Playing With Monsters

by Amelia Hutchins

  I’d gone to his house last night, right after the power had come back on and I’d finished washing his clothes. My mother’s nagging about making sure he came to dinner spurred me out the door and on the path to his home. However, I really intended to ask him about the store. I knocked, which had taken me a bit to actually get the courage to do, and heard the echo of my knocks reverberate in the entryway.

  I stood there, feeling silly as a woman’s silky voice asked Lucian if she should get the door. I could hear their voices coming from inside and off to the left, probably a sitting room, as he urged her to, “just ignore it, and she’ll go away.” Me, I was the one who he wanted to go away. Talk about the king of mixed signals.

  I’d made it halfway home, my mind in an angry haze, before I’d realized I’d still been holding his clothes. The clothes which I had taken the time to wash for him. Freaking jerk. I spun around, walked back to his porch, and dropped them in the mud.

  Asshole.

  Now I had to face him, and my anger had cooled, but my pride hadn’t.

  My eyes moved to the bar, where quite a few people were ordering drinks while others searched for a place to sit. I saw a few familiar faces, but none that were from the coven, just a few of the locals, mixed in with unfamiliar faces from out of town.

  I started towards the bar, and was stopped before I’d even made it a full three steps into the club. The guy who stopped me was huge; he had blue-black hair and blue eyes the color of the sky after a good rain. His arms were ripped, and tattoos seemed to grace every visible part of his body. He was tall, reaching at least six feet in height. His jaw was wide, with a six o’clock shadow that he wore well, and full lips that were drawn into a sexy smirk.

  “Boss wants to see you in his office,” he announced. “You didn’t listen to him the other night when he told you what to wear. You should’ve listened, little lady. He doesn’t take too kindly to people not listening.”

  “I bet he’s used to everyone listening to him, and being the one in control?” I asked with a smirk of my own.

  “Always. He’s always in control, and most people don’t disobey him. He’s quick to punish the ones who don’t listen. Disobeying the boss? It’s like playing with fire, Miss Fitz.”

  “It’s Fitzgerald,” I corrected him.

  “Whatever, Fitz,” he replied smoothly without bothering to use the correction I’d offered up.

  I smiled and bit my bottom lip as I narrowed my eyes on him. He wasn’t the guy who was normally stationed at the door. Man-bun hadn’t been outside tonight. I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him an even wider smile.

  “I’m not his employee, so he can get over it. He’ll also never be my boss, so his orders? Don’t really get followed by me. I’m not planning to stick around any longer than I have to; it’s a punishment. What’s he going to do, spank me?” I offered as I lifted an eyebrow and waited.

  “Maybe; you look like you could use one,” he said as his tongue came out to lick his lips as his eyes trailed down my frame.

  I moved past him, heading to the rear of the club and towards the stairs that led up to Lucian’s office. The music was sensual, and a few people were already on the dance floor, swaying to the beat. My eyes moved over the room as I moved through it, and then wandered further up until I spotted Lucian, watching me from the other side of the wall-to-wall window in his office that was no longer one-way glass.

  I almost stopped, almost. I sure as hell wasn’t about to let him see that he had any effect on me. Not after last night’s debacle. He was stunning in a charcoal gray suit, with a light blue tie, and I was willing to bet the suit was just as, if not more expensive than the one he’d worn to the opening celebration.

  If nothing else, the man had damn good taste in clothes.

  I tore my eyes from his and continued through the hall, up the stairs and down another hall as I made my way to him. As I stopped in front of his door, I collected my scattered thoughts and took a deep, calming breath.

  I needed what confidence I could get. I’d felt out of place since returning home, but today I’d spent my time on myself. Getting back to where I was comfortable in my own skin. Coming back, everything I’d learned since I’d arrived had hit me harder than I’d initially realized. I didn’t have time to be weak; I wasn’t that girl anymore.

  I knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for him to answer. I moved into the room, and quickly regretted it as I found him at his desk, leaning against it, waiting for me. There was a woman in the room; her hair was as black as a raven’s wing, and she had a beautiful pixie face. Startling eyes the color of freshly grown moss in the forest looked at me, and then just as quickly looked away. I felt dismissed, and it rubbed.

  She moved towards Lucian, her hand running up his chest as his eyes remained locked on me.

  “Leave us,” he ordered and she pouted.

  “I waited for you to return,” she said softly as she continued to stroke his chest with her perfectly manicured, dainty hands.

  “Get out,” he said harshly, his eyes finally leaving mine and looking down at her.

  She was gorgeous. Her hair was held away from her face with hair pins that sparkled with jewels. Her dress was expensive, and clung to her body like a second skin. Her breasts were large, probably fake since they seemed larger than was safe for her tiny frame. Her full mouth slanted into a frown as her eyes moved from him to me. The look she gave me could have chilled the sun. What was it with these women hanging out in Lucian’s office? He seemed to have an endless supply of beautiful women at his disposal.

  She gave him one more look of desperation as I watched, and then stomped angrily from the room. I waited for the door to slam, but it didn’t. She’d left it open, and the fact hadn’t gone unnoticed by Lucian.

  His eyes slid over my body slowly, heating each inch as they moved over it. I didn’t move, didn’t respond. I held it together, and pretended not to be battling a violent storm inside of me. I replayed his words from the other side of his door last night. Anger is an emotion to be used, not wielded. You have to control it. If not, you make the news as some deranged lunatic. I’m not deranged; the jury is still out on the lunatic part, however.

  I looked good, and I knew it. I was dressed in a navy blue eyelet dress with a deep V-neck, showing just enough cleavage to draw the eye, without looking desperate. The skirt just barely reached mid-thigh. I’d paired it with soft black suede boots that stopped just above my knee, and had four-inch heels. Not the best shoes for waiting tables, but they were sexy. I felt sexy, and that’s what counted.

  I’d taken time with my jewelry, things I’d made myself. A black crystal pendant that hung from a sterling silver chain and had runes etched into the surface for protection. Matching earrings dangled from my ears, along with my quartz charm bracelet.

  My hair was up in a bouffant bun, which kept it chic, and out of my face since it tended to heat up in a nightclub whether you were dancing or working. My make-up was light, because sweating it out while busting my ass was never a good thing. Light mascara, soft cheek blush with a soft colored lip gloss that stained my lips a soft mauve color. I didn’t look sleek, push-me-into-bed-sexy, but I looked good.

  His eyes spoke volumes. I didn’t bother trying to read what they actually said, but he gave me a half hooded look that said I’d look better naked, and I gave him one that said I knew it, I just didn’t care to flaunt it or do so with him.

  “You disobeyed me, Lena; that’s not the uniform you were given,” he said as I ignored whatever he was saying in those eyes.

  “No, it’s not. Sorry, but what they gave me? It didn’t cover enough.”

  He laughed, and his eyes softened. “I did give you instructions. In the future, I expect them to be followed to the very last detail. Tonight it’s going to be busy, or you’d be staying here with me for
the punishment I promised you.”

  “In the future, I don’t plan to work for you. So following orders won’t be an issue,” I said as I remained just inside the door. I had an exit route planned, just in case.

  He smiled, and it wasn’t friendly. I narrowed my eyes at him, as if I could read his mind through his inky eyes. I was about to ask what was expected of me tonight, when a man walked in and bumped right into me.

  I didn’t expect it, and I was shoved forward in his haste, and almost landed face-first on the floor, but instead landed in Lucian’s arms. I hadn’t even seen him move, and yet my face was pressed against his chest, and his arms were around me. I felt off-balance being this close to him, and my nose was greedily inhaling his masculine scent.

  “Shit, didn’t see her, boss,” a deep, rich voice said from behind us.

  I pushed away from Lucian, which didn’t go unnoticed as I placed my hands against his chest to manage it gracefully. Electricity rushed through me from the innocent touch, and my eyes lifted to his before I remembered I wanted distance from him; a small gasp left my lips unchecked. Like, a football field between us would be good. His arms dropped as he watched me move across the room.

  His eyes never left me as I added a few steps more, and then another for my own safety. I’d heard his inhale, and had known that he, too, had been sniffing me. The only perfume I wore was the plumeria soap I’d made a few weeks back.

  “Am I interrupting?” the guy asked.

  “No,” I said.

  “Yes,” Lucian snapped.

  “Sorry,” the guy muttered as I moved my eyes to his. He was decent-looking, with a jagged scar that ran across his face. It would probably make most people look away, but it didn’t have that effect on me. His eyes were giving me a onceover, and I knew instinctively that he was waiting for me to cringe, or look away from the scar, as probably most others had done. Instead I took him in.

  He had light blonde hair, and his skin was golden. His eyes were a soft shade of chocolate brown, with scattered golden specks. His mouth was full, and scarred, and yet the scar did little to take away from how handsome he really was. He wore a white dress shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, exposing yet more scars that covered his arms in crisscross patterns, as if someone had used a whip on him at some point in his life. His hands were calloused from work, and his muscles that were exposed from the loosened buttons of his shirt showed enough flesh that I could see his chest had somehow been spared of whatever fate his arms and face had encountered.

  I raised my eyes back to his face and he smiled, probably because I hadn’t looked the least bit repulsed. Jimmy Kendell was from the reservation just on the outskirts of town and a friend of mine from school. He’d been splattered with hot grease and bore the scars of it for many years. Cassidy and her friends, who we’d called the bitch squad, had called him crispy, and other horrifying names, but I didn’t think they detracted too much from his beautiful reddish brown skin and we found equally annoying ways to retaliate against the bitch squad’s attacks.

  “Need something, Bane?” Lucian asked.

  “Bartender didn’t show up, but there’s a guy down there who says he knows how to mix the drinks. Owns a club in Spokane, and he’s available now,” Bane said as he finally tore his eyes from mine.

  “Tell him he’s hired for the night. Tell him the rules of the club, and take Magdalena with you. Let Linda know Lena will be helping with whatever she needs tonight,” Lucian said as his eyes turned to me and I looked away. “Lena’s not to go into the other levels to serve, though, make sure Linda knows that.”

  I kept my eyes downcast, looking at anything except Lucian. He walked past us, and Bane smiled at me. Other levels? My curiosity was piqued.

  “We’ve been dismissed,” he prompted with a smile that made me smile as well. “He does that often, little lady. Follow me; I’ll take you down to Linda and get the new bartender set up. Make sure he knows the drinks before we give him control of the bar.”

  I followed the wide shoulders of Bane down the stairs and back into the club. Linda was a tiny woman, maybe a little over five feet, with fire engine red hair, and flashing blue eyes that held a smile that matched the one on her delicate lips. She had a pixie cut, with a heart shaped face, and a voice that carried over the music.

  “Hey, this is Magdalena, she’s all yours tonight. Treat her good, Linda,” Bane shouted over the music and gave me a wink before he turned to head to the bar.

  “It’s going to get crazy in here tonight, please tell me you’ve at least you’ve worked in a bar before?” Linda looked over my dress and then gave me a dubious look. “I was sure you’d gotten the club uniform?”

  “I did, but I don’t plan to work here a moment longer than I need to. No offense, but it’s a little short, and shows just a little too much…everything,” I said grudgingly.

  She smiled and threw back her head with a full belly laugh. “Told him we needed to fix that damn uniform. Men, they don’t listen worth a shit, right? So the boss told me that this is a punishment for you, but for me it’s a blessing. We fired three girls in the last week. So I’m really hoping you have an idea of what’s needed?”

  “I’ve done this before, mind you not in a club this size. Not sure if you wanted more from me?”

  “Nope, getting orders in and out is what I need. It’s Friday, we only serve one special, and a few types of appetizers. People don’t come here for the food, though, they come here to let loose, which can be an issue. Men get grabby, but Lucian and his boys don’t allow anyone to get carried away and they’re pretty good at keeping the riffraff out. Any questions?” she asked as she gave me a dazzling smile that reached her eyes.

  “What’s tonight’s special?’ I asked as I accepted an apron and quickly tied it on before accepting a notepad for orders and a round drink tray.

  “It’s called Sex in the Driveway; white rum, pear schnapps, and blue curacao. You should get the guy at the bar to make you one so that you can taste it. Do not drink it all, you don’t look like you could hold your liquor well, skinny thing that you are,” she smirked. “The slim girls usually can’t,” she mumbled with a wink. “I need you sober, and on your toes tonight.”

  “Got it,” I said as I moved to do as she had instructed. Normally you needed to taste something before you could sell it well, that much I knew from the other jobs. It was hard to sell something you couldn’t explain.

  I stopped at the bar and drummed my fingers impatiently on the cool surface as I watched Bane go over the menu with the bartender. He had a nice ass, from what I could see. Long hair, a little shorter than Lucian’s, and from the back it looked good. A guilty flush stole over my cheeks as he turned and wrecked me with silver eyes that made my mouth open and close. He had dark hair, and wore a tee that said I bite.

  I swallowed the nervous laughter that tried to escape as he made his way to where I stood.

  “Need help?” he asked as his silver gaze slid over me and came back to mine with banked heat in the melted platinum beauty. “Or you plan on just staring a bit longer? I don’t mind it, take your time.”

  “I’m sorry,” I stammered quickly. “I’m being rude,” I explained. “I need Sex in the Driveway.”

  “I’m more than willing to help you out with that,” he teased with laughter in his sexy eyes. “Please don’t say it’s the drink, and that you really want me.”

  I laughed, and shook my head. What the hell was wrong with me? I hadn’t seen this many hot guys in one place in like…Ever. Now, I couldn’t even freaking talk. I was all schoolgirl giggles.

  “The special, so I can sell it tonight,” I said and watched as his hand moved to his heart and he emphatically shook his head.

  “Say it isn’t so,” he grumbled good-naturedly as he winked and started pulling out liquor bottles. Bane watched him and gave me a curio
us look before turning to look up at where Lucian watched us all with a scowl on his face. “Why is it the pretty ones are always taken?” the bartender asked as his eyes moved between Bane, myself, and Lucian.

  “I’m not with him,” I said hurriedly.

  “I just had the strangest case of déjà vu,” he replied softly with a cocky grin lifting his full lips.

  He pushed the drink over to me after slipping the straws in and I pushed them aside as I took a small sip, and then pushed it back towards him. Bane grabbed it and tossed the straws out while he held the bartender’s gaze.

  “Vlad, Lucian will want to see you after the club closes for the night. Not sure why you’re here, but I’m pretty sure it’s not because you thought you’d be welcome,” Bane said with a chilling look. I looked at Bane, then Lucian, and back to where Vlad stood, wondering what the strange turn in Bane’s demeanor was. One minute he’d been thrilled with the help, and the next he turned cold against the guy. Bane looked like he was considering tossing the guy out on his ass, even though it was apparent they needed his help behind the bar.

  “Vlad? Did your parents not like you?” I asked, as I smiled and scrunched up my nose.

  “It’s an old name, kinda like yours, Magdalena,” Vlad replied as he moved back to where the bottles were positioned lining the wall, and started making himself acquainted with them. “Names meant something once upon a time, passed through families like jewels with pride.”

  “Mine was passed down,” I mumbled; it was an old name. So old you rarely came across it these days.

  I saw a group seating themselves at one of the many tables and moved over to take their drink order. It was Dexter and Kat and I groaned as they turned and watched me move in their direction.