“Christ, so hot, Lyzee.” He muttered placing his hands on her hips as she did wicked things to the lower half of his body. He was trying not to focus on her ass in that scandalous skirt.
“One leaving out door two,” she whispered into the com, watching Cyra follow him over. Elizabeth turned and muted too. “You can help me out of this when we get home, my love,” she purred in his ear and had the same reaction as he did from Ethan.
“Yes, please,” he begged. “Bring home the costume.” Whitefox was overcome with that hysterical laughter of a man on the edge between sanity and madness.
She laughed. “I will. Do I pull off Native well?”
Ethan looked like he was a man on the edge. He was going red, and it was creeping up his neck.
Elizabeth stood and braced her arms on the back of the couch, placing her chest inches in front of Callen’s face as she disengaged the mute. “I’m about to move locations,” she stated, running her hands down his chest before walking away.
Ethan and Callen watched the tiny sway of the laced up skirt, with her ass peeking out. Then there was the sway of her hair swaying back and forth.
Callen spoke in their native language and was answered at first with laughter. When she replied back so only they could understand, the room seemed to get even hotter.
“It’s going to be a very long night,” stated Blackhawk.
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
Julian stood there with Tori pressed against his body. He kept dropping money into the string of her skirt. He was completely uncomfortable with anyone else leering at her but him. Plus she was blocking a very big problem that he was having at that moment.
“You look amazing, honey,” he whispered, the com off and their conversation completely private.
“You like?” she purred, turning and rubbing her hips against the front of his body, as she slid down his frame.
“I don’t think like is an accurate word.” Julian wanted to drag her outside and take her over and over again. “The camouflage is a real nice touch. Now I think I appreciate soldiers even more.”
She winked. “I can tell, I see you’re packing a very nice weapon there, tiger,” Tori said, loud enough that the men around her would buy that she was working the room.
Julian leaned forward and whispered in her ear, and she actually blushed and could feel her skin flush at his suggestion. “Later. I just happen to really think Native men are hot.”
He swallowed that she was up for what he offered later. This was a new side of her, and he loved it.
Something caught her attention, and Tori clicked back on the mike and ran her fingers down Julian’s taught frame, brushing his erection. “I’m going to stroll back to the private rooms,” said Tori. “I just saw Trixie head back with two men.”
“Affirmative,” stated Elizabeth as she crossed the room. “I’ll pass through your area.”
“See you later, Julian,” she winked and laughed, as he tried to keep her pressed to the front of him.
“Stay on your com,” he ordered, gruffly.
Tori simply nodded at him, as she pulled away. Before she could get too far, he slapped her on the ass, and she started laughing. As she rounded the corner, Tori saw Elizabeth moving towards the doctors. Already her feet were killing her.
This was going to be a very long night.
Elizabeth sauntered over towards Tony Magnus and Chris Leonard. Both men were laughing and she knew why. This was going down in the history books like Miss Kitty.
They were going to bust her ass for a very long time.
“Hey, Boss,” Chris said snickering.
Elizabeth shook her head and said something in Native to Callen and Ethan. When Ethan replied back she laughed. It wasn’t perfect but he tried.
“What?” asked Chris.
Elizabeth muted her mike again to torture the man. “I told Ethan you patted me on the ass, and he’s going to kill you when you’re off duty.” The look on his face was entertaining.
“Hey! I didn’t do any such thing!”
Now she was snickering. “I know, and that’s what makes it funny as hell.” Elizabeth walked away. The music changed again and she wanted to get to the stage to see the whole floor again.
“Cyra, anything?” she asked.
“Negative. No one’s tried to lure me or the girls over here outside. I did score up a few ass pats and a grab or two.”
There was a choking sound over the com, and everyone looked over at Chris Leonard.
Elizabeth shook her head at her back up.
“Just awesome.”
* * *
He parked his car in the back by the employees and waited until the men wandering the parking lot got into their cars. Man, it was busy tonight at the club. They must be headlining some new skin or something.
All that was going through his mind was that he hoped that she was working. He needed to get her tonight and rectify the last girl’s pathetic exit from the planet.
Leaning down in his car’s front seat, he looked at his watch. Generally she came outside at eight for a smoke break. That’s when he’d make his move.
Already his body was tight with need over what was to come. There was gasoline in the trunk and the fire ax sat on the seat beside him. Once he got her in the car, he’d make sure she was hurting for ruining the last one.
He smiled. Now it was all about just waiting.
* * *
Christ almighty her feet were killing her. Tori would never complain again about having to wear combat boots. In fact, at that moment she’d trade just about anything for a pair. Standing outside the privacy room, she could hear Trixie’s laughter. Right now she was giving a lap dance to two men at once. More power to her.
Then she smelled it. Something about the stale smell of sweat and lingering cigarette smoke made her stomach roll and body clench. It reminded her of the smell in the alley back in the sandbox, the night Quinn died.
Oh shit! Not now! This was the last thing she needed. Trying to take calming breaths, she found her voice gone as the gray started to swallow her line of vision.
Tori knew she needed to get some fresh air and fast. If she didn’t, it was going to be a blackout. Her first thought was to call for Julian, but then she’d have to explain to Elizabeth why he rushed from his spot.
It looked like Tori was on her own. Hustling to the back door, she pushed it open and stepped out into the dark night.
The panic receded slightly as she fought to get her breath. Tori faced the parking lot, watching the marked car. The agent was observing and taking pictures.
That’s when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, and she knew she was in trouble. The shove knocked her forward, as she slammed into the dumpster. Her last thought was she really hoped the sound of her head hitting metal was loud enough to alert the team.
* * *
He sat in his car and watched the back door open. His heart began to pound in his chest. It was the FBI agent that almost saw him the other day, and here she was dressed like a stripper. He could either take it as a sign that she was the one to die, or he could run because this meant they were close.
Shit!
Taking a deep breath he made his move. Grabbing the fire ax with his hand protectively covered by his sleeve, he crept up behind her and gave her an incredibly hard shove. Her head made a sickening sound as it hit metal. Looking around he wedged the ax into the door frame at the bottom jamming it.
He wouldn’t need long, but he did need a few minutes to drag her to his trunk. Change in plans, but a whore was a whore. If the FBI was going to play dress up, trying to catch him, then all bets were off.
This was tonight’s entertainment.
* * *
The loud thud over the com grabbed everyone’s attention. It was so loud, everyone with an earpiece jumped.
“Where’s Tori?” asked Elizabeth over the com. When there was no reply she scanned the room. The woman was nowhere to be seen. Then there wa
s the sound of laughter over the com and a car horn.
“Shit,” she muttered, racing for the back of the building. “Ethan, get outside we lost Tori. I think she’s outside the building.”
It was all she had to say. Julian ran for the back door right behind Elizabeth. When they got there, they couldn’t open it.
She called to the agent in the car and told him to get to the back of the building fast.
Callen raced to the front door with his brother behind him. Both men had their guns drawn and ready.
Elizabeth and Julian start banging on the door until it was wrenched open from the outside, by the agent taking pictures of cars. Julian sounded like some wounded beast, as he rushed toward prone Tori lying ten feet away. There were drag marks and blood everywhere.
Running around the building, Ethan slid to a stop as he heard the engine. It went the opposite way around the building.
“Shit, is she okay?” asked Callen, calling for Doctor Leonard.
Elizabeth knelt beside Julian. He was holding Tori in his arms.
“I swear to God I’m going to kill this asshole,” he said, shifting her hair and seeing the red stain of blood on his sleeve. “I’m going to end his miserable fucking existence.”
Chris Leonard rushed through the parking lot and to the back of the building. Just having to hear ‘agent down’ over the com scared him out of his mind. Dropping to his knees beside Julian, he touched Tori’s throat with his fingertips.
“Her pulse is strong.” Then he inspected the lump on her forehead. “She’s going to have a wicked headache tomorrow, but won’t need stitches,” he said. “I think you should call an ambulance. I don’t have gear here to check her out.”
Ethan pulled out his phone and made the call.
Tori started coming to, and she stared up into Julian’s worried face. “Hey,” she said, touching her forehead. “Damn it, that hurts,” she muttered.
“Tori, what happened?” questioned Elizabeth.
There was no reply.
“Callen, can you get everyone back around the building? Ethan and I need to talk to Tori.”
He nodded and helped give them some breathing room. It obviously wasn’t going to be a great conversation if they were going at it as the bosses in private.
Elizabeth gave her a few seconds. “Spill it, because I know I said no outside the building alone and here you are, outside alone. Unless the killer was inside and pulled you out here, then you have some explaining to do. ”
Tori shook her head as if clearing cobwebs. “I was in the back and started feeling sick. I opened the door to get air, and then felt like I was falling. I think I hit my head on the dumpster.”
“Was it another blackout, Tori” queried Julian.
Blackhawk spoke up. “Another blackout? As in this wasn’t the first one?” He stared at his wife, and she shrugged completely unaware.
“Tori had one the other day. She just froze up.” Julian opted for the truth. At this point someone was going to be pissed; it was just a matter of whom at this point.
“You know we have to relieve you of duty,” stated Elizabeth. “We can’t have an agent in the field losing mental capacity.”
Ethan stared at Julian. “I get you were trying to protect her, but this wasn’t the way to go about it. She could have been taken tonight.”
“I’m aware and that’s why I’m telling you now,” he stated, as he heard the ambulances coming up in the distance.
“Agent Christensen, you’re off duty until you get some medical assistance. No gun and no dangerous field work. You can do research and paperwork in house.” Elizabeth stood. “I’m calling around tomorrow to get you into a VA facility. You’re getting worse and that’s just not acceptable for me as your friend. This doesn’t even have anything to do with me being your boss, but as your supervisor I am incredibly pissed!” Elizabeth stormed away to find Callen, and the agent that wrenched open the door. Maybe he saw something.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she stood. “I’m fine,” Tori stated, pulling away from Julian. He was the last person she wanted touching her at that moment.
“Did you see him at all?” Ethan asked. “Hear anything? Smell anything?”
Tori wanted to weep. “Someone came up behind me, and I didn’t hear him coming.”
“I’ll go to the hospital with her,” offered Julian.
Ethan walked away. They’d come extra close to losing one of their own, and right now he wanted to make sure his wife was safe. In fact, they were done with the strip club. By now the killer had made the FBI and knew they were staking out the club. The killer wouldn’t be using ‘The Pussy Cat Club’ to find his victims anymore.
Walking around the building, he found Elizabeth in Callen’s jacket standing beside Cyra and Callen.
“Well Lyzee?” he asked, watching her.
“We get out of here. The killer’s made the team. I’m simmering between furious and ready to chew off someone’s damn arm,” she muttered, taking a deep breath. “What did the agent see?” she nodded to him beside the building.
Callen shrugged. “He heard the bang over the com and then he saw a man trying to drag a woman away. By the time he shouted and crossed the lot, he was gone into the shadows. There was the screech of tires and then nothing.”
“Damn it!” Elizabeth began pacing. “I need to get back to work at the office.”
“What time do we regroup tomorrow?” asked Cyra.
Elizabeth shook her head. “Nine.”
Blackhawk hung up his phone. “Tech team is on its way to scrub for any evidence in a sweep. I wouldn’t bet on much.”
Rolling her shoulder, Elizabeth was still irritated. “At least we still have the fireman’s ax.”
“If he left it behind it must not be that important to him, or he’s an amateur.”
“He wasn’t planning on taking Tori. He was planning on taking a girl tonight. That’s why he only hit her in the head. He knew he couldn’t lure her away like he could a regular stripper.”
“You think he knew she was a fed?” asked Cyra.
“Yeah, I think he knew. More importantly, I think he knows we’re close.”
“Are we close?” Cyra inquired.
Elizabeth closed her eyes. “Nope. Which means you can go home Cyra. I’m going back to FBI West to work on the whiteboard until I get this figured out.”
“Are you sure? I can help out. I figure once I stand naked in a room with someone, surrounded by strippers, I’ve bonded for life.”
Elizabeth appreciated the woman’s attempt to make her laugh. “Go home, get out of those heels and relax. Why should we all be completely miserable?” She walked away.
“She’s just worked up about the killer,” reassured Blackhawk. “Head home and relax and we’ll start all over again tomorrow. Elizabeth needs to regroup and refocus to get her balance again on the assignment.”
Callen and Ethan followed after her.
“So I guess this means we don’t get a private show at home tonight,” Whitefox said sighing. “No Native Lyzee lap dances.”
“Nope. It looks like we’re going to sleep in our offices and watch her run herself into the ground.”
“Damn it. I really hate this killer,” stated Callen.
Blackhawk nodded. “Yeah, me too.”
It was a quick visit to the ER. Tori was checked out, and except for a few scrapes on her knees and hands, she was fine to be released. Her head hurt and her pride was pretty beat up. The other big issue was the man sitting next to her. Julian hadn’t said much the entire time, and that didn’t bode well with her. Not that it mattered. She was on her way to a VA hospital shortly. In fact, Elizabeth was probably dialing Walter Reed right now.
“We need to talk.”
Tori didn’t disagree with him. Only she needed to be the one that went first. “I’m angry, Julian. You promised me you wouldn’t say anything about the black outs.”
He glanced over at her. “Yeah, that’s the issue he
re. Me pointing out that you’re having black outs.”
“I don’t need your sarcasm,” she said angrily. “I get it. I’m defective, but I trusted you with my secret. I don’t need my bosses thinking I’m an even bigger mess than I am.”
“Tori, I kept the truth from them for a few days to buy you time. I’ve tried to keep you safe, offer you peace and help you through this. I just can’t get through to you.”
She stared out the window. “I don’t need you to get through to me, Julian. I see the picture clearly.”
He lost his temper. “Is that right? You understand all this? Fantastic, Tori! Why don’t you share your insight with me then, because I don’t have a fucking clue! The only thing I know is that I’m in love with a woman that has no emotional attachment to me. I’m crazy for a woman that’s pulling away from me again. Tell me what to say and do, Tori. Just give me a direction here, because I’m completely lost on this one.”
She refused to look at him. “Just take me home, Julian. I really want to be alone.”
Julian gave up. “Okay Tori. You win.” He drove her to her house and pulled into the driveway, saying nothing more to her. What was left? Julian already professed his love, told her his feelings, and shared his heart. What more could he do or say to make her understand.
“Night,” she said, getting out of the car.
He watched her walk over to her front door. She bent down to pick up a fake rock with a key to get into her house. “Why not just leave the key taped to the door?” he mumbled to himself. Once she was inside, she turned and looked at him.
“Damn it, Tori,” he whispered. “How do I get through to you?” he said, and then did the only thing he could do. He backed his car out of her driveway and headed to FBI West.
Maybe working would help stop the continual ache growing in his chest. If not, he was pretty sure he would crawl to her house on his hands and knees begging for her to just say the words to him.
Fire Burns Hot ((An FBI/ Romance Thriller~ (Book 5))) Page 53
