29. Dragon
29
DRAGON
None of us were prepared to actually see Willow dressed up in a stripper outfit she borrowed from Ocean. Her top's barely got her tits contained, the material tight and squeezing them into the kind of cleavage I wanna fuck my dick through. Her stomach is bare straight down to the miniskirt barely clinging to her hips. It's short enough that she can't bend over without flashing her panties. She must share shoe sizes with one of the girls, because I'm fucking positive she didn't just happen to have thigh high leather boots just sitting around at her Grandma's house. Her belly button jewel glints in the club lights, and her hair is teased up big and sexy. With her heavy makeup and smoky eyes, I barely recognize her, so even if Brutus is Tanner, he shouldn’t have a chance from a distance.
The only thing that messes up her disguise is that she's looking around like a fucking tourist.
I nudge her. “Hey, you're supposed to be a professional. Act like it. Earn your fucking money. Press up against me.”
She picks her jaw up, and immediately turns it into a naughty little smile as she grabs my arm with both hands and presses against me like I hired her for the night. Fuck, I’d love to do this when we’re not on duty.
The music is slow and low, thrumming like a giant's heartbeat while a curvy blonde rubs on a stripper pole like a cat in heat. Like last time, other than around the stage and the bar, most of the light comes from the constantly moving colored spotlights, leaving the club in darkness. I know Willow's seen wilder shit at the clubhouse, but when she sees the dancing cage next to the bar, I have to nudge her again so she doesn't break character.
Blackout sticks close to us but Skyhigh subtly directs the others to spread out, taking positions while staying in the shadows.
We left our cuts at home for this one, trying not to stand out, but it doesn't matter when I've got Willow on my arm. She gets a lot of long fucking looks, and I have to remind myself that we're doing this on purpose, before I go over there and kick some asses.
Blackout orders us a couple beers and we find a booth, pushing the table out of the way to give Willow some room for her act. “Okay, babe, let's see you impress us.”
She grins, and locks eyes with me as she places her hands firmly on my knees. I know there's people behind her who can see her panties when she's posed like that, but I have to pretend I don't fucking care instead of blinding every one of those fuckers. My job is to sit back and make sure she stays safe, and drawing attention is the last thing we need.
Willow starts with her hips, finding the rhythm of the music and swaying with it, slow sinuous movements that already have me ready to burst outta my jeans. When she bends down and looks up at me, I can see right down her top. Her pretty nipples are only just barely out of view. Why did I get assigned the torture part of this?
Using moves Blaze and Ocean must’ve taught her, she pushes my knees apart and slides in between them, dragging her tits along my torso until she's got her arms around my neck. She presses her forehead against mine and gets back to swaying in time with the beat. Instinctively, I reach for her waist but she pulls away and shakes her finger at me, actually playing by the damn no-touch rules. She's gonna fucking be the death of me. Blackout leans back and takes a drag from his beer, watching.
“Testing, testing,” sounds in my earpiece. I jump, having forgotten all about it with the show Willow's putting on. Bone's got his wire, and it's working. His voice sounds a little shaky which I’m not a fan of. If he fucks this up for us… From the other side of him, Skyhigh gives a subtle nod to let him know the wire's active.
Willow turns around so her ass is towards me. It makes sense, so she can look into the crowd, rather than at me. Or maybe she just loves teasing me, since now her swaying is brushing her juicy ass back and forth over my crotch, and there's no fucking way she isn't feeling how fucking hard I am under her. It's a physical struggle not to grab her by the waist and pull her in.
It doesn’t take long before a man comes in looking clearly out of place. He’s tall, built big and with short curly hair. Without even glancing at the girl on stage, he heads straight to the bar. He's suspicious just for ignoring the show, but Willow's gasp when she spots him seals it. She does a twirl in time with the music and when she settles, she's facing me again, pressing her tits against my chest and her ass out, while burying her face in my neck. “That's definitely Tanner,” she hisses, loud enough for me to hear over the sound system. I nod, the signal the others are waiting for.
Then I slide my fingers into Willow's hair and pull her up so I can kiss her. After the way she's been grinding against me, there's no man in this whole fucking building who can blame me.
Surprised, she presses both her palms against my chest, then catches herself and eases into it. Best way to hide her face, both because she's facing away, and because I fucking love kissing her. She tastes like cherry lip balm and innocence, if that's even a fucking flavor.
Blackout looks like he's watching us, but I know he's tracking Tanner outta the corner of his eye. Once he's past us, I let her up
Willow lets out a shocked breath. “Is that how you guys usually pass the time on these things?”
Blackout grins. “Nah, Dragon's not nearly as good a kisser as you are.”
She's flushed but laughs softly. “I beg to differ.”
Tanner glances around him suspiciously, and for a second I think he's about to bolt, but then he continues to Bone and sits down. “The fuck is this?” His voice comes through Bone's wire and burns straight into my fucking brain. I hate him immediately. “What’s your deal? My info's been fucking solid.”
“Yeah… about that.” Bone's voice has a quaver to it. Fuck, if he's losing his nerve now, he sure picked a shitty time for it. “I’ve had some complaints.”
“Not my fucking problem. Your clients know the risks. Are we gonna deal, or what? I can find someone else.” Tanner starts to get up.
“No, no, sit down. Please.” Bone waves his hands at the chair. “We'll deal, I just need something to reassure people they aren’t going to end up dead. The info was good, but the threat estimate wasn't. Where are you getting this stuff?”
Well, that was fucking subtle as a brick. Bone's supposed to try to wheedle the info out of Tanner, not just fucking ask outright. Willow leans into me, keeping up the charade while I listen in.
“You don't need to know. Now do you want it or not?”
“I just—I…” Maybe he's good at trading info, but a fucking actor Bone is not.
“What the fuck's going on here?” Tanner's tone turns suspicious immediately. He looks around him, and I don't know what he sees, but it spooks him. He makes a break for the door, standing so fast his chair topples over.
Jig's up.
“Tanner!” Skyhigh calls as he jumps out of the shadows. Sinner and Crank come from behind the bar.
Blackout starts to get up, instinct taking over, before he stops, looks at Willow and puts himself between her and Tanner. “Stay with us.”
She nods, watching with big eyes. I pull her close, shielding her with my body as much as possible.
Surrounded, Tanner tugs something out of his pocket and drops it on the ground as he puts on shades with his other hand. There's a soft whining noise and suddenly the whole club lights up like a fucking sun with a loud crack that has my ears ringing. Did he bring a fucking flash-bang?
I shield my eyes with my arm, but my pupils are blown. I can barely see a thing. Even sounds are dull and muffled, like I'm fucking underwater. Skyhigh swearing, Crank yelling, and the stripper screaming followed by a thunk as she falls. I wouldn't want a flash-bang in my face while wearing heels either.
“What's happening?” Willow clutches my arm tight. Her voice is both too loud and hard to make out at the same time.
“I got ya.” I pull her in with my free hand, waiting for the spots to clear from my vision and the light to dim. Fuck, right now, Tanner's probably the only one in here who can see shit, 'cause who the fuck else brings shades into a dark strip club? I expected a gun, not military shit.
Crank and Sinner growl as they push through the blinded crowd, their shadowy outlines recognizable from anywhere. Riot and Jackal are moving in the background, and from near the entrance someone shouts. A moment later, there's the roar of a motorcycle that fades quickly.
Shit.
“Fucker got away. What a waste.” Skyhigh snarls, looking pissed. Riot is on his heels.
Blackout shakes his head. “No, we got what we came for. We know Tanner is our man, but we underestimated him. Is he just that paranoid that he runs around with a fucking grenade in his pocket? Didn't see that coming.”
“Literally,” Riot says with a snort.
Willow clings to my side, her face buried in my shirt. Everyone’s safe, but she’s spooked.
“Let's go home. Willow, you okay?” Blackout turns to her.
She looks uncertain, but she nods. “Yeah, I guess so. Can we go home?”
“Yeah, let’s get the fuck outta here.”
Jackal brings her leather jacket and she slips into it, and then we’re off.
Riding home feels real unsatisfying, but we’ll find Tanner. At least Willow is safe and that’s what’s most important.