Page 17

Chapter seventeen

I t was rare for Nikita to commit to do a job on a weekday. There were too many variables to be considered, like the lack of people in town. But according to her research, her mark was going to be at the Whiskey River Club on the Arkansas side for a special Halloween concert. She didn’t pay too much attention to who the live band was going to be there. That was not her concern. A packed club with a bunch of drunk people was exactly what she needed, and the reason she left her comfy couch with the latest season of Wednesday on hold.

“Thank you so much,” Nikita told the incredibly nice and professional Uber driver, an older lady with an impeccable SUV.

“Sweetie, take my card.” The driver gave her a metallic-blue business card. “If you need a ride back, send me a text.”

“How late are you running?” Nikita asked, collecting the card.

“Normally, on weeknights, I’m done by nine,” she explained. “But concert nights are great for business, and it makes me feel better to know girls in town have a safe option to get home. I do runs all the way until three.”

“That is good to know,” Nikita replied. “I was concerned and planned on leaving early to be on the safe side. Reason I’m here at seven.”

“Well, if you don’t find your friend, you got my number, Ms. Janet.”

“Thank you so much, Ma’am.” Nikita climbed out of the Uber and waved at the driver.

She pulled her phone out and added an extra fifty to the tip. If everything went according to plan, she wouldn’t need the ride. But female entrepreneurs held a soft spot in her heart, and she always enjoyed helping them. Well, maybe not Nikita, but Janet Smith was a supporter of the arts and hard-working people.

Nikita took a quick look at her reflection on her phone and winked at herself. Her eyelash extensions made her eyes look bigger, making the blue of her irises pop even more. With her hair in a tight ponytail, tight jeans that showed off every curve she had, four-inch heels and a cut-off V neck, she knew she could stop traffic. Granted, hot blondes were a staple in Texas.

Adjusting the ladies one more time, she exhaled. It had been years since she had seen her mark. Roy. They never had the pleasure of meeting, something Nikita rejoiced. Roy was known as a notorious player with a bad temper. Getting his attention shouldn’t be too hard. She really wanted to be home by ten and finish her show.

Two men walked past her on their way to the club, each giving her discreet looks as they walked by. Nikita smiled, and they tipped their cowboy hats at her. She was appreciating the tight jeans all the men in the area wore when out on the town. It had never occurred to her how much detail men were hiding with loose jeans. She gave herself a little shake and concentrated on her task.

A few feet behind the gentlemen, she walked into the club. It was a nice size establishment for the small town and filling up fast. Nikita paid the charge at the door, and the friendly girl placed a wrist band on her.

Nikita made her way towards the bar and ordered a tequila sour. Drink in hand, titties at attention, and lips as bright red as possible, she was sending signals for all the dumb drunks to talk to her. She strolled towards the edge of the dance floor and found an empty spot.

Her intel said the dear ole Roy was a big fan of the band. He had made several posts commenting on the concert. If he wasn’t in the club, it wouldn’t be too long before he arrived, and he better come. Nikita hated wasting time.

For over twenty minutes, she mingled around the club. Accepted several invitations to dance. She was grateful for those dance lessons she took in her youth. Her Two-Step was still perfect. On her way to the bar from the bathroom, she finally spotted him. Roy was a beast, six five, at least three hundred pounds, built like a lineman, and with the tightest clothes she had ever seen.

Where does he shop? Nikita asked herself, working on relaxing her facial features. Spanx-R-Us? Are those clothes painted on him?

While Nikita enjoyed form-fitting clothes, she also enjoyed men with style and taste in their outfits. There was nothing left to the imagination on that man, to include the package the Gods had given him.

Seriously, how can anyone think that guy is human?

He even radiated power. Nothing about him said sweet and innocent. Or friendly and cuddly. Nikita took a deep breath to control her nerves. She wasn’t sure if it was fear or excitement, but her pulse rate increased. That was something she could use.

Winking at the bartender, she dropped another twenty in the tip jar. On rare occasions, she played the dumb girl really well. This needed to be one of them. She sipped her drink and sashayed her way towards Roy and the four guys with him.

Maybe it was an accident or maybe her instincts kicked in, but Nikita tripped right in front of the group, spilling her drink all over her shirt.

“Easy there.” Roy grabbed her before she face-planted on the floor.

“Oh God,” Nikita whispered. “I swear, I’m not drunk or this clumsy.”

Nikita wiped the drink from her front, giving everyone a better view of her assets.

“Are you okay?” one of the group members asked.

“Yes,” Nikita replied, meeting no one’s eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

“Not a problem,” said Roy. “Joey, grab the lady another drink. What are you having?”

“You don’t need to do that,” said Nikita, but allowed Roy to lead her to an empty table.

“It’s my fault,” he said.

“How?” Nikita finally looked up at him. The man was at least a foot taller than her.

“I always seem to be in the way,” he replied, strong features staring down at her.

He was a handsome one. Defined cheek bones, dark-brown hair, and sexy eyes made him a sight to remember. Too bad people wanted him dead.

“Hopefully you don’t do that on purpose.” Nikita played with her hair.

One of the group members brought Nikita some paper towels, and she took them graciously. The one named Joey rushed back with her drink.

“The bartender said you were drinking a Tequila Sour. Hope that’s okay?” Joey handed her the drink.

“Thank you,” she told him.

“My pleasure, ma’am,” he said and moved to the side.

Nikita found herself in the center of the group, with Roy’s buddies flanking them. On second thought, they didn’t look like buddies at all, but more like security.

Why would a man this big need backup?

Nikita pondered the situation, then did an internal slap of herself.

Duh, girl, she chastised herself. Because of people like yourself trying to kill him. If Rebecca wants him dead, it means others do, too. The daughter of a powerful kingpin has connections.”

The first act took the stage, and they weren’t bad. Maybe not great, but the crowd loved them. It probably had something to do with all the drinks everyone was consuming. At the end of the act, Nikita asked to be excused.

“I need some fresh air,” she told Roy, who had made himself very comfortable around her waist.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I think I drank too much.” Nikita removed herself from his grasp and stumbled her way toward the front door.

Roy followed, making sure she didn’t trip again. He waved his security away and kept up with the drunk woman. Outside, the night had turned chilly, and Nikita embraced the fresh air. She moved to the side of the club and leaned against the building.

“Do you need anything?” Roy asked, concern in his eyes.

Nikita wasn’t sure if it was genuine or not, but it didn’t matter. She had work to do.

“I’m good now,” she said. “Probably time for me to head home.”

“But you are going to miss the band,” he informed her.

“I’m sure it's not the only time they will be in town.”

“It will be for a few years,” he said. “They just signed a major record deal and are getting ready to blow up. This is probably the last time they will play venues like this.”

“So, you wouldn’t take me home?” Nikita ran her hand slowly down his chest towards his groin.

“I would absolutely take you home,” he said, leaning down to kiss her. “Just not right now.”

“But I don’t feel good.” She bit down on her lip, only inches from his face.

“I have been waiting weeks for this concert. I’m not missing it,” he informed her. “You can . . .”

Nikita interrupted his speech by wrapping her hands over his head and kissing him. It took Roy a moment to react, then embraced her back, pinning her against the wall. The kiss was long and passionate. Nikita was the first one to break the kiss. She held his gaze and used her powers to take control of his mind.

“Time to go, little pup,” she quirked.

Roy struggled against her power.

“Now.” She forced more of her will into his mind.

“What the . . .?” Roy reeled back against the assault and slammed Nikita against the wall with his full force.

The impact broke her concentration, and she dropped to the ground.

“What the fuck are you?” Roy screamed, pulling his foot back to kick Nikita in the face.

“Hey, dude!” A tall guy with sandy-blond hair pulled Roy off Nikita. “What the hell do you think you are doing?”

“I . . . don’t know . . . what came over me,” Roy stuttered and pushed away from the guy. “My head.”

Holding his head, Roy stumbled away from the man and Nikita’s body on the ground. He rushed back inside, not looking around.

“Are you okay, ma’am?” asked the newcomer, reaching to help her up.

“I had that under control,” Nikita snapped.

“Did you now?” he asked once she was on her feet. “I basically didn’t just save your ass from getting smashed by that beast of a man?”

Nikita took in her rescuer and placed her hands on her hips. He was a little shorter than six feet, with broad shoulders and a thin waist. Perfect complexion with hazel eyes that reflected the surrounding light. Letting her senses take him in fully, she noticed he was also a werewolf.

“Do you make it a habit to be chivalrous to every person you see?”

“Only those getting beat up by people twice their size,” he told her with a smirk. “The name is Will. And my grandmother would be terribly disappointed if I let ladies get pommeled to the ground by assholes.”

“Well, Will, aren’t you the sweet one?” she said. “Thanks.”

“Are you planning to head inside? You aren’t dating that guy?”

“I think I had plenty of fun for one night. And no, I’m not dating him or probably ever will after tonight.” Nikita pulled out her phone. “I’ll get an Uber and head back home.”

“You are getting an Uber here?”

“Yes!” Nikita glared at Will. “Do you have something against Ubers as well?”

“Texarkana is not known for having many Uber drivers,” he informed her. “Do you need a ride?”

“In your opinion, I’ll be much safer with a total stranger that I just met in a parking lot, or a total stranger that works at dropping people off for a living. Is that correct?”

“But at least I just saved you from getting beat up?”

“Which I had completely under control,” Nikita reminded him, but Will shook his head. “You seriously can’t possibly be this nice.”

“I’m not,” Will confessed. “But I really don’t want to go inside and listen to those assholes. Giving you a ride home gives me a reason to bail.”

“Why are you going?”

“A bunch of family friends are there.” He made hand gestures, trying to explain.

“If you don’t like the band, why did you come?”

“I kind of agreed to come out before I knew who was playing.” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “Let's just say there is some bad blood between us.”

“Bad blood, like you were in the band and they dropped you?”

Will didn’t reply, and Nikita screamed in delight, covering her mouth with her hands.

“That was a wild guess, and the fact that it’s true is even better.” She giggled. “Well, Will, as long as I get all the dirty details, you have a deal.”

“Wait.” Will raised his hands. “That’s not what I agreed to.”

“Now you do.” She wrapped her arms in his and led them away from the building. “Jasmine is the name. What are you driving?”

“Why do I have the feeling this is more than what I bargained for?” But he pointed to a black F250 in the back of the parking lot.

“Don’t be a sissy,” she teased him. “Tell me everything.”

Nikita smiled brightly at the man. Maybe the night would not be a total loss after all. If she remembered the file from Mickey, this Will was the grandson of the matriarch of the Coleman clan. A very interesting turn of events for her.

They reached the truck, and Will opened the door for Nikita. Nikita glanced between the truck and Will.

“Is everyone in this town so old-fashioned?” she asked softly.

“First you accused me of chivalry and now of being old-fashioned,” Will told her. “Have you never met a gentleman in your life?”

Nikita thought for a long moment and shook her head. “Nope.”

“Woman, where do you come from?”

“Every time a man has opened the door for me, they want something.”

“Maybe for you to stop mean-mugging them.” Will pointed at the vehicle and Nikita rolled her eyes.

“You are not as cute as you think you are,” she informed him.

“Thank God all I’m doing is dropping you off. I would hate for you to get the wrong impression.”

“Maybe people in this town are just too trusting,” she added.

“Or you might need better friends.” Will closed the door and walked around to his side.

“Fine.” Nikita batted her eyelashes. “If I’m nicer, would you tell me the story?”

Will chuckled. “That won’t work with me, and I already agreed to tell you. Where to, Ms. Jasmine? And please don’t make me regret this.”

Nikita smiled, knowing he would absolutely regret it, but it was too late to save him. In the end, they were all the same.