Devil's Charm

by Sam Crescent

  “Nah, I saw some of The Skulls. They’re the same. Looked happy and I’m happy for you.” Devil slapped his friend on the back.

  “How long you sticking around for this time?” Vincent asked.

  “Worried we’ll upset your woman?”

  “Nah, Phoebe doesn’t have a problem with you guys. You’re family, and she’s big on family.”

  “The boys are looking to settle down. We can do our runs and shit, but crashing in dives has lost its appeal.” Devil took another sip of his beer. “We’re looking to have a little thing going like Tiny. He’s got a fucking dream up and running. No one gives him shit, beside the obvious problems of the club. I was thinking we could do something here. Build a club and earn money.”

  “You’d have to get rid of the pimps or strike up a deal. Some of the men love their women earning money,” Vincent said.

  “Any trouble here?”

  “Only when one of them tried to take my girls. I don’t like unwilling, and believe me when I say I’ve got a couple of girls unwilling to trade stripping for whoring.” Vincent threw the empty bottle into the trash can.

  “Like who?” Devil asked.

  “Jenny, she’s the short one. Sweet, husband comes in every night to see her shows. They’ve got a thing going, and I think they’re only here to spice up their love life.” Vincent chuckled. “He’s the one who stayed ‘round the back. Always taking care of his woman.”

  “Sounds like a club man.”

  “Probably. He only wants Jenny though.”

  “The other?” Devil asked, hoping Lexie’s name came up. Shit, he really needed to look for Kayla’s sister. She could be his only hope of finding his son.

  “Lexie is the other. She’s single from what I know. Came in six months ago needing a job. Insecure though. She only wanted a waitressing job. Thought she was too fat to be a dancer,” Vincent said.

  “Fucking bitches. I really don’t know what goes on in their heads.” Devil couldn’t be bothered with women talking about dieting and shit. Once they started talking shit, he shoved his dick in their mouth to shut them up.

  “Yeah, she’s a good earner. The little boy she’s looking after is cute, too. She came in with him.”

  Devil froze. Okay, the name was a fucking coincidence but not that fucking much.

  “What the hell you talking about?” Devil asked.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Start from the beginning. What fucking kid?”

  Vincent frowned. “She turned up six months ago carrying a baby. A little boy, newborn. Her sister had showed up and dumped him. Left Lexie to provide for him and that’s when she came to me for a job. She sounded pretty desperate.”

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Devil stood up heading toward the office. After his recent phone call with Tiny, he wasn’t in the mood to start shit. Hearing about Snitch being back from the fucking dead hadn’t put him in a good mood. There was no way he’d been kissing the woman he was looking for. Miracles did not fall into his fucking lap so easily.

  “Devil, hold it, what’s going on?” Vincent asked.

  He opened the filing cabinet where Vincent kept the files of all of their employees. The strip club was aboveboard and fucking legal. No one could slam them with anything. Finding her file, he looked at the man who had her this whole time.

  “On the road I knocked up a woman by the name of Kayla Howard. You know her?” Devil asked.

  “No, I’ve never heard of her.”

  “Her half-sister is known as Lexie Howard. They have different fucking dads but the same mom.” He pulled out the information that Tiny had gotten for him off Whizz. The girl in the picture didn’t look anything like the woman he had seen tonight.

  “Everything matches up. The baby, the time frame, everything,” Devil said.

  “Are you telling me, Lexie, my stripper, is who you’ve come looking for?” On the road Devil hadn’t phoned with any update or anything for Vincent. He’d simply told the other man he was on his way to see him. “She’s a good girl, Devil.”

  “Her sister is the one I’ve got a fucking problem with. Where does Lexie live?” he asked, looking through her work.

  Vincent took the paperwork from him. “Promise me you’re not going to hurt this girl. She’s working hard for that boy. He’s yours, isn’t he?”

  “The boy, yeah, he’s mine. I’m going to do a fucking paternity test to find out first. Knowing Kayla he could be fathered by anyone.”

  Devil saw her date of birth put her at twenty-one years old. Kayla was over five years older than she was.

  “Tell me I’m not about to put this girl in danger?” Vincent asked.

  “I’ve not got a problem with the girl. She’s not a blonde then.” He thought about her hair, which reminded him so much of Angel. Part of him was pleased she didn’t have blonde hair.

  “It’s a wig.”

  Vincent gave him the address. “Do you think you should be going out now?”

  “No time like the present. I want to see her now.” He headed out of the office. Someone turned the music off as he grabbed his boys’ attention. “Anyone who can ride get your asses on your bike. I’ve got to go and get my kid. Is this place okay for us to crash tonight?” Devil asked. Tomorrow he’d be looking to find a place big enough, like Tiny had. The more he thought about it the more he liked the idea of having all of his men in one place.

  “Sure. This is your place, Devil. Deeds are all in your name.”

  “Good. You can head on home. Send my love to Phoebe.”

  “Will do. What do you want me to do about the women here?”

  “Shit, some of my men can stay while I get this shit sorted out.” Devil walked out of the building toward his bike. Straddling his machine, he turned the ignition, loving the feel of the bike coming to life. It was time for him to get to his kid and get him home safe.

  Not got a home.

  He’d handle all the other finer details later.

  The ride didn’t take long at all. He was shocked by the activity outside the apartment building. Women stood waiting for some kind of action. In a few hours the sun would be up and the women would disappear. Is this the kind of life Lexie was looking for? He didn’t even know the woman, and yet he was pissed at the fact she was living like this.

  A pimp was yelling as he thumped one of the girls. Devil hated getting in other people’s business, but the girl was already black and blue.

  “What are you doing, boss?” Curse asked.

  Curse had gotten his name during one of their rides. Whatever could go wrong on the guy’s bike had, and they’d nicknamed him Curse. His real name was Bradley James, and he was a damn good man. Devil made sure the men who stuck right by him were not users or abusers. There were some rules he abided by even if he didn’t show it to anyone else. He liked the fact The Skulls thought he was ruthless, which he was, but he wasn’t into beating up bitches either.

  He was all about fair fighting, and a pimp against a scared young girl was not fair. She didn’t look all that old either.

  “I hate pimps almost as much as I hate liars.” Devil clicked his knuckles approaching the man who was kicking the girl on the ground.

  “No, please, stop, he didn’t pay me. I promise you he didn’t pay me.” The girl was whimpering, sobbing, and trying to protect herself from the brutish attack.

  “You’re a fucking slut. Pay me my money.” The pimp wouldn’t stop.

  Clearing his throat, Devil waited for Pimp to stop.

  “What the fuck do you want?” Pimp asked.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Rob, what’s it the fuck to you?” Rob, the pimp, walked away from the girl to get into Devil’s face. “Do you want me to fuck you over, huh?”

  Devil’s men chuckled.

  “You the pimp around here, pretty boy?” Devil asked.

  “Yeah, you want to start working on my land you’ve got to pay a fucking fee. These are my girls, and this is my
fucking lan—” Devil slammed his forehead against Rob’s. There was only so much shouting he was going to accept. He hated pimps and especially pimps who forced girls into the lifestyle. The girl he’d been beating didn’t look older than seventeen. When Rob grabbed his nose, he landed a blow to his face. Rob went down, and he slammed his foot onto the guy’s junk for good measure.

  Rob screamed like a girl.

  He noticed a lot of women were cheering at him for beating on the fucking pimp.

  “Now, let’s see if I’ve got this right. I own this place. Name is Devil, and I’m president of Chaos Bleeds.”

  “Fuck you, prick.” Rob made to spit on him.

  Pressing Rob’s face against the tarmac, Devil waited for him to scream before lifting him up. The girl Rob had been beating on looked, terrified.

  “It’s time for you to say sorry.” Dragging Rob across the ground by his hair toward the girl he saw Curse was talking to her, stopping her from running away. “What’s your name, honey?” Devil asked.

  “It’s Judi.”

  “How old are you, Judi?”

  “I’ll be eighteen in three weeks.”

  “You telling me you’re not even eighteen yet?” Devil asked.

  “No.”

  The desire to end Rob was strong, but he needed him to put the word out about Chaos Bleeds. Once the word was out, Rob was going to be his.

  “You will not fucking touch her again. If I see your face around here I will put a bullet through your motherfucking skull. Do you understand me?” Devil asked.

  “Yeah, I get it.”

  “Say sorry,” Devil said.

  “I’m not saying sorry to that fucking slut.”

  Rob’s hand was flat out on the ground. Lifting his foot, Devil brought it down. He heard the crunch of bone as Rob squealed like a girl.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”

  “That wasn’t so difficult, was it?” Devil asked. “Get the fuck out of my sight. I see you once more then you’re fucking dead.”

  The pimp scrambled away trying to run so fast.

  “Judi, are you okay?” Devil asked, crouching down to look her in the eye.

  “Thank you. Thank you so much.” She moved to her knees and then wrapped her arms around his neck. The young girl sobbed as her frail body trembled.

  “Get her cleaned up. Where’s your parents?” Devil asked.

  “Gone. They’ve been gone a long time.”

  Hating the world, Devil handed her over to Curse, who then handed her to Death. They’d take care of her. Girls her fucking age should be loving life not dealing with shit-heads like Rob. He despised pimps. Women who were not willing shouldn’t be forced into any kind of lifestyle.

  Shaking his head, Devil headed toward the front of the apartment building.

  “Who are you looking for?” a woman in her thirties asked.

  “None of your business.” He headed into the building and started climbing the floors until he came to the right one.

  “Is this girl a whore?” Curse asked.

  “No, she’s a stripper. Vincent likes her, or at least I think he does.”

  “He’s turned into a pussy with that woman of his.”

  “I wouldn’t tell him that. He’d cut your dick off,” Devil said, standing outside the door. He stared at the wooden door knowing it wouldn’t stop anyone from getting inside.

  “What’s the plan?”

  “I get in and get my kid.”

  “So no plan.”

  Devil shrugged. He’d not thought anything through. Trying the door, he knew it was locked. It was going to need a little more strength behind it.

  Chapter Three

  After a couple of hours’ sleep Lexie was up to attend a screaming Simon. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she picked the young boy out of the bed. She changed his diaper and then headed into her small kitchen. The apartment was so small, but it worked for her at the time. It was better than being on the streets.

  “I’ve got you,” she said, humming as she warmed him up a new bottle. She was so tired, but he came first.

  Walking around the small space she hummed to him as the bottle warmed up. Testing the bottle, she slotted it into his mouth watching him suck on the teat. Suddenly, she tensed as her apartment door was kicked open. The locks were nothing against the brutal force of the two men making their way inside.

  She closed her mouth as she saw Devil walk into the room. The other man she recognized from the strip club.

  They closed the door, neither speaking as they looked at her. Devil stared at her then at the boy in her arms. She wore a pair of shorts and a vest top. It was a warm night, and wearing anything more would irritate her skin.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she asked. Protecting Simon all she could think about. Was this man going to hurt her? Rape her? Kill her? No, no one could hurt her with a baby. Simon couldn’t be hurt.

  He didn’t say a word. The other man leaned against the door smirking at her.

  “She’s hotter without the blonde wig, Boss. You did fucking good.”

  “You can’t just storm in here. Get the hell out.”

  Simon fidgeted in her arms. She took several breaths trying to calm her beating heart. There was nothing she could do to defend herself. They had caught her vulnerable. She was always fucking vulnerable, and it was a relief not to have been dragged into anything else before now.

  “Kayla Howard, where is she?” Devil asked.

  Lexie tensed. “How do you know Kayla?”

  He moved to her scabby sofa, sitting down. “Where is she?”

  “I don’t know. How do you know her?” she asked.

  “You’re holding my kid.”

  “What? No, that is not possible.” She looked down at Simon and wondered what the hell was going on. Kayla had become mixed up in some serious shit. She didn’t want to believe it even as she knew it was the truth.

  “Stole money from me as well. I’ve found one thing that’s mine, but she needs to pay for what she’s done,” Devil said. He stared into her eyes before dropping back down to his boy.

  She didn’t know what the hell was happening.

  “How can you be his father?” she asked.

  “Didn’t you finish school? I fucked her, condom broke, and he is the consequence.” Devil stood, stepping closer to her.

  “I know how it happens.” Closing her eyes she tried to think around the panic clawing its way inside her. “She never mentioned his father at all.”

  “Tell me what happened.” He stood in front of her with his gaze on Simon.

  “She, erm, six months ago she dropped by with him. He was only a couple of weeks old, but she didn’t want to take him with her.”

  “I want to hold him.”

  Nodding, she passed him over into Devil’s arms. He was so tall and big. Simon curled against him, suckling at his bottle.

  “Keep his head supported.”

  She moved away, rubbing her eyes. Curse was watching her, and she felt the heat of both men’s gazes. Hating their attention she turned to the sink washing the few dishes in the sink. Her apartment wasn’t much, but she kept it neat and clean.

  At the club she was protected from the men by Vincent and his guards, but at her apartment there was nothing to protect her.

  Her heart pounded as she turned to look at the large man.

  Devil was staring at her.

  “You’re not a blonde?”

  “No, I’m not.” She tried to keep her identity a secret so she didn’t have any problems away from the strip club. Her makeup was always thick, and her hair was hidden by the blonde wig.

  “I need to know where Kayla is,” he said.

  “Well that makes both of us.” Running fingers through her hair she became aware of the fact she wasn’t wearing a bra.

  “So fucking lucky,” Curse said.

  “I’ve not seen her since she handed me Simon.” Thinking about the money she went to her fridge and pulled out the
envelope she kept inside. “This is what she gave me as well. I don’t want any trouble at all. I’ve not spent a penny.”

  Devil stared at the envelope then at her.

  “I’m not looking for money.” He handed Simon back to her. “Finish dealing with him, and then we’ll talk.”

  She wished he would just leave, but then Simon would be gone. Shit, he was going to take Simon away from her.

  Finishing his feed and burping him, she put Simon down. He went straight to sleep leaving her alone with two men. Tucking some hair behind her ears she turned to see Devil sitting on the sofa. Curse was by the door, watching her.

  “Take a seat.” Devil pointed to the seat beside him.

  Seeing no other choice, she sat beside him and tucked her legs beneath her. His hand rested on her knee. The touch made her tense at the sensation that crashed over her.

  Her pussy felt slick with cream as her clit pulsed.

  The feeling took her completely by surprise.

  Neither of them spoke for a long time.

  “Curse, take the boys and go back to the club. I’ll be there in the morning.”

  “Sure thing, Boss. Just to warn you, we’re not going to all love sleeping in a strip club for long,” Curse said.

  “I’ve already got plans in place. We’re not going to be sleeping there all that long.”

  The door opened and closed. They were now alone with only Simon asleep in his cot.

  Devil stared at her without breaking eye contact.

  “You left earlier. Did you know who I was?” he asked.

  “I had no idea who Kayla was in trouble with. I didn’t know who you were, and if I did I would have fucking told you.” She was panicking.

  “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  He opened the envelope.

  “It’s all there.”

  “You didn’t use any of it at all.” His hand started to stroke up and then down her thigh.

  “I wanted to, but I got a job at Naked Fantasies instead. Kayla has never made the wisest decisions. I didn’t want to risk using money that wasn’t hers.” Running a hand over her face, Lexie really wanted the night to end.