Chapter 2

Istood against the hallway outside of the main entertainment room and let the heavy bass vibrating through the walls soothe my aching back. I wanted to swipe my hand across my forehead to remove the sweat I could feel there. It was itching underneath the heavy makeup that Candy, one of the dancers, had painted me with. But I knew it would just make a huge mess of what she”d managed to do for my face.

My shift was nearly over, and I had already been on my feet while wearing stilettos for the better part of eight hours. Since I was an unpaid employee, Syn, the owner, didn”t let me work the night shift when the money was better. I was grateful that she allowed me to work at all. I didn”t have to share my tips with anyone, which was a huge plus, but the lunch and early afternoon crowds were pretty thin, and I was sure I didn”t get tipped nearly as well as the night shift did. I really should be out on the floor for my last few minutes as the day and night shifts crossed over instead of waving my serving tray over myself like a giant fan.

I watched as more people entered the main room. Men and women alike strolled into the strip club with expressions ranging from excitement to guilt. It was those who had the look of someone waiting to be smitten by some fierce god that had me grinning and shaking my head. I hoped they managed to relax and enjoy themselves. I couldn”t see how a couple of hours of watching live nudity swinging around on poles would damn a soul, but then, I also understood how one”s upbringing could make one believe it. My own parents would be appalled, and the punishment for even being seen in this place would be severe.

I shook away the dark thoughts and stepped forward, placing my hand on the swinging door that separated the rest of the club from the entertainment room. The hallway I was in led in either direction. On my left would lead to the kitchens where food for the patrons could be prepared. The club served pretty decent meals, including steaks and burgers, which seemed a popular dinner choice. The path to the right led to the changing room and the owner”s office.

Before I pushed the door open, movement caught my eye through the small glass window. A tall man wearing a thick black leather jacket strolled forward, stopped by the bar, and began glancing around as if he were looking for someone. There was something about him that made the breath stall in my chest. Good looking men came into the club all the time, but there was something different about this one I couldn”t quite put my finger on.

Often, the most attractive seemed to be looking specifically for Syn. I didn”t know what it was about her that seemed to draw men and women alike like bees to a flower. I understood that she had a beauty that seemed to radiate from her in a way that even the gorgeous, naked dancers couldn”t achieve, but I just couldn”t understand it. Syn didn”t dance, but the way she walked around the place in her flowy skirts that did little to hide her amazing assets drew the eye of everyone, no matter the gender. I suspected that she did a little entertaining of her own back in her office if the number of patrons who followed behind her as she led them through this very door were any indication.

As I stared at the man, a part of me was screaming inside at the injustice. If he was looking for Syn, there was a good possibility that I would be going home to my tiny apartment and crying into a pint of my favorite ice cream before curling up into a ball on my futon and rocking myself to sleep.

He was broad, and even though I couldn”t see his body under the bulky jacket he wore, the breadth of his shoulders alone hinted at the physique of someone who took care of himself. His shoulder-length black hair was almost as mesmerizing as his face. There was a strangeness about the color. It didn”t shine under the dim lights of the room. Instead, the darkness of his hair seemed to be absorbing the dark shadows, or even appeared to be a part of them.

I felt a shudder run through me at the sight as I absently rubbed my right wrist against the skimpy lace skirt that did nothing to cover my panties. As I continued to stare, his face finally turned toward the door I was hiding behind, and I let out an inaudible gasp, nearly choking on my own saliva. It was impossible to tell the color of his eyes through the dim lighting, but there was no mistaking the beauty of his face. But his drool-worthy features weren”t what had me shivering in both fear and delight. It was the aura that he had wrapped around him like a cloak.

There was something about the man that screamed danger. There had been all manner of men walking through the doors of this club. Men in business suits who were probably as rich as Midas, and powerful politicians. Bikers came in looking like they would as soon stick a knife through your gut as to shake your hand. But none had ever made me feel the need to lower my eyes and drop to my knees in submission before.

”Kallie, what are you doing?” Syn”s sultry voice startled me, and I jumped back from the door. I swallowed nervously and glanced down at the serving tray that I had dropped at some point during my surveillance of the man. ”I don”t pay you to stand around.” Syn”s smirk had me laughing hollowly.

I bent down to pick up the tray, tucking it under my left arm and rubbing my wrist against my skirt again. I looked back at her as she stared down at me from her tall height, the heels she wore making her tower over me even more than she already would. I gave her the same answer I always did when she made that comment, ”You don”t pay me at all.”

She winked. ”Then I guess you should get out there and earn a few more dollars in tips before the end of your shift.” I nodded and watched her turn and push open the door. The music grew louder for the brief moment it was open before quickly becoming muffled again. Her hips swayed with her innate sexuality, catching the gaze of everyone within eyesight of her. I kept my own eyes on her and watched as she strolled forward, the chanting plea in my mind that she head anywhere else ending abruptly in a whine as she walked straight for the tall stranger.

As I watched with dismay, a corner of his lips tipped up when his eyes landed on her. I blinked as Syn quickened her pace until she reached him. I had never seen Syn hurry for anyone before. When she stopped in front of him, she practically threw herself into his arms. I never thought I would see my boss throw herself at anyone, man or woman. Definitely not with the way she had them, all of them, practically crawling to her.

With an ache in my chest I didn”t understand, I sighed. I felt a profound loss I couldn”t comprehend. I didn”t know the man, but somewhere deep inside me, it felt as though I did. It felt like he was mine. With a shake of my head, I pushed the door open and stepped into the main room, the atmosphere of sex and debauchery immediately surrounding me.

As I took the first step deeper into the room, heading toward the closest table, a fiery pain engulfed my wrist, making me want to scream in agony. Before I could open my mouth to let it out, the pain ended as abruptly as it began. I stood there, shaken to my core, and breathed heavily as my heartbeat pounded in my chest at the unexpectedness of the strange event.

I looked around to see if anyone else had noticed and froze when I saw Syn grab the man”s hand with a frown and begin to pull him straight to the door where I still stood. I quickly backed away, blinking rapidly at the sight. She was leading him to her office; I just knew it. They both seemed to be in a hurry as she led him past me. My gaze met the tall stranger”s for the briefest of seconds, and my knees nearly buckled at the intensity. All too soon, Syn had him through the swinging door, and the two of them were gone.

Abandoning my plan to hit up a few last tables, I turned toward the bar, ready to call it a night. I knew I wouldn”t be able to function properly, not with the deep green eyes of the man scorched into my mind. They were eyes I wouldn”t forget, not even when I was ninety and on my deathbed. I will always remember the man, and I will always remember the utter feeling of loss that filled every atom of my being as he walked away with my boss.

I dropped my tray down on the bartop with a heavy thud that blended in with the thumping bass of the song playing on the speakers all around us.

”You okay, Kallie?” The bartender, Brad, stopped in front of me with a frown. ”You look, I don”t know. Did someone die?”

I let out a dry laugh and shook my head. ”Only my hopes and dreams.”

Brad leaned forward and tugged a strand of my hair. ”If I need to kick someone”s ass, let me know so I can get Tiny to do it.”

That had my lips tipping up into a genuine smile. ”I appreciate your sacrifice for my honor.”

”Any time, doll. Hey!” As he made to move back down the bar to help a waiting patron waving a twenty-dollar bill in the air, he stopped abruptly. ”You finally got some ink to decorate your virgin skin?”

”What?” I asked in confusion. I had nothing against tattoos, but I had yet to find the perfect something to forever mark my skin. I glanced down at where his eyes seemed to be zeroed in. When I caught sight of the blood-red mark on my inner right wrist, I gasped and held it up to get a better look. It was only about two inches long and two inches wide, but it was intricately designed. It looked more like a brand than a tattoo, to be honest. I lightly ran my fingertips over it to feel how it was slightly raised. It looked like a symbol of some kind, and instinct told me that whatever the symbol was, it was very ancient.

My mind pinwheeled as I thought back to the searing pain I had felt just moments ago. ”What the fuck?” I mumbled as I continued to stare down at the mark.

”It”s badass, Kallie. I like it,” I heard Brad say before he moved back down the bar to get whatever drink the woman with the twenty wanted.

As I continued to stand there in shock, taking in a mark that shouldn”t be there and wasn”t rubbing off, a conversation from the closest table filtered in over the loud music. My hearing had always seemed to be unusually good and now proved no different. It was a conversation strange enough to pull my attention from the impossible.

”The newest King ain”t shit.”

From my lowered eyelashes, I glanced at the three men standing around a tall table, ignoring the bar stools. They looked like the typical biker club members we got on a regular basis. Their vests were typical black leather, and their appearances had that usual messy vibe going on as if they”d rather be out causing mayhem than bother with hygiene.

One of the other guys scoffed. ”You wouldn”t be saying that if the old King was still here.”

The first guy grunted. ”Fuck off. None of us would even be here if the old King was still here.”

The third one, the one that seemed meaner than the other two, even if he were the most attractive of the three, smiled menacingly. ”The old King has a dhampir kid. Get the dhampir and control the Council member. In the meantime, take out the current King.”

”Even if you killed him, you wouldn”t be able to take his place. The Master would take your head for trying.”

Their conversation was confusing. I had no idea what they meant by Kings or Council members, but there was something about that word, dhampir, that had my brain working overtime. I knew I had heard it before, but it wasn”t clicking for me yet. But what was most concerning was the direction of the whole conversation. They were talking openly about killing people. It had a shiver of trepidation running down my spine.