We pull away, both grinning like fucking loons when movement catches my eye.
“Well, look at that. One blowjob and it’s showtime, baby.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Berkleigh
“I’m ready.” I’m not. “But can we not let thebabything catch on?” Inhaling deeply, I try to mentally prepare myself for what we’re about to do, giving Tanner a slightly twitchy smile as he starts the engine.
Before following the car that Reginald just got into—one Tanner placed a tracker on earlier—Tanner leans over me, reaching for my hand clenched around the door handle and putting his face level with mine. His hot breath against my skin almost brings a tear to my eye and I have no idea why it’s happening, but my heart is hammering at my chest and my other fist is clenched around a gun from Tanner’s stash.
“You’ve got this, Sweet Bee. Okay?” The tender way he kisses me between the eyes only fuels the well and a lone tear drops onto my cheek.
I nod in response, any words stuck in my throat.
“But if at any point you decide you don’t got this, then you’ve got me. I’ll be there every step of the way.” Resting his forehead against mine calms my racing heart, just a little, and I start breathing slower to match him. In. And out. In. And out.
Breaking the moment because I’m aware we could lose our window of opportunity, I peck his lips and push him away, strapping myself in. The sound of his chuckling follows as the truck starts moving, the brake lights of the Sedan up ahead no longer getting smaller.
We don’t say another word, both of us with eyes on the vehicle up ahead.
According to Tanner’s sources, Reginald is on another of his notorious nights out and plans to meet up with two of his goons on arrival. The DOGs have arranged for a private room to be allocated to him at the club, Rapture, in SoHo, through their contacts with the New York mafia boss, Marco Mancini.
Apparently, the DOGs is the name of the firm Tanner and his friends work for. Super secretive and shit. Almost as weird to discover they’re a real thing as it was to learn about the mafia…
I mean…the mafia…mind officially blown.
The kingpins of investment finance don’t get taken down in this city without the mafia knowing about it—again,apparently,because all this is new to me and I have a lot to learn about the workings of this city. And seeing as Reginald has been flying under the radar as a complete and utter scumbag, Mr. Mancini was only too happy to oblige.
Knowing Reginald’s destination means we don’t actually have to follow him all the way there, thankfully, because he drives like it’s Sunday. Tanner easily overtakes him on the highway and I fight the urge to stare at the fucker through my window as we pass.
Still in silence, we park the truck in a private parking area we were given access to and enter the club hand in hand. It’s stunning inside, way more glamorous than the limited clubs local to Blue Hills Grove. The theme is red, black, and gold, the music thumping, and we wait by the entrance for our escort to the private room.
“Berkleigh!” A tall—compared to me—beautiful woman with dark-brown hair shorter than mine on one side holds her arms out to the sides and grins wide. “I’m River Fox-Mancini, your tour guide this evening.” She wags her brows and winks, in on our little secret mission seeing as she’s the mafia boss’s wife. We were told she’d be the one meeting us on arrival.
On a normal day, I would shy away from her touch, but today is anything but normal and I get only good vibes from her. So, I step into the welcome hug she’s offering as she speaks over my shoulder. “And you must be Tanner. Why is it my husband only showed me a picture of Berkleigh when showing me who to look out for?”
Pulling away, she holds her hand out for Tanner, which he shakes politely, after securing his backpack over his shoulder, with a gentle nod of his head.
“Pleasure, Mrs. Fox-Mancini. Thank you for the private room.”
“Pfft. When Marco told me what this sleazebag has done, I was ready to string him up by the balls myself. C’mon, we’ll get you two into position.” Looping her arm through mine, she leads us further into the club.
There are three beautiful women on the stage at the end of the large, dimly-lit room, twirling, leaping, and bending around three equally stunning men, all of them wearing barely-there sparkling suits, the glittering diamonds heavier over their crotches and chests. The lighting, all in red hues, flashes in time with the beat of the music and the atmosphere in here is electric.
“Sooo I may have done a thing. Okay, I definitely did a thing…” River pauses just outside a door along one of the side walls and turns to face me, briefly glancing toward Tanner with a smile that says she isn’t sorry for whatever this thing is. “The club is closed to the general public tonight. Just a few trusted regulars aaaaand a few of my Reaper friends.” Her grin grows toothierand she lifts her shoulders. “Just in case you wanted the back up. I know it’s only one guy, but sometimes guys like this can be slippery fucks.”
Blinking a few times, I can’t help grinning back at her, huffing a laugh and shaking my head. I don’t know who or what the Reapers are but I get the impression it’s a good thing.
“Thank you.”
“Speak of the devil and she shall appear!” River gestures behind us to a woman with long blonde hair and a scowl on her face that would rival Tanner’s.
“Room’s all set. Glitch says the scumbag is two minutes out.” The woman nods to acknowledge our existence once she has relayed her information to River. There’s nothing else from her before she heads off in the opposite direction, settling in one of the lush red booths beside a man I assume is her partner—if I go by the ass grab as she attempts to sit down. But then she smacks him over the head and I’m not so sure.
“That’s J, Capo for the Reapers. She’s not exactly personable, but once you get to know her she never shuts up. Anyway, you’re here to work…” She pauses and leans in. “Although, you should definitely get some pleasure from this too, I would know.” She wags her brows again and opens the door to the room. “If you just stay behind the door, he won’t see you when he comes in. Then, as soon as it’s closed, he’s all yours. Try to keep it in here, if you can. I have a ladies’ night tomorrow and J’s cleaning crew will be pissed if I rush them.”
“We’ll keep it in the room.” Tanner speaks up, voice level, calm, everything I’m not.
