“Blue was bait at Patrick’s party. Before you came along, that was her job. Viktor likes her fighting skills, but she’s a better tracker. When we started following rumors about the Shadow,” he said, making air quotes again, “and learned more about you, Viktor decided we needed some hard-core people on the team. It used to be Shep and Christian, but Viktor didn’t want Shep doing dangerous stuff all the time. Much to his dismay.”
“No doubt. He’s got an arsenal in his bedroom.”
“Yeah. So now Viktor puts him on jobs that require Sensor skills. Like touching dead bodies and murder weapons. But he also helps me out with research.”
“I think we found Claude.”
We both stopped dead in our tracks and stared at the leather chairs by one of the crossover points. Claude had his legs tucked inside slots on the footrest of the recliner, his eyes closed. A woman eating ice cream on a nearby bench was licking her plastic spoon and gawking at him as if he were the dessert.
Wyatt folded his arms. “Hey, Valentine. You practicing for your new job?”
Claude opened his luminous eyes and wet his lips, a blissful expression on his face. “What do you mean?”
Wyatt gestured toward Claude’s massive erection.
When Claude looked down, he behaved as if he had no clue how that thing got inside his fitted grey sweatpants. He yanked his bag off the chair next to him and held it over his lap.
“That’s one of those massaging chairs, isn’t it?” Wyatt cackled. “That’s a therapy session I ain’t got time for.”
Claude blushed all the way down to his neck. “I forgot where I was.” When he lurched out of the chair, we glimpsed his erection again.
“I’ll say.” Wyatt reached for one of his bags. “What’s in there?”
Claude jerked the bag away to cover himself, and I threw back my head and laughed.
Wyatt patted him on the arm. “I’ve heard that thinking of your mother helps.”
“The chair has little knobs that go deep. It’s like hands rubbing all over your body,” Claude said, trying to explain his physical condition. Perhaps the hysterical part was that he couldn’t seem to get it back under control. It had a mind of its own, and it wanted more of that chair.
I reached in my bag and showed him a leather bra with silver spikes. “Look what I got.”
His eyes rounded before he looked away. “That doesn’t help.”
“Maybe today wasn’t a good idea to wear tight sweats.”
Wyatt chortled. “I don’t think any day is a good day for a man to wear tight sweats.”
Meanwhile, the lady on the bench was in a fantasy world that centered on a tall, handsome Adonis named Claude Valentine. Once she realized that he was six and a half feet tall, she drank him in, ignoring all social rules of conduct, sucking on her plastic spoon with wanton abandon.
Claude tunneled his fingers through his golden locks, and it seemed like every gesture made him look like a male model. “Are we leaving?”
“Not yet,” I informed him. “Do you know where I can buy contact lenses? Viktor doesn’t want me to stand out, so I need a brown contact lens for my blue eye.”
“I wager there’s one around here. Did you buy a mask?”
“For what?”
A smile touched his lips. “You weren’t paying attention in the van.”
“I was sending Christian messages on my phone.”
“And ignoring Viktor’s shopping rules. It wasn’t on Christian’s list, but he wants us to wear a mask. Just the ones that cover the eyes. Shepherd noticed a lot of workers wearing them, and it’ll help us to better hide our identity.”
Not a bad idea. We didn’t get out much, but there was always a chance someone might recognize us—especially if they happened to be one of the aristocratic bastards we mingled with at charity functions. It was one of many reasons why I didn’t mingle. Only a few of the higher authority members knew we worked for Keystone since we didn’t go around advertising it, but some might find it odd that a person invited to an exclusive party was working in a fantasy club.
Then again, we lived in an unconventional world.
I walked past Claude. “Any concerns about the mission?”
He fell into step beside me. “I’m worried I might run into one of my clients in the club.”
I waggled my eyebrows at him. “That might work in your favor for extra bookings.”
He turned toward the elevators. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”