Page 21 of The Devil After Dark

twenty

LIANA

I could not stop thinking about Cassio all day.

He had just fucked me and left. At the time I thought things were going great, but when he left?

I had never felt so ashamed of myself. Apparently I had just been a hole for him.

Maybe it was just some sick game of his to fuck me and then he was gone.

With the shame I felt I wished he would just be gone.

I wished he would also fire us—the thought of having to work for him made me want to cry.

How was I supposed to face him after that happened?

He would never take me seriously and I would only be thinking about how he had just walked out.

Thea and I were supposed to meet tonight to scope out a club as market research for one of our clients who wanted to open his own nightclub.

I had argued for days with Roger about putting me on this project.

Nightclubs were not my thing and everyone knew it.

But, the boss had insisted I would bring an unbiased opinion to the table and thus a club night out was on the calendar.

I had worked comfortably from home and all of my conference calls had gone fine.

My email inbox was at zero and I was now staring at the skimpy dress that hung from my closet door.

Thea had convinced me I should wear this particular dress tonight.

She was someone who frequented the city clubs and had talked me into the fact that she probably knew best what to wear.

I was at least going to play the part if we were actually doing this thing.

I slipped into the dress and checked the time on my phone.

It was time to leave if I wanted to catch the bus.

The bus had been nearly empty and the train had been quiet too. As I emerged from the underground station my phone buzzed. It was Thea:

I’m SO sorry. I have to bail tonight. I promise to make it up to you.

I stared down at my phone. Fuck. I looked up at the club.

Based on my research, The Devil After Dark was apparently one of the hottest clubs in the city.

It snaked underground and had different cave-like rooms that played different music in each.

It was also rumored to have a not so secret exclusive club reserved for the wealthiest patrons—and you needed an invitation to enter.

I was right here. I could at least make a quick lap of the place before going home. Then I would never have to come back.

I took a deep breath and headed straight towards the door.

The bouncer barely glanced at my identification card that clearly showed I was well over the age required for entry and waved me inside.

This place had people of all different kinds.

Suits and sweatshirts. Business looking patrons and some that were dressed up like they were definitely here to impress—or get laid.

I explored the club until I found a room with a short bar line and decent music. I ordered a shot and immediately regretted my decision as it burned down my throat. Fuck it. This place was probably better if you were drunk. I ordered another.

After my second shot I realized I was being a complete idiot.

I was here alone. I had scoped out the place by just wandering around.

I had what I needed. It was time to leave.

I made my way through the dancing crowd as I moved towards the exit.

Strong hands grabbed my hips and a warm body slid up close to mine as it moved with the beat.

I tried to step away, but the owner of the hands just spun me around to face him.

“Don’t leave without dancing first,” he yelled over the music.

This man was huge and had those eyes that just made you feel like you’re the prettiest girl in the world when they looked at you.

His facial hair was trimmed short, and his dirty-blonde hair lay like he had run his fingers through it to push it back.

Why was I suddenly finding all of the large attractive men in this city?

Okay. I’d dance. I was not sure I wanted to be home tonight anyway.

I let him guide me to the beat and soon found my ass pressed against him as he held me close and we danced to the music.

I just let myself go. I did not want to think about anything and this stranger’s body against mine with the music thumping in my blood made it easy to forget everything.

Soon I was sweaty and the man’s hands were wandering more freely over my body.

If his left hand slid any higher he’d be able to finger me right here on the dance floor.

“Want to get out of here?” he asked into my ear over the music. His question snapped me out of my mindless dancing.

I turned and smiled at him. “No, thank you for the dance though.” I ran my hands down his muscled chest. I might not get out much anymore, but my dating history taught me how to ease a man into rejection.

I leaned against him, my nose brushing up his neck so I could speak into his ear.

“Maybe I will see you later, but I need to go find my friends, they are probably wondering where I am.” I pulled slowly back from him.

Again, no friends here, but I knew better than to tell a strange man I was here alone.

He gave me that disappointed look. That little pout that men use when they are trying to convince you to do nearly anything you probably shouldn’t actually be doing. “I’ll be looking for you,” he responded, his hand running down along my arm, then hip.

“Please do,” I teased. Then I slipped from his arms and into the crowd. I had to pee anyway.

Even the bathrooms were nice here. Maybe I had expected vomit covered stalls or sticky floors, but the bathrooms were clean and even smelled fresh.

I looked at myself in the mirror and laughed to myself over the fact I had just spent the last hour grinding all over some stranger.

It was something I had not really done in the last ten years.

I hadn’t done something like this since my last boyfriend.

Ordering a car from my phone, I exited the bathroom. I hadn’t even made it four steps before a hand grabbed the back of my neck and a body pressed against me. “You should not be here, Angel,” a voice growled in my ear.

“Cassio?” I tried to pull away, but he held me firmly, his hand wrapping my waist as he hurried us down the hall. “Cassio, what the fuck? Where are you taking me?”

“Liana, you should not be here. Do you even know who you were just grinding your ass all over?” he hissed. By the tone in his voice, Cassio was clearly furious.

“I was dancing with a random stranger. So, no, I have no idea who I was grinding my ass all over. And I have every right to be here,” I responded hotly. I was furious too.

Cassio turned me quickly and pressed me against one of the stone walls. “You were dancing with a top enforcer from one of the drug gangs. A man whose domestic violence rap sheet is as long as you are tall and who should be locked up in a very dark prison.”

I glared back at him. “We were just dancing.”

“That was not just dancing,” Cassio said through his teeth.

Then he yanked me from the wall and continued to forcefully guide me down the hall.

A man who clearly worked here gave a nod to Cassio, completely unbothered by the fact that Cassio was manhandling me, and opened a door for us.

Fresh cool air hit me as we ascended a set of steps to street level.

“You’re fucking escorting me out?” I was furious. How dare he just jump me in the hallway and force me to leave. I was leaving anyway, but still. It was the principle of it.

“Yes, it’s my club. I can remove anyone I want,” Cassio said as he turned my body to face him. He still had his hand tightly on the back of my neck and his other on my hip. His club. Shit. I had no idea it was his club. “Zac will take you home.”

As if on cue, Zac pulled up in the fancy black town car. I simply turned away from Cassio, shaking off his hold on me, and crossed my arms like a defiant teen, waiting for Zac to open the door. I didn’t look back as I got in the car and Zac closed the door behind me.

CASSIO

Liana had not just walked into The Devil After Dark …

no she definitely had. This club was one of the many I owned throughout the city and it was by far the most popular for every sort of crowd—especially the ones who ran drugs and people.

And my Angel had just walked in the front fucking door.

At least I was here tonight. I usually spend the daylight hours working from my business office.

Then, in the evenings, I find myself split between my other clubs and warehouses.

Usually I end up at The Devil After Dark at some point in the night.

The Devil After Dark serves as a central location and meeting place for my …

employees. Really I did not have a life outside of my businesses.

Before Liana I had never really felt the need to pursue much else.

I flicked through the camera feeds as I watched Liana move through the club, looking into every single area before picking one and approaching the bar.

Why was she here and why was she here alone?

And she hates shots. The grimace on her face was so cute as she gulped down the shot she ordered. She even ordered a second shot.

I gripped the edge of my desk just to keep myself from standing up and going to find her immediately.

If she ordered one more drink I was going down there.

She did not need to be drunk and alone in a place like this.

Okay good, no more drinks and she was leaving the bar.

I settled back into my chair and touched the keyboard, flipping to the next camera as Liana made her way into the dancing crowd.

Any momentary relief I had was quickly wiped clean.

Merrick Delacourt had his hands on Liana and the small smile on her face as she moved with him to the music sent absolute rage coursing through my veins.

Merrick grew up just like me—magic wielder, family with a seat on the council, and a crime family.

The major difference between us was that I had become the boss in my crime empire and Merrick had become the one who created the dead bodies in his.

He was fucking ruthless and ran through women like paper towels, usually discarding them crumpled up in waste bins.

The sheer number of domestic related crimes he had been arrested for required multiple pages to list them all, and that did not include the murders.

Liana was currently grinding her ass all over one of, if not the most dangerous men currently in my city.

And how dare she think she was allowed to dance with some other man to begin with.

I had made it clear to her that she was owned now …

hadn’t I? Apparently, I had not been clear enough.

“Cassio?” Remington’s voice from the door couldn’t pull my eyes from the screen.

“What is it? I’m busy,” I snapped back.

“I’m guessing by the tone in your voice you already know your girl is here,” Remington replied.

My eyes snapped to him as I ground my teeth.

I was about to storm down there myself and tear her from Merrick’s hands, but at the same time I knew that would be disastrous.

Merrick could not know she was mine. That was part of this whole sneaking around thing, to keep her safe.

And me dragging her from him—any of my men dragging her away from him—meant he would know she was important to me and put a target on her back.

Remington, to his credit, had that look in his eye like he was willing to kill Merrick right here in the club if I asked him to.

“I’ll take care of it,” I said through my teeth and turned back to the screen to watch.