Breaking Conviction by Greer Rivers
Chapter Twenty-One
“Who the fuck goes to a strip club at noon on a Sunday?” Wes mumbled into his microphone as he stood at the bar inside the strip club. Even with Original Sin’s house music blaring into his ears, the covert headset was able to pick up his voice and transmit it so the others could hear with no problem. He hadn’t really expected a response, but of course, Phoenix felt the need to put in his two cents.
“Jobless asshats with arrest warrants, obviously. Quit bitchin’. You and the whole goddamn world have been lookin’ for this guy for a week and it took me and Henry bein’ here last night to crack the damn case.”
“Yeah, only because the idiot was still committed to getting his dick wet even while on the run,” Wes muttered back.
“I mean, can you blame the guy? Any day might be his last fuck, who knows?” There was something dark in his tone that made Wes pause in his scanning of the club, but Phoenix’s next sentence cured him of potentially worrying about the asshole. “Anyway, thanks to me we have the fucker and also thanks to me I convinced Henry not to tell his boss until this afternoon that he got the tip. I know you’re not used to bein’ out on missions, but suck it up. We don’t need the Super Geek messin’ this up for us.”
“Phoenix, quit trying to get a rise out of Snake,” Hawk reprimanded.
Wes refused to give Phoenix’s childish behavior a response and resumed his perusal of the few patrons while trying not to look out of place in the nearly empty club. “How’d you do that anyway? Convince Henry?”
“I promised him I’d let him drive us back to BlackStone that night in my ‘67 Camaro. It took twice as long to get home because he insisted on takin’ all the damn mountain backroads, and nearly fuckin’ crashed into the BlackStone Security gate, waiting for it to open. Pretty sure he got high off the rush, but all I got was high blood pressure. So let’s make sure my fuckin’ heart attack was worth it, ‘kay?”
“We should also be thankful that Charity has no problem blabbing to you,” Devil grumbled about the dancer who’d apparently entertained Ascot the night Phoenix and Henry found him. “Not only did the guy go to a strip club on a Sunday, while on the run, he fucking reserved a private dance with her. If I didn’t believe the guy was an idiot before, I sure as fuck do now. Unless this whole setup is an ambush.”
Even though they’d prepared for that possibility, Devil’s observation triggered the healthy dose of anxiety that always had Wes’s mouth running during a mission. But now that he was physically on assignment, he had to remain undercover and keep his mouth shut.
“He’s involved with human trafficking,” Hawk answered into his own receiver, his voice much clearer without the added feedback. “I don’t understand why going to a strip club on a Sunday is what surprises you.”
Hawk’s transmission was smooth over the microphone since he was positioned in the back parking lot. Fortunately, Original Sin was one of BlackStone Securities’ clients, so Hawk was able to monitor the club from the back parking lot on the CCTV.
They’d decided Phoenix, Devil, and Wes were the best choice in approaching Andrew Ascot, Wes’s teammates were frequent flyers at the establishment—or at least Devil had been before he met Ellie. In any case, Phoenix was still a regular, so their presence wouldn’t raise eyebrows despite the fact they were there in the middle of the “Lord’s Day” in the Bible Belt.
Because Wes’s normal role was controlling the situation behind a screen, it was his job to infiltrate the room. He had the lowest probability of being recognized by Ascot and whoever was protecting him. Just in case shit hit the fan, though, Hawk was Wes’s getaway driver and Phoenix was Devil’s.
Wes left the bar and ducked his head before moseying to a free chair situated near the confessional. He’d helped install the security camera system and navigated every angle in order to keep his face off the radar. They had the ability to take the system off-line altogether, but just in case they needed the footage, he’d kept it running. Maintaining a low profile kept his ass covered if the video ever got into the wrong hands.
He placed his prop beer on the table before sitting down. With a casual lean forward, he rested his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers to conceal at least half of his face. He’d worn a coat to conceal his weapons and tattoos, and contacts since glasses were such a defining feature. Thankfully, it was too dark to be able to tell the difference between the blue and black in his hair. Like his glasses, a ball cap might’ve made him too distinguishable.
Strip clubs weren’t his thing, but he had to admit that Original Sin was much nicer than any he’d ever been to. The music was loud, the beer was flat, and it was too dark to easily find the glass right in front of his face, but he could see the appeal. Especially when a beautiful woman with silver hair and white wings on the stage in front of him did a split midair as she held on to a chrome pole.
“That’s Charity there on the stage,” Devil supplied. “We’ll have to intercept her before she goes into the room.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Phoenix answered with a dark chuckle. “She’s one of my favorites.”
“They’re all your favorites,” Devil muttered.
“What can I say? I appreciate the human body in all its glory.”
“The bodyguards are the ones I’m worried about.” Wes darted his gaze in front of him to the left where Phoenix and Devil were lounging at their ‘usual spot’ then to the right where two huge, conspicuous AIE Securities bodyguards stood watch outside the door Ascot had booked.
It hadn’t escaped Wes’s notice that the company Naomi’s ex-fiancé worked for was the same one that was guarding Ascot. He already knew her ex was bad news just from the way he treated someone he allegedly loved, but if he was also safeguarding sex traffickers… he shook out his shoulders to relax.
Thank God she’s left him.
“I think I figured out the bodyguard situation, too.” Phoenix offered. In Wes’s periphery, Phoenix waved his hand and two wing-clad dancers approached their table. “These ladies can be hella persuasive with the right encouragement.”
Wes watched the woman with the silver-haired wig twirl on the pole as the two dancers started touching Devil and Phoenix. Devil’s hands immediately went up and waved her away before pointing to Phoenix. The woman only shrugged and changed course to the more than willing participant.
After a quick lap dance, Phoenix pulled them both close and gave them each a kiss on the cheek. When the women stood up again, one of them tucked something into her bra before they both left Phoenix’s chair. No doubt, cash was Phoenix’s idea of ‘the right encouragement.’
The last beat of the song ended, and Charity made her way down the stairs off the stage. On the last step, she turned her coy smile to Phoenix and waved before exiting through a side door.
“Gotta go, my dudes. The lady calls.” Phoenix hopped up only to be tugged back into his seat by Devil.
“Nope, I don’t like that look. I’ll take care of Charity.”
“Come on, man—”
“Devil’s got Charity, Phoenix,” Hawk commanded. “Your idea of a distraction might be too distracting. You monitor the bodyguards.”
Phoenix grumbled his frustration but Devil ignored him, casually heading toward the door Charity had entered.
The two women Phoenix had “encouraged” slowly stalked toward the bodyguards. They stopped by other tables along the way, as if Phoenix had told them to be discreet, and when they were close to Wes, he took out his phone to pretend to text, making sure to dim the light so it wouldn’t illuminate his face to the cameras.
Just as the screen darkened again, a text message dinged through.
My Queen: Be safe today
Wes felt his pulse in his throat as emotion threatened to choke him. It’d been a long time since anyone but his teammates and his sister had cared enough to worry about him. He quickly typed out a message, noting in the part of his mind that was still focused that the women had passed his table without issue.
Of course. I wouldn’t want to miss out on those cookies I heard you promising Princess T
He could imagine Naomi biting the inside of her lip, trying not to show off her gorgeous smile that was already so rare. He hated that she did that, tucked herself away to appear small. Whether it was out of shame, or to be less of a target physically, her habit made his stomach twist to the point of nausea.
Before he tucked his phone away, bubbles and a gray message came through.
My Queen: Well I’ll make the same promise to you. I told her if she’s good, I’ll bake cookies from scratch tonight. So be good troublemaker.
His cock twitched in his pants and he paused over the letters before finally typing.
… Define ‘good’
When there was a second of no bubbles, he made the decision to push. It was time for her to come out of the shadows she’d hidden in. His fingers flew over the screen to shoot off one last text as he grinned.
I’m trouble, remember? So tell me why I should be good… when I can make you feel good instead?
He tucked his phone in his pocket, knowing that text would get a rise out of her. If she took the bait, he’d make sure they’d finally finish what they’d started in the war room. The fire in her eyes that day had burned him up with need, and spending time with her since she started staying at BlackStone a week ago had only stoked the flame to an impossible degree.
“Your cue, Snake,” Phoenix’s voice brought him back to the mission. “The women have occupied the bodyguards. Devil’s got Charity. Time for you to rise to the occasion for once, Super Geek.”
Wes wouldn’t let the jab get a rise out of him, instead risking a glance to find the two women Phoenix had paid off had enticed the bodyguards and were giving them lap dances at the front of the club, facing away from the door. Wes had never understood how men could become enthralled with a random pair of tits. Phoenix might make fun of him for it, but if there was no connection, Wes didn’t want it.
He stood from the table and crept his way toward the private room Ascot had entered less than ten minutes ago, presumably to wait on Charity. Wes turned to see if the bodyguards were still occupied.
“Don’t worry, Super Geek.” Phoenix chuckled in Wes’s earpiece. “Tweedledum and Tweedledee are face-first in tits right now. Can’t guard much of anything if you’re motorboating.”
“Know from experience, Phoenix?”
Phoenix grumbled at Wes’s comeback, but if he came up with a retort, Wes didn’t hear it. Excitement was thrumming through his veins and the blood pumping muffled his hearing to listen to only what was important as he tucked himself inside the small room.
