Page 1 of Bad Boy Next Door
One
Nick
An hour before closing, the club was half full, mostly loners with boners.
Stationed inside the front door, I crossed my arms over my chest and my hands barely reached my elbows. Intimidation was at the top of the job description for a strip club bouncer, and my bulked-up bod—a disadvantage for some things—made me an ace at this job. A master.
It’d been a typical night at Solid Gold. I’d wrangled six or seven rowdy bachelor parties, the douches’ entitlement raging after paying our sky-high party surcharges. And along with the partiers, there’d been the typical groups of out-of-town businessmen: assholes who arrived acting like they were above it all, then climbed on stage, drooling, after downing a bottle of table-service vodka.
Melodie, a dancer who’d worked here almost as long as I had, arrived at my side, her tits sparkling with sweat and glitter from her last set.
“Hey, Nick.” Her eyes were wide and worried, so I bent down to hear her over the pounding music. “Have you seen Angel?”
I shook my head and then scanned the room. Diamond was on stage, gyrating trancelike through her routine, and five other dancers were scattered around, grinding their asses into laps or pressing their tits near the customers’ faces. No sign of Angel.
I bent back down. “Why? She missing?”
Melodie bit the side of her hot-pink lip. “She’s pretty stoned. Last I saw her, she was doing a champagne-room dance for one of the bachelor parties. Haven’t seen her since.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. If Stan catches her doing tricks on the side again, she’ll be out on her ass.”
“I’ll check the alley.”
I nodded toward the other bouncer, Dom, who took my place at the front door, then I wove through the field of drunken men and writhing women toward the dark hallway that led past the girls’ dressing room and the kitchen to the back entrance.
As head of security for Solid Gold, I was supposed to tell our boss, Stan, if the girls broke his rules, but the dancers trusted me not to rat, and that’s how I kept them safe from dangers worse than a missed paycheck.
Ninety-five percent of our customers were harmless, horny assholes, but the other five percent were trouble—trouble with a capital dick—men who treated these women like garbage on account of how they made rent.
I pushed open the back door, and it slammed against the metal rail of the fire escape behind it. Sure enough, Angel was staggering on her sky-high heels, attempting a private dance for four men who were laughing and hooting, egging her on.
“Me first,” one of them said. “I am so ready to go.” He grabbed Angel’s arm, yanking her to her knees on the piss-soaked asphalt.
“Party’s over, gentlemen.” I strode down the alley toward them.
“Fuck off,” said the one with his fly open. Bold words given he’d just exposed a handle for me to grab onto.
“Sorry, boys. This isn’t going to happen.” Reaching under Angel’s armpits, I lifted her to her feet. Blood trailed down her shins. Damn. Even if she could take the pain once she came down from this high, Stan wouldn’t let her work if her knees scabbed over.
“I’m good,” she slurred, her eyes glassy, unfocused. “Don’t worry, Nick.”
“Four assholes and one barely conscious girl…” Tucking Angel under one arm, I straightened to my full height of six seven and stared at the frat-aged partiers. “Guess I’d better call the cops.”
“Buddy, she agreed to do us.” The tallest one held up his hands in defense. “Bitch took our money. This is con-sens-u-al.” The guy was blond and clean-cut. I’d lay bets his name was Bro.
“Does she look like she’s in any shape to be offering consent?” Angel slumped against me, her ankles crying uncle to her platform shoes.
“Whatever,” said the asshole with his dick half out. “Then the skank owes us two hundred bucks. Fifty per blow job.”
“I paid a hundred to fuck her,” said a guy from the shadows. “Either she bends over to take it, or I’m getting my hundred back.”
“And I’m calling the cops.” I reached for my phone.
“No fucking way.” The guy from the shadows ran at me swinging, which was kind of a joke.
Without even releasing my hold on Angel, I raised my other arm to block his punch. The guy swung again, and I grabbed his fist midair and twisted. He dropped to his knees.
