Wyatt put the pastry in his left hand and made a gesture over his chest. “Cross my heart.”
“And hope to die?”
“Just don’t stick any needles in my eye.”
Christian put their heads together as they walked, his voice thick with malice. “Do you? Do you hope to die?”
Chapter 9
A week had zipped by. A week of slinging beer and watching people achieve sexual fulfillment. While I didn’t require as much sleep as the average person, I slept for as many hours as I could. The job was tiring, and I needed to stay alert.
Christian left me coffee in a thermos every morning. Even though he wasn’t supposed to be there, and even though I never saw him do it, he did it without fail. Usually it was cold by the time I woke up, so I poured it into a cup and tossed it in the microwave. At least this place wasn’t a dump. The vending machines in the hall had oodles of good snacks, cheaper than the ones in Wyatt’s overpriced machine. They also served a continental breakfast downstairs early each morning. Unable to leave the hotel in the daytime, I usually ordered a pizza around midafternoon, showered, and watched TV. The monotonous routine made me feel human again.
It also made me feel like the living dead.
My internal alarm clock went off, so I got dressed and popped the contact lens into my right eye. The leather shorts had worked out great, but the corset was ridiculously constricting and hot. If it were up to me, I’d just cut an old T-shirt in half. But the White Owl didn’t want its workers looking like groupies at a rock concert, so I’d been wearing a leather bra with two spikes where my nipples were. Leather cuff bracelets were my only accessories; anything else would have been overkill. After pulling my hair up, I grabbed a long duster, my purse, and my mask, and headed out the door.
Breed cops patrolled this district. Insiders in every profession kept Breed business under wraps, so at least I didn’t have to worry about a cop pulling me over for dressing like a prostitute.
Once I reached the club, I swung by my station and flagged Simone, who was holding a compact mirror and touching up her black lipstick. “I’m here—sorry I’m late. Give me two minutes.”
I knew she heard me, but she didn’t look up.
On my way to the employee locker room, I bumped into Flynn. He was always easy to spot in those orange-tinted glasses.
“Did you forget your leather pants today?” I quipped.
“The cleaning crew isn’t permitted to dress provocatively. I’m afraid black trousers are all we’re allowed.”
We avoided two men engaged in sensory magic and headed down a short hall.
“Your shirt is five sizes too small,” I remarked. “Is that for tips?”
He opened the door for me. “Already told you, love, we don’t earn tips.”
“I won’t tell.”
Flynn plopped down on the black loveseat. “The boss doesn’t tolerate deceit. Careful who you talk to around here. There are a lot of snitches.”
I leaned toward the mirror and applied my eyeliner. “So why not get a job working tables?”
He crossed one leg over his knee. “I’ve applied, but those positions don’t open very often, and the one that just did was filled by a Chitah.”
“What about bartending?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, they’re all women.” He gave me a forced smile.
I crossed the room and opened my locker. “Why is that?”
“Bartenders are women, servers are men. That’s the way the owner likes it.”
After putting up my bag and coat, I sprayed a mist of perfume on myself. “How do you survive on wages alone?”
His eyes traveled down to my long legs. “Everyone has a side hustle. You’re trouble, aren’t you?”
I tied the mask behind my head and slammed the locker. “What makes you say that?”
“I can always spot trouble with a capital T. Nobody gets in a fight on their first night here. People would kill for your position. And you should know that Simone’s not pleased with you.”
“Why?”
Flynn got up and approached me like a new sheriff who had just rode into town. “When she heard what you did last week, ordering customers around like a dominatrix, she tried it when you weren’t here.”
“And?”
He made a nosedive movement with his hand. “Crash and burn. With her, the regulars know it’s all an act. But you’re new, so they don’t know what to expect from you.” Flynn’s eyebrows touched his hairline as he admired my body again.