Page 10 of Revelations

I make my way across the floor once I’ve dealt with the mess I just cleaned up to check the rest of the tables. With a list of orders, empty glasses, and an eye on everything going on in the club, I get lost in the work and don’t immediately realize how much time passes while I wait for Genesis to make her way back inside.

“Devil, has Gen made her way back inside yet?” Kat asks me when I stop at the bar for the latest round of drinks.

Startled, I snap my head around and take in the floor. Genesis isn’t anywhere to be found. Panic fills me as I turn back to Kat while pulling my phone from my pocket.

“I haven’t seen her since she went outside. Fuck! I’m gonna go look for her. Can you deliver those drinks for me and let the tables know they’ll have to come to the bar for refills right now?” I ask her, looking around again for the woman who is driving me wild and not leaving my thoughts.

“I’m on it, Devil. Please find her,” Kat says, fear filling her own voice as I head for Deegan to let him know what’s going on.

“Deegan, Genesis hasn’t made her way back inside yet. I want you to search the front of the bar and come back inside. This floor isn’t to be left unattended for very long. I’m gonna search out back and see if I can find her,” I tell him as he looks around before heading out the front door to look.

Rushing through the club, I head for the back door all the girls go out. It’s been propped open so it doesn’t accidentally lock and I push it open all the way as I step through. The door slams into the wall of the club and echoes in the still night air.

“Genesis!” I call out, when I don’t see her right outside as I search the parking lot for her car. It’s parked where she left it earlier and none of the doors are open to signify she went over to sit in it instead of remaining outside.

I move from the door and search the back area of the club and look around each side of the building. She’s nowhere to be found as I continue calling her name and listening for her to make any kind of noise in response. When I don’t hear anything and can’t find her, I unlock my phone and call the one person I know will show up immediately to find her with me. Everyone in the club will show up for her because she’s an employee. Only one person wants her on a deeper level and will go above and beyond to help.

“Devil, the fuck you want?” Raptor answers his phone, slightly out of breath as the fear continues to build deep inside.

“Genesis is missin’, Raptor. I sent her outside to calm down and catch her breath after a drunk asshole didn’t listen to her. She was shakin’ and had tears in her eyes. I took over workin’ the tables for her and lost track of time. Kat and I realized at the same time she hadn’t come back inside. Deegan looked out front and I’ve been searchin’ out back. Her car is still here and it’s like she just fuckin’ vanished,” I tell him, my voice coming out clipped and rushed.

“Fuck!” he roars, fear instantly filling him mixed with rage. “I’m on my way. Vault and Ghost are with me. We’ll be there in less than five. Keep fuckin’ lookin’ and find her, Devil.”

Raptor hangs up before I can respond to him. I continue to frantically search all over the outside, inside the club, and out front despite Deegan saying he didn’t find her anywhere. There’s not a single sign of her going outside or anyone taking her. Where the fuck could she have gone? What the fuck happened to her?

I don’t stop moving as I retrace my steps over and over again, trying to search in new places but forgetting where I’ve already looked. Kat continues working inside and Deegan is doing his best to look inside while keeping an eye on the dancers and customers inside the bar. Everything on the property is fucking turned upside down in my search for her and I still don’t find any sign of Genesis anywhere. Still, I don’t stop my search even as I hear the bikes roaring into the parking lot out front before shutting off. The only thing on my mind is finding Genesis and making sure she’s okay.

Chapter Seven

Genesis

BEING ASSAULTED AT the club has never happened to me before. Yeah, some of the customers have gotten a little too handsy as they drink and lose their inhibitions. When I tell them not to touch me and that if they want a private dance from one of the dancers, they have to arrange it with the girl, they back off and go back to watching the girls on stage dance and remove their clothes. Tonight is the first time I’ve had a customer not listen to me when I tell them no and continue to try to take what I’m not willing to give them. I’m all for the dancers on stage doing what they have to do to make money. I’d never shame anyone for letting a customer touch them or anything else. That’s their business and I’ll support any decision they make. I’m not a dancer and I never will be. My job is to take drink orders and bring them to the tables they belong at. For this asshole to think I’m going to let him touch me any way he chooses is one of the scariest moments I’ve ever been through in my life.

Feeling Devil’s arms wrapped around me filled me with a sense of safety and peace as my body started trembling in the aftermath of the encounter. I didn’t want to leave him, but he gave me no choice in the matter when he told me to come outside and calm down. Honestly, I’ve never seen Devil asenraged as I did tonight. His eyes were almost completely black while what I could see of his face in the dim lighting of the club was as red as a stop sign. The vein hidden by the beanie on his head was standing out and pulsing with every beat of his heart. This is a version of Devil I’ve never seen before and I don’t want to see from him again. He’s scary and if I didn’t feel safe in his arms, I’d be shrinking back to hide somewhere far away from him.

After he tells me again to go outside and calm down, I realize he’s right. With this fucker in the club still, I won’t be able to catch my breath or stop shaking. The fear of him getting his hands on me again flows through me like a livewire as I nod in response and head for Kat at the bar. She doesn’t say a word to me as I take the water from her with tears starting to roll down my cheeks. I see the pity and anger in her eyes before I leave the area and head for the hallway where the back door is already propped open. None of the dancers are outside when I carefully open the door and step outside, closing my eyes and letting the cool night air wash over my body.

Opening my eyes again, I take in the stars filling the night sky as I lean against the rough exterior of the club from the bricks digging into my back. There’s a gentle breeze surrounding me, chilling my already trembling body as I wrap my arms around myself the best I can. The uniform I have to wear here at the club is thin as hell and I’m usually grateful for it because the club gets hot as hell with everyone inside. Right now, I’m cursing the small amount of skin on display. I open my bottle of water and take a few small sips so I don’t feel as if I’m choking with the way my throat is closed off. This feeling is horrible and it’s been a long time since I’ve had any kind of panic attack. They used to happen on a pretty regular basis when I was younger and actually cared what people thought about me.

Growing up, I never had friends and was constantly bullied no matter what school district I was in or how good I thought the foster home was. I never had the latest clothes to wear or all of the new electronics. All of my clothes were secondhand from the thrift stores in town and my sneakers were always falling apart. The money that was supposed to be spent on me went to whatever the foster parents wanted and very little provided what I actually needed. All of my school supplies were from free fairs held before the start of each school year and my book bag was ripped in more places than it was held together. So, all of that combined made me an easy target for the bullies in every school I was in.

Melinda never had the desire to become friends when I moved in with her family. She was too wrapped up in her friends, boyfriends, and whatever else she did each day. While she didn’t outright bully me, she certainly never stopped it from happening either. I learned very quickly to keep my head down, do my work, and avoid any kind of trap that was set for me on a daily basis. Including not using my locker because I could guarantee something had been put in it, on it, or done to make me look like an idiot.

Even now I won’t allow myself to get close to anyone. Morgan and Kat would be the closest I consider friends and they know absolutely nothing about me. Not the situation with Matie in full, why I never have food in my apartment, or anything else. Well, I mean, I have food now. Morgan showed up two days ago with an SUV full of food and other things for the baby and kitchen. I tried to refuse it, but she brought it all in with Deegan’s help and put it all away. The amount of food filling my kitchen now is something I’ve never seen since I left the Pratt’s house. They always had food and I was allowed to have one snack a day along with breakfast and whatever was made for dinner.Nothing more though. I don’t know how I’ll pay Morgan and the club back for their gift, but I’ll find a way as soon as possible. I refuse to be indebted to anyone for any reason.

Taking a few more small sips of my water, I look out around the back of the club. There’s a forest behind the parking lot that’s kind of creepy in the dark of the night. The branches twist and turn against one another creating a squeaking noise as they rub together in the breeze. It’s eerie as hell if I’m being honest. But, I’m not ready to head back inside just yet. I can’t be sure the customer is out of the club and I don’t want to see him again. Devil said he’d come out when he could and I’m going to put what little trust I have in him to deal with the situation and come let me know it’s been taken care of. Otherwise, I’m not sure what I’ll do if I have to face that table again.

All night, from the second they sat down, I knew they were going to be a problem. I’m pretty sure all but one of the men were already drunk when they showed up. Talking louder than anyone else, making lewd comments and gestures about the dancers, Kat, and finally me throughout the night. I was talking to Kat about cutting them off when I went back over to take their last round of drinks to them. The second I got within arm’s reach of the asshole who grabbed me, he pounced and refused to let go. By the time I was loud enough to draw the attention of Devil and Deegan, I had already asked him to let me go more than a dozen times. Hell, I tried every trick I’ve mastered over the years when it comes to dealing with drunk idiots who think it’s okay to get handsy. Nothing worked on this asshole as his grip got tighter and tighter every move I made. It was scary and I’m glad the guys showed up as soon as they did to get me free.

“I always knew you were a slut. And look where I find you,” a familiar voice says from the side of me as I snap out of my mind and turn in the direction of the voice.

Ricky stands about three feet from me. I’ve only seen him a handful of times over the years, but this is definitely him. He’s got dirty blond hair that’s greasy and slicked back the way it always is. His light blue eyes are lifeless and colder than normal as he glares at me. The suit he’s wearing is dirty, wrinkled, and cheap. Ricky is always trying to impress everyone around him and make people believe he’s richer and classier than he believes. The reality of the situation is Ricky’s nothing more than a low-level thug who’s a sleazeball. He uses everyone around him and takes what he wants without consequences or thought to what the other person feels. Exactly the type of man Melinda was bound to fall for because she’s the female version of him to a point.

“What are you doing here, Ricky?” I ask him, my voice trembling as even more fear courses through me with the thought of him being so close.

Plus, I know Ricky isn’t here alone. He rarely gets his hands dirty and has goons who follow him around and have no problem beating the shit out of women, kids, or anyone else who gets in Ricky’s way. For now, they’re hiding in the shadows and will only come out if I don’t give Ricky the information he’s here for.

“Pretty sure you know why I’m here, Genesis. Where is she?” he questions me, stepping up even closer so I can smell the cheap cologne he’s using to cover up the body odor because the asshole doesn’t know what a shower is.

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