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KAT

I was desperate for some fresh air. I wasn’t sure what was going on in my head, but I needed a moment. I couldn’t stop thinking about Bubbles and her seductive dance, the way her body moved, and how she stared right at us, daring us to keep our eyes on her—it was intoxicating. I had to know more about her.

Fawning over a woman wasn’t new to me, but this… this was something different. This desperate desire and new craving had gotten out of hand and became something like an addiction. I wasn’t just coming to Eden’s Inferno for work anymore. I wasn’t sitting in my corner, thinking about the money, or the deals, or the agreement we had with the owner. I was thinking about her. Showing up to watch her. Being present for her. The beautiful blonde fox that went by the stage name, Bubbles, had enraptured me and I needed more. The way she moved and danced, commanding everyone’s focus the second she entered a room and stepped on stage, why she was a fucking drug.

The past few nights of watching her perform, she had looked right at us. She didn’t care to listen to the owner’s rules and did exactly as she pleased and stared straight into our souls. It was like she was asking for trouble. No, begging for it. And the part that enticed me the most? She wasn’t just looking at Dante. No, she was equally focused on us both, and that sent a jolt of pleasure right to my core every single time I thought about it. That seductive little angel wanted both of us. And that fucking thought consumed me. I couldn’t think straight or focus on anything but her.

Pull yourself together, Kat. Fucking focus!

As I stepped outside the club, a burst of fresh night air hit me. I walked around the side of the building to an alley and ripped my devil mask off, closing my eyes as I took a deep breath, basking in the springtime air. A strange club mix of Dolly Parton’s Jolene played in the club behind me, thumping as I could faintly hear it in the background and feel it in my core. It was an odd remix, but worked somehow. I found myself mindlessly tapping my fingers to it on my thigh as I pulled a pack of cigarettes out of my bra. I gingerly placed one between my lips and lit it with the disposable lighter I always kept handy. With a deep inhale, I felt the welcome warmth and slight burn in my lungs, the instant relaxation that came with the first drag of a cigarette.

Yes . I tilted my head back and exhaled a steady stream of smoke.

The side door to Eden’s Inferno slammed to my left. At first, I didn’t pay it any attention, just continued smoking my cigarette and basking in the night, keeping to myself. Muffled voices began to make their way to me from where I assumed people were exiting the club. The voices grew, the sounds of shuffling hitting my ears as the energy of the voices shifted to something sinister. I flicked the cherry off the end of the cigarette and slowly walked in the direction of the voices with curiosity. My platform boots didn’t hide my approach, but I wasn’t necessarily trying to be quiet either.

“You thought I wouldn’t find you one day, really? Be reasonable, Luanne.” It was a man’s voice, one I didn’t recognize, telling me he wasn’t an employee at the club and must’ve been a patron. “You can change your hair, and try to pretend to be someone you’re not, but I will always find you, baby. You’re mine!”

It sounded like a lover’s spat, but something was off about it.

“Juan, please, don’t call me that. I don’t know how many times I need to tell you, but I’m not your baby anymore. And it’s not Luanne. I go by Dot now. I left you and that life behind. I’m done.” A woman spoke in reply to the man’s voice as I crept closer, listening to what she was saying.

“You listen to me, bitch .” The man spat the word as his voice raised. Normally, I wouldn’t involve myself, but men degrading women was something I didn’t stand for, especially not here. We protected this place, Dante and I, and that shit didn’t fly with us. I didn't care what the situation was, this was going to end whether it was taken elsewhere or whatever. It wasn’t fucking happening at Eden’s Inferno, not while we were here.

I threw my now finished cigarette to the ground, aggressively stomping it out with my boot. My mask hung freely on my wrist as I contemplated even putting it back on, but decided it was probably best to just slip it over my face. Protecting my identity was a priority right now and everyone here knew who the Devils were. I walked toward the voices with purpose, affixing the mask over my face and pulling my braids out of the way so they wouldn’t snag or pull uncomfortably in the straps. I twisted my head and cracked my neck, preparing for whatever I was about to step into.

As soon as I approached the pair that were arguing, I noticed the man had a firm grip on the woman's arm, one that her face told me she didn’t want. But what took me back was it wasn’t just any woman arguing with her lover. It was Bubbles.

Fuck this!

“What the fuck is going on over here?” I questioned, making my presence known. The man snapped his head in my direction, startled by my presence. I stood only a short distance from the two of them with my hands planted firmly on my hips. “Any trouble here, Bubbles?” My question was directed to her because fuck this guy. I truly didn’t care what the situation was, all I cared was that she was safe. She knew we protected everyone who worked here, whether the three of us had been making eyes at each other or not. She was a part of this club and I wasn’t about to let some dick manhandle her.

“Oh, I—” Bubbles began to say something to me.

“Bubbles?” The man snickered to himself, shaking his head. “She’s fine,” the man snipped. He looked me up and down as his mouth curled upwards, his mustache twitching as a dark shadow cast over his scruffy face. “You want to join us, though? You seem like a sparkly, foxy little devil. I’m sure the three of us could definitely have some fun together.” The man ogled me as he spoke. “What do you think, baby? Should your friend here join us?” He finally released Bubble’s arm as she stumbled back as he started walking towards me. I looked over at the dancer, noticing her arm was red. She rubbed it, trying to soothe the obviously painful ache. It pissed me off seeing her in pain. And I was fuming. “Come on, dollface.” The long-haired man flicked his head in my direction. “Take off that silly mask and join us so we can all go have some real fun together. I don’t mind sharing my baby with others.” He grinned a nasty smile as he started to reach for my mask. I snatched his wrist before he could touch it.

“You have some fucking nerve,” I barked. He tried to rip his arm from my grasp, but I refused to let go, tilting my head. “Clearly, you don’t know who the fuck I am or what I do for this club.” I twisted his wrist to a painful angle while he struggled, breathing heavily through his teeth. “I’ll take your lack of an answer as a no, then?” I chuckled lightly. “No, you don’t know who I am and you sure as fuck don’t know what I do for this club.” He shook his head, and I looked over to Bubbles, who was just staring at me in shock and awe. Seeing her eyes on me was—well—I was soaking it up.

With the idiot’s wrist still in my hand, I wasted no time showing him who the fucking boss was as I twisted his arm up behind him, pinning it, as we stood face-to-face thanks to my platform boots that put me at about the same height as this fucker.

“Let me go, you bitch!” he snapped, trying to wriggle free.

“Why don’t you shut the fuck up and listen. Now, you’re going to do what I say, when I say, and you’re going to remain fucking quiet as you do so, got it?”

“Why should I?” the man gritted out. I couldn’t help but to smile beneath the mask.

“Because I’m not afraid to put a man in his place. And I will not hesitate to pull the blade I have tucked under my skirt and shove it deep into your side, watching as you bleed out at my feet. Plus, I hold some mighty big power in this town and unless you want me to show you just how powerful I really am, I suggest you be a good boy and do as I say. Got it, little man?”

He nodded, shaking his head as his long oily hair tickled the side of my face.

“Bubbles, my sweet angel.” I tilted my mask as I spoke in her direction, her attention snapping to me as those deep blue eyes looked right into my soul. “Do you mind leading the way back inside and to the back bathroom?”

She nodded her head without saying a word and led the way back inside Eden’s Inferno.

“Thank you, angel.” The three of us slowly re-entered the club.

Stepping back into the club was like stepping back into a wave of pleasure that wrapped around your body and pulled you deeper into its embrace. Eden’s Inferno was everything Dante and I loved, and despite the business aspect of it all, we thoroughly enjoyed being here. It was dealing with shit like this that exhausted us. Though truthfully, while dealing with scumbags was exhausting, it was also incredibly exhilarating. Really kept you on your toes.

I walked towards the back hallways of the club, simultaneously directing the man as we followed behind my angel. She was still wearing a set of pastel wings, though this pair was smaller than the more elaborate ones she wore for her stage performances. The set she had strapped around her shoulders were intended more for private dances. The feathers were dyed a light pale blue, almost white, and each wing was adorned with pale yellow and pink crystals of varying sizes, allowing her to sparkle from all directions. The fact she was wearing them, with the most enticingly matching set of lingerie, told me this fucker must’ve bought a private dance from her. Seeing how she reacted to him, Juan here must’ve used a fake name, hoping to get her alone, and that’s how she probably got into this situation. It rubbed me the wrong way, thinking about how he tried to trick her. The very thought was enough to make me wrench his arm further up his back as he stumbled forward a bit.

“Ouch, what the fuck?!” he said, a little too loud for my liking.

“I said be fucking quiet!” I whispered harshly into his ear. I took my long fingernail and shoved it into his side, not wanting to be bothered with my blade.

The three of us made it to the bathroom and Bubbles stepped to the side, allowing me to shove the man in. I stepped back from him, moving closer to Bubbles. “Sweet angel, go grab my partner now, would you? Let him know I’ve got a little situation back here.” She nodded her head in understanding and backed away, quickly walking out toward the main floor of the club to find Dante. I didn’t necessarily need him to deal with this situation, but we always liked to handle these things together. A bonus to our relationship.

I shoved the man further into the bathroom and slammed the door behind me. This particular bathroom was one of the staff bathrooms, but they rarely used it. For the most part, Dante and I used this bathroom for our business, among other things, and everyone knew this particular bathroom was ours. The Devil’s bathroom. It was available to us anytime we needed it. Like right now, with this fucker now planted on his ass against the tile floor, scooting backward from me in those shit brown corduroy pants he was wearing.

“Get the fuck up, you putz!” I scoffed, kicking the bottom of his boot. He scrambled to stand, stepping back toward the wall. He never took his dark eyes off me. I wondered how intimidating I must be to him, standing here in my black platform go-go boots, white mini-skirt, and low cut, sheer black top, covered in tattoos and piercings. I probably looked menacing. Not to mention the bedazzled purple devil mask that was on my face, not budging an inch. I continued my advance on him, scrutinizing him with a tilt of the head and a gaze up and down.

“What do you want from me?” he spat. I didn’t answer him. Frankly, he didn’t deserve my answer because I didn’t care. He hurt one of the girls here. And not just any girl. You don’t touch an angel, not on our watch. “Fuck!” he shouted as I crossed my arms. Not only do you not touch an angel, but you don’t fucking touch that angel. Absolutely not. “Listen, I don’t know what she’s told you, but Luanne—Luanne is my girl! And–and I just want her to come back home.”

“Oh, she’s your girl? Got it. That makes perfect sense. I mean, she really looked like she wanted to be with you outside,” I said sarcastically. This guy couldn’t be serious. He was delusional. It was obvious Bubbles wanted nothing to do with him.

“She—Luanne, she um, was just—,” he stuttered, failing to make a point.

“Nah, I’m going to stop you right there, chief.” I punched him square in the jaw as he crumbled to the floor, groaning. “You don’t speak for her. She can speak for herself.” I moved to stand over him, carefully removing my mask before tossing it on the counter. This man wasn’t leaving this bathroom alive tonight, that much I knew. Fuck anonymity, I wanted him to see my face. To know exactly who it was that ended his pathetic life. I pressed my boot firmly against his chest as I looked down at him, almost daring him to look up at me. To see the woman who just knocked him on his ass in the bathroom at a strip club.

So fucking pathetic.

Before I had the chance to say or do anything else to him, a knock hit the door. It was a specific knock, one Dante and I used for moments like this. This bastard was lucky Dante arrived when he did, in a manner of speaking. I tilted my head towards the door, keeping my eyes on Juan as I yelled, “Come on in, little devil!”

Dante opened the door and saw my mask was off. He immediately ripped his off, too, tossing it next to mine. I noticed Bubbles standing behind him just outside the hall, her wing-covered back to us. And for some reason, reasons I wasn’t sure of, I felt compelled to have her join us.

“Why don’t you come inside, angel?” Bubbles turned around, seeing our faces for the first time. Our real faces. Those big blue eyes of hers met mine, bursting with pure lust and excitement, making this moment tangible. We rarely showed the staff our faces, but I wanted her to see mine. To see me. And she did.

Dante shut and locked the bathroom door, the tiny room filling with unimaginable sexual tension mixed with a daunting amount of rage. I waited until Dante and Bubbles were both looking at me and removed my foot from the man’s chest. He instantly tried to get up, and I didn’t stop him. Between Dante and myself, I knew he wouldn’t get far.

“Luanne, baby, please, you gotta help me here! Please,” he begged, crawling over toward our angel on his knees. He tried to grab her bare legs, but she kicked him off, her face stone cold and unmoving.

“No, Juan. I told you, we’re done!” She showed no remorse, no sympathy, and not a single fucking care for him. “I’ve spent years outrunning you, trying to escape the hell you put me through.”

Juan tried to grab her arm. “You can’t just walk away from me!” he growled, gripping her wrist.

“Let go!”

“No, you’re?—”

“Hey!” I stepped in, cutting him off as Dante removed his hand. I raised my boot and kicked him in the stomach, hard, knocking him to the ground as he groaned loudly. Dante approached Bubbles to talk to her. I couldn’t hear their conversation as I was too focused on this prick laying on the bathroom floor. I kicked him again, this time in the back, definitely hitting a kidney as I smiled at his pain.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Juan cried out.

“You are.” I bent down and grabbed him by his ugly striped collared shirt. “Now, stand up!” He begrudgingly listened, standing and stumbling. I released his shirt and shoved him back as he sat on the dirty, white toilet seat. “Oh perfect, sit where you deserve, you piece of shit. On the fucking toilet.” I bunched up his shirt in my left hand to hold him steady as I proceeded to punch him in the face again, this time brutally hitting his cheek bone. I swung again and again, landing my fist into his ugly face as blood splattered from the impact and immediately began pouring from his nose. Drops of it fell onto my skirt, staining the crisp white material. “Fuck! Dante, I’m going to need a new white skirt.”

“Okay, Kitty Kat.” His reply was much closer than I expected. Dante was now standing right behind me, the heat of his body radiating into my skin. “Kitten, this piece of shit before you is Juan. Seems he’s our angel’s ex. Dot here can give us details later, but long story short, she ran away from him long time ago. And now, he’s found her and I guess he thinks he can just walk right into our place and take what’s rightfully ours.” He crossed his arms as his face hardened. “He’s no good. He’s gotta go.”

I looked past Dante to see Dot standing against the opposite wall, unphased by the scene in front of her, sparkling like a neon angel beneath the moody bathroom lighting. “I won’t argue with that. Dot?” Saying her name aloud felt so right. “Do you want in on this too?” I gestured to Juan sitting slumped on the toilet, bloodied and breathing hard as my hand remained clutched in a fist. I knew this took an extremely violent turn and had no idea if she really was going to be okay with all of this. But the simple fact she stood there seemingly unphased and unbothered by all the violence made me think that not only was she okay, but Dot may just be exactly who we were looking for. “This is your ex, we’re just doing our job here. If you want to take a moment or think it over—do so now. But if what I saw outside is only a glimpse into the life you had with this prick—” I spat. “Then I suggest you make your peace and come to terms with how this is going to go down.” Dot stared at me, those electric blue eyes of hers sparkling in the lighting. I had no idea what to say, but something told me she was on board. “Do you want to get your pretty little hands dirty?” She bit her plump lower lip. “I have a blade too, if that’s more your speed?” I added as a question with a shrug and looked at Dante, who was flitting his eyes between Dot and I.

Dot cautiously walked toward us, her wings gently swaying as she spoke in her adorable, soft voice. “I want to do this. No, I need to do this.”

I looked at Dante and raised my eyebrows, excited by her words. “Of course, angel. I’m sure you know our reputation and whatnot. So you know, Juan isn’t leaving alive.” As the truth of his situation reached his ears, Juan tried to scream, but Dante was swift, putting him in a headlock, quickly cutting off his air supply as he snuffed his cries for help. I delicately pulled the blade from the strap I had on my thigh, gently offering it to Dot. Her eyes fell to my opened palm, eyeing the blade. “I know we’ve already made a bit of a mess, but don’t worry about getting dirty. This will all get cleaned up, no questions asked. No one will know you were here or participated, I swear.” She lifted her hand and ran her fingertips across the handle. The motion made me tingle as I watched her feel the blade, picking up it as she examined it closely. “We take care of things like this here all the time, Dante and I. We’ll take care of you, angel, but this is your past coming to haunt you. You have every right to help settle this, to erase your demons and lock those skeletons in your closet.” I swear the corners of her mouth flicked upwards for a moment as she gripped the blade tight.

Without hesitation, Dot silently removed the wings she was wearing and laid them on the counter with our masks. She walked over to the toilet and stood right in front of Juan, her knuckles turning white from how tight she squeezed the blade. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this. I’ve spent so many goddamn years running from this bastard. Every night, I experience his abuse again and again, waking up in absolute terror. You —” She pointed the blade at the whimpering man. “You have stolen my life from me. Now, it’s time I take it back!” Without any hesitation or regret, Dot lunged forward and stabbed Juan in the stomach. She gripped his shoulder with her left hand as she stabbed him again, and again, and again. She just kept stabbing, grunting as he stared up at her, burrowing my knife deeper into his body with each motion.

I think I just became a woman obsessed.

I looked over at Dante who was staring at me, his face telling me exactly what we both were thinking. He knew I just became obsessed with that damn angel, even more so than I already was. She was a deadly beauty, and I was fucking hooked.

Dante and I just watched, transfixed by the woman as she gripped the man’s face with her blood covered hand, squeezing his chin as she forced him to look up at her. Blood dripped down from his mouth as she spoke to him in a low and dangerous tone. “Who’s the bitch now?”

“Luanne—” He gagged on her name, his life strained.

“Luanne is dead!” she spat, raising the bloodied blade to his throat. “You killed her the day I escaped.” His eyes bulged as she pressed the knife into the flesh of his neck, pressing it deep as she took her time, dragging it from one ear to the other, blood pouring from the deep wound. The man gagged and wriggled, too weak as he watched that breathtaking angel take his life from him. “Go to hell, Juan.” She spit on his body, stepping back as we listened to the sound of her platform heels tapping.

When it was obvious Juan was dead, Dante walked over to Dot, who was breathing heavily. Her hands were drenched in blood, splatters cast across her chest and face. She gasped as he carefully scooped her up and placed her on the counter by the sink. “You’re okay, angel.” Her blue eyes began to turn red as she seemed to fight back a plethora of emotions. “Hey, look at us.” Dante gently touched her chin as she remained in the haze of emotions flooding her being. We both stood in front of her while she came down from that high, her eyes slowly lifting to meet ours. The catharsis she must have felt from killing that man must have been wild.

“Dot,” I whispered her name, lifting her chin up a bit so that our eyes could lock.

“Y–you’re the D–Devils,” she whispered in between her deep breathing.

“We are. I’m Kat, and this is Dante.” Dante tucked a piece of Dot’s golden hair behind her ear. “Angel, are you okay?” She nodded, but that wasn’t good enough for me. “I’m going to need you to use your words and keep your eyes on me.”

Doing just as I said, she replied, “Yes, I’m–I’m okay. Just a little shaken.”

Good girl.

“He’s dead, Kat. Juan is dead. I–I killed him.” Hearing her say my name excited me a bit too much. “What’re we going to do?” She looked down, realizing his blood stained her skin as she began to frantically try to wipe it off. “He’s dead!”

“Hey, it’s okay.” I grabbed her hands with my own as she looked at me, instantly calmed. “We are gonna to help clean you up and get some shit straight in here. Then, we are gonna go, all three of us, so that someone can come take care of this mess, okay? Everything is going to be okay. This is what we do, got it?” She nodded her head again, but I needed words. “Your words angel, use them.”

“Oh, sorry. Yes, I… I got it.”

“Good. Now… ” I grabbed a handful of those shitty brown paper towels and soaked them in water, handing them to Dot. “Clean yourself up. We can’t have our angel looking anything but innocent.” I winked as she flashed me a sweet smile and did as she was told.

“Let us handle the rest, angel. It’ll only take a second.” Dante and I turned, exchanging a devious smile as we began to take Juan’s belongings off of him. His wallet and cash, any other random things he may have were removed from his person. We found he had a pretty solid amount of cash in his money clip, more than we’d expected, and a little vial of cocaine in his pocket. Surely not our shit, unless he bought from one of our dealers in town when he got here, because based on his ID we found and Dot’s story, this prick wasn’t from around here at all. He was a long way from home, which was a bonus for us. It would be days, maybe even weeks, before anyone came looking for him. If anyone bothered at all. Something told me he wouldn’t exactly be missed.

While sifting through the other random junk from Juan’s pockets, I heard some all too familiar sounds behind me. A couple quick sniffs in succession, light tapping of metal, and more sniffs of the nose. When I turned around, I noticed Dot wiping some loose white powder that had fallen onto her lap. She tucked a small necklace with a vial attached to the end of it back into her bra top and quickly rubbed at her nose.

Oh shit.

I looked over at Dante, who was also staring at Dot.

That’s going to be a fucking problem.

Dot finally glanced up at us, smiling warily.

“Shit, please don’t tell Eddie! He won’t let me dance here anymore! I–I know it’s against the rules, but—” Dot pleaded. She knew the pull we had with the owner Eddie, where we stand on drugs and our role here. “I promise, it’s not a problem. I–I just needed it because…” She motioned her hands to Juan. “Well, I just killed him!”

This whole situation just got a little bit more complicated.