I thought I’d post something from my work-in-progress. Hope you enjoy!

CHAPTER ONE

Daisy’s fingers kept tightening into a fist on her backpack strap. She didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want to be here. She just had no choice. For some reason, Daisy had imagined the club would be quiet during the day. Maybe there would be a few sleepy  employees wandering around, slowly readying their business to become other people’s pleasure. It wasn’t what she had expected. Not even close.

There were people running around setting out tablecloths, and a different team placing candles and ashtrays on top. There were others working on the lighting. Even a crew solely dedicated to cleaning the many mirrors lining the walls.

A hubbub of activity and prosperity.

“Who are you?”

Turning around she tilted her head to look up into the eyes of the blonde man confronting her. “I was told there was a job opening.”

“You want to be a sub,” the guy snorted. “You aren’t even close to our standards.”

Daisy swallowed hard. A sub? She knew what that was but somehow didn’t realize you could get paid for doing it. Memories of watching from the shadows her sister with the guys flashed through her mind and made parts of her instantly clench in response. Being a sub wasn’t something she’d ever thought of. “I just really need a job,” she confessed.

“Let’s see what you’ve got then.” The guy grabbed her free arm and dragged her through one of the doors. In this room there were no people, only a mahogany bar in the corner, one very long couch, and a dais in the center. She guessed it was the VIP area, though the stripper pole on top of the little stage also had restraints attached to it, and there was a flogger lying on the floor. “Time for your audition.”

“Shouldn’t the owners be here?” Daisy closed her eyes briefly as she sent out a fast prayer. She knew Roman and Bear. She’d feel a lot more comfortable with them present for whatever was about to happen.

“They don’t have time for this,” he dismissed her obvious fear with a sneer.

When he sat down and folded his arms over his chest, she shifted from foot-to-foot. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

He sighed, as if she were the biggest inconvenience ever born. Standing up, his arms darted out and he yanked her army coat off. Daisy barely managed to keep her pack from falling; she slid it quickly to the floor, concerned for the laptop she had inside. She tried to protest, but her breath froze in her lungs and the words escaped her control. The stranger’s hands were cruelly harsh. He grabbed the sides of her button-down flannel shirt and ripped it open. When she put her arms out, trying to slow him down, he backhanded her. Her cry of pain only spurred him on. He circled her neck with one hand, jerked her into his body as his free hand started to dig into her ass.

Daisy’s knee came up lightning fast. When he doubled over, she grabbed her pack and her army coat, fleeing out the door.

Back in the main room, her brain finally kicked in. She couldn’t leave. She had no place else to go. Hearing the man pursuing her, she knew she had to get out of sight. The booths lining the perimeter of the space had curtains, so she stepped inside one. Drawing her knees up, she wrapped her arms around her pack and buried her face in the canvas. This was horrible. When she got in trouble, she thought running was the best answer.

Her problems just chased her.

When she had run out of money and friends to hide her, she remembered the guys. Her older sister’s relationship with them was like a dream. Cara was nice to her then. Sweet, even. It was like she had a family for the first time in her life. When she realized Cara was doing things which would hurt them, she tried to stop her. Instead that just made things worse. Last time she had sided with her blood and ended up with nothing.

Daisy was determined to make sure she chose the right side this time.

“Listen to me, Jeff. We have an event tonight and it’s not going to work without any music.” The voice on the other side of the curtain paused right by where she was hiding. She knew that tone. She’d eavesdropped outside of Cara’s bedroom as Bear would give her commands. “We need a DJ, damn it. You know that.”

Her head lifted as she realized what Bear’s words meant. He was just swearing at whoever he was talking to on his cell now. Still … they needed a DJ? She could be a DJ.

She could DJ in her sleep.

“Jeff, you son of a bitch, if you weren’t related to me I’d kill you. You have fifteen minutes to get here and get some music pumping out of those speakers, or you’re fired.”

If he doesn’t show up, isn’t he technically quitting? Daisy didn’t take the time to stop and consider her ethical query. She’d already scoped out where the booth was, and it was relatively easy to plot a course through the empty tables and chairs to the upper levels.

She’d give them the best music in the world. Making hiring her an option they couldn’t refuse.