12. Chapter 12
“Are you sure I can’t get you something to drink?” Lewis’s deep voice from across the bar tugged at Kate’s distracted mind as she swiveled on the stool.
“Huh? Yeah…” Her mind circled around the pressure that had imprinted heat and power against her skin as Lewis had approached her and Raz earlier.
The energy coursing from Raz stroked over her and ignited a need she couldn’t understand.
What she needed was to put her desire for Raz to rest. Nothing there was worth going after.
Even if her entire focus lay on the door Raz strode through.
Glass clinked against the counter, tearing her from the thought. Before her sat a whiskey tumbler full of brown liquid and a sword toothpick stabbing a cherry to the bottom.
“What?” Lewis asked, meeting her scrutinizing gaze. “You look like you could use it.”
He’s not wrong. She wrapped her fingers around the cool glass. Come on, you need to win over these Dragon SEALs. “Are you trying to butter me up?”
“Is it working?” His tone dipped in register, and goosebumps grew up her arms. “Not sure if Raz mentioned it, but I’m your biggest fan, and I have questions for you.”
“My biggest fan, huh?” Her lips tugged at the sides. “What questions?”
He nodded toward her cup. “Drink first. I want your opinion.”
She grinned and scooted the tumbler closer to take a tentative sip from the pair of red straws. Smooth whiskey brushed over her tongue with sweet melon and cherry hints. “Holy heck. You weren’t lying about making a mean old-fashioned.”
“I’m glad you like it.” He leaned against the counter behind him, arms folded with bands of muscle flexing.
Her spirit prickled with a weird awareness.
Dragon. A similar tattoo to Raz’s marked his upper left arm.
He was attractive, and his baldness added a clean appearance to his serious-set face.
“So, did you really spike the vending machine?”
She chuckled and took another sip. “Am I being recorded?”
He lifted his hands. “This is a safe place.”
“If I did, it wouldn’t have been my proudest moment, but Raz did have that place locked up tighter than Aunt Petunia’s vibrator.”
Lewis laughed. “And your whole stealing scheme was to get on our radar and meet Raz?”
“He told you that?”
“You’ll have to get used to him telling us everything.”
These guys really are close. Family. Her throat tightened. She’d once had a relationship like that, and she’d ruined it. But she was trying to make up for her flaws…save Naomi. “What else has he told you?”
“You need our help with Matsuda.”
Her hands twitched around the glass, anger and sadness swallowing her words. The mention of the man who stole everything from her hit her hard. She eyed the framed print behind Lewis, the one with rows of Campbell’s Soup cans.
Lewis followed her stare and asked, “You like Andy Warhol?”
“His originals. That one alone would sell for millions.”
“Would you steal it?”
She shrugged with a teasing grin. “Maybe.”
Lewis laughed. “You want a bag of chips or something?”
“Actually, yeah. The barbeque ones? I’m famished.” The last thing she’d eaten was the pizza at Raz’s. Her gaze trailed over to the back door Raz had walked through. She internally rolled her eyes. Stop thinking about him and focus on making friends.
Lewis grabbed a bag from the wall and opened it before setting it down in front of her. The salty BBQ wafted to her nose, and she reached into the bag and delighted in the crunchy treat.
“So why a drag bar?” she asked, admiring its vintage atmosphere. The stage at the front had the iconic red curtains drawn closed.
He chuckled, deep and sultry. “I believe people should surround themselves with things they are passionate about. And this is one hell of a good time.”
“Do you partake?” She pictured him shaving his beard down to cover his face with exotic makeup. He had high cheekbones that added a feminine beauty to his eyes. With a wig and a dress, he would be a steal.
He smiled, white teeth dazzling. “Sometimes when the bar is closed. There are only a few I allow to watch, though.”
“Would you perform for me?”
“Why…” His pitch rose, and he covered his heart with his hands. “If the Bubblegum Bandit asks, how can I refuse?”
She lifted her drink. “I’ll hold you to that, then.
” Tipping back the liquid, she took a long swig.
“Please call me Kate.” A lightness swept through her muscles, her worry shying away.
So far, Lewis was accepting of her, but she didn’t fool herself into thinking the other members would be as inviting.
“All right, Kate. Why the bubblegum?”
“Sadly, that was an accident that stuck with me.”
Lewis snickered at her unintended pun, and she joined him for a moment.
“I forgot tape my first time, and I had nothing to use to stick my note except the gum I was chewing.”
“And you weren’t worried about DNA analysis?”
She stared into the last inch of amber liquid and swirled it around in her glass. “I don’t have any records, and if I were caught…” She shrugged. “I’ve been careful in my…life.”
“Lives, you mean? Reincarnation and all that?”
She swallowed. Raz did tell them everything.
“And why be so careful, Kate?” he asked, leaning against the bar. “Are you running from something?”
“If I’m lucky, it won’t be for long.” She swallowed the rest of her drink in one smooth swig.
The front door clanged open, and Kate turned as a man, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, walked into the bar.
Lean, he held himself as if he knew how to use his body to his advantage, the slightly baggy T-shirt probably hiding a toned figure.
Plain energy from him bounced off her, unlike the blast of dragon foreignness from Lewis.
His blond hair appeared almost bleached to white and stood out, along with his indigo eyes. As she kept staring, his features shifted with shadows, as if he moved through a haze of smoke. His nose and facial structure appeared different from what had been in the picture on Raz’s desk. Influence?
Was he the Mirage—the Dragon SEAL capable of getting in and out of places undetected? She didn’t know how a man with such a striking appearance could blend in anywhere.
He strode into the bar with a purpose, his gaze assessing as it swept over her.
She froze in her seat. She’d been in rooms with high-class criminals, and few people unsettled her, but this man had that quality, just with his gaze.
And she had reason to be afraid. The Mirage, as much as a Dragon SEAL, had quite a list of assassinations under his belt.
Few could be pointed directly at him, but his MO of hitting dangerous high-profile targets that no one else could even get near spoke for itself.
“My, my, my, Caige, you look worse for wear.” Lewis whistled behind her. Other than the bags under his eyes, she couldn’t see what Lewis apparently could.
Caige grunted and headed through the door Raz had.
“We’re all here. It’s time to hear you out,” Lewis said.
“But aren’t there four of you?” she asked, recalling the photo she’d seen on Raz’s desk.
“Yeah.” Lewis walked from behind the bar and waved for her to follow him. “Sid’s in the back already.”
Kate released a long breath and held her laptop bag close to her side.
As Lewis came from behind the bar, Kate hopped off the stool to follow him.
Through the changing room behind the stage, she entered a massive office.
Mint and eucalyptus tantalized her senses.
Comfortable and modern, the desks were black, while the leather chairs were white with black accents.
Checkered wallpaper adorned the walls except for the gold behind Lewis’s desk.
Braced to see Raz again, her tense muscles uncoiled when he wasn’t there.
Neither was Sid. Caige sat at the head of the conference table.
A laptop rested a few seats down from him.
“Where are those two?” Lewis muttered, moving to his desk.
“Upstairs, more than likely,” Caige said, leaning back with his arms crossed and eyes closed. Even relaxed, he still felt deadly, as if he always slept with one eye open.
“They better not be breaking anything.” Lewis grabbed the white phone from his desk and pressed a button before yelling into the receiver. “Would you like to join us or what?”
Kate would have chuckled if nerves weren’t twining around her vocal cords. She sat at the opposite end, one chair away from the head so she wouldn’t be directly across from Caige. While she took her laptop out, Lewis walked to Caige and placed his hand on his shoulder.
“Can I get you anything?” Lewis asked him.
“Water.”
Lewis headed back to his desk. Kate stared at the folder on her laptop screen marked ‘IJN.’ Nervous energy sent heat over her body, and a slight wetness had her unzipping her jacket and placing it over the chair back.
Heavy footsteps pounded behind her, raised voices following.
She gnawed at the inside of her lip. Lewis placed a water bottle next to her laptop and a few more in the center of the table.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Sure thing, honey.” He rested a large, warm, reassuring hand on her shoulder, and her rigidity lost a notch as if she had stepped into a warm, soothing sauna. That was odd.
He winked at her as if sensing her confusion. She had a feeling he had some kind of calming mojo. A dragon soother, perhaps.
Her train of thought ended as an unknown man strolled into the room, followed by Raz, who was smiling ear to ear. Red marked Raz’s jaw on the left side. Sweat highlighted his forehead. He perused the table before meeting her eyes, and his face fell to a more serious tone.
Kate gulped, thrown off by the sexy confidence he exuded.