Rainbow Runner

Fuuuuuck! Rainbow unicorn hair and glowing purple eyes stared back at me from the crusty bathroom mirror. GLOWING PURPLE—I shit you not. The aim was to change my hair and eye colour to something less recognisable than my classic auburn and jade combo.

When you’d accidentally seen your angel boss kill someone, blending in was a priority. Especially if said boss may have caught sight of you when you slipped away.

I’d needed a disguise and the girls I stripped with at the club swore by this witches brew. ‘Colour me Beautiful’ was supposed to be the one stop potion for an instant color re-vamp. Gorgeous new hair and eye colour in minutes.

Instead—this.

I squinted at the instructions on the label of the potion bottle perched on the rim of the sink. Mix ten drops of ‘Colour me Beautiful’ to ten litres of water. I’d done that. Well… as best I could considering it was a public bathroom in a scungy bar on the demon side of town. The basin was coated with so much grime, if it had been labeled at one point, there was no hope of anyone finding its capacity now.

Lower hair into the mixture to soak, making sure roots are covered. Yep, did that too. Only I’d knocked the bottle into the water when I sneezed mid dye job. And then bumped my head on the faucet when some she-demon had thumped on the door, screeching she was going to ‘cut a bitch’ if I didn’t open up.

Not a cat in hell’s chance of that happening.

I may also have left it in a little longer than the five minutes it said on the bottle. You don’t give away your position to an angry she-demon. That includes running water to get rid of the potion currently working its magic on your hair.

But that’s not the point. The bottle was clearly labeled: Chocolate.

This was not chocolate.

Still, no-one would be looking for a rainbow haired, wingless angel with purple eyes. Particularly not on this side of town. I pulled on the silver mini dress I kept in my locker for after hours fun, checked it was covering all the essentials, then strapped on my heels. My work bag was hurriedly stuffed behind the toilet bowl. If I was going to meet Kandi at Hell’s Bells, I’d have to get moving.

My best friend had organised a way to get me out of town—alive.

Taking a deep breath, I stuck my head cautiously out of the bathroom door. No she-demon. Thank fuck. The rest of my body followed and I slipped quietly out the back door. Hell’s Bells was only two blocks from the seedy little bar, but my heightened state of awareness had me flinching at every shadow. The click of my platforms sounded awfully loud but it wasn’t until I reached the door that I really started to sweat.

Hell’s Bells had a line a mile long waiting to get in. A broad shouldered bouncer with impressively long horns blocked those waiting in line from experiencing forbidden paradise. The place was one of the hottest clubs on the demon side of town—there were even angels lining up for entry. I ducked my head as I went past, hoping no-one would recognise me.

The bouncer was even bigger up close. I swallowed past a lump in my throat and croaked out. “Kandi. I’m here to see Kandi.” Smooth, Blaze. Veeery smooth.

He quirked one eyebrow over the top of his ridiculously cliched sunglasses and mumbled into his headset. At the reply, he motioned me through. “Boss says go on in. Straight up to VIP.” I ignored the angry protests as I went inside.

Hell’s Bells was everything it promised to be. The warehouse was awash with black, red and gold, dangerous and hedonistic. Lighting was dim, but red spotlights highlighted performers on raised platforms. Dancers of all different species ground their hips to a thrumming bass beat. Some danced alone, others performed sensual acrobatics with a partner. Just watching them made me want to put my fingers between my legs.

No wonder people were desperate to get in here.

It was the promise of every filthy fantasy being fulfilled. Even I wasn’t immune—and I shouldn’t be thinking about sex. Another sunnies-masked bouncer waved me upstairs to VIP. The royal treatment had me a little concerned. But there was Kandi, sitting beside the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. She shot me a nervous smile as I moved forward, but instead of meeting me, she hared off back behind the bar.

Leaving me with him.

Obsidian dark hair wound around enormous, curled horns—way bigger than the bouncer’s. And that wasn’t the only thing bigger. The man was wearing Armani, but it covered the most glorious physique I’d ever seen. Dark tattoos traced almost every inch of golden skin. They made him look dangerous, but the brimstone eyes marked him as deadly—and right now they were blazing.

A fucking demon prince!

I contemplated running, as any sane woman would. Shuffled back a little.

“Don’t need help anymore, angel?” His voice was a rich, sexy baritone that thrummed straight to my hooha.

“That’s okay. I’ll find another way. See ya.” I backed away more. His lips tilted into a hungry smile.

“Think carefully about your next move, Blaze.” What the fuck was Kandi thinking, going to a demon prince for help? “I may have decided to do a favour for Kandi out of the goodness of my heart, but things are personal now.”

I had a sick feeling I knew what that meant. Those fucking blazing eyes.

“Run, little angel. I’ve got your scent now.” He stalked forward, almost playfully. “Demons love to hunt their mates. Makes the claiming so much sweeter.”

Fuuuuuk. Demon prince, or angel mobster? Slavery or death?

I took one look at those flaming eyes, and bolted.

Death. Definitely death.