Stalked By Pestilence (Brides of the Apocalypse #2)

Chapter One

Emily

“You’re a badass bitch. You make your own choices,” I said to the blonde in the mirror and applied another thick layer of matte red lipstick. Asha called it Boner Red, which was fitting, all things considered. I always wore it on nights like these.

My heterochromia eyes caught the light, beaming blue in one iris and brown in the other. Sometimes I wore a contact in one eye or the other or totally different colors to avoid people pointing them out, but these were some of my best-selling points out on the prowl.

“They don’t have power over you, Ems. You’re the master of your own damn life.”

I tossed my hair to one side and fixed my cleavage, conveniently pretending I wasn’t having a midlife crisis at twenty-nine. But damn did I love this dress. The little black number clung in all the right places. I’d have no trouble getting what I wanted tonight.

My phone buzzed again for the millionth time since I’d fled my soul-sucking job two days ago.

It was Darcy. He’d been less than convinced I’d meant it when I stormed into his office and tendered my resignation.

He'd collected the envelope with a quizzical brow, probably laying blame at the doorstep of being a woman.

His stare practically screamed, “That time of the month, huh, Emily?”

Asshole.

Unfortunately, it was him and fifteen others at the office who treated me like I was a walking vagina.

No matter how many cases I won or how often I proved I was a better attorney than any of those assholes in expensive suits, who, more often than not, forced their work on some no-name paralegal or junior attorney who couldn’t say no so they could relax all day in an office that their daddy bought and paid for, I’d still always be another little woman to them.

Well, fuck ‘em.

My out-of-touch, patriarchy-loving parents had pushed me to go into law, and for what? To be sexually harassed by old farts and talked down to for the rest of my goddamn life? Well, no more. I was New Emily.

If Asha, my man-allergic best friend, could get a hot boyfriend and become a whole new woman in a matter of a few weeks, so could I. I’d take advantage of that lucky bitch being swept away on some grand adventure and become a whole new person by the time she returned.

Mark my words, that Emily that slaved for corporate greed and talentless men was no more. Emily of the future was waiting inside me, and I’d let her out to do—

Well, I wasn’t exactly sure about that just yet, but something way cooler than mindless paperwork and arguments over the best way to get our client out of the bullshit they’d gotten themselves into.

Asha wouldn’t know what hit her when she came home to this newly realized, emotionally stable, not-panicking version of her best friend. New Emily wouldn’t need hookups because she’d be taking life by the balls and giving it hell.

Right after tonight.

Grabbing my purse, I made my way out of the club bathroom. Some might argue it was a little shortsighted to come back to this place after five men got torn apart and left in a street only a short walk from here, but I didn’t plan on staying long. I had me a pretty boy to catch and release.

I’d blow off some steam and start masterminding a plan to become the person I’d always wanted to be—you know, whoever that was—tomorrow.

I’d saved enough over the last couple years to have time to figure my shit out.

I’d left of my own accord, so no severance pay to collect, but I wouldn’t need to work for a while.

This would be my long-deserved vacation.

Eat, pray, love, and all that bullshit.

My heels click-clacked, bypassing the usual locals. The club wasn’t as crowded on a Wednesday night. I wouldn’t have my pick of the brood, but anything was better than nothing.

I’d been itching to try out my new handcuffs. The last asshole broke the ones I’d been using, and these ones had a little more length and bite to them. My bedframe was sturdier than the last, so I wouldn’t have to worry about it breaking tonight.

My last hurrah, so to speak.

My hands ached to wrap around a crop whip and punish a muscular baddie who hadn’t quite unlocked that part of himself. Or maybe he had and it was my lucky fucking night.

Asha called me a Domme Mommy, telling me to “Slay, queen, slay!” but I wouldn’t say I was that far into it.

Kinky, yes, but not someone who needed the lifestyle to function.

Despite what my bestie claimed, I could—and did—have regular, vanilla sex.

I just preferred to punish boys when I was given the chance.

But tonight I needed it.

It’d be the last for a while. New Emily didn’t need that sort of thing. New Emily had vibrators and a new goal in life.

I didn’t like to revisit past hookups, but sometimes I didn’t have any choice when I wanted to blow off steam.

Problem was, these queen-lovers didn’t know how to do casual.

Submissive men were the worst clingers imaginable.

The minute they found a woman who dominated without any questions asked, they had a nasty habit of falling head over heels.

I didn’t do relationships.

New Emily didn’t either.

I swept my eyes over the crowd before landing on a target.

I’d been with him before. As much as I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea, he scratched all the right itches for tonight, and I couldn’t be picky. I wasn’t sure if another one worth it would come through, and I didn’t want to be out all night. I had a new person to become tomorrow.

I weighed my options before deciding.

“Fuck it.” I murmured a few affirmations to myself and readjusted the girls. “I’ll make sure to kick him out right after,” I promised New Emily.

Sometimes the only way these useless piles of muscly flesh got the message was when I made it damn clear what this was—a bit of fun. I didn’t mind a bed warmer for the night, but this one I’d already been with. He’d get the after-sex boot.

Navigating the crowd, I made the mistake of looking toward the stage. Normally the club didn’t do live bands, so it was a bit of a surprise to see one on a Wednesday night.

The redhead rocker wandered onto the makeshift platform.

A couple others dressed like him followed at his heels.

As soon as they were in place, the speakers boomed and the space was filled with a vicious rumble of a guitar.

The drums racked the tempo into a constant, pounding beat.

Then the base brought the mellow swagger a half-second later.

The pretty boy I was after caught sight of me, his blue eyes glinting in the shoddy club light. An eager smile spread across his mouth. “Well, well, look who it is. Lose my number or block me, gorgeous?”

I was momentarily distracted by my prey, nearly missing the singer grab the mic and step into the sole bright beam hitting the stage.

This place wasn’t equipped for celebrity performances.

The light washed his features to obscure things, making it impossible to see much of him, so I turned to reply to the guy I planned to punish tonight.

“What do you think, baby boy?”

A visible shudder ran through him. This one was well into his kinky life, and the tone I’d adopted put him right into that mammal brain of his. “I don’t care as long as you leave with me tonight,” he yelled over the wail of the guitar, leaning in so close his breath painted my face.

I snagged his ear and tugged. “Watch it, baby boy. I call all the shots here.”

His eyelashes fluttered helplessly, practically salivating at the harsh edge to my tone. “Yes, ma’am.”

I was about to tell him that I’d give him another shot for the night when the most gorgeous voice I’d ever heard carried across the room and drew my eyes back to the stage.

The singer’s rough, melodious timbre was a perfect pitch and sensuality with the lyrics he bellowed, and I found myself quieted by the rich rasp of his ballad before it was warped by emotion and carried into a chorus-shifting scream.

Shivers skated down my arms and spine. Fuck, it was so good, and I wasn’t really the girl who got all shivery over a song.

It was impossible to see the singer delivering the best performance I’d heard in my life, both on and off stage.

The massive stream of light blocked everything identifiable about him without waiting for my eyes to adjust, and the quick glance I’d given him earlier didn’t give me much to go off of other than he’d clearly dyed his hair a vibrant fire-red.

It was a shame I was in such a rush tonight or I might’ve stayed for the rest of their songs.

I shook off the trance the sultry notes had put me into and beckoned Blue Eyes to come with me—I’d totally forgotten his name, but he’d be whoever the fuck I wanted him to be once I got him tied down to my bed.

Snatching my prey’s hand, we made our way out of the crowd suddenly swarming the stage.

I’d never seen so many women lose their shit collectively, not since Asha and I saw that band just out of high school. I wasn’t really the girl who went to concerts. Asha was, so I went to a couple for her, but it’d been years.

Still, I couldn’t help the curious glance I cast at the stage as we reached the exit, a little bummed I couldn’t stick around.

The singer was no longer drowned out by light, and this dude must’ve had a serious pain fetish with as many tattoos and piercings as he had. The songbird was hotter than anyone I’d encountered in town. Hotter than I’d encountered abroad. There was just something about him.

Too bad I had a strict no band boy policy. One in college had left a bad taste in my mouth, and I didn’t humor another after that.

My eyes snagged on his glowing yellow gaze. I’d never seen contacts do that, but then again, I didn’t meet many cosplaying singers either. And meet was a strong word. I was just staring at this one.

Speaking of which…

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was staring directly back. Girls went crazy for that sort of thing, convinced they’d bedazzled the frontman of a band with a mere flutter of their eyelashes. Total bullshit, of course, but I wasn’t the type to trample on a girl’s dream.

Unfortunately for me, I lived in the real world. Asha might believe in supernatural happenings, like birds following her everywhere she went and a ghost wandering around our apartment every night, affecting her dreams, but I wasn’t convinced. I focused on the fantasies I could control.

Ready to get said fantasy underway, I cut my eyes away and led Blue Eyes out of the club. We made it to the sidewalk before I realized I’d left my phone in the bathroom.

“Shit.” I checked my bag again.

“What’s up?”

I flicked my gaze back to the club. “I think I left my phone in the bathroom.”

Blue Eyes stared at me, sure I was pulling a line. “Did you really?”

“Yes, you useless asshole, and now I’m going to go get it.” I left him standing there because I didn’t owe him or any other man an explanation. If he waited, I’d reward him by taking him back to my place. If he didn’t, I’d find someone else.

I heard him sigh again as I stopped in front of the bouncer. “I need to go back inside really quick. I left my phone,” I told him, and his body weight shifted in open question.

“Bet you did.” His eyes narrowed on the guy behind me. “If you want me to get rid of him, just say the word, Ems.”

I patted the beefy guard’s shoulder with a shit-eating grin. “That’s my prey tonight, Dom. Please don’t scare him off. I’ve had a really shitty week. I need this.” I bit back the part where I was turning over a new leaf and it’d probably be a while until I was back at the club making trouble.

He gave me that deep-belly laugh that never failed to make me smile in all the years I’d known the gentle giant. “Sure thing, Ems. Just do me a favor.” I cocked an eyebrow at him. Dom leaned in, his dark-brown eyes stuck on my victim. “Ditch that one. I don’t like him. He makes my skin crawl.”

I glanced over my shoulder. “That guy? The one who followed me like a puppy for a week and whined about how I’d abandoned him?”

The more I thought about it, the less it felt like a good idea to give the guy another night. It’d taken so much effort to ditch him the last time.

Dom’s thick arms bulged, staying firmly crossed in front of him. “You get a sense about these things when you’re around the nightlife enough.” My insulted pout made him laugh again. “Oh, right. You’re a demon who prowls at night, too. I forgot.”

“Demon is a strong word,” I clapped back, all teeth. “I’m just a bit bitey.”

“I still prefer not to know that,” he admonished, but it didn’t have any feeling behind it. The asshole was all smiles.

“Suit yourself.” I shrugged and glanced at Blue Eyes again.

The humor had slipped from Dom’s expression when I looked back at the over six-foot-four Italian, most of his almond complexion hidden under a jacket and completely black outfit. “Still, be careful, okay? Who knows what’s lurking around here.”

He was probably referring to what happened recently. There’d been five guys killed in a nearby alley, but also a string of sexual assaults leading up to that night. They weren’t sure if there was a connection between the two, but I hadn’t heard about anything recent to suggest one way or another.

Criminal law wasn’t my usual field of expertise, though Asha made it part of my life with her low tolerance for assholes. And I absolutely loved her for it.

Dom was the protective type. He’d always been the one to walk me to my car when Asha didn’t make it out. My bestie was ironically more lethal than he was. My lifestyle wasn’t exactly safe, so I got it.

Smiling, I gave him another gentle pat. “Will do, big guy. Say hi to your crazy hot wife and tell her she still owes me a drink.”

With a chuckle and salute, he sent me off. I went back into the club. The music had changed, and I didn’t see the singer from before. Didn’t they usually do sets? Was this a one-song wonder band? Weird.

I deliberately walked slow to make Blue Eyes wait, Dom’s words rattling around my head.

I didn’t get his hesitation, and normally I did.

I was around horrible men enough to know when I needed to steer clear of one.

I hadn’t gotten that feeling around Blue Eyes the last time we were together, but I trusted Dom.

Maybe more than any man who’d ever been in my life.

He and his wife had been a rock for me when I started playing around at the club.

I decided to give it more thought for as long as it took to retrieve my phone. It didn’t take long to get back to the hallway leading to the bathrooms, but I didn’t expect to be intercepted before I made it there.