Fire Burns Hot ((An FBI/ Romance Thriller~ (Book 5))) (28 page)

“So it’s pretty cut throat in the world of stripping?”
Elizabeth questioned.

“Yeah it is! This is the hardest job out there.”

Tori snickered and covered it with a cough. This woman was seriously delusional if she believed walking around in what amounted to a bikini and swinging around a pole constituted hard work. She’d been shot at and almost killed in the Middle East. Both she and Elizabeth shared a look and eye roll.

Obviously Lulu caught the twin looks from the women.
“I’m serious. I’ve had to dance with fractured toes, and broken bones in my feet. You have no idea what it’s like being a dancer. You have it easy.”

Tori shrugged. “I did two tours of duty in the Middle East where people were trying to kill me daily.
IEDs, blown up soldiers and wearing forty pounds of gear in one hundred plus temperatures.”

Elizabeth added. “I’ve been shot twice, abducted and almost blown up
personally. I think that’s a pretty crap-tastic day too. We’re going to have to agree to disagree on this one, Lulu.”

The stripper glanced back and forth between
Callen and Julian for support. It boggled her mind how both of them were sitting there and not once did either check out her very ample cleavage sticking out of her outfit. In fact, when they weren’t looking at her in the face, they were staring at the women they came in with.

“Whatever. Are you done questioning me?” she
angrily asked, standing in her platform stilettos.

“For now, stay available,” stated Elizabeth.

They all watched her walk away.

“Okay, tell me what we know,” said Elizabeth, preparing to update it in her tablet.

Tori leaned forward to keep her voice low. “All the girls pretty much have the same exact story. The girl went out, and that was it. The other ones, they didn’t have specifics. Most said it was too long ago to recall.”

“It was less than three weeks for the first killing.”

Tori snickered. “I hear you, but obviously recall doesn’t matter in this line of work.”

“I’m betting men aren’t paying her to see her recall,” added Whitefox, grinning.

“You think?” retorted Julian.

“Yeah, it may have something to do with her
…” He motioned at his own chest region and took an elbow from both women at the same time.

Julian
laughed.

“Tread lightly here,
ace. I can be vicious. You sleep next to me, and I’ll shave you bald.” Elizabeth tried not to laugh at the look on his face.

He knew that was the truth. Then he changed the subject. “We ran into a few issues at the last club we hit.” Whitefox broke it all down for them, letting them in on Marla and her bouncer.

“Wow, that explains the Kevlar,” stated Littlemoon, as he hit Callen in the chest with the back of his hand. “I didn’t think you started working out,” he said laughing.

The look on his face said it all.
“Hey, I work out plenty! Every damn day she makes me run and Ethan makes me lift weights. I can’t get a break!”

Elizabeth
sighed. “Boys let’s focus on the situation at hand, not Callen’s workout schedule.”

Tori picked back up. “The bartender’s name i
s Chase Reynolds. He confirmed all the information we picked up from the strippers. Competition is steep, but they didn’t have any issues. No unruly customers and no co-worker drama.”

“Great. Well, we did get the club; I guess we need to work for the rest.”

Julian stood. “Can Tori get a ride back with you two? I have something I need to handle before tonight,” he said, waiting for their reply.

“Yes she can,” stated Elizabeth. “We’
re almost done here. Besides, she can brief me on the other two clubs you both checked out.”

Julian nodded, and then figured screw it. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips before walking away.

Tori Christensen looked appalled, horrified, and actually began sputtering to find an excuse for his behavior.

Elizabeth laughed. “Relax, Tori. I’m not going to fire you for getting a kiss on the job.”

Callen took that as his cue and did the exact same thing.

“Hey, you I can fire!” she stated
, after the fact. The last thing she expected was kissy-face from him in a strip club.

He knew better!

“Go for it,” he answered over his shoulder, as he side stepped the blonde stripper they’d just been interviewing.

Lulu
was standing with her friends, watching as both men walked out. It was obvious to Elizabeth and Tori what the women at the bar were checking out on both men.

They
both started laughing at the same time. Not because they found it funny, but because they completely understood.

                                 *    *     *

Elizabeth parked the Denali in the garage, alongside the squadron of other FBI vehicles. Hopping out, she looked over at her agent. Today she looked
calmer, and she was wondering if Julian Littlemoon had a lot to do with that.

“Can I speak to you privately
inside, Tori, before you head out?” she asked, glancing over at Callen. “Give me ten minutes, and then I want to do a walk-through of the office to assure everyone is attending tonight’s festivities.”

“Okay,
angel. I’ll be in my office. Come get me when you begin. I’ll join you,” he said, leaving the women to get the elevator. Callen was well aware of what the conversation was going to entail.

Christensen was worried about what her boss could possibly want to discuss. Maybe her performance was lacking or then it could be that kiss Julian just gave her. Well hell. If she got ripped a new one by Elizabeth, Julian was a dead man
, and she’d skin his sexy hide.

“Hey Ginny,
we’re back,” stated Elizabeth, as they all walked in together.

“Mrs. B, Mr.
W and Agent Christensen, welcome back,” she smiled hugely. “Do you need anything?” Ginny inquired.

“We’re golden. Give me a few
, and I’ll be back out. I just need to tie up a loose end before Callen and I cut out for the night.”

“I’ll be here.”

“Follow me, Tori,” she said, leading the woman into her office and closing the door. “Please have a seat,” she said, pointing at the leather couch. After Tori sat, she joined her.

“If this is about the kissing on duty, I’m sorry,” she offered before her boss could chew her a new one.

Elizabeth laughed. “No, this is about you. I wanted to ask you if you had more nightmares last night.”

“Oh.” Was it wrong that she’d rather be chewed out for the kissing than discuss Julian with her boss?

She waited, watching her agent.

“I did and Julian was sleeping in the other room
.” She was sure to make a point of that, “and he rushed in and that’s how he got the split lip.”

Elizabeth had noticed the lip, but figured it wasn’t her business.
Many times she wanted to belt the men in her life. “Are you okay now?”

Tori considered something, wondering if it was safe to ask Elizabeth what she was thinking about.

“You can speak your mind.”

It was like her boss had ESP. It drove the agents nuts when she just ‘knew’. “Do you buy into all the Native American mumbo jumbo?”

Elizabeth looked confused. “Specify what parts because from what I’ve learned the last two years, there’s varying degrees of mumbo jumbo to go around.”

Tori pulled the necklace out from her shirt. “Julian dropped
it around my neck and I never noticed. I didn’t have the dreams afterwards. I’m new to this Native man thing,” and then she realized that made it sound like her and Julian were a couple. “Not that we’re together. I just mean…”

“I get it,” grinned Elizabeth.

Tori was grateful that she didn’t have to explain. She’d probably screw it up.

Elizabeth leaned forward and ran her fingers over the symbol. She’d seen a few like it at Timothy Blackhawk’s house. Just
the thought of the man sent a crushing pain into her heart. How she missed him daily was overwhelming.

“He said it was his father
’s, and then his father’s...”

Elizabeth shrugged. “Ethan and Callen’s grandfather knew I was preg
nant on the first day he met me. He knew the sex of the baby, and also told Callen when I was in danger. I think that there are many things that we don’t understand about Native culture and their beliefs. I think writing them off is detrimental and arrogant on our behalf.”

Tori just stared at her.

“Where was Julian at the time?”

Now she blushed. “He was sleeping beside me.”

Taking Tori’s hand in hers, she patted it. “Do you want my official assessment on this?”

Why she cared what Elizabeth thought was a mystery to her. “Yes, I really do.”

“I think that the combination of the charm, and the fact that you had someone beside you to offer you peace and comfort was the magical elixir in this situation. Julian is a great guy, and that probably had a lot to do with it. You were feeling safe and protected and not worried about having the dream.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that,” she muttered. Damn it, but of course he was part of the solution
! Which made this all the trickier.

Elizabeth stood and started laughing. “Take a car back to your house
and go get ready for tonight. After the party, test the theory. If you sleep beside him again, and there are no dreams, then you answered your own questions.”

Tori nodded. “Thanks, Elizabeth,” she
replied softly.

“Go get your festive on, and I’ll see you there.” She watched her agent go, and hoped that the dreams stopped. Elizabeth herself knew how shitty it was to have
nightmares every evening when you tried to sleep. When both men were cocooning her in between them, she felt calm and peace.

Apparently,
a sexy Native chased the scary shit away. Who knew?

Out in the lobby, Ginny was packing up her things for the end of her shift.

“Is everything on schedule for tonight?” inquired Elizabeth.

“We’re
golden, Mrs. B. Everyone is really excited to go, and in fact we have more people attending than last year!” she answered, effervescently.

“Wow, great. I guess that’s a good thing.”

Ginny started laughing. “Well, it’s all because of you, Mr. B and Mr. W.”

Elizabeth must have looked confused.

“They are curious to see what happens when the three of you aren’t at work. There are rumors circulating about you guys, and it has the hive worked into a frenzy.”

That was priceless.

“It’s speculation, right?” asked Ethan’s administrative assistant. She leaned in desperate for a hint, clue or wink.

Now
Elizabeth laughed. “Ginny, you’ll just have to watch and wonder like the rest of the hive,” she stated, walking away to find Callen.

“Yeah, I figured that’s what you were going to say.”

                                 *    *     *

Tori stood in her closet and
stared blankly at the choices of apparel. There was a black funeral dress, a really sexy one she bought for who knew what reason, and regular clothing. It occurred to her to panic and then wear the funeral dress, but then her hand hesitated. Julian deserved her best attempt at a date. She thought back to the necklace under her shirt, and their conversation on the way to the strip club about her being ‘difficult’ and she sighed.

“Okay, I guess we’re going with sexy.”

Stripping down, she put on incredibly lacy and sexy underthings, and slipped into the dress. As she glanced into the mirror, it almost didn’t look like her staring back. Then she noticed the dog tags, and figured they needed to go for the night. Slipping them off, Tori dropped them into her jewelry box and closed it.

The silver pendant that Julian gave her hung in the opening of the dress between her cleavage.
It should have made her feel uncomfortable at the intimacy of wearing his necklace, but it had the opposite effect.

Tori brushed her red hair and debated. She really didn’t do this girly thing well. Her mother abandoned her early, and her father, a strict military man
had raised her. Running her fingers through it, she opted to go long and loose.

Tori picked up her make-up kit and tried to not make herself look like a circus clown. She went with simple, and that had to be enough. Even as Tori had envied women who could work magic with a make-up brush, she wasn’t one of them.

Staring at the end product, she sighed. At the sound of the doorbell, she became overwhelmed with a wave of nausea. Julian was here, and it was time.