After I finally managed to pry my body away from his, we showered again before crawling back onto the air mattress. I didn’t have to play lookout until Tara’s shift was up. I kept my phone light on as I read one of the books Ty had packed for the trip.
Distracting as being with Ty was, I wanted to have a little more time without having to think about the Blackmore Clan and our mission. I knew myself, and if I could get my attention off the insanity of what was going on, it’d be easier for me to strategize when I came back into it the following day.
In the distance I heard moaning, easily placing Kyle’s and Kyzer’s distinctive sex noises. Nice to know Kyle had found his own way of taking his mind off the mission.
The soft purr of Ty sleeping sounded so good against my ears. I gazed at him, facing away from me, his body shifting slightly, and I thought about how it had looked as he’d enjoyed every inch of me earlier.
I was satisfied. Truly satisfied.
I turned out my light and tucked the book on the floor beside me before sliding behind Ty.
All the warnings, all the noes in my mind—I discarded every one as I draped my arm around him and pushed up against his back, his ass fitting snug against my crotch as I pressed my face against his cheek, taking in his scent.
I made a silly wish that somehow all this would end and we could be together.
That Ty would be mine.
In the past, I would have judged myself for entertaining such a ridiculous fantasy, but not that night.
I wasn’t the man I once was. I hadn’t been the same since the night Ty saw right through me, into my soul, and I would never be the same again.
* * *
With Kyzer’s assistance,we came up with a list of places where we’d find members of the Blackmore Clan, particularly the top tier of Ivan Blackmore Jr.’s entourage, and one of them was a nearby club.
Kyle and I threw shots back at the bar as we worked reconnaissance. We wore disguises Kyle had fashioned for when we were out and about around Austin.
Makeup and prosthetics were one of Kyle’s specialties. When it came to disguises, he was a craftsman. Since he’d met Ty and me at our last hideout, he’d spent his free time perfecting images to suit our faces. My identity had already been made, and since we couldn’t be sure about the extent of the Blackmore Clan’s knowledge of IPB agents, we had to assume the same was true of Kyle.
We’d been keeping our eyes on Junior and his guys, who were clustered in chairs around a box on the other side of the club. Two go-go dancers in thongs enjoyed the shower of cash from their audience before they removed their underwear and stepped down from the box, offering lap dances to two Blackmore Clan members, younger guys who quickly blushed and laughed at the display.
That night was the first time we’d seen Junior out. We’d encountered some of the rest of the clan around town, but with nearly thirty members present, it was clear Junior preferred to be well protected when he made an appearance. He wouldn’t have that luxury at the auction. Even if Junior trusted his crew, the powers that put on the auction didn’t, and would only permit him his most trusted elite to protect him. The guys running the auction weren’t some small-time gang, but a powerhouse network that even cops and FBI didn’t dare to challenge, and to play ball with them, you played by their rules or didn’t play at all.
One of the go-go dancers moved from the kid he was dancing up on over to Lez Kross, offering him a dance. Lez was forty-four, ex-military, and as we’d quickly learned, Junior’s lead bodyguard. He enjoyed the dance for a moment before whispering to the dancer, who nodded. Lez hopped up and tossed the guy over his shoulder.
The other members of the clan laughed it off as Lez signaled to a few guys, who confirmed, before he carried the dancer off, surely to fuck him in some part of the club, maybe even outside in his car.
“Easily distracted,” I whispered.
“We’re all easily distracted,” Kyle said, surely pointing out the “everyman’s crime” we’d both partaken in since we’d arrived in town.
“On task, boys,” Tara’s voice came through the earpieces we wore. She was nearer to the action, at the bar closest to the group, chatting up the bartender in her own disguise, including a blonde wig and a blue slip dress. She took a sip of her martini before glancing back at the clan, who still enjoyed the remaining go-go dancer’s entertainment.
“Yeah, on task,” Mick said. “Can you guys follow him back to wherever he’s taking that guy? That’s a show I’d like to see.”
Kyle and I enjoyed a laugh at his playfulness. Mick had stayed at the base with Ty and Kyzer. We wore contacts with special camcorder technology, allowing him to record everything we saw, which came in handy when we were rolling back through tape to strategize.
I glanced to Kyle when Mick added, “Kyle, why don’t you keep this face all the time? I think it suits you better.”
“Go fuck yourself.”
I enjoyed another laugh before taking a sip of my cocktail.
* * *
A few more days ofreconnaissance passed before we started working together on our strategy. We only had two more nights before the auction, and we had the intel to pull this off.
We gathered around the table in the main part of the warehouse, and Mick passed tablets around to each of us. “I’ve got it open to the main dossier, so no one start surfing around while we’re covering this.”
