Blinking, I stared down at the shimmering black metal card.
Are those genuine diamonds embedded around the phone number?
“Thank you for your time.” He reached into his wallet, pulled out several hundred-dollar bills and placed them on top of the card.
Part of me wanted to turn my back and walk away, sending the message I couldn’t be bought. But the other part of me that was suddenly aching for his touch and desperate to keep my family afloat had me stuttering, “Th-thank you,” while I grabbed the card and cash.
As if telepathically summoned, Javier’s men left the bar and headed in our direction.
“Lee, don’t keep me waiting. I’m not a patient man.” Javier’s tone held a note of warning.
It was suddenly hard to breathe.
He knows my real name. What else does he know about me?
Answering my unspoken question, he said, “Even though you live just down the street, I want Nero to drive you home.” He motioned to a dangerous-looking man wearing a black suit.
Nero flashed me a dazzling smile.
It took me a second to realize that every single tooth in his mouth was gold plated.
I backed away on shaky legs. “No. I’ve got a ride, thank you.”
“As you wish. I’ll be looking forward to your call tomorrow, and to our date Saturday night.”
I inwardly shuddered at the possessive gleam in his eyes. Clearly, in his mind, me agreeing to Saturday night was already a forgone conclusion. Turning my back on him, I sprinted toward the safety of the dressing room.
5
Hunter
Rage blurred my vision. My claws extended and dug into the underside of the wood table.
Javier just sealed his fate. I’d slay him as painfully as possible, feasting on his entrails while he begged for mercy.
Venom dripped from my fangs as I battled the overpowering urge to charge across the strip club and attack.
The only thing keeping me in my seat was the fucking chip in my head and the knowledge that my dancer had escaped Javier’s attempts at mind control.
Although Alpha shifters possessed the ability to compel humans and weaker shifters, only the most craven would use it to seduce a female.
I gnashed my teeth together, wishing I was grinding Javier’s bones to dust.
After compelling the club owner to bring Lee to see him, Javier had made her an offer most wouldn’t refuse.
I was proud of my dancer for not taking the bait. From my weeks of stalking her, I knew she was hard up for cash.
Javier, on the other hand, had loads of money. Drugs, human trafficking, and extortion had made him obscenely wealthy. But when dollar bills didn’t get him what he wanted, he resorted to the same tactics he’d used to take over the Latin American cartels—mind control and intimidation.
Lee hadn’t stood a chance.
The moment the fucker compelled her to want sex, she’d grown wet for him. I could still smell the sweet scent of her arousal from across the club.
If Javier hadn’t been interrupted, he might have compelled her to mate with him right then and there.
Not that I would have allowed that to happen.
Orders or no orders, she’d have sex with Javier over my dead and broken body.
She’s mine.
Now that I’d scented the perfume of her lust, my craving for her bordered on pain. Shaking with need, I tracked Lee’s power walk from Javier’s booth toward the curtains that led to the bathrooms and VIP rooms.
The sound of wood splintering had me looking down at the table. My claws had ripped straight through the top of it. I’m losing control.
I tensed, waiting for my handler to notice the spike in my arousal and blast me with a punishing electric shock. When nothing happened, I slowly let out a deep breath. Jen must not be monitoring me closely. Which meant…
A slow grin spread across my face. I retracted my claws and glanced around the club.
The old man in the cowboy hat had left. A blonde dancer bounced around the stage to an annoying as fuck pop song. Donna and her club owner husband were staring at the television over the bar. Javier was discussing another shipment of weapons with his enforcers. And the dominatrix was offering the jackass at the table in front of me a private dance.
No one was watching me.
This is my chance.
I’d darted halfway across the club before I noticed Donna turning to look in my direction.
“Wow, you’re moving fast, Sly,” she exclaimed loudly.
Two of Javier’s enforcers turned to look at me.
Fuck. “Y-yeah.” Remembering my act, I stopped and swayed in place. “Need to piss.”
Donna let out a grating laugh.
The enforcers turned their attention back to Javier.
I’d almost blown my cover. Cursing my recklessness, I stumbled through the dark velvet curtain. Despite the dim lighting, I had no problem making out the bathroom door to my left and a row of VIP rooms that led down the hallway. Across from the rooms was a set of stairs my dancer was climbing.
With my speed and reflexes, I could have rushed up the stairs and snatched her. But I didn’t want to risk her screams attracting unwanted attention.
“Wait,” I called out, my booming voice carrying over the pop music.
The dark-haired beauty stopped mid-step, gifting me with the incredible view of her muscular calves and firm ass before she spun around. “Sly?”
The body glitter dusting her naked torso momentarily distracted me. It glistened, making her look wet and delicious. I flared my nostrils and drank her scent in—musky vanilla with darker undercurrents of desire.
My cock throbbed and the sharp barbs along its length snagged the fabric of my pants.
“Sly,” she said again, coming down a step. “Are you okay?”
With a start, I realized she was calling me by my alias. “Yes.” My voice sounded like broken glass. I cleared my throat. “You dropped something.”
“I did?” she came down another step.
I retrieved the feather from my pocket and held it out to her. “I found this on the floor.”
“Oh, that. You can keep it,” she said with a dismissive wave.
I willed her to take it. “Can’t you glue it back on?”
She sighed. “Sure. Thanks.”
I held my breath as she took the last step down and reached for the feather.
Her golden skin pressed against mine, and a frisson of electricity passed between us.
I inhaled sharply, savoring the contact. A loud purr-like growl rumbled through my chest.
Lee started at the inhuman sound.
Fuck. Moving in a blur, I dropped the feather, snapped my hand around hers, and twisted her around so her back was against my chest. Then, I clamped my other hand over her mouth and carried her into the closest room.
She let out muffled shrieks, trying to punch me with her free hand.
“Calm down.” I tightened my arm around her, pinning her hands to her side. Then I yanked the red velvet curtains closed behind us.
Agonizing pain pulsed through my head. I’d blown my cover, violating one of my handler’s orders. My chip would punish me until I rectified the situation. As the painful shocks intensified, I continued shifting into my natural form.
My dancer had to sense my shoulders broadening and my muscles thickening around her. Still, she fought me. She knocked off my sunglasses and buried her teeth into the flesh of my palm.