Chapter 6

Colin

"It's kinda boring out there for this large of a crowd," Stewart said.

I looked at him, trying to read his face to see if he was joking. But he looked at me straight on as if he expected an answer.

"Boring?" I glanced at one of the stages where a guy was screaming his head off under a flogger, then shouting over the beat of the music, "Oh-oh! More! More!"

"I mean no fighting. No disturbances except for a tray of drinks that got dropped in the tickle room. Maintenance cleaned it up in five seconds flat."

"Five seconds, huh? You counted?"

He didn't even smile when he gave his response. "Yep."

It was early yet. The drunk and disorderly dramas didn't actually start until after one a.m. That was always fun. Sometimes I got to put my hand on someone's back and push them out the door. Normally, though, we did not touch customers except in self-defense. Then twisting a hand behind a back was considered acceptable use of force to get them to come to their senses and leave.

Even with disciplined force, it was no wonder I'd made a few enemies in the community.

As if it heard my thoughts, my phone alerted me to another text.

Unknown:Shitty snobby piece of trash. You think you're better than everyone?

Funny that thetexts were grammatically correct. No abbreviated language. Perfect spelling. Most would text your for you're. It told me he was older, higher educated, and obsessive. Maybe. Who could know? Some of the smartest people I knew never finished high school.

I sighed and slid my phone back in my pocket.

My radio went off. I recognized Carlo from upstairs security.

"Colin."

"Go for Colin."

"Drama on camera in the littles room."

"Carlo? Is this a joke?" The littles room was the most peaceful place in the entire club. Almost always.

"No joke. Boy on boy."

"Fuck. On my way."

"Hopefully their daddies will stop them by the time you get there."

I turned to Stewart. "Cover the front. I'll grab Jimmy to go with me."

"Yep," he replied, then turned away as if it was nothing.

Little fighting. It was rare. Usually they resorted to name calling, crying. Or sticking out their slippery little tongues.

Jimmy stood by the north emergency exit. I waved him over to me. "With me. Now."

He jogged to my side. "I heard. Diaper tugging."

"What?"

He laughed. "Littles. Fighting. That might be more funny than serious."

"Diapers or not, not funny if one of them gets hurt on our watch."

Together, we jogged down the long hall to the room in question, dodging the crowds as best as we could.

Suddenly, I thought of the little from earlier. The cutie with the untamed tongue. My heart beat faster. Certainly, he couldn't be involved, could he? He had a daddy to look after him. He'd been intimidated just walking into this place. He did not seem like the type to get into a fight. Not at all.

My protective nature reared up. It was completely out of line. Especially with a boy who obviously already had a daddy.

Still, I couldn't stop it. It raged into gear. Like hormones. Like a deep need I couldn't control. I had to see if that boy was okay. It was dire. My adrenaline running as if it was life or death.

This personality trait was what made me a good bouncer. I had the instincts. But they could also get me into trouble if I let myself care.

Tonight's little who acted so afraid had attracted me. I couldn't lie about that. If I let that get a hold of me, I could surge into the room with less control than I liked and perhaps matters would not be solved as peacefully.

We looked for peaceful outcomes here at Club 99. Escort the offender out while remaining calm and polite, using words like please and sir. Offenders liked to be seen, to be heard. They wanted to know their point of view also mattered.

It was a fine line we walked right along with security to see matters end without ever having to involve making arrests or pressing charges. Besides, no one wanted the real police involved. They looked at clubs like ours as criminal to begin with. Many prejudices still existed on the force, and too many cops acted like they might get some kink germ on them if they even walked into this place.

I ran faster. The littles room was off a side hall from the main, noisier rooms. In my mind, it was taking us way too long to get there. Jimmy kept up with me.

When we arrived, there was a small crowd outside the door, which was halfway open.

"Step aside," I called out.

Men moved to let us through. I shoved the door all the way open with a bang. Everyone looked up except the two young men yelling and fighting in the middle of the floor. Two daddies were doing their best to break them apart. It succeeded. For a moment. Each had hold of one of the boys' arms as they flailed to get at each other.

Before Jimmy and I could react, one boy gave a frustrated shout, tears streaming down his face, picked up a toy metal car, and hurled it at the other. His aim was terrible. He didn't even come close to hitting his nemesis.

But as I watched the toy red car sale through the air, I realized it was on a trajectory for someone else in its path. Someone who'd been on my mind for nearly the entire evening.

There sat the innocent little from earlier, his stuffed unicorn at his side, gazing up with wide, blue eyes as the toy headed straight for the middle of his forehead.