by Erin R Flynn
“We’ll handle it,” Orson cut in, blocking my view of the police chief. “You need to eat for real and we’ll figure out our next step.”
I nodded, letting them lead me away. I felt better when I smelled the food they brought. “What did you get?”
“People were talking about Sylvia’s as it’s a New York icon,” Carter answered. “We got more recommendations to try there than anywhere else, so we got a lot of everything. I do love the fried chicken your country has.”
“Yeah, it is pretty good,” I agreed. “As long as they don’t go crazy with the Cajun seasoning or cover it in hot sauce.”
“We made sure none of that was on yours,” he chuckled. Most of them found it amusing I took bullets easier than I could a bit of spicy.
Hey, we all had our quirks.
I considered options as all of us stuffed our faces and I fed a lot more. Finally I turned to Carter, decision made. “Call Melicent and tell her we’re going hunting. We need upscale club attire to catch attention with looking like that was the goal, and we need it for those we know who wouldn’t have been named.” I nodded towards Alex and Eugene. There wasn’t anything for dirty cops to pull on them.
“Got it.”
“And someone clear the people of the police chief’s office before I eat him.”
15
“We have to talk strategy,” I said to Melicent several hours later as we got ready.
She smirked at me. “Yes, I know how to attract men to me, little sister.”
I sighed, too tired to handle this or be polite. “Yeah, I know that, and look who you attract.” I waved towards Bemus. They both frowned and looked like they had choice words for me, so I hurried on to explain. “He’s international model hot. He’s strong as can be, and he’s smart from the way he’s got his shit together and jumping all over the problems.”
“You’re saying he’s too high quality of a man?” she asked, frowning at me.
“Melicent, these guys aren’t going to be top tier guys. You’re a strong woman, and you attract strong men who appreciate that, value it. That won’t be who the cartel guys are. They’re bullies. They’re insecure thugs who only settle problems with violence and guns. You cannot be a predator. You have to be prey. You hunt them by trapping them into thinking they’re the hunter and you’re the prey they’re dying to catch.”
“I believe I will have to follow your lead,” she admitted.
“Yes, please. I’ve done this lots of times.” I explained how the lipstick worked and how to visualize the changes she wanted to make, and for the night we agreed to act as sisters, matching with eye catching natural red hair and light brown eyes so it wouldn’t be obvious where we were from.
“You do not sound alike,” Bemus worried.
“Oh, we don’t? I thought we speak very similar,” I argued, mimicking Melicent’s accent. I shrugged when they both shot me surprised looks. “I know several languages and dialects. You get good at accents, and it’s a needed skill for undercover work.” I glanced at Bemus and the others. “You need to go and get into place. I know Melicent set it up so you’re on the list, but we need to space out arriving better.”
“The others are there?” he checked, nodding when I did. “And we act like…”
“Like you are you,” I told them, feeling the nerves in the air. “The only difference is you don’t know us. You’re visiting European hotties looking for a night out and know how to live it up. Order the good booze, take in the environment, but do not take any woman up on any offers. That’s the important part. You need to act selective so when you approach us later, you’re not just chasing tail but obviously have good taste.”
“Why can’t we just go in and Melicent flood the club with power?” one of the other Greek wolves asked.
“Because they split up,” I reminded him. “We need to draw the others in and not throw up flags. Some are visible to draw attention and stay surrounded, but the typical MO is the others will be handling plans to either leave or fight back. We need to make it like the club and party is so hot that they just come take a break for one last night of fun because it’s a party they wouldn’t want to miss. Subtle and sneaky gets them all.”
They seemed to accept the answer and left. Melicent handed me a garment bag, giving an evil smirk. I sighed as I opened it, knowing I would be showing a lot of skin but the dress was the right type.
It was an ultra sexy, backless, bandage, body-contouring dress that was a hollowed out halter and basically the white material wrapped up my boobs into place, showing a lot of them though. There was no stomach to it, the skirt starting way below my belly button. The dress draped from the top part and covered more in the back, swirling in the front to make the extra short skirt apparent as the extra fabric twisted in the front to show it.
Melicent’s was just as over the top. It was skin tight, knee length, bright red with tiny straps that had huge sections strategically cut away so it was just short of indecent but you had to have a killer body to pull off… And she did.
I showed her how the lipstick worked now that I’d explained it, glad she seemed to get it and went off what I did so we were similar. Then we headed out and I slipped in my ear piece when we were on the elevator.
“Where’s mine?” she asked, holding out her hand. “I want to play a spy too.”
I shook my head. “It takes a lot of training to not react to someone talking in your ear. You’ll hear mine if there’s anything you need to hear. They’re all humans so they won’t catch it.” I waited until she nodded. “From the moment we step off the elevator, we’re in character. No one knows what room we came from and it’s a big hotel. Say less. People tend to get nervous and say too much. Don’t be nervous. We wouldn’t be talking all night if we were going clubbing anyways.”
“I have never been,” she admitted, shrugging when I blinked at her. “Most would not think night clubbing and bar hopping to be very regal. I was raised as next to wear the crown, as Mother told me you say it.”
“Then just enjoy it and I’ll tell you what I need. That’s perfect for the cover even. Follow my lead and have fun.”
“As you wish, little sister.”
We walked off the elevator, and the doorman waved over a cab for us. I gave the driver the address to the club, smiling at Melicent as she took it all in. Right, a princess probably didn’t take many cab rides.
“Sister, you should try that chicken I had today,” I said with her accent. “I ate much of it and enjoyed it. It is a staple? Yes, they said it was a New York staple.”
She relaxed a bit as we chatted about the food we’d had and what she wanted to try, the driver even giving us a few recommendations. Her nerves went high again when we pulled up at the club. I paid the driver with a nice tip and dragged her out, letting out just a bit of siren power so the doorman immediately waved at us to cut the line. She followed suit, and we ignored all the people bitching they still had to wait and headed inside.
Which was lucky since we didn’t bring jackets. It was early March in New York, and even as a wolf that was still too cold.
“Shots to celebrate our trip?” I asked her as I took her hand and pulled her to the bar. I ordered us a couple of fun shots, laughing at Melicent’s reaction to the Yaeger bomb.
“On the house,” the bartender told me when I tried to pay.
I winked at him and pulled Melicent towards the edge of the dance floor, ready to work off the nervous energy and full moon agitation… Except Melicent didn’t exactly dance. She came with and sort of swayed. She could find the beat, for sure, but she was like that girl most rolled their eyes at because she acted all above it. I knew that wasn’t what she was doing, but that was the vibe she was giving off.
After I swallowed the need to laugh, I caught her gaze and flipped my hair as I stretched my neck, dipped my shoulders, and rolled my hips. She gave me a grateful look and relaxed a bit, working with the cues I gave her since the music had rounded to a relaxed beat. By the
time it picked back up, she was ready to go, watching for what else I added and how I moved my feet.
I fell into work mode once I knew she was set and we were drawing eyes, checking the exits I’d seen on the map and locating targets. There were several private tables for those who bought bottles, but one was a bigger area with a rope though it didn’t lead to another room. It was directly across the dance floor from us, and while the logical thing to get noticed would be to dance right there, being obvious never worked well.
The music worked to cover me as people put their hands up as they danced to the remix. I did the same, spinning around to catch where are other people were and sighting Bemus and the Greek wolves a few tables away from the VIP area where the cartel boss and his crew were. I grabbed Melicent’s hand and flipped us as I went down low and slowly came back up, causing a stir with the guys around us from how many asked us to dance.
“Girls’ night,” I called to a few of them, giving a bright smile to soften the blow. We denied a few more, and then it was time for the next round. I led the way, dancing through the crowd back to the bar. The VIP area was on the south side of the club, and we’d been dancing on the north side across the dance floor, but there were two bars on either the east or west sides though the bigger one was on the east side.
So I brought us to the west side one. Smaller meant more of a chance to stand out when eyes scanned the room. I waved off a guy who offered to buy our shots and swallowed my annoyance when another bartender served the guy drinks when he was clearly sloshed. We pounded our shots and headed back to dance when a guy with the air he thought he was someone moved in front of us.
“You’ve been invited to come to the VIP area,” he informed me, gesturing to come with him.
“No thanks,” I replied with a smile. “Girls’ night.” I pulled Melicent with me without giving the guy a chance to reply. I waited until we were lost in the crowd. “They might have ear pieces. A guy approached me who didn’t come from the VIP area.”
“Acknowledged,” Corbin said in my ear. “We’ve got full visual, so we’ve got you covered and we’re marking who’s allowed in there.”
Good to know.
We turned down another half a dozen guys once we were back dancing before it was time to change the flow of the night. I felt them before they got near us. I flipped my hair and glanced in their direction, feeling the need to fan myself and not from the temperature of the club.
Eugene was wearing gray pants and a brown and gray vest that matched the pants over a green collared shirt that matched his eyes. His hair was down and wild as his stern gaze focused on me and every move I seemed to make.
Axel wore black pants with a blue long sleeve polo that matched his amazing eyes and had black cuffs that he had pushed up to his elbows. He didn’t seem to walk but flowed through the crowd like liquid with the way his body moved.
Two of their guys were with them, and they approached Melicent as Axel reached me first.
“Do you want to dance?”
“If you can keep up,” I purred, knowing he would hear me.
“May I join?” Eugene asked, his lips forming a sexy smirk when I nodded. He grabbed my hand and turned me slightly to face him, resting it against his chest as he moved closer. He rolled his hips when I did and moved to the beat. “The red color works for you as well as your blonde, but I prefer your eyes much, much more.”
“Thanks. That outfit is working for you too.”
He didn’t reply right away, glancing at Axel when he moved behind me and put his hands on my hips. “I’d wear it if I could take you out dancing again. Maybe we could go to dinner first?”
I smirked at him. “One of you is finally asking me out on a date instead of just showing up for council stuff and taking any chance to touch me?”
“In my defense, I’m always involved when it’s high stress and intense situations,” Axel defended. “There’s a fine line of not being crass or a douche that takes advantage of the situation and tension to push for something. I’ve said I want whatever you offer.”
“Not the same as asking a girl out,” I drawled. I smiled up at Eugene. “Yeah, I love to dance, and you’re good at it. We can go to dinner first. It would be nice to have an actual date when people are saying we’re mating candidates or whatever.”
“I never said that,” he reminded me. “Not that I wouldn’t be honored to be your mate. Jumping to that isn’t my normal style.”
“Glad to hear that,” I chuckled, turning so I could dance against him. He enjoyed it immensely, and both of them did when I dropped to the floor and slowly came back up. His big hands moved to my hips, molding every inch of us together as Axel gave me looks like he wanted to eat me.
“You’re being noted,” Corbin warned me. “We’ve got limited audio, but someone in the VIP area commented that it’s not girls’ only night for you if you’re dancing with men.”
“Got it,” I told him. We danced a bit longer, and I turned with my back against Axel so I could talk closer to Eugene. “We’re going to hit the bathroom. After we’re gone, walk past the VIP area and make it clear you’re interested in dancing with us again and much more.”
“I am,” he murmured, his breath hot on my neck.
I swallowed a shiver and slid out from between them, grabbing Melicent’s hand. “Bathroom break.”
“Yes, and another drink,” she agreed, smiling at me for real like she was having a good time.
We made our way across the dance floor, and luckily there wasn’t a line. They were also pristine, which was always impressive at a club or bar, but it was a nice one with a dress code. We hit the bigger bar for another fun shot, keeping closer to the VIP area. I saw someone from there heading our way, but Bemus and several of the Greek wolves beat the guy to reach us.
They asked us to dance, and we moved closer to their table, which was only a few down from the VIP area. I let out a bit more of my power and Melicent matched me so we were upping our draw but also the fun people wanted to have in the club.
“The boss just ordered two of his guys to make sure you accept the next invitation,” Corbin warned in my ear. “And he just kicked out the other women there after one commented your breasts appeared fake… Along with a few other things.”
“I hate women who do that shit,” I grumbled. There was no reason for her to knock me to try and make herself look or seem better. Be better and you wouldn’t have to tear others down.
We danced just a bit more before I turned up my power another notch. I moved out from in between the guys to face Melicent and waved in front of my face, the universal sign for being too hot. She nodded and gestured to the smaller bar, which had us walking right past the VIP area.
She caught on fast.
“Come join us in the VIP area and rest a bit,” a different guy offered as he moved in front of us once we were on our own again.
“We were going for some water,” Melicent said.
He nodded, gesturing to the roped off area. “It’s there with no line like the bar. We can bring more.”
“I could sit a minute,” I told her, both of us nodding. I took her hand, and we followed the guy, going through when he moved the rope aside. “The music is good, a nice mix but not one type too long.”
“Glad you like it,” a man with a different accent than ours said, his eyes looking over us like a shark checking out his next meal. “I own the club.”
“Not according to the records, but we’ll check if it’s not a front,” Corbin said.
“The bathrooms are spotless,” I complimented, shrugging when I got several weird looks from his guys. “Ask any woman what the worst part of going to a club is and it’s crappy rest rooms. The lines if a toilet is broken or it’s not clean. That is the quickest way for women to stop going.”
“Gorgeous and intelligent,” he praised, patting the spot next to him. “And what is your name?”
“What is yours?” I teased him. “Shouldn’t you tell us since you invi
ted us to sit with you?”
“Yes, I should,” he chuckled, giving me a look that made me want to gag. “Diego.”
“Hestia and this is my older sister Leda,” I told him, glad he couldn’t tell we were lying and answering for Melicent since we’d not discussed that. “She has not been to this type of place before, and she noted the bathroom too. That and the fast service.” I sat next to him. “Though one man was unsafely drunk and the bartender served him. That’s trouble.”
“Agreed. I will say something to them,” he muttered, giving me another appraising look. “So you have been to many clubs?”
“I like to dance,” I answered. “I could dance all night, but the heels come off at some point. An evil man came up with the idea for women to wear such uncomfortable shoes. Why? Feet are too pretty to hurt.”
“Your feet are,” he agreed. “Where are you sisters from? I’ve not seen you around.”
“We’re traveling,” Melicent answered, taking the seat on the other side of him. “May we have that water? I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m not used to the dancing.”
“Of course,” he said, gesturing to a guy to bring it to us. He focused on Melicent when she gave him come hither eyes. “Traveling from where?”
While she answered about our made up trip from Europe, I leaned into the guy next to me, draping him with my influence. “You guys seem to be having a lot of fun. It’s a rare party, right? You should invite your other friends to join us. And then head out back to meet them. The boss would like that?”
“Yeah, he would,” he agreed, smiling as he pulled out his phone. “Excuse me.”
I nodded and accepted a bottle of water from another guy who took the now empty seat. I asked him to do the same, knowing Melicent heard what I was doing. Then I focused on the boss, clearly saying we should switch roles. She was good, maybe the best female I’d ever teamed up with out of the few times I’d done that.
“You are a good sister to make sure your sister gets a break and fun,” Diego complimented me when Melicent answered a question from another guy.
