Heart of the Thief

by Katerina Martinez

  “I just can’t believe it. You’re telling me the only way to get close to this guy is to give him a lap dance, why wouldn’t I find that a little suspicious considering what’s clearly public knowledge around here?”

  “Look, I didn’t mean to insult or offend you—I discovered a problem and rather than coming to you with it, I found a solution first, and then I told you. I thought you’d like that.”

  Dammit. I did like that. Problems? I hated problems. Solutions were amazing, especially when we were as strapped for time as we were right now. I needed people who could get things done, and do them with initiative. That was why I’d picked every person on my team. Axel was the only wild card, the only unknown variable.

  I could feel the anger ebbing away from me, even if I didn’t like the idea Axel had placed in front of me. I wasn’t a dancer anymore. I’d put that part of me in the rearview, and I never wanted to have to open that door again. But I was going to have to.

  “What do you mean by solution, exactly?” I asked.

  “I know what club he goes to,” Axel said, “I’ve also already gotten you in as one of tonight’s dancers.”

  “Tonight?”

  “Tonight is when he’ll be there. This is the only chance you’ll get close to him before the party, Izzy.”

  Izzy. Not Isabella. “Alright, dammit. Fine. But I don’t have anything to wear. I threw all of that out a long time ago.”

  “That’s also been taken care of. You’ll find your clothes when we get to the club.”

  I was about to head for the bedroom door when I stopped and turned around. “We?” I asked, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “As in, you’ll be coming with me on this little expedition?”

  “Of course. I’ve been assigned to watch you.”

  “And let me guess, you’ll be watching the dance, too…”

  “From another room, yes. For your protection.”

  I rolled my eyes. “My protection, huh? I doubt that, but this train has already left the station, so what’s the use in arguing?”

  Axel walked past me, patting me on the shoulder as he went. “See? That’s the spirit.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  I couldn’t say why, but there were butterflies in my stomach. Maybe it was the idea that I was about to dust my old alter-ego off and take her for a spin for the first time in a few years. Maybe it really was performance anxiety. Or maybe it was the very real possibility that this guy was going to see right through me, and I was going to find myself in one hell of a spot.

  Manhattan swam past me on the other side of the tinted window, her lights bright and inescapable. I watched, silently, as Axel’s car purred along the road, watching the electronic billboards while they passed. I wasn’t a stranger to Manhattan Island. In fact, I’d lived here once. But, like Kandi, I’d put that part of my life behind me.

  It struck me then that I didn’t have a clue as to why. Why had I stopped dancing? Why had I given up a life of relative luxury, making hundreds of dollars a night—a night. I owned entire outfits I would wear once and not again. My closet was filled with high-heels, some with the red-soles, others covered in jewelry. And my apartment? It was no joke.

  The Glittered Goddess had been good to me; or, at least, it had once management had changed. I had a pretty special Aevian to thank for that, an Aevian I hadn’t seen in a long time. But it was like one night I’d woken up and decided I wasn’t going to do it anymore.

  And that was it. I gave it all up, and I buried Kandi six feet under.

  Now here she was again, back from the dead, her reflection in the window next to my face. My body filled with warmth, then, as Kandi clawed her way back into the limelight. She was a confident woman, a sensual being who could make large men weep. The kind of woman who strutted around like she wore a crown on her head.

  I missed that.

  Axel’s car pulled into a side-street and stopped in front of a door being watched by two bouncers. I stepped out into the cold, wet street without having to be told to do so and walked over to the door. The bouncers both eyed me up and down.

  “I’m Kandi,” I said, staring directly at one of them. “I’m expected.”

  The bouncers glanced at each other, one of them then opened the side door to let me in. Axel caught up with me just as I went to step inside. I hadn’t realized it until the soft music filtering through the walls had all but enveloped me, but my hips had started swaying like they used to. My body had already started remembering how to behave in a place like this, and that was great, because I hadn’t given a show in years, let alone a dance.

  “This one,” Axel called out, pointing a door with a star and the word KANDI slapped on it.

  I opened it and stepped inside, looking around at the familiar surroundings. The entire room smelled like it had been recently bleached and then perfumed. I’d expected to find the vanity table empty, but it wasn’t; there were unopened boxes on it. There were also clothes on a rack, entire outfits stuffed into sealed bags.

  I sifted through some of the outfits, sliding the hangars across the rack with my fingertips. I glanced at Axel. “You did this?” I asked. Dancers didn’t get private rooms. Back at the Goddess, I had to share a room with the other girls—not my makeup, though. Never my makeup. Axel had clearly pulled some strings to make this happen.

  He shrugged. “I wanted you to be ready.”

  “So, you bought me clothes…” I walked over to the vanity set and inspected the boxes. “And perfume, and makeup? Decent makeup, too… wow. I’m impressed.”

  “Impressed that I bought you the tools you’d need to do the job well?”

  “Anybody can buy clothes and makeup, but I won’t wear just anything.”

  “Then you’re gonna enjoy this.” He walked over to a stack of boxes sitting in the corner of the room, picked the top box, and handed it over.

  Inside were a pair of black, red-soled stiletto heels I probably would’ve bought myself back when I was making five figures a week. “Holy shit…” I said, “You really went all out, didn’t you?”

  “I don’t do things in halves.”

  “I guess not…” I walked over to the rack and examined the outfits. Most of them were typical of what an exotic dancer would wear, which is to say, there wasn’t much to them at all. I’d be showing a ton of skin tonight, but that didn’t make me flush with embarrassment—I could feel that old, familiar power moving through me.

  That was what I’d been feeling in the car. Power, not nerves. Power I’d almost forgotten how to wield… almost.

  “What’s this?” I asked, pulling a bag out of the rack that seemed to contain a black dress inside.

  “That’s for the Halloween event,” Axel said, “If you want to wear it.”

  My eyes widened. “You mean I get to keep these?”

  He shrugged. “Do you want it? Otherwise it’ll go the next dancer lucky enough to get this dressing room.”

  “Hell yeah, I do. Are you kidding? Do I have time to try this dress on?”

  Axel checked his watch and hissed. “No. The Magister may already be here. You need to get ready to get out there and get his attention.”

  I looked across at him, then slowly slid the dress back onto the rack. “And you’ll be…?”

  “I’ve had the VIP room bugged. I’ll be watching.”

  “Watching…” I nodded slowly. A grin spread across my lips. “Well, Axel, in that case I hope you enjoy the show. You’ll be the first person to get to see one without having to pay. Ever.”

  Axel gestured with his head toward the clothes, then the make-up. “I don’t know about not having paid… I think maybe I’ve paid more than most.”

  I grabbed my blue hair and pulled it up, holding it above my neck and watching him from where I stood. “You’d be surprised. I’m pretty good.”

  He was silent long enough for me to notice. “I’m sure you are…” he trailed off.

  “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get ready to get out
there. Unless you wanted to watch that part, too? But I’m afraid that’ll cost you extra.”

  I watched his lips part, and that powerful feeling beat through me like a second heart. He sucked in a short breath and shook his head. “Sorry, I’ll give you some privacy. But you should take this before I go.”

  Axel produced a small phial filled with swirling blue and green liquid inside. It had a soft glow to it, giving it a radioactive kind of look. I’d almost forgotten about this part. I took the phial and watched the liquid dance inside.

  “Are you sure it’ll work?” Axel asked.

  “This is what Cassidy is good at. She’s never sold me magic that hasn’t worked, and I doubt she’s gonna start now.”

  “And remind me again, what is it supposed to do?”

  I held the phial up. “Well, RJ and Karim both contributed to making it. RJ’s magic is gonna change my appearance enough to make me unrecognizable. The last thing we want is the Magister recognizing me at the party, especially after tonight. Karim’s contribution is supposed to suppress my aura to make it impossible for the Magister to know that I’m a mage.”

  “Does that mean you won’t be able to use magic while it’s active?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  “That makes me nervous… what if something happens in there?”

  “Are you expecting I’ll run into problems with the Magister? We’ve never met before. As far as he’ll be concerned, I’ll just be another dancer.”

  “And if you need to get away in a hurry?”

  “Well… then it’ll be a good thing that you’re watching, right? I only need a few moments with him, and I’ll have what I need.”

  “How will you know that you have it?”

  “Trust me. I’ll know. This isn’t my first rodeo.”

  Axel half-laughed. “Rodeo.”

  I cocked an eyebrow at him. “Something funny?”

  “Oh… it’s just, you said rodeo, and you’re about to give a lap dance…”

  “Wow… you just giggled like a five-year-old boy. I never thought I’d get to see the inner child in you slip past that iron cage you built for him, but now I have. Please get out so that I can get ready.”

  “Right,” Axel said, nodding and backing up. He shut the door behind him after leaving, and then I was alone with a magic potion in a room full of expensive stuff that I got to keep.

  I walked over to the mirror, staring at myself as I brought the phial to my lips. “No biggie…” I said to myself, “Just pretend its tequila.”

  Hesitating a second longer, I knocked it back and set the phial down on the vanity. The liquid was like cold cough syrup in my mouth. It slid down my throat, sending tendrils of cold through my chest, into my arms, and all the way down to my toes. I could feel the magic working inside of me before I saw anything manifest in front of me. But when I did, it was incredible.

  My eyes changed color first, from blue to light brown. I felt myself overcome with an inescapable urge to run my fingers through my hair and shake it out. The blue quickly turned jet black, already effecting a huge change in the way I looked, but the magic wasn’t done.

  The features of my face were shifting right in front of me, like there were worms working under my skin. My lips got a little fuller, my chin a little less pointed. Finally, my eyes seemed to round off a little bit, that last touch making me utterly unrecognizable. The tattoos snaking their way up along my arms and chest were just the icing on an already incredible cake.

  I had no idea who the woman staring at me in the mirror was. That was probably a good thing. But I also didn’t know if Karim’s side of the spell had worked. I couldn’t sense my own magic aura. I could only hope the Magister wouldn’t be able to sense it either. I was about to get really intimate with the man, and he was supposed to be the most powerful mage in New York City.

  Was Karim’s spell going to hold out against his scrutiny? I just had to hope he was as good as I gave him credit for.

  “Alright,” I said, nodding at my reflection as I examined my new body. It was mostly my face that had changed, as far as I knew, and it didn’t feel as weird as I thought it would’ve. “It’s showtime, Kandi.”

  Turning around, I realized I had way more sets of skimpy outfits to wear than I’d originally thought. And Axel had picked them all. I walked over to the rack and examined his taste levels, trying to place them in my mind. I picked up a little blue number, basically just a thong with tassels. Then a red number—still a thong, but there was a more substantial top to go with it.

  Then, buried toward the middle of the rack, I found a gorgeous set of deep plum lingerie. The bra and underwear were lacy and delicate, soft to the touch; they seemed to buzz a little bit when I touched them, too.

  Grinning to myself, I decided to go with the red outfit instead. If the lingerie clearly wasn’t meant for Magistrate Eliphas, then it was probably better to save it for another time.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  The bassline thrummed against my body as I slithered out onto the floor wearing a bra and underwear so thin you could floss with. As soon as I entered that arena of lights, singles, and flesh, it was like a powerful force took over me. I wasn’t me anymore; I was a warrior armed only with six-inch heels, and this was my battleground.

  I could feel them watching me. Hungry eyes inset into shadowy figures, lurking inside dark booths. These men were all as good as faceless to me. Each little more than flesh and blood wrapped in lust, and even though they thought they were the ones in control, I was the predator here.

  My instincts kicked in when I spotted my prey. Back in Kandi’s day, securing a lap dance was all a matter of science and sensuality. First, I’d look for a man on his own, preferably wearing a suit, preferably with a drink in his hand. The Magister ticked both of those boxes already, so the next step was easy.

  I sauntered around his table making sure he saw me—I mean, really saw me. I wanted him to drink in every ounce of me, to taste me from a distance until that primal urge to have me took over. It always manifested physically, somehow. Their lips would part, or they’d shift their resting leg, or they’d take a nervous sip of their drink.

  The Magister, an attractive man in his own right, watched me as I made a round of his table. He wore a grey suit, with a white shirt unbuttoned at the collar. A light, salt and pepper frosting of meticulously groomed stubble covered his cheeks, highlighting his dark, intense eyes. He picked his drink up and finished what was left, his body giving me the signal.

  I let my fingers lightly caress his shoulders as I moved around behind him, giving him a view of me as I headed to the bar. The next time I came back to his table it was with a refill of the drink he’d just finished. He was a dark rum kind of man, and I could respect that. Not enough people in the world appreciated a decent rum.

  Slowly, my every movement delicate, and sensual, I placed the drink on his table. He turned his eyes up at me, first scanning my legs, then my midsection, then my face. “I don’t think I asked for another drink,” he said.

  I walked a little closer to him, leaning against his ear, letting him get a good whiff of my perfume. “It’s on the house, sugar,” I whispered, making sure my lips brushed against his skin.

  Already I could taste his essence, that vital part of him that would reveal to me the secret he didn’t want anyone else knowing. But I needed more time with him. This wasn’t going to be enough—a dance would have to happen. It was time to seal the deal, but I couldn’t be the one to ask him if he wanted a dance. A man like him had plenty of offers.

  He had to want me.

  I pulled away from his ear and went to turn around, slowly. “What’s your name?” he asked, after I’d taken my first step away from him.

  I craned my neck around my shoulder. “Kandi,” I said, letting the word fall from my lips on the back of a sigh. “What’s yours?”

  “Elliott…”

  Elliott. I guess Eliphas is too weird a name even for a strip club. “I
t’s my pleasure… Elliott.”

  He picked his drink up and took a sip. “Why have I never seen you before?”

  “I’d be happy to tell you… maybe if we went somewhere a little more private…”

  Another sip, and he set the glass down on the coaster. A smile touched his lips, and he extended his hand. “How about you lead the way?”

  Bingo.

  Smiling in return, I walked over to him, took his hand, and prayed to all the Gods that the potion working inside of me really did work. I had no way of knowing whether or not Eliphas—Elliott—had figured me out, but he followed me quietly enough. It only took a moment to reach the room Axel had told me to lead him to, and as soon as I entered it, I felt a wave of… something… hit me.

  It wasn’t magic, it wasn’t embarrassment—it was thrill. Axel was watching from some control room, somewhere. Or maybe the feed went directly to his phone and he was watching me from the car. Either way, his eyes were on me and my skimpy little number right now, and something about that had filled me with a rush.

  He can never know.

  Eliphas sat down on the semi-circle couch in the room and made himself comfortable. Besides the couch, the only other object in the room was a pole sticking out of a padded, circular platform and going all the way into the ceiling. The walls were covered in glittering tinsel, the ones that weren’t mirrors, anyway, and while the music was a little quieter in here, it was still loud enough for me to dance to and hold a conversation if I wanted to.

  I climbed the platform, each of my movements slow, deliberate, sensual, showing him as much as I could without giving away the goose. I gripped the pole from a kneeling position, remembering the feel of the cold metal under my hands, and immediately pulled myself into an upside-down position.

  It was a reflex as easy as breathing, each of my muscles working in concert with the other as I worked the pole. With my body turned toward him and my head resting on the pad at the base of the pole, I slowly spread my legs and watched the blood rush to his face.