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“Back so soon!” Kat air-kissed Zee’s cheeks. “And you brought so many friends! Fabulous!”
“Yeah, so . . .” Zee checked me for the final okay, and at my nod, scooped an arm around Kat’s shoulders and led him toward the outdoor bar.
“Check out the inside, see what we’re dealing with,” I told Victor. He dutifully glided off through the crowd, heading out of sight into the club.
I caught up with Zee at the bar, and heard him say, “We’ve got a way to bring down Skrinde for good. You in?”
“You’re going to free the Strip?” Kat glanced at me as I took the stool next to him, then back to Zee. “You guys don’t mess around, huh? You’re in town for a day and you got plans to liberate us all?”
“We saw an opportunity,” I said.
“But we need your help,” Zee added.
“Oh, do tell. I am always up for a good fight. It’s been far too dull around here.” Kat waved over a barman. I ordered a whiskey, and Zee a cocktail, which the barman crafted with flair.
With our drinks served, Kat looked around. “Where did the vampire go? We serve a great Bloody Bitch here.”
“He’s taking a look around,” I explained.
Kat’s demeanor cooled. He thought a moment, pink nails tapping his glass. “You can trust me, you know,” he said. “This place is safe. After . . . well . . . I worked hard to make it that way.”
“I know . . . I didn’t mean to offended you. Safe places for Lost Ones are rare. I know exactly what it takes to keep this place open for everyone.”
“Yes, of course, your hotel . . .” Kat tapped his glass again. “Then you know it’s a labor of love.”
“You have my word. We won’t put this place in harm’s way.”
Kat didn’t know me from . . . well . . . Adam. But when he looked over at Zee, and Zee nodded, Kat relaxed again. He didn’t trust me, but he did trust Zee. “You never did steer us wrong, Lycian.”
“You don’t even need to do anything,” Zee explained. “Just sit back and let our plan play out. You can even say you didn’t know anything about it if anyone asks. Just look the other way.”
Kat nodded. “Alright, you have my attention. What’s the plan?”
CHAPTER 15
Using Skrinde’s phone, Victor dialed the drug lord’s emergency contact, connecting with his gardener who apparently had no idea why she was her boss’s emergency contact but said she could get a message to him. Victor’s message was simple. “If you prefer your multimillion-dollar haul of drugs not to be dumped into the Everglades, we require your presence at The Peach Pit at six a.m.”
Victor hung up and placed the phone on the bar. “The hook is baited.”
“You think he’ll suspect it’s a trap?” I asked.
Zee draped himself against the bar to Victor’s left. “Nah, not in the middle of South Beach. Besides, we’re wanted criminals who definitely do not have a direct line to an SSD agent. Who we’re gonna call for backup.” He waved over the barman and ordered another cocktail. Drinks were on the house, thanks to Kat. “We’re gettin’ good at this hero schtick.”
We really were. We’d saved a pack of biker werewolves, a hotel full of LARPers, and hopefully now a whole city of Lost Ones under a drug lord’s thumb. “It’s almost as though we know what we’re doing.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Victor smiled.
“Well, we got a few hours to kill. I wanna get wasted, then get a hand job so I can power-up. You know . . . just in case we need some extra ooh la la?”
“I’m not convinced we’ll require multiple orgasms for this plan to succeed.”
Zee snorted. “Who doesn’t need multiple orgasms?”
“The Stephanie Hotel’s dead chef?” I quipped.
“Heart attack, Kitten. Not my fault.”
It had definitely been his fault. We chatted some more while the drinks kept flowing, feeling good in the warm Miami night, surrounded by Lost Ones and humans who were out to have a good time. This might be our last chance to relax for a while. Tomorrow, the SSD would arrive to take us back to San Francisco, back to where my brother waited. Zee and Victor didn’t let on that they were nervous about tomorrow, and what would come next, but I saw it whenever a silence stretched a little too long or concern chipped at their smiles.
