Karma's Pretty Dolls

By Hickory Mack

It’s in the headlines every day. Another child abused, and another abuser let off easy. Or worse, getting away with their crimes. Pedophiles and abusers are actively protected by those in power. Riddled with corruption, and profiteering off the victims, the justice system has failed.

Alexi has experienced it personally, on every level, and she’s had enough.

With the help of her friend, a wolf shifter named Rabbit, she will take matters into her own hands. Her lover is Hector, an unreasonably sexy latin vampire, and he joins the fight to protect their child from growing up in a world with a shady undercurrent of evil.

Then her mates show up. Hyena shifters, and twins, Satyr and Siren will do anything for her. Including joining her quest to rid the world of the wrong sort of predators. Karma will find them all.

Dollhouse Vigilantes is a dark, Urban Fantasy reverse harem series.

18+

Trigger warnings: Graphic violence, M/M, Child abuse (in prologue only), non-descriptive sexual violence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hickory Mack
• Release date: May 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005855581

Book preview

Prologue

The End.

She heard his truck pull onto their street. He was early. Fear settled in the hollow of her empty stomach and she dove behind the sofa, curling into herself and gasping against the pain of her still-healing ribs. He’d kicked her hard just three days ago and Alexi was pretty sure they were broken again.

She should have healed. At nine-years-old, she was well beyond the age when she should have been accepted by an animal and experienced her first shift. So far, not one single animal spirit had even shown itself to her. Until that happened, she couldn’t become one with her inner beast.

Her father was right. Alexi was so weak and useless, she may as well be human. He often claimed she wasn’t his daughter. No child of his would be so worthless as to be rejected by every animal in the spirit world. In his mind, raising another man’s spawn was reason enough for the abuse.

Dmitri was a bear, and although Alexi had only seen him in his shifted form a handful of times, she thought he looked like a bear even in his human form. He was a great, tall man with a wide, muscular build. He often allowed his animal to take control, but only within the confines of their home and away from prying eyes.

Her mother was a graceful egret. A long and lean bird, as beautiful as the woman herself, but Ekaterina had always been at war with her animal and it made her weak.

How safe Alexi was in her hiding place depended on what kind of drugs he’d brought home with him each night. If it was just pot, she’d have an easy night. If it was anything else, he’d tear the house apart looking for her. Luckily for Alexi, the constant drug use dulled his bear’s senses, so he didn’t always find her. Plus, the sofa was one of those fold-out kinds, making it too heavy for him to easily move, which either tired him out or pissed him off further.

Alexi’s nerves tingled with fear as he pulled into the driveway. Her mother had fallen asleep in the chair and dinner wasn’t ready. It didn’t matter that he was early. If he was in one of his moods, she’d see the back of his hand. Ekaterina was usually spared the worst of his attention, and when he did hit her, he came home the next day with roses and some trinket, begging her forgiveness.

Alexi always had hope. Maybe this time, her mother wouldn’t take him back. Maybe this time, she’d stand up to him. She was a shifter, too! If she wanted, Ekaterina could protect her. She never did. Alexi always worried that maybe this was time her father would go too far.

The door slammed open, crashing into the wall. Alexi jumped, biting her tongue and praying she hadn’t given her position away. Sometimes, if she was quiet enough, Dmitri forgot about her entirely. She heard her mother stir as he kicked his boots off in the entryway and the door swung shut with a loud bang.

Dmitri! her mother scolded gently. You startled me.

What are you doing sleeping in the middle of the day, Kat? he asked, coming into the room. You wouldn’t believe it. Some fuck face shot up the bank next door. Cops all over the damned place, blocking the entrance to the service road, so I closed up shop early. I brought dinner to surprise you.

Dmitri ran a fairly successful auto repair shop across from the mall. Their family should have thrived with the money he brought in. Instead, he spent it on drugs and maintaining his precious car, while they lived in squalor. Nobody on the outside knew there was anything wrong. Their yard was the perfect suburban image; the lawn cut every Saturday morning at 11 AM, like clockwork. The rose bushes were kept pruned and the paint was touched up every other summer.

To anyone looking in from the outside, they were the perfect family. A handsome, hardworking man with his beautiful wife and pretty, if somewhat odd, daughter. A reclusive girl, always wearing long sleeves and pants, even on the hottest summer days.

Ekaterina didn’t have to work. She stayed home and smoked whatever was left over from the night before. When she was awake, she watched daytime television and spoke on the phone to her mother in Russia. For the most part, she ignored Alexi. When she did look at her, it was with a silent, scrutinizing stare.

Her parents moved into the kitchen and Alexi heard them taking plates down and getting drinks out of the fridge. He’d gotten fried chicken, and though it smelled appetizing, Alexi’s empty stomach remained silent.

Dinner wasn’t something her body was accustomed to, so it didn’t complain. She ate ten meals a week. The free breakfast and lunches at school, Monday through Friday. She was one of those kids that dreaded vacation and snow days. Every once in a rare while, her grandmother would take them out for brunch on Sundays.

Those days terrified Alexi. She’d have the plate of food in front of her, but she could barely eat anything. Dmitri would give her that look. The look that told her she was eating her last meal if she said a single word out of turn. Then, later, he and Ekaterina would drink themselves into oblivion while trash talking her grandmother. The beatings were always the worst on those days.

Their footsteps moved from the kitchen to the living room, and they dragged the little folding tables over before sitting together on the sofa. The television clicked and the news came on. Alexi held her breath, a sneeze tickling her nose. She covered her mouth with broken fingers, shaking with pain as the movement hurt her side. Every breath was painful.

"In this historic move, the house has passed the Safe Away Child Protection Act with overwhelming support on both sides of the aisle."

Those fucking leftists really did it. I told you this would happen, didn’t I? It was only a matter of time, Dmitri’s voice spat. Ekaterina was quiet.

"The president is expected to sign it as early as tomorrow. As we’ve reported previously, this act will allow parents to abandon their children in safe places, such as designated clinics, police precincts, and firehouses without repercussions. The children will be placed within the foster care system and become the responsibility of the state in which they are surrendered to."

Can you imagine the shame of being unable to provide for your family? Dmitri scoffed. Speaking of, where is that little shit?

I- I haven’t seen her yet today.

The lie hung in the air. Her shoes and backpack were in the entryway. If he’d noticed, they’d both get a beating.

Where the fuck does that kid go? he slipped into Russian and got up to get another beer, stomping into the kitchen. Alexi buried her face in her knees, breathing carefully. He hadn’t noticed; the inevitable was put off for the moment. Beer wasn’t so bad, she reasoned with herself. If it had been something harder, she’d be in real trouble.

She heard a drawer open and held her breath. Drawers held potential weapons. Then she heard the familiar crinkle of a baggie. A plume of fog drifted by and Alexi relaxed. The vape pen. Tonight was a pot night.

Dmitri rejoined her mother and they bantered over some news about kids in cages on the southern border. Alexi’s mind wandered, a self-defense mechanism created by the need to stay awake while remaining perfectly still for hours at a time. After a while, the sofa squeaked rhythmically, bringing her back to reality. Her mother made soft moaning sounds and Alexi’s lip curled involuntarily in disgust. She knew exactly what her parents were doing.

It didn’t last long. She listened to her father stumble into the bathroom and the shower turned on, but she didn’t move. Going to bed before he did was a mistake she hadn’t made in a long time. The only way to survive was to outfox him at every turn.

When the shower turned off and the footsteps retreated to the bedroom, Alexi waited. The lights all went off and she sat in the pitch black, every inch of her body aching. At least an hour had gone by when she decided Dmitri should be out cold, so she crept out from her hiding place, quieter than a mouse.

Maybe that’s what her animal was. Some pest of a creature, so cowardly and low on the shifter power scale, it hadn’t bothered to show itself. It was exactly how she felt most days.

Halfway across the living room, the hallway light flicked on and Dmitri stumbled out of his room for a midnight trip to the bathroom. Alexi froze in place, her heart hammering. He paused and turned toward her in a ponderous way, seeing her standing there, bathed in light.

There you are, you little shit, he slurred, his tongue heavy and tripping over his words. His eyes cleared and he moved quickly, crossing the room in a few strides. He grabbed the plate from where he’d left it on his little television tray and swung, bringing it down across her face. Alexi cried out and scrambled back until her shoulders hit the wall.

Please, Papa. I’m sorry! she whimpered in Russian, hoping to placate him in his mother tongue. She crouched down, making herself smaller.

Where have you been, you ungrateful little bastard?! he demanded, grabbing her by the throat and yanking her to her feet. Blood dripped from her face, splashing him when he gripped her hard and gave her a shake. He threw her back to the ground in disgust.

Alexi gasped, her throat raw and throbbing. It felt like he’d crushed her airway. She kept gasping, forcing the air into her lungs. Alexi gagged, terrified she’d really die this time.

Fucking little bitch! he exclaimed, swiping at the blood. He glared at her, but somewhere in his senseless rage, some thought managed to leak through and a little bit of fear touched his eyes. Dmitri rarely messed up her face, and it had never been anything that couldn’t be hidden with a touch of Ekaterina’s concealer or a pair of sunglasses. There would be no hiding the gash across her cheek.

He took a step back and both he and Alexi looked back to the hallway at the sound of the door opening. Ekaterina stood under the light, her face bathed in horror. For a tense moment, her parents stared at one another and for the first time in her life, her father looked ashamed.

I found your daughter sneaking around, Dmitri muttered. Alexi didn’t dare to make a sound outside of her ragged, painful breathing. Her mother nodded once, then wobbled and turned without a word, before going back to bed. Dmitri stared at the space she’d occupied for a long moment, then glanced back at Alexi.

Get off your ass and clean yourself up, Aleksandra, he demanded. You’re staying home from school tomorrow. You fell. You got that?

She tried to speak, and no words came, so she nodded her immediate agreement, tears of pain were threatening her vision, and that was dangerous. Rising to her feet, she trembled under the weight of his rage. Her head swam dangerously, but she couldn’t let it win. Dmitri was the bigger threat and her body needed to obey the demands she placed on it.

He made his way to the bathroom, grunting when he came back out and saw her kneeling, cleaning her blood off the hardwood floor. Threatening her with a fate worse than death if she failed to mind him, he reminded her she wasn’t to go to school the next day, then he stumbled back into his bedroom.

Alexi stared at the front door for a long time. There was no one out there to help her. In the end, she went to the bathroom to throw up, terrified the entire time that she’d stop breathing in the process. She wadded up some paper towels, wet them with cold water, and pressed it to her face. She couldn’t look at the mirror; it was taunting her. Seeing it would make it more real.

Making her way to her room, she sat on her bed, leaning against the wall. She knew from experience that laying down with an injury like this would only make it throb harder. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she eventually fell into a fitful sleep.

Alexi spent the next three days in her room, only coming out to use the bathroom. Eventually, she couldn’t get out of bed, the lack of food and her rising fever making it impossible. The third night, she heard raised voices, and her mother’s cries. Doors slammed and Dmitri stormed out of the house.

It was still dark the following morning when Ekaterina came into her room with orange juice and a wet washcloth. Her mother wiped her brow and helped her dress. Alexi could barely move on her own and Ekaterina took extra care, supporting her slight weight on the way out to the car. The city went by in a blur of lights and sounds and nauseating motion.

It’s going to be okay, Aleksandra. It’s over now, I promise, this is the end. The spell will wear off in a few years, so be ready. Mind yourself and be a good girl, her mother soothed, parking the car in the emergency lane of the hospital.

Ekaterina walked around the back and helped Alexi out, wrapping her in a blanket before lifting the girl into her arms. She carried her into the front entryway. A guard at the front desk watched them come and moved quickly, bringing out a blue wheelchair, his face a mask of concern.

Please, help my Alexi, Ekaterina begged, her distress making her accent grow thick. The man took Alexi from her mother's arms and set her in the chair as gently as possible.

Let’s get her inside, he said urgently, pushing Alexi forward and beyond the check-in station, straight into triage. The nurse inside was filling out paperwork and jumped to her feet in alarm when she saw what he’d brought her.

Jesus Christ, okay, sweetheart. The nurse moved fast, snatching up a phone and calling for assistance, immediately slapping her badge to the panel that would release the doors into the emergency room. Bring her straight in, room 105.

Who’s with her? she asked, looking beyond the guard into the waiting room expectantly.

Shit.

The guard ran out the door, but the pretty woman with the bloodshot eyes was already gone.

Alexi wouldn’t know it until years later, but she made the news that day. She went down in history as the first child legally surrendered under the Safe Away Child Protection Act. They didn’t find Ekaterina until hours later, tucked away in a back corner of their parking lot, the gun still in her hand.

Chapter 1

Thirteen years later

The volume of the music dropped and the strobe lights turned off. Amber exited the stage and every light in the house dimmed low. There were over a hundred people in the audience, and not one of them made a sound. The stage went black and anticipation built, a whisper of excitement coursing through the crowd.

Alexi walked to the center, her bare feet silent on the polished floor. She’d had to fight Griff for this one, single detail. It was the only thing she’d asked of him; he had complete control over everything else. She was the only girl to grace that stage without sky-high heels.

Please join Fantasia in welcoming tonight’s headliner, our very own, Jasmine, Griff’s deep, sultry voice introduced her to a few howls of appreciation. A tiny red light hidden from the audience’s view blinked. Once. Twice. On the third blink, Alexi lifted and dropped her hip.

Her coin belt jingled. The only sound in the house. One. Two. On three, she did it again, and the drumbeat started, followed by the sweet sound of a reedy flute. A smoke machine misted the stage and the lights rose, bathing her in golden light. Alexi’s hands rose above her head, moving in an intricate pattern, while her right hip moved in time to the slow beat.

More shouts of appreciation. Silky black hair flowed free to her hips, a crown of gold encrusted with jewels topped her head, while a gold chain connected her nose piercing to her ear. Her top was nothing more than a bold, red bikini, decked out in coins, chains, and gems to make her sparkle in the light.

There was a belt of golden coins tied around her waist, draped over a long red skirt that slit all the way up to her hips on either side. When she moved, it flashed the silky black cloth layered underneath. Her ankles and wrists were adorned by golden bangles. With rings on her fingers, and layers of gold around her neck, she was a vision of eroticism.

Her hip rose and fell as she took a step forward, changing the movement to her left hip. Alexi’s hands traveled lower, near her waist. She glanced out at the audience, then looked down at her hip and gave a seductive smile. The music picked up, and Alexi moved in time. Her hips shifting and gyrating, seemingly independent of one another.

Her chest popped and her hands wove in intricate patterns as she made her way around the stage. It wasn’t as easy for her to see the men as it was for them to see her, and usually she preferred it that way. Most of them were regulars. Despite the size of the crowd, Fantasia was a pretty exclusive club. A lot of rich guys lived in Duluth, and she’d managed to work her way into their favorite haunt.

Griff had thrown her out the first time she’d shown up. He’d taken one look at her and barked at her to get out. She’d held up what she thought was going to be her armor, her ticket in.

I don’t care what the fuck that fake ID says. This is a shifter bar, sweetheart. Maybe you can go fool the idiots downtown, but it won’t work here. Try Flamers, or that shithole down on Lake Street. He’d barely bothered to look up at her.

Alexi had not gone to either. She’d practiced her heart out and come back a month later. When he’d seen who it was, he’d growled; until she’d started dancing. He hadn’t had a belly dancer in the line-up, and she offered something new. So, he’d accepted the ID that said she was nineteen, though they both knew perfectly well she wasn’t, along with her faked Social Security card.

Alexi was twenty-two now, and that encounter had occurred five years ago. She danced at Fantasia three nights a week, and made enough to cover the rent of a nice two-bedroom loft in this overpriced city. Her expenses were paid, and Griff covered the costs of any new costume pieces she wanted. She brought in a lot of traffic the nights she danced, and Griff showed his appreciation.

Alexi had a nice bit of savings put aside. She could put a down payment on one of the fancier estates on Congdon Road, if she wanted to. Not bad for a run-away orphan who’d spent six months in a juvenile detention center for lighting someone on fire.

She’d just singed him, really. Honestly, he’d deserved it, after copping a feel on the stairs in their school. The school’s administrators let him get away with it, so she took his punishment into her own hands.

Alexi had considered those months of lock up an opportunity for growth. She’d learned to dance, and earned college credits while still taking high school courses. While there, she learned the basics of computer programming, giving her a huge head start toward her goals. She’d also made contacts and friends. It connected her to Rabbit, who agreed to take her in before she’d even left the detention center.

Once she was out, she’d begun learning from Rabbit. He’d taught her everything about hacking, on a level no one else for hundreds of miles would have been able to even grasp. Just recently, thanks to what he’d taught her, she’d finally found Dmitri. Her father had gone back to Russia, and it had taken her years to find one Dmitri Ivanov among thousands.

Her eyes glanced over the crowd, catching everything with her heightened senses. Her animal had come to her late; the spirits had avoided the broken girl she’d once been, but eventually they’d united. And Mafda was glorious. A lithe, powerful cheetah.

Other shifters, like Griff, could see her pacing the stage a few steps from the dancer. Just as Alexi could see the enormous bull standing alongside him whenever they were in the same room.

There was someone new in the crowd tonight. He sat right up front, taking an entire table to himself, watching her dance with eyes that glinted with a red sheen. Alexi captured his eyes boldly with hers, and in a smooth motion, released the clasp that held her skirt in place. She whirled it around like a cape, then slid it across the stage to more howls. Bills rained down around her. They didn’t throw dollar bills here, these were twenties.

She ignored them and mounted the pole with an easy grace. It was easy, with her strength. Alexi ate whatever she wanted, but she worked out at the Y downtown several days a week. When she was able, she went out before dawn and released Mafda. In her cheetah form, they’d streak down the lakewalk and through the rose garden, all the way to Brighton Beach before returning to her loft in Canal Park.

The new guy held up a hundred dollar bill. Alexi smiled. She wrapped her ankles around the pole and twirled her way down. Shimmying her way across the stage to where he sat, the strangest expression on his face. She slowly lowered herself to her knees, parting them to give him a view, continuing the dance, and expertly bending backward until her back was arched and her head touched the floor behind her.

Get it, girl! a voice yelled from the crowd. They were getting worked up, as they always did. Except for this one guy. He flicked the hundred at her, and held up another, raising an eyebrow. Alexi glanced at the glass next to him. He’d bought the expensive scotch.

Alexi didn’t usually do private dances, but for this guy, with his tanned skin and dark eyes that stripped her down and fucked her raw, she’d make an exception. Winking and giving him a sultry smile, she finished with a bit more time on the pole. When the song changed, Alexi collected the bills littered across the stage, then slinked her way into the back to frantic calls for her return. She shoved the cash into her drawer, then did something she’d never done before.

She slipped her skirt back on and made her way back onto the floor. All three stages were occupied now that she’d finished, the girls shaking and shimmying and giving their audience a tantalizing show. One of them had gone fully nude, though that was usually reserved for Saturdays. She’d hear it from Griff later.

Kyle, her personal bouncer, stalked her as she danced her way across the club in time with the music. She paused for half a second, dipping low to give a regular a great view of cleavage before moving on. Alexi’s eyes zeroed in on the man who’d captivated her during her set.

Stepping up close to the stranger, she scented it on him. He was a vampire. They didn’t get many of those in Fantasia. Mostly shifters, with the occasional witch and plenty of humans. It had been months since she’d last seen a vampire in here. Something about his face was ringing the smallest bell in the deepest recess of her mind.

Is this enough for a dance? he asked, holding up three one-hundred-dollar bills, and giving her a spine-tingling smile.

She turned her back to him, shaking her hips in time with the music, impossibly fast. Alexi eased herself onto his lap, pushing her ass into his hips. She arched her back and dropped her head onto his shoulder, letting him see everything as she wiggled and ground against him, wondering what it took to bring a vampire to arousal.

He kept his hands in view and off of her, per club rules. If he touched her, he was out, and it didn’t matter how much he’d paid to be at the VIP table. He turned his head, ever so slightly, his nose brushing against her ear.

I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Monster, he breathed. Alexi’s heart forgot to beat several rounds as it dropped into her stomach. No. He couldn’t be. A thousand memories surged into her mind, demanding her attention. She’d almost lost herself and dropped her composure, but she managed to keep it together.

She plucked the bills out of his hand and turned to face him, straddling the man she’d thought to be a stranger. Alexi rocked her hips against him while taking the opportunity to look into his eyes and study his face.

Usually her time at Fantasia was just work. She felt nothing while dancing except the enjoyment of knowing she could make them reek of pheromones and they could never live out their fantasies.

This was different. He grew hard beneath her and it made her feel all levels of dirty. She’d never wanted one of her clients before, but this man made her want to drag him back to whatever hotel he was staying in. She’d never given up on him. She’d been looking for him too. And now, finally, here he was.

The last time she’d seen Hector had been six years ago, before he’d been taken from her, and she’d gone on the run. He’d been human then. She’d had plenty of partners since him, but he was her first, and only, love. He’d helped her through her transition and all the difficulties she’d had in uniting with her cat. He’d always been there for her, right until the end.

Alexi kept dancing, though she felt herself blush, and bit her lower lip. She grasped the back of his neck, rolling her hips into his, and wondering at the look of pure pleasure on his face. It brought back more memories of stolen moments together- at school, in the garden, the time he’d broken every rule and crept into her room. They’d spent every possible moment together, once. This wasn’t how she’d envisioned their reunion.

Men screamed with excitement, holding up more bills, but Alexi ignored them, her silvery gray eyes focused on the vampire. She delved her fingers into his hair and ruffled it up, then let her hands wander to his shoulders.

He was older, of course, and painfully hot. She had to admit that for the first time, the pheromones in the air were hers. Alexi laughed at herself inwardly. She’d danced in this club for five years and never once been turned on. All Hector had needed to do was walk through that door and sit down, and her panties were wet.

Hector had always been good looking, but the transformation into a vampire had altered his features. The soft roundness of his face had thinned and sharpened into high cheekbones and an angular jawline. His eyes were different, they shone with an inner light and were more keenly aware of his surroundings. And the adorable freckles that used to dot his nose were gone.

None of that mattered. Now that she knew it was him, she couldn’t believe she’d missed it in the first place. Her Hector. There were so many things she wanted to say, so many things she needed to tell him. Alexi leaned into him, pressing close and grazed her lips against his ear.

Grandma’s, she whispered. A single word that every tourist in Duluth understood. Alexi rolled her shoulders back, lying across his lap, rolling her hips one last time with a lingering smile, then touched her hands to the ground and brought her legs over, effectively doing a backflip off of him.

She ran her hands up the front of her body in a slow, sultry motion, her eyes desperately holding onto his. He nodded once in understanding.

Alexi wove her way through the room and went backstage to change, Kyle hot on her heels. The bouncers knew the girls like family, so he was concerned since she’d done something completely out of character.

Is everything alright, Jazz? Kyle asked, lowering his sunglasses. Because, of course, the bouncers wore sunglasses inside of the dark club like some cheesy low budget film. They claimed it helped maintain anonymity. She was obviously keyed up, but she clasped her hands around her skirt to hide how badly they were shaking. Alexi smiled, reached up on her tiptoes, and kissed his cheek.

I’m fine, thank you.

The girls weren’t nearly so easy to appease.

What the fuck was that?! Amber demanded. Alexi didn’t know her real name, and she didn’t care. It was easier that way. If they kept their real names to themselves, nobody could tell the clients who they were. She folded her skirt and hung it over her arm, shrugging.

What did I miss? Ruby asked. Her real name was Rachel, and she was the only girl in the group Alexi had befriended.

"Jasmine gave a full frontal lap dance," Amber grunted, using Alexi’s stage name. She didn’t know Alexi any more than Alexi knew her.

"It was hot too. Damn, girl, was that your boyfriend?" Emilio called over. He was the only bouncer posted in the dressing room itself. As gay as a unicorn on a rainbow, he was a favorite among the girls.

Ooooh, dish! Ruby demanded.

You practically fucked that guy. Why? You’re usually too good for that, too far above the rest of us to leave the stage, Amber said in an accusatory tone. Alexi rolled her eyes. Amber usually gave her shit for not doing her part among the tables. Now that she had, she was unhappy about that, too.

What are you getting so worked up over, honey? Ruby teased, winking at Alexi, picking up the same vibe she was.

"Because that’s our thing, alright?! We need something to keep the tips coming our way, not all of us can make rent off a single night of dancing, Amber complained. Come on, Jazz, lay off!"

It was just one guy, Alexi sighed.

But whyyyy? Emilio pushed. Alexi took off her top and carefully arranged it on a hanger.

He was a vampire. Do you have a thing for vamps? Hoping to get bitten later? Amber sneered quietly as Alexi walked past to her locker.

Jazz, my office, now.

Alexi clasped her bra into place and rolled her eyes, then snatched up her tank top and padded into Griff’s office, her drawer in hand so she could count down and pay out while he scolded her. Her cat sat up tall and made the crinkly face she always did when in close proximity to his bull.

Are you? he demanded.

What?! she snapped back, pulling the tank top over her head.

Hoping to get bitten? Griff growled. He hadn’t bothered getting to know her until after she’d already worked for him for a year. Once he’d decided she was sticking around and making him money, he’d made an effort to speak in actual sentences.

It isn’t like that, she retorted, scrunching up her face.

You can’t date the clients, Griff reminded her. Alexi scowled at him, removing pins from her hair and slapping them onto his desk.

He isn’t a client.

Then what the fuck was that all about?

He’s someone I haven’t seen in a really long time. He won’t cause any problems. Alexi sighed, then pulled the wig off her head and set it on the corner of a chair.

Griff thought over her words with a deep frown on his face, watching her pull the pins from the cap on her head. Alexi removed it and shook her real hair out. Silvery white, it fell to her hips. She counted out her money and slid over three hundred dollars across the desk.

If anything happens between the two of you, I expect your little vampire friend will not be making a return trip. There was almost a riot out there, they were demanding we bring you back out for more. Griff knocked back a shot of the cheap whiskey he kept in his desk.

"I’d think that would have you demanding he does return. You’re always saying we should work them up as much as we can, it’s good for business. Did he leave?"

Yeah.

Are we done here? she asked impatiently. If she was lucky, everything would change after tonight.

I suppose that we are. Kyle will walk you to your bike. Don’t get any stupid ideas. Griff stood, ruffling her hair as he made his way past and out the door. Good job tonight, kid.

Alexi finished dressing, pulling on leggings and an oversized hoodie. She tucked her hair up into a messy bun and wrapped a scarf around it. After washing her face, she slapped a layer of mascara and eyeliner on, then a touch of lip gloss. She ducked out before anyone could see her and tease her about it. Alexi always left make-up free after her sets.

Kyle waited in the parking lot until she was safely on the road before going back inside. Alexi turned onto London Road and followed it to the freeway. It was a short ride to Lake Street. She pulled into Grandma’s Saloon and Grill, the lift bridge looming a block away.

Alexi parked her bike and took her helmet off, glancing around the parking lot anxiously. It was as busy as it always was on a Friday night. Duluth was a tourist town, and Grandma’s was the heart of the tourist trap known as Canal Park. She saw no sign of him, but she scented him. He must have gone in ahead of her.

Alexi hesitated; maybe this wasn’t the best place to have suggested. There was a line out the door and it was sure to be loud. Her stomach was tied in knots but she continued forward anyway. She’d waited years for this. She wouldn’t wimp out now.

He exited the door as she was entering, a plastic coaster in his hand and an amused look on his face. They froze, staring at each other for a moment. She blinked at him, her heart hammering.

Can we just… Go? she asked, and he nodded with relief, holding up a finger and turning around to