tabby

claws hidden back there.”
My eyes narrowed at their teasing. And to cover up my embarrassment at making such a sound, I retaliated. “Just put me on your lap and you’ll see how sharp my claws are.”
“Do you promise?” Bae wiggled his eyebrows at me in the rearview mirror.
Heat flooded my cheeks, but it wasn’t the only place that heated. I squirmed. The idea of sitting on his lap, letting him stroke me... My claws would definitely come out, but to mark him as mine.
I coughed, choking on air until tears streamed down my face and Arin shoved a bottle of water at me. What in the world was I thinking? It was bad enough that I’d kissed Arin multiple times and nearly let him finger me in the store change room. I mean, if the owner hadn’t stopped us when she had, I might have actually had sex with him right there. Add to that that whenever I touched Kasim, I wanted to rip his clothes off him. Now to be thinking the same sexual thoughts about Bae... it couldn’t be.
With my coughing not stopping, I swallowed a couple of mouthfuls of water.
“Are you okay?” Arin dabbed at my face with a makeup remover cloth.
Taking the cloth from his hand, I rubbed it across my face. Each swipe made my skin feel better and calmed me down. Like I was taking off my mask. Maybe, if I was back in my own skin, these crazy feelings would go away? I didn’t think so, but I could always hope.
He handed me another cloth when the first one became too dirty to do any good. And then a third one before I felt a little more like myself.
“Welcome back, blueberry.” He grinned, blew me a kiss, and then turned around in his seat.
“Thanks.” Then to forestall any further questions about the reason for my coughing fit, I said, “So, babe, you were saying something about Ed?”
“Babe.” He chuckled. “Where did that come from?”
“Haven’t you heard? On the street Bae is the short form for babe.”
Arin snorted, but instead of getting angry, Bae just laughed. “Oh yeah, and did you also know that it also stands for Before Anyone Else? So feel free to call me either Bae or babe. Either way I win.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I slumped back in my seat, crossed my arms over my chest, and pouted.
Bae smirked in the rearview mirror, but he answered my question about Ed. “He’s a shrewd businessman. Good thing you did a deep cover for tabby here, as he did his research on her. Even talked to a few of her former employers to get the scoop.” His smirk turned into a proud smile. “And then you danced, blowing away any concerns he may have had. The moment you started, he stopped talking and never said another word until you left the stage. When Mike tried to say something, he shushed him.” He shrugged. “He knows talent when he sees it. But he’s also as dirty as fuck.”
“In what way?” Arin asked before I could.
“In every way.” Bae met my gaze in the mirror with a stern look. “You are never to be alone with him... ever.” He waited until I nodded before dropping his gaze. “The things he said, well, let’s just say that if Kasim had overheard it, The Gentlemen’s Club would be under new ownership when their current owner disappeared without a trace. But he’s also dirty in the normal monetary way. I managed to overhear a couple of quick conversations he had on his heavy-duty secure phone, and the men he was talking to may not be part of the Henchmen’s circle, but I’m sure they’re on the lists of nasties that the human police force has.”
“But nothing on the Henchmen?”
“Or where his files may be?” I added.
“No. And no. I spent a little time in his office to look over the contract making you the headliner. He didn’t have a computer in there. But we will need to figure out a way to get close enough to access his phone without his knowledge.”
Hope deflated like a pricked balloon. If Bae didn’t know or even have an idea of where those files were kept, this case would take longer than I wanted. At least I could help out with the phone. “I, uh, have this new gadget—”
“You’re talking about your DICC.” The glee in Arin’s voice had Bae choking on air this time instead of me.
“Her what?”
I passed my bottle of water over the front seat to Bae. “This will help. And that’s the name he gave one of the new pieces of tech that I created. It’s one of the reasons why I was asked to work on this case with you.”
Bae drove through the gates to FUCN’A, past the sign put out for the humans that named the compound as the Animal Rescue Special House of Learning or ARSHOLE for short. “We’ll talk more after we have something to eat. By then, Kasim should hopefully be home and we can plan for tomorrow.”
I had my seatbelt off and was reaching for the door when Arin yanked it open. “After you, my lady blueberry.”
“Why thank you, kind sir.” I stepped out, grabbing my large tote bag containing extra makeup, hair stuff, and a couple of costumes in case of a wardrobe malfunction. Not something people think strippers worry about, but I did. I didn’t want to reveal all before I had to.
I started to walk toward WANC, but Bae pulled me to a stop. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Home.”
“Nuh-uh, you’re coming to our home. Now that the mission has started, you’ll need to stay with us. Besides, tomorrow afternoon we’re moving to a hotel on the far side of town for the foreseeable future.”
“A hotel?” My voice squeaked on the last word. This was the first I’d heard of it, and I wasn’t sure how I felt. I didn’t want to be in a strange room by myself.