too good’ for him. Fuck, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m a runaway gutter rat flashing her tits to old men for money.