Page 90 of Dance of Devils

Seeing me at my absolute worst, strutting around on stage like a jailbait whore offering herself for money.

I hear the yells, the whistles, the screams to “take itoff!” But I’m just numb and frozen, feeling my entire reality crumble around me.

Suddenly, I turn and bolt from the stage, my heart racing and cold, sickly horror coursing through my veins.

I avoid the changing room because I can’t deal with any of them right now. I just have to get away—from this place, from Kir, from the shame?—

“You littlebitch!”

I scream when I’m grabbed from behind, the stench of body odor and cheap cigars making me gag as I’m shoved along the back hallway. Then I whirl, and my face goes white when I see Lou’s snarling face.

“Lou, I?—”

“Get in there!”

I yelp as he shoves me against the door to his office, reaches past, and opens it. I almost trip when he pushes me inside and storms in, slamming the door shut behind him.

I’ve seen Lou angry before, but this is something new altogether.

“It wasyou, you little cunt!” he yells, so loudly that I find myself stumbling back until my ass hits the edge of his desk.

“Lou, I don’t know?—”

“ZAK!” he roars at me. “I couldn’t get a look at the motherfucker who kicked his ass on any of our cameras out front. But you know what Ididsee?!”

He storms right into my personal space.

“Security footage from outside my fucking office! And guess what?! I saw Zak, giving you one stupid punch, like you deserve! And thevery next fucking day, some guy waltzes in, and just about kills the guy who hit you!!”

My face pales. “Lou?—”

“You owe me a fucking bouncer!” he screams at me, spittle flying from his lips and into my face. “But I don’t think you’ve got one of those on you. So this is how we’re gonna do it.”

Lou grabs me and violently spins me around, then shoves me across his desk, his weight slamming into me and pinning me hard against the surface.

He shoves my hands to the far side of the desk, and suddenly, he’s looping a rope around my wrists and yanking it tight.

“NO!” I scream. “NO!! LOU! STOP IT!!”

He’s huffing with rage as he stands up.

The jangle of his belt buckle is like a bullet being chambered.

“NOOO!!” I scream as loud as I can. “STOP IT!”

“I’m gonna do what I shoulda done alongfuckin' time ago, cunt,” he snarls as his pants hit the floor. “I’m gonna take what you owe me out of this fucking ass,right now.”

I scream out a blood-curdling, wretched sound as he shoves my skirt up and grabs my vagina from behind. His fingers poke and prod, nails scraping my inner thighs as he claws at the edge of my panties and yanks them down.

Hot tears spill down my cheeks as his hands and fingers touch and pinch and grab. I go numb as I hear him step behind me, trying to shove his fingers into me as his other hand jerks his dick.

The office door splinters like it's been hit with a wrecking ball, smashing off its hinges and breaking apart as a figure in a black suit surges in like the Devil himself.

Kir.

It’s all too much. I squeeze my eyes tightly shut, sobbing and shaking all over as I hear fists smashing into flesh and Lou screaming in agony, bleating for mercy that I doubt is coming.

Then the cries and begging stop, but I keep hearing that same rhythmic wet sound of a fist slamming against bloodied flesh, again and again.