“No. Thankfully not. I’ve maybe dealt with a mob around the vehicle three or four times since this assignment began.”
The van we’d arrived in was parked close by. Each city we stopped in, we had arrangements with local protection firms, thanks to Ian’s connections across the country. They provided discreet backup while Nadir and I handled primary protection. I’d done similar side-gigs myself. Most times they were easy—a quick paycheck without any of the heavy lifting.
King was a big bear of a man, former army, and completely human. His partner, Bella, had worked in presidential security several years ago. While I hadn’t worked with them before, I’d read their files. Both were impressive. So impressive it made me wonder why Ian had taken such a chance on me. I hadn’t served in the military. I hadn’t worked with government leaders. I didn’t have the same impressive resume. Yet here I was.
“Hey, thanks, you two. Sorry about the trouble,” Nadir said.
“Nah, man, Bells and I don’t mind. Besides, your boss pays well.” King grinned and clasped hands with Nadir first, then me. “Always a pleasure helping out a fellow agency.”
“It was pretty tame, all things considered,” Bella said. “The ladies okay?”
“Yeah. Soured their night, but they’re good. Tough. Penny has been through a hell of a lot worse.”
“She looks like a tough one.” Bella grinned then turned and offered me her hand. “Glad to finally meet you, Suraj. We’ve heard good things.”
“About me?”
“MacArthur talked you both up.” King grinned. “All good things, I promise. Anyway, you two want us to stick around for the night?”
“I don’t think it’s necessary. If anything, we’ll need the assist tomorrow after the concert to clear the crowds so the busses can get out.”
“Local LEOs will be there, but so will we. No worries.”
“Got it. You boys have a good night.” King saluted lazily then climbed into the van, Bella following suit. Nadir and I waited until their taillights vanished from sight before turning back to the bus.
Out here in the frigid night air, without Penny close by to overwhelm my senses, I was acutely aware of the musk that clung to Nadir’s skin. It was desert heat and spice, nearly as intoxicating to my senses as Penny’s floral notes.
“I’ll take the first shift tonight,” I said to break the silence.
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Not tired after all that happened.” That, and I didn’t think I’d be able to fall asleep surrounded by his scent. Not unless I was exhausted. It was the biggest downside to sharing a bunk. Each time I stretched out over the sheets my tiger demanded its release in order to lay claim, but that was impossible. Nadir was my work partner and we were on a job.
I just needed to push my desires aside and focus on that because we had a job to do, and tomorrow was going to be a busy day.
Chapter Nine
Nadir
The backstage lounge of the venue made me uneasy. Prickles of discomfort needled my nape and kept me on edge throughout a session where my favorite songbird rubbed elbows with her fans up close and personal.
Honestly, if I had my way, Penny’s label would refund all VIP tickets for the entire tour, and she would go straight to her trailer the moment each concert ended, but the woman was a people person and she loved hanging with her fans. She made time for them after every performance, signing T-shirts and merchandise.
Once, this kid came up to her with a realistic charcoal portrait he’d spent fifteen hours drawing. Penny thought he’d wanted her to sign it, but really, the boy just wanted to give it to her, because her music changed his life and gave him a reason to keep living when he’d hit rock bottom.
After seeing the way she touched their hearts and how she encouraged them to grow, I couldn’t take that from her, even if my senses told me shit was too dangerous now.
“Harper, can you sign my son’s guitar pick?” one woman asked. “He wanted to come tonight, but he’s sick.”
“I’ve always wanted to meet you, Penny!” said a teen girl with a head of bushy brown hair. “You’re my favorite. I mean, I love your whole band, but you’re my favorite!”
“I want to sing like you one day.”
“What’s your favorite song?”
Dozens of questions from far too many people followed over the course of the next hour while Suraj and I monitored from a safe distance. The crowd loved her, but I just couldn’t relax. My senses went haywire.
“Can I have a hug?” the current fan was asking. Penny froze with a deer in the headlights look. She usually reserved hugs for teen girls and prepubescent children.
“Um…”
“Just a hug. It’ll be quick.” The guy wasn’t larger than me when it came to muscle, but he had height and a sturdy build, overweight but not entirely soft with a gut overlapping his jeans.
Suraj leaned forward, tipping me off to the fact that he had picked up bad vibes about this guy. If I were a Marvel character, my Spidey Senses would have tingled.
So did Penny’s, judging from the tense set of her shoulders.
“I don’t know—” she started.
When I caught sight of a knife beneath the fluorescent lights, my shifter genes turned me into a killing machine without the animal teeth. One glint against the blade set off every mental alarm, activated my fight-or-flight response, and flooded my body with adrenaline.
Instinct thrust me into action, and I stepped forward. My hand came down on her assailant’s wrist with preternatural strength fueling a blow that would have disarmed one of my own kind. When the strike was dealt to a human, it did more than that. The crack of bone and meat pulverizing harmonized with a man’s roar of pain.
Suraj was already moving with our client, whisking Penny away in his arms faster than a jet plane. The crowd of VIP members parted for him, too occupied with what I had done to her would-be attacker. When shit hit the fan, you could count on normal human beings getting the fuck out the way and moving for the venue’s security while simultaneously removing their cell phones to capture photos and videos.
Yep. I was going on Twitter tonight.
Suraj’s voice came through the earpiece. “She’s safe now.”
That was really all that mattered.
Suraj
Penny had been in the private bedroom in the rear of the trailer for a couple hours, surrounded by her bandmates and manager. They’d monopolized her time, with good reason, then she’d showered and called out that she was going to bed early, with a migraine no doubt induced by the night’s excitement.
Talk about one exhausting visit. On top of being in constant motion keeping up with her and the fans over the course of three performances, two of which were back to back, we’d spent hours trapped in the police station.
I fell into the seat beside Nadir and leaned against him, a fact I didn’t realize until several seconds passed and I realized his arm had wrapped around my shoulders.
“I’m exhausted,” I muttered, just to fill the silence. It felt like one of us should talk and say something.
Nadir’s bitter laughter tightened my chest. “Sorry. Guess it’s my fault the night was ruined. All of that over a pair of scissors and a lock of hair. Fuck.”
It turned out the weapon Nadir had mistaken for a knife had been a pair of scissors printed from a 3D machine, which explained how they’d gotten past the metal detectors. Equally hilarious as it was pathetic, her fan had wanted a lock of Penny’s red hair and received a broken wrist instead.
“I feel like a world-class asshole.”
“For protecting her?”
“For overreacting. I knew the guy was a human. Unnecessary escalation.” He sank back in the seat and scrubbed one hand down his face. “I wouldn’t blame her if she wanted a less reactive agent on her team after this.”
Penny felt awful about it, but Nadir radiated so much guilt for a simple mistake that those were his only words since his return from the station just after three in the
morning.
The police were on our side, of course, once they were done taking statements, asking if Penny wanted to press charges against a fan who had been run through every kind of background check imaginable to determine he wasn’t her crazy stalker. The guy was just an idiot. They released her and me, then kept Nadir longer to go over his side of the story one more time.
“Do me a favor?” Nadir asked suddenly.
“Sure,” is what I said, but anything is what I thought. “What can I do for you?”
“Peek in on her and make sure she’s okay. I gotta step outside and chat with the driver, then make some calls.”
I nodded and left my recliner, joints creaking in protest after the first few steps. I stretched my body, elongated my spine the way I wanted to as a feline. Sometimes my human body wore me down mentally as well as physically.
I needed to run free and wild as a cat again soon. The afternoon in Quickdraw with the guys hadn’t been enough.
On bare feet, I tiptoed through the sleeping compartment and to the rear bedroom, pausing to knock on the door with a light rap of my knuckles. “Penny? Are you awake?”
The door slid open to frame her, clean of makeup and wrapped in a bathrobe, hair piled high atop her head. “Yup. Was just doing my beauty routine before bed.”
“Are you upset with him?”
“Upset?” Those big brown eyes blinked at me, brows drawn close in confusion. “Why would I be upset with Nadir?”
I shuffled in place, hands in my pockets. I hated this. Just the vague probability of her being unhappy was enough to throw off my entire game. The worst part about resisting our shifter halves was the pain.
“He won’t admit it, but he’s worried you’ll think less of him.”
“For doing his job?”
“For hurting someone.”
“He was protecting me. I mean, I’m sorry the guy got hurt, but I don’t blame Nadir or you for that at all. Should I go tell him that?”
“No, he’ll be a little while yet and he’ll be more upset that you stayed up fretting over him.” I managed a smile, tired as it was. “You go to bed and don’t worry about anything. By the time you wake up, we’ll be on the road again and everything will be good.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am.”
Penny radiated uncertainty, and maybe that was my fault. I should have kept my big mouth shut. Another reassuring smile from me finally got her moving. I dropped onto the sofa with a sigh and waited another half hour before Nadir stepped on the bus and gave the driver the okay to get moving.
“She asleep?” he asked, taking the seat beside me.
“Lights went out about fifteen minutes ago.”
“Good, good.” Nadir sighed heavily and ran his hands through his hair. “God, this was a mess. She must be pissed at the delay.”
“Nah.” I shook my head. “She’s not upset at you.”
“Because of me, we lost hours we should have been on the road.”
“Did you know that guy was going after her for a lock of hair?”
“No, but—”
“That shit is assault, right?”
“Yeah, it is, but—”
“You did your job. Nothing more or less. A guy learned a very painful, expensive lesson about bodily autonomy and why you don’t touch someone’s hair, ever, and certainly do not presume you can cut it.”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
“I am. I know it, you know it, and she knows it.”
The crooked smile that crossed Nadir’s face washed away the lingering remnants of worry and I knew everything would be all right. He was his own worst critic.
“Thanks, Suraj. Why don’t you head on back and get some shut-eye? I’m still juiced on coffee.”
“I’m good for a little bit if you don’t mind the company.”
“Not at all.”
We found a late-night sitcom and settled back. Nadir took out his phone and started up a game while I zoned out to the show. I told myself I’d stay awake for a while in case anyone needed me, but once the bus driver had us on the interstate, the soothing motion of a moving vehicle made my eyes roll back in my skull. I swayed in my seat beside Nadir on the couch. In sleep, the stress of the job and that haunted look of a war veteran smoothed into epitome of serenity.
Exhaustion shut my lids again. Adrenaline turned my spine boneless, and sweet oblivion overtook me.
Penny
I needed a drink. Lacking an infinite supply of water meant I couldn’t luxuriate beneath the shower spray for an hour. I had to be conservative and conscientious of my bandmates. That meant finding an alternative way to relax after the late night from hell. Bundled into my robe, I shuffled from the private bedroom and down the corridor toward the spacious kitchen.
Everyone, even night-owl Harper, had all tucked into their bunks and drawn their soundproofed doors. I was alone, tiptoeing into my personal liquor stash in the lounge.
“Mmrr,” a quiet voice mrowled in the dark, sounding less human and more like a big rumbling kitty. I whirled toward the source.
Sprawled together on the couch in a tangle of muscled arms and legs were my two bodyguards. Suraj had tucked his head beneath Nadir’s chin, and Nadir had slung one arm around the other man’s back.
I had never envied a pillow as much as I envied the one trapped between them. I wanted to be the chocolate cream in their butterscotch sandwich cookie.
My brain split into two distinct lines of thought: Life isn’t fair and Why am I comparing us to food?
Because those two are fucking delicious.
Loathe to disturb them, I abandoned my plans for a drink and worked my way back toward my room. The least I could do was make the two guys who guarded my life comfortable, and I knew we had extra blankets in the closet. In a pathetic attempt to step over a pair of discarded boots outside of Shantal’s bunk, I lost my balance and dramatically pinwheeled before stumbling a few yards. I caught my balance with a slap of one hand against the partition covering Harper’s bunk.
Fuck. There was no way that she didn’t hear th—
The door popped open. “What are you doing?” Harper hissed.
“Sorry. Trying to find an extra blanket for the guys. Stumbled over Shantal’s stupid boots.”
Harper swung her legs out of her cubicle and dropped down from her bunk. They were spacious for a bus, and she claimed she had all the room she needed, but I still felt guilty about sleeping in the star bedroom.
My guitarist didn’t care, though. Any time I brought it up, she reminded me that I had paid for the bus and outstanding collection of upgrades, and that as long as she continued to pull in fat royalty checks, I could stuff her into a coffin.
Fair enough.
“Why do they need a blanket?”
“You’ll see.”
Harper opened the closet where we stored the extra blankets and dragged two down, passing one into my arms. “Here. I’ll help cover them up. They in the chairs again?”
“Uh—not exactly.”
I felt like a kid, tiptoeing with Harper right on my heels. The guys hadn’t moved at all, still a tangle of limbs on the narrow couch.
“Oh. My. God.” Harper stood over the pair with the biggest grin I’d ever seen on her face. “This is… They are adorable.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“I’m getting a picture.”
“What? No!” I hissed too late. She was already racing back to her bunk on tiptoe, returning seconds later with her cellphone in hand. As much as I wanted to shove her hand away, I didn’t, because the truth was I wanted a copy for myself.
Snap, snap, snap. I peeked around Harper’s shoulder to see the crystalline images her phone captured.
“Don’t you dare share these with anyone. Except me.”
“Nuh-uh. You didn’t want me to take pictures, remember? All mine.” She held the phone up beyond my reach when I went to grab at it, dancing back.
“Harper!”
The g
uys must have been truly exhausted because neither stirred while I chased Harper around the bus. Success was mine when I finally managed to snag her phone and do a quick airdrop to mine before she could get it back. Snickering quietly, we worked together to lay the blankets over the pair.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen them asleep at the same time,” Harper said after we retreated to my room with drinks in hand.
“They deserve the rest. Besides, not much to do on a moving bus.”
“You should be resting, too.”
I held up my little glass of peanut butter whiskey on ice. “I am resting.”
Harper rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. You should be passed out as hard as them after hours with the cops.”
“Probably, but here I am. And if I had been asleep, we wouldn’t have gotten to see the cuddlefest out there.”
“True.” Harper raised her glass in toast. “To hot-guy cuddles. May we take the pictures with us to our graves, because they are too damn fine to share with the world.”
“I’ll drink to that.”
Chapter Ten
Nadir
I awoke the previous morning in an awkward predicament, crammed into the movie lounge’s sofa and wrapped in Suraj’s arms. Thankfully no one saw. At least, I was sure no one did since we were first to rise that morning before the bus driver exchange.
Fuck if it didn’t feel wonderful lying next to him. Coming to my senses that morning with the scent of him against me had been everything. I wanted to rub my cheek against his throat and savor the moment, but we were on a job that required extreme professionalism. I resisted the shifter impulse and vacated the couch just as he stirred.
He didn’t apologize. I didn’t want him to.
Besides, there was something peaceful about nights on the road, when everyone else but the current driver was asleep. Noise reduction muted the hum of the engine, but a subtle rumble still vibrated beneath my feet. Falling asleep in his arms had been easy. I imagined he must have felt the same way.
Jackal of All Trades (The Wild Operatives: MacArthur Security Book 1) Page 7
