ONE
MILO
It was just before ten p.m. as I edged through the crowd.
Every muscle in my body was coiled and ready to strike.
Absolution was packed wall-to-wall, filled to capacity with a line at the door, same way it was most nights.
Though, as I moved beneath the lights that flashed in time with the chaotic rhythm of the band that played onstage, the throng broke apart, instinct warning them they’d do best to keep out of my way.
My job was to keep tabs on those who came to the club for a taste of the excess offered within its walls.
Kult cut through the roiling mass, heading in my direction. He was the second head bouncer here at Absolution, and the two of us were running circuits on the main floor tonight.
Dude had buzzed his once long-blond hair. The effect of it only doubled the threat that oozed from him in waves. He slowed to a stop in front of me, and he lifted his voice over the din. “All quiet?”
“If you mean I haven’t had to haul any unruly assholes out back, then yeah.”
He cracked a shit-eating grin. “Tell me why you seem so glum about that.”
So, I might come with a reputation. I chalked it up to it being a part of the job, but my crew knew better. Still, I played it off. “Glum? Not even close. Hell, I’d pay for one dull night.”
Cracking up, Kult pointed a finger in my face. “You, my friend, are a liar. But don’t worry, the night’s still young. No need to sulk. Your face is way too pretty for that,” he razzed.
I grunted at him.
He laughed again, though he was holding his hands up in surrender. “Just messin’ with you, brother. No need to go beast on my ass. I know you only give a beat down if someone deserves it.”
God knew there were plenty who did.
I’d been a bouncer here at Absolution for the last three years. There weren’t a whole lot of nights that shit didn’t go down.
It was on me to draw the invisible line. On me to decide what forms of corruption were acceptable and when those boundaries had been breached.
No, the irony wasn’t lost on me, considering I had never been so good at delineating them for myself.
“Besides, we’d be out of a job if people decided to behave themselves. You’re not going to find me complainin’,” Kult said. “I’m going to make the rounds. Let me know if anyone gets rowdy.”
“Will do,” I told him.
Truth was, I took protecting those who came to this club seriously. It was always the innocent that got in the line of fire. The ones I could tell with a glance didn’t belong in a place like this and had stumbled into a viper’s den, without a clue how to navigate the seedy, sordid waters.
Deviants could scent that shit from a mile away. Sniffing out the vulnerable, getting off on the thrill of tainting something pure.
So this? I used it as an offering.
Penance.
Reparation.
A guardian of the innocent and a reaper of the corrupt.
Fools didn’t know how desperately they didn’t want to be the latter.
I let my gaze wander the cavernous space.
Housed in an old warehouse, Absolution was two stories of luxury cut with a slice of biker bar. Plush booths lined the walls, and leather couches and high-top tables were set back from the dance floor to fill the open middle area. Blue neon lights glowed from the main bar that ran the length of the entire far end of the building and illuminated the wall of bottles that ran up its height.
Upstairs quartered another bar and a bunch of pool tables, done balcony style so there was still a view of the stage.
People flocked here night-after-night, searching for escape.
For a good time.
A fuck.
Freedom.
Whatever they couldn’t find outside these walls.
As long as they weren’t hurting anyone else? Then for me, it was a go.
My attention roved over the disorder. It snagged on Trent who stood at the end of the bar. He lifted his chin, gesturing for me to approach.
I headed that way, weaving through the groups of people who were huddled around the high-top tables.
“Trent,” I said when I got within earshot of my boss.
Trent was one of the club owners, along with his two brothers, Jud and Logan, plus Sage, a guy who used to be the general manager but who had bought in recently.
Trent was intimidating as fuck, tatted from head to toe, an ex-biker who’d known the dark life but had come to our small city of Redemption Hills, California and started over.
I’d met him when he’d first come into town. Two of us had taken one look at each other and had known we were one and the same. We’d become instant friends, and I’d been working for him ever since.
“Hey, man, need a favor,” he said.
“Whatever you need.”
“Eden and Tessa are coming in tonight.”
I ignored the spark that popped in my chest at the mention of Tessa’s name. I locked it down tight, where it belonged.
“School wrapped this last Friday, and they want to celebrate,” he continued. “Should be here in five, and I need to meet with Sage in the office for a few. Need you to keep an extra eye. Make sure none of these pricks decide to get friendly.”
His voice turned dark when he issued the last.
No one messed with his wife.
Eden was his world. She was the only woman on the planet who could take this broody motherfucker and turn him into a cheesy sap who melted whenever she came into the room.
“Not a problem. I’ll see to it they make it to your private booth.”
That didn’t mean every drop of my blood wouldn’t be boiling with the thought of Tessa coming through the door.
Tessa McDaniels was Eden’s best friend. She was this wild, untamed thing with a big, bleeding heart.
Kind to the core.
Someone I counted as a friend, and I sure as hell didn’t have many of those.
Problem was, somewhere along the line, she’d become the tormenter of my dreams.
“Thanks, man. Trust you to keep a close eye. I appreciate what you do.”
“Just doing my job.” I shrugged like it was simple.
Cut and dry.
Ignoring the truth that I used this job as an outlet. Better to pour my wrath out here than take it elsewhere.
Turning, I weaved back through the crush of bodies that roiled and thrashed. I broke out the other side and ducked into the employee hall that ran the far side of the club. At its end was the door to the employee lot where Eden would park.
Oz took up that post. He was a new bouncer who’d been hired on earlier this year. He was older than the rest of us by probably fifteen years. Rough around the edges, and he had this massive scar running the length of his face.
“Hey, man, boss’s wife is on her way. Going to step out to meet them,” I told him as I approached.
“Of course, sir.”
He opened the door for me to duck out.
That was the precise time Eden came bobbing through the other side.
She was dressed up for the night. Her blonde hair was curled in fat waves, and she had on a black cocktail dress that was modest compared to what most wore here.
Eden sent me a warm smile. “Hey, Milo. How are you tonight?”
“So far, so good.”
I did my best to keep my focus on Eden and not the girl who came ambling up the steps behind her.