The Crying Game

Chapter Three

Club Rose de Sang stood impressively over Janice as she made her way out of her car, pulling at the tight dress she wore and frowning slightly. The line was packed with a group celebrating a bachelorette party, a group of friends taking out their friend who had clearly had her heart trampled on, a lot of men and women just looking for a no strings attached hookup, and the occasional clearly under twenty-one kid who was trying to pass themselves as older than they actually were.

Janice wasted no time in skipping all of them, listening to the groans and protests behind her as she made her way over to the bouncer.

"Let's cut the crap," Janice said, folding her arms across her chest as she stared up at the large man impatiently. "It's a sausage fest in there and we both know it. Your employer undoubtedly needs someone with ovaries in there and quickly because those men are going to get bored not having someone to follow around. Let me in."

The bouncer opened his mouth to say something, then he hesitated, seemingly thinking about what Janice said. Pursing his lips, he ushered her forward. When she was close enough, he asked her to hold out her hand and he pressed a stamp on her outstretched hand. Finally, he stepped back and lifted up the dark red velvet rope to let her pass. There were cries of outrage as the people who had been waiting here far longer than Janice had watched her get through effortlessly.

Janice heard the bouncer saying he'd take ten more women as she looked around at her surroundings, eyes taking in everything and missing nothing.

There was a remixed rap song thumping through the speakers and a sea of bodies bouncing up and down, dancing to the beat of crude lyrics and insane bass. There were three sphere shaped objects that were decorated with lights. Women were dancing suggestively inside of them as the sphere twirled lightly. Rose de Sange's interior was dark—dark booths, dark chairs, even the bar was made of dark wood—but the dance floor shot off bright neon lights. The place smelled a lot like food and liquor, but Janice could smell the underlying scent of sweat and smoke. This was the kind of club where things happened. Where things got out of control.

That, she could feel.

Janice made her way across the room, heading straight for the bar. She looked at her hand as she made her way across the room, studying the stamp. It was in the shape of a rose with a drop of blood falling from one of the petals. It made sense. Janice spoke fluent French and she was well aware that the name Rose de Sang literally translated to Blood Rose.

That was an interesting name, Janice thought wryly as she sidled up against the bar. The bartender, a man with dark brown hair and light blue eyes, asked Janice what she'd like. When she ordered, he prepared her drink and told her with a wink it was on the house. Janice had smiled tentatively—not sure how to feel about being flirted with—and glanced around as she nursed the drink in her hand.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. From the outside looking in, it seemed like any old nightclub. It was alive with dancing, people practically having sex inside the booths and laughter and they got drunk and enjoyed themselves.

But there was something about this place that Janice couldn't put her finger on. Something about Club Rose de Sang made Janice uneasy. Every instinct that had kept her alive as she hunted murderers and some of the most dangerous people on the planet told her this place was unsafe.

This place...

Janice looked around and her eyes met a pair of green eyes across the room. In that moment, her gaze locked with his and she couldn't look away, even if she wanted to.

Caramel colored hair pushed away from his face regally, expertly. His green eyes—somehow icy, like emeralds encased in ice—watched her seriously. He was incredibly beautiful. The kind of beauty that defied everything that should be possible. His lips—not too full and not too thin—quirked up strangely as his perfectly shaped eyebrows drew together, almost as if he were confused.