Their SUV and the one Annabelle drove behind them rolled to a stop at the curb right in front of the door.Donovan stayed put while Liam and Jamie opened their doors.Jamie could feel dozens of eyes on them as he got out.He turned his back on the audience and the paparazzi snapping pictures while their drone cameras hovered in the air, recording their arrival.After years of fighting in the shadows and hiding behind code names, the attention was grating.If it irritated him, Jamie knew it had to be worse for Kyle and Alexei.Those two came out of Strike Force.Special Operations Forces didn’t fuck around when it came to keeping the identities of their operatives a secret.Yet here they all were, hiding in plain sight.
He only hoped it was worth it.
Alexei, wearing a less expensive suit without a tie because apparently he hated them, helped Katie out of their SUV.Katie had donned a slinky, sparkly, gold designer cocktail dress that looked painted on and hit at mid-thigh with a cleavage-baring neckline.She moved on her five-inch high heels like a ballet dancer, the clutch she carried for her tablet, makeup, and Beretta .380 ACP in its specialized case to hide it from scans dotted with crystals.Alexei guided her forward as Sean slipped out of the SUV behind them, letting Madison and Trevor close the doors.
Kyle climbed out of the SUV and stood next to him on the sidewalk.Jamie automatically wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him in close.“Ready?”he asked in a low voice.
“Show me what you got,” Kyle replied with a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes.
Jamie put a smile on his face, one as sharp as glass that cut both ways, but he knew what he looked like when he smiled like this.
He used to always smile like this.
Jamie ignored the first bouncer who tried to get in their way, moving past the man with a deft sidestep that put both him and Kyle out of reach.The second bouncer wasn’t going to be deterred, though, and cut them off, one hand reaching for Kyle since he was the closer of the two.
Jamie pulled up short and said in a deceptively mild voice, “If you touch him, I will break your fucking hand.”
The bouncer froze, his hand hovering over Kyle’s shoulder for a second longer before he snatched it back.Jamie calmly grabbed Kyle by the elbow and manhandled the shorter man in a protective manner to his other side.
“Is there a problem?”Jamie asked icily.
“There is a list, and there is a line, mate,” the bouncer said as he crossed his arms over his burly chest, the data rings on one hand glinting in the light.“If you’re not on the list, you get in the line, or you go home.”
Jamie cocked his head to the side.“Do you know who I am?”
“I don’t fucking care if you’re the queen herself.You’re not getting in unless you’re on the list.”
“Well, then, if that’s the case,” Liam said as he sidled up to them, knocking a friendly fist against Jamie’s shoulder that didn’t make him move an inch.“Iamrelated to the queen.So you might want to let us through.Jamie here has been stuck in meetings all day, and I promised him a piss up at the best place I knew if he didn’t murder anyone out of sheer bloody boredom.”
“If you’re not on the list—” the bouncer snapped.
“Jamie Callahan isalwayson the list,” Jamie cut through coldly.“Now, get out of my fucking way.”
I haven’t missed the old you, Katie said into his mind, her telepathic voice a deep echo in between his ears.I’m moving the idiots before you walk all over them.
The bouncers never knew Katie entered their minds and altered their thoughts just enough to shift their actions from antagonistic to confused.Liam had promised the paperwork authorizing any mental actions she would take on British soil to ensure the safety of the British people as a whole would be legal and would come through, and it had.She was free to use her telepathy how she saw fit, so long as it helped the mission.
The men stepped back, sharing a quick, confused look.Jamie could hear several people closest to the front of the line whispering about what was going on, passing the story along for those in the back.He heard his name repeated a few times with the knowing tones of people who recognized who he was, even if the bouncers didn’t.
Jamie grabbed Kyle’s hand and strode forward while Liam shouted out, “Sorry, lovelies, I’m going stag tonight!Private party and all.”
Then they were all inside a black metal room where a computerized voice asked that they “Please remain still for the security scan.”
The door behind them slid shut, and the lights flashed once.The scan lasted only a few seconds before the wall in front of them slid open, revealing the club within, a pounding pulse beat of bass-driven music pouring over them.
Vesuvius was three levels of wealthy indulgence, with a vast open center dominated by a dance floor whose music was overseen by an AI instead of a celebrity DJ.Two bars on opposite sides lined the wall and handled drinks for those who didn’t have the clout to make it to the VIP sections up on the second and third levels.Those areas overlooked the dance floor in balconies that jutted outward, with fashionably dressed men and women looking down on those who didn’t make the cut.The lighting in the club was low but not dark, making it easier for their eyes to adjust.
Trevor quickly put himself between Jamie and the woman who seemed to appear out of nowhere from the crowd.The outfit she wore could barely be called a dress, the design having taken the cutout motif popular right now to the extreme.Her smile was professional though, even if her clothes were not.
“Mr.Callahan, it’s truly an honor to have you grace our establishment,” she said a little loudly to be heard over the music, one hand clenched into a fist, the data rings she wore proof she was working rather than partying.“We have a table ready for you and your guests.”
“Your security needs to be educated on their betters.If this is the kind of reception you hand out, I’ll find somewhere else to be,” Jamie said in a clipped, displeased tone.
The woman practically fell over herself to apologize.“I am truly sorry for the mistake, Mr.Callahan.Security out front will be dealt with, I assure you.Please, let us make it up to you.Your drinks will be on the house tonight for as long as you stay.”
Liam pushed past Jamie with a smile.“That’s brilliant.We love it when the house pays the bill.Why don’t you show us up, yeah?”
The woman nodded, gesturing for them to follow her through the outskirts of the crowd.Trevor took point, with Madison claiming rear guard, the two of them keeping a sharp eye on the crowd to make sure no one tried to approach the group.
