Devil's Girl(11)

"Naw. We have enough lined up for now." I leaned back against the wall next to the screen, just touching his arm with my shoulder. "Who else do you listen to?"

He wasn't paying attention to my words, but he was looking at my lips. A little thrill ran through me, and I had to resist laughing at myself. The prospect of a kiss hadn't given me butterflies since middle school, but there I was, blushing again, nearly trembling with excitement. I stood on my toes as he leaned in -

The front door swung open with a bang. "Theo!" Bill had returned, with Jester at his heels. They scanned the room before spotting him with me. "Hands off the bitches. We've got news." They blew past us and through the door into the back rooms. Without so much as a shrug, Theo disappeared with them.

So much for that. I hoisted myself up onto a stool with a heavy sigh. "What was that about?" I asked.

Irish wagged a finger at me. "Not your business." Then his expression softened. "He ain't gonna be around long, so don't get too attached."

I grinned. "What's the matter, Irish? Jealous of his pretty face?" He flipped me the middle finger as he slid me a beer. I was grateful for the cold drink - I really needed to cool down.



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The rest of the evening was dull. Jester eventually reappeared from the back room, though Bill and Theo didn't follow. Dawn was all over him as soon as he appeared and shot me a victorious look when, not long after, he led her towards the back rooms. As if I give half a damn about that humorless stick in the mud. "Can you give her a ride home later?" I called after them.

"Fuck no," Jester replied without slowing. Dammit. That girl's gonna need to find a cheap old car.

I ended up begging the kitchen to give me something to do to pass the time. The fry cook sent me back out to the bar to wash glasses for Irish. He ain't too busy to do it himself, I thought, but I tucked a rag into my shorts and got to work anyway. "Just so I'm sure you won't charge me for the beer," I assured him when he tried to thank me.

"Wanna fool around after my shift?" he asked with a mischievous grin. I liked the young Prospect well enough and normally would have been right on that offer. No way I’m gonna fuck the fucking Prospect while the new girl’s back there with the President’s son. It wasn’t only that, though. It was Theo - not only because I still thought I had a chance with him, either. I didn’t want him to know what I was doing. I didn’t want to fuck my way around the club right under his nose.

I shrugged. “Another time. Gotta drive Dawn home.”

“Suit yourself.”

The bar was nearly empty by the time Dawn reappeared looking smug and disheveled and very out of it. Only the most dedicated drunks were still glued to their seats. I kept my comments to myself and asked, “Ready to go?”

She wobbled and grabbed the bar for support. Fucking Jester. “Yeah,” she giggled. Rolling my eyes, I led her outside by the hand. We stopped on the building’s little porch for a moment and enjoyed the fresh air after breathing beer and cigarettes all night.

“Jester’s nice.” She phrased it more like a question than a statement.

“Not really. You shouldn’t be taking anything while you’re working, you know. Honestly you shouldn’t be taking anything Jester gives you, period.”

“’gainst the rules?”

“No. Just bad form. Try not to fall down.” The gravel was rough enough to walk in on heels as it was, and we took our time picking our way around the back. Dawn wobbled and stumbled, but with my support managed to remain upright.

“Evening, ladies.” I got a little chill at the sound of the unfamiliar voice.

“Evening!” I said brightly. I expected to see a drunk shuffle out from between the cars - someone accidentally left behind by his friends, or too drunk to drive home just yet and waiting it off. But the man that stepped out was definitely a biker, in a black cut and black boots. He was somewhere on the older side of forty, not drunk, and not a Dust Bowl Devil.

“Can I help you?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips. “You lost?” He shook his head and stepped closer. I placed myself between him and Dawn. “You’d better get out of here, buddy. We ain’t alone, and those guys don’t take kindly to strange bikers around here.”

“I’ll bet.” He lunged for me. Why oh why don’t I carry a weapon like a smart girl should? I dodged instinctively, jostling Dawn and accidentally knocking her to the ground. His hand wrapped around my upper arm in a bruising grip, and nearly yanking my shoulder from its socket, he dragged me back between a car and a van. Don’t get inside, don’t get inside. I screamed. Dawn screamed. He clamped a hand over my mouth, but her high-pitched wail carried on piercing the night air.