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Slipping into the stockroom, I grabbed an empty drink crate and took it back with me. After years of working here, I had enough extra clothes stashed back here that it was easy to make a little bed. Jessie placed her inside it as soon as I made it cozy enough, and Puff settled down, curling up on herself almost immediately.
“God, you’re cute,” I said.
“Right?” Jessie said. “I’m glad you saved her.”
“Me too,” I said. “They’ll be here today, I’m sure.”
Both of them rolled their eyes. Clementine sighed. “Of course. So we should be prepared for shitty tips and wandering hands.”
The treaty creating No Man’s Land nearly forty years ago set the rules. Not only did neither motorcycle club get to use this section of the city as their territory, but it was a pure space. No faction laws applied here. Andthatwas why I stayed. The second I crossed the boundary into normal territory, if anyone knew I was part fae, they could tell any of the Courts who could then make a claim on me and all the rules surrounding hybrids.
So here I was.
Day to day, it was mainly the friction between the Legion and the Shadows. And though no one would say it out loud, pretty much everyone hated the Legion.
But that was the price for living here. I certainly wasn’t the only person in this strip of land here to make sure they stayed alive and free. It was probably half of the No Man’s Land population.
A bang on the door, and then Kramer’s voice. “We’re open. I need someone on stage.”
Clementine shook out her hair and smiled. “Showtime.” Sarcasm dripped off her words, since the club was probably empty.
With Puff settled in her makeshift bed, I did my makeup and put on my pole wear. Today I opted for something less revealing than on other days. I wasn’t one of those people who hated pole dancing and stripping and only did it because it was my only option. Dancing was something I loved.Loved. But there was a difference between dancing for money and dancing for fun. Pole dancing could be stunningly beautiful and ethereal. It could also be hot as fuck.
Today I’d be doing a mix of both, with more conservative clothing. Since the Legion were shit tippers anyway, if I had to pretend I liked them watching me and go home with less money than I deserved, they weren’t getting the goods.
But for good measure, I spread some subtle glitter across my skin. Under the stage lights it made me look magical. A little extra allure for no work at all. And it was made of iron dust. Usually I wore it on Shadows’ days to tease them, but today it felt right.
I leaned down and stroked Puff’s little spine between her wings. Fucking adorable, and right now, she seemed fully content to sleep and not move.
Grabbing my phone, I texted Maggie and asked her to grab some supplies for the cat. Unlike myself, Maggie didn’t live here because she had to. She would roll her eyes, but she would do it. Hopefully.
Since I wasn’t on yet, I tucked my phone into my bra and headed up front. Exactly like I thought, when I pushed through the curtain to the dark and shadowy front of the club, Clementine was dancing, experimenting with a new inversion sequence she’d been working on, and there was no one else.
Kramer standing behind the bar didn’t count.
He was polishing a glass, and I took it out of his hand and filled it with water. “Really?”
I shrugged. “Not like you were actually using it.”
K smiled and shook his head. Old and grumpy as they came, though he didn’t look it, but in general he was a good guy. As good as anyone was in No Man’s Land. He knew my parents, which I clung to more than I should. There were worse people to work for.
“Someday, you’re going to accept that we don’t need to dance when there’s no one here.” I gave him a look, and he laughed.
“Anyone can come in any time, Sky. And who says I don’t enjoy it?”
I swatted him on the arm, but we were laughing. K was more of a father to us than anything else, strange as that might sound.
As if he’d summoned someone out of thin air, the front door opened. “Just who I wanted to see,” Fang said, striding in with the crew from earlier behind him. But not just them. More. Far more Legion members than I’d ever seen in one place.
“My favorite bartender and my favorite dancer.”
Clementine faltered on the pole, coming to a stop.
An instinct shivered down my spine. This was wrong. Something was wrong. After Silver told me to be careful, and the way the Legion looked at me today? I turned away and slipped the phone out of my bra to hold it by my side.
Just in time.
Fang pulled a pistol from his waistband and pointed it at K, shooting him in the shoulder. Clementine screamed, but I didn’t even have a chance, the shock was so sudden. K’s body flew backward and slammed against the back of the bar as he crumpled to the floor. I was already moving, grabbing the rag he’d been polishing the glasses with and pressing it to his wound. It wasn’t near anything vital, thank fuck.
