Page 4 of Demons in My Bed
A big hand grabbed my upper arm, preventing me from slamming into a group of people. I was already tensing, prepared to make a grab for my weapon, when the guy apologized. “I’m so sorry,” he muttered, pulling me upright.
I blinked a few times, chasing away the temporary blindness.Oh.I recognized him from my research. Frank, one of the gang’s higher-up members. He handled shipments and oversaw exports. All illegal, of course. His dark eyes took in my outfit, and I stepped out of his arms, holding my hands out in a ‘no, thank you, I’m fine’ gesture.
I flashed a fake smile. “No problem. I was distracted.”
Frank held up a finger, like a genius thought had just struck one of his two brain cells. “Let me make this right. I insist. Come with me.”
Wary of Frank and his motives, I followed two steps behind him until we reached the bouncers. I heard a few “lucky bitch” comments muttered from those still standing in the painfully slow line.
“Evening, gentlemen,” Frank crooned, earning a few eye rolls from security. “As you probably saw, I bumped into this sweet thing back there and I wanted to apologize—” A loud ringtone suddenly cut through his words, and Frank fished his phone from his pocket, his face paling at whatever he saw on the screen. “Gotta take this… See you around, sugar.”
I watched in annoyance as that slimy ass skittered away, phone held to his ear. One of the bouncers continued checking IDs and stamping hands. I wasn’t one to get this far and not get what I came for though. I wanted to be in that damn club.Now.I stepped to the side to speak with the other two bouncers and made room for a small chick who was wearing some kick-ass butterfly wings. Oh damn, so shiny.I want wings.
“Did you not see the line?” one of the bouncers asked, drawing me out of my momentary pout.
I pressed my palm to my chest and tossed a glance backward at the line. “Oh, I saw it. Did you not see this dress and these boots?” My focus switched to the bigger, black man beside him, who was smirking at me. I could work with that. “I have this too.” I pulled the invitation out of my bag and handed it over.
The two of them looked it over, giving me a skeptical look. “Okay…” the bigger of the two said, drawing out the word so it almost started as a statement and ended like a question. He folded the invitation, then tossed it into the trash can.
What the hell?I could tell I was losing them; they were eyeballing me like I was a stage five clinger. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
I was seconds away from being waved off when I squeaked, cutting off whatever words they were about to say. “I think I stepped in gum or something when I crossed the street. Could you take a look for me?”
“Miss, you’re going to have to wai—” He abruptly stopped protesting as I lifted my leg straight up, giving him a direct look at the sole of my boot and a straight shot of my cunt. Lace G-strings only covered so much.
“Fuckin’ Christ, get her inside. You have a mask? They’re required.” The other bouncer—who’d been silent so far—reached out to steady me as I lowered my leg.
With a big smile, I pulled out my bunny mask, the white gems reflecting the neon colors of the lights, practically glowing in their settings on the tall black ears. “All set, big guy.”
“James, escort this one to Top Tier. I think the bosses might appreciate her choice of mask for the evening,” the grumpy, tattooed head guy ordered the smirky, nice one.
Thank fuck. I’m in. I knew the bunny ears would work. Kinky, naughty gangster demons.
My escort held out his arm for me to take, and I stifled a snort. Like this was some kind of upstanding ball for royalty. If dirty, seedy underbelly ever had a face, it would be this city. This fucking club. This gods damn gang. I situated my mask and slipped my arm through James’s.
“Welcome to Haunt, where anything you desire is possible. Whatever you’re into, or looking for, I guarantee you can find it here.”
“Thank you,” I murmured distractedly. My eyes were busy sweeping my surroundings. The entrance led to a wide hall with walls completely covered in detailed graffiti. Black lights lit the walls up in flares of neon, every color you could imagine. The music was getting louder, but there was no sign of the actual club yet.
A group of women were just ahead of us, and at the end of the hall, they took a left. We went right. “The main club is that way, but you’ve been selected to be VIP tonight so you get access to Top Tier.”
“What does that mean, exactly?”
“There is an exclusive upper level of the club. VIP guests are the only ones allowed into Top Tier.” I lifted a brow, pretending I had no idea why I’d been chosen. He chuckled. “Our bosses have certain… tastes. Let’s just say, we think you may be intriguing to them. Isn’t that why everyone comes to these parties? To let loose and maybe catch the eye of The Exiled?”
“You mean I’ll get to meet them tonight?” I asked, faking my fangirl excitement. I mean, Iwasexcited, just not for the reason most of these people would be.
James winked at me. “Definitely. Maybe more than that, if you play it right. Your little boot stunt out there was a nice touch.”
We shared a knowing look. I didn’t even try to argue, because really, what was the point? He knew I was trying to get in here, and here I was. So I just shrugged.
To my surprise, James bellowed a laugh. “You just might make it out, girl. I like your spirit. Here we are.” I released his arm, and he used his thumb to scan us into the exclusive part of the club. “After you.”
The door swung open, revealing a flight of stairs. The music swept down the steps, that loud, contagious energy that only nightclubs create reaching for me, luring me into its depths. Vaguely aware of my escort shouting over the booming bass, I did hear him say that everything upstairs was part of the exclusive Top Tier.
When I reached the top of the stairs, I schooled my expression, not wanting to give away my real reaction ofholy fucking shit.Internally, I thanked the emotionless drones who’d taught me at the academy how to be just like them… because there were writhing bodies. Everywhere. Dancing, humping, fucking. Dancers hung from the ceiling, suspended by ropes, twisting their lithe bodies in time with the music. Strobe lights and flashes of neon lit up the otherwise pitch-black space.
“Enjoy your evening at Haunt!” James yelled in my ear before disappearing back down the stairs. I didn’t give him a second thought, moving further into the club, eager to see what an Exiled party was really like. How dark could they really be?
