Page 5 of Disco Fever

I threw my now finished cigarette to the ground, aggressively stomping it out with my boot. My mask hung freely on my wrist as I contemplated even putting it back on, but decided it was probably best to just slip it over my face. Protecting my identity was a priority right now and everyone here knew who the Devils were. I walked toward the voices with purpose, affixing the mask over my face and pulling my braids out of the way so they wouldn’t snag or pull uncomfortably in the straps. I twisted my head and cracked my neck, preparing for whatever I was about to step into.

As soon as I approached the pair that were arguing, I noticed the man had a firm grip on the woman's arm, one that her face told me she didn’t want. But what took me back was it wasn’t just any woman arguing with her lover. It was Bubbles.

Fuck this!

“What the fuck is going on over here?” I questioned, making my presence known. The man snapped his head in my direction, startled by my presence. I stood only a short distance from the two of them with my hands planted firmly on my hips. “Any trouble here, Bubbles?” My question was directed to her because fuck this guy. I truly didn’t care what the situation was, all I cared was that she was safe. She knew we protected everyone who worked here, whether the three of us had been making eyes at each other or not. She was a part of this club and I wasn’t about to let some dick manhandle her.

“Oh, I—” Bubbles began to say something to me.

“Bubbles?” The man snickered to himself, shaking his head. “She’s fine,” the man snipped. He looked me up and down as his mouth curled upwards, his mustache twitching as a dark shadow cast over his scruffy face. “You want to join us, though? You seem like a sparkly, foxy little devil. I’m sure the three of us could definitely have some fun together.” The man ogled me as he spoke. “What do you think, baby? Should your friend here join us?” He finally released Bubble’s arm as she stumbled back as he started walking towards me. I looked over at the dancer, noticing her arm was red. She rubbed it, trying to soothe the obviously painful ache. It pissed me off seeing her in pain. And I was fuming. “Come on, dollface.” The long-haired man flicked his head in my direction. “Take off that silly mask and join us so we can all go have some real fun together. I don’t mind sharing my baby with others.” He grinned a nasty smile as he started to reach for my mask. I snatched his wrist before he could touch it.

“You have some fucking nerve,” I barked. He tried to rip his arm from my grasp, but I refused to let go, tilting my head. “Clearly, you don’t know who the fuck I am or what I do for this club.” I twisted his wrist to a painful angle while he struggled, breathing heavily through his teeth. “I’ll take your lack of ananswer as a no, then?” I chuckled lightly. “No, you don’t know who I am and you sure as fuck don’t know what I do for this club.” He shook his head, and I looked over to Bubbles, who was just staring at me in shock and awe. Seeing her eyes on me was—well—I was soaking it up.

With the idiot’s wrist still in my hand, I wasted no time showing him who the fucking boss was as I twisted his arm up behind him, pinning it, as we stood face-to-face thanks to my platform boots that put me at about the same height as this fucker.

“Let me go, you bitch!” he snapped, trying to wriggle free.

“Why don’t you shut the fuck up and listen. Now, you’re going to do what I say, when I say, and you’re going to remain fucking quiet as you do so, got it?”

“Why should I?” the man gritted out. I couldn’t help but to smile beneath the mask.

“Because I’m not afraid to put a man in his place. And I will not hesitate to pull the blade I have tucked under my skirt and shove it deep into your side, watching as you bleed out at my feet. Plus, I hold some mighty big power in this town and unless you want me to show you just how powerful I really am, I suggest you be a good boy and do as I say. Got it, little man?”

He nodded, shaking his head as his long oily hair tickled the side of my face.

“Bubbles, my sweet angel.” I tilted my mask as I spoke in her direction, her attention snapping to me as those deep blue eyes looked right into my soul. “Do you mind leading the way back inside and to the back bathroom?”

She nodded her head without saying a word and led the way back inside Eden’s Inferno.

“Thank you, angel.” The three of us slowly re-entered the club.

Stepping back into the club was like stepping back into a wave of pleasure that wrapped around your body and pulled you deeper into its embrace. Eden’s Inferno was everything Dante and I loved, and despite the business aspect of it all, we thoroughly enjoyed being here. It was dealing with shit likethisthat exhausted us. Though truthfully, while dealing with scumbags was exhausting, it was also incredibly exhilarating. Really kept you on your toes.

I walked towards the back hallways of the club, simultaneously directing the man as we followed behind my angel. She was still wearing a set of pastel wings, though this pair was smaller than the more elaborate ones she wore for her stage performances. The set she had strapped around her shoulders were intended more for private dances. The feathers were dyed a light pale blue, almost white, and each wing was adorned with pale yellow and pink crystals of varying sizes, allowing her to sparkle from all directions. The fact she was wearing them, with the most enticingly matching set of lingerie, told me this fucker must’ve bought a private dance from her. Seeing how she reacted to him, Juan here must’ve used a fake name, hoping to get her alone, and that’s how she probably got into this situation. It rubbed me the wrong way, thinking about how he tried to trick her. The very thought was enough to make me wrench his arm further up his back as he stumbled forward a bit.

“Ouch, what the fuck?!” he said, a little too loud for my liking.

“I said be fucking quiet!” I whispered harshly into his ear. I took my long fingernail and shoved it into his side, not wanting to be bothered with my blade.

The three of us made it to the bathroom and Bubbles stepped to the side, allowing me to shove the man in. I stepped back from him, moving closer to Bubbles. “Sweet angel, go grab my partner now, would you? Let him know I’ve got a little situation back here.” She nodded her head in understanding and backed away,quickly walking out toward the main floor of the club to find Dante. I didn’t necessarily need him to deal with this situation, but we always liked to handle these things together. A bonus to our relationship.

I shoved the man further into the bathroom and slammed the door behind me. This particular bathroom was one of the staff bathrooms, but they rarely used it. For the most part, Dante and I used this bathroom for our business, among other things, and everyone knew this particular bathroom was ours. The Devil’s bathroom. It was available to us anytime we needed it. Like right now, with this fucker now planted on his ass against the tile floor, scooting backward from me in those shit brown corduroy pants he was wearing.

“Get the fuck up, you putz!” I scoffed, kicking the bottom of his boot. He scrambled to stand, stepping back toward the wall. He never took his dark eyes off me. I wondered how intimidating I must be to him, standing here in my black platform go-go boots, white mini-skirt, and low cut, sheer black top, covered in tattoos and piercings. I probably looked menacing. Not to mention the bedazzled purple devil mask that was on my face, not budging an inch. I continued my advance on him, scrutinizing him with a tilt of the head and a gaze up and down.

“What do you want from me?” he spat. I didn’t answer him. Frankly, he didn’t deserve my answer because I didn’t care. He hurt one of the girls here. And not just any girl. You don’t touch an angel, not on our watch. “Fuck!” he shouted as I crossed my arms. Not only do you not touch an angel, but you don’t fucking touchthatangel. Absolutely not. “Listen, I don’t know what she’s told you, but Luanne—Luanne is my girl! And–and I just want her to come back home.”

“Oh, she’syourgirl? Got it. That makes perfect sense. I mean, she really looked like she wanted to be with you outside,” I said sarcastically. This guy couldn’t be serious. He wasdelusional. It was obvious Bubbles wanted nothing to do with him.

“She—Luanne, she um, was just—,” he stuttered, failing to make a point.

“Nah, I’m going to stop you right there, chief.” I punched him square in the jaw as he crumbled to the floor, groaning. “You don’t speak for her. She can speak for herself.” I moved to stand over him, carefully removing my mask before tossing it on the counter. This man wasn’t leaving this bathroom alive tonight, that much I knew. Fuck anonymity, I wanted him to see my face. To know exactly who it was that ended his pathetic life. I pressed my boot firmly against his chest as I looked down at him, almost daring him to look up at me. To see the woman who just knocked him on his ass in the bathroom at a strip club.

So fucking pathetic.

Before I had the chance to say or do anything else to him, a knock hit the door. It was a specific knock, one Dante and I used for moments like this. This bastard was lucky Dante arrived when he did, in a manner of speaking. I tilted my head towards the door, keeping my eyes on Juan as I yelled, “Come on in, little devil!”

Dante opened the door and saw my mask was off. He immediately ripped his off, too, tossing it next to mine. I noticed Bubbles standing behind him just outside the hall, her wing-covered back to us. And for some reason, reasons I wasn’t sure of, I felt compelled to have her join us.

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