Gem glanced over her shoulder at him, and the next thing I knew, that stick soared high into the air.
Hunter squealed with delight and clapped his hands.
“I’ll meet you outside!” she said, bouncing right over Wyatt as he ducked.
Blue’s falcon swooped down from the second floor and plucked the toupee right off the man’s head.
Shepherd pivoted on his heel to watch Gem bounce away. He puffed on his cigarette. “This looks like something we’ll have to deny later.”
Chapter 6
After placing my ruby necklace inside my jewelry box for safekeeping, I took one final glance at my reflection in the standing mirror. I barely recognized myself. I was Raven 2.0—what I might look like had I gone another way and lived on the fringes of society.
While Christian had provided a list of appropriate attire, clothes weren’t the whole package. After applying vanilla-scented lotion to my entire body, I borrowed makeup from Gem. I went heavy with the smoky eye even though I’d be wearing a mask. Deep burgundy lipstick was my favorite, so I used a heavy matte that would make my lips stand out. I didn’t own a curling iron, but the club would probably be too hot to worry about hair anyhow, so I tied it up in a sexy knot.
I turned to the side, admiring the zippers on the sides of my leather shorts. The two buckles in front were a nice touch, especially for shorts that weren’t low-rise. I needed to ensure the Keystone tattoo on my hip remained covered. Despite the leather corset with buckles up the front, I wasn’t exactly pinup material. I didn’t have voluptuous curves or a soft body. Instead, you could see lean muscles on my arms and thighs. My hands weren’t dainty but made for punching a man’s lights out. Perhaps those were the features Christian wanted me to show off. If it weren’t for the over-the-knee boots, I’d look naked.
I closed my bedroom door and marched toward Wyatt’s World on floor two like a soldier heading to battle. The whole house could probably hear me coming as I tromped down the stairs, ready to toss Christian out the window for making me buy these slutty clothes.
As soon as I reached the room, I bored a hole through the back of Christian’s skull as he looked inside Wyatt’s vending machine.
I flung papers at his back, and they showered the floor. “I’ve memorized my alias, you sadistic fanghole. And just to clear the air, I’m not using prostitution as a former job. If anyone asks, I was a thief.”
When Shepherd’s cigarette fell out of his mouth, he launched from the sofa, patting the lit cherry off his crotch.
Wyatt turned in his chair, and his jaw dropped. “Holy Toledo! You’re a woman.”
Christian half turned, peering at me over his shoulder with a hot look.
Gem poked her head out from the beanbag chair where she was watching an old musical. “Is that for real?” She scrambled out of the chair and skirted around it, her violet eyes saucer-wide. “I don’t think I’m mad anymore about not going. No offense, Raven, but you look like a hooker.”
No one else was in the room, and I guessed Niko was resting after a long day training me.
I glanced down at my cleavage. “Objects are smaller than they appear. The corset is squeezing the hell out of everything, and I feel more naked without my weapons than I do wearing this outfit.”
“No complaints here.” Wyatt waggled his eyebrows as he wolfed down his Three Musketeers. “Do me a favor and spin around so we can see everything.”
Shepherd swaggered to Wyatt’s desk and leaned against it. He gave his partner a hard look. “If you keep on with that mouth, the only thing you’ll be seeing is my fist.”
“I’m just saying what we’re all thinking.”
“Button it up, Spooky.”
That was the first time Shepherd had ever defended my honor, and it made me squirm.
Wyatt tossed the candy wrapper into the trash. “We need to leave soon. I’ve got everyone’s hotel booked. Raven, you’re coming with me, and Shepherd’s dropping Claude off a block away. I booked him at a hotel near his salon to make his life easy.”
Christian leaned against the vending machine, arms folded. “Those boots weren’t on my approved list.”
I shifted my stance. “You didn’t specify anything about shoes. I had to improvise.”
“Take them off.”
I folded my arms. “Make me.”
Clutching her quartz pendant, Gem backed away as if someone had lit a stick of dynamite.