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She must have read my mind because she said, “Waiting can be worth it if the prize at the end means removing another shit stain from the world.” Just before she walked out the door, she turned and gave me a ferocious smile. “If he gets you hurt, I will remove every single one of his appendages and feed them to him one by one. And then I will let him live out his days as a helpless eunuch.” With that, she left me alone in the armory to marvel at her imagination.
ChapterTwenty-Five
PEYTON
The mat wascool on my back. My body was too tired to move, to do anything other than lie there.
“That’s time, ladies,” Betty called out from the other side of the room. Izzy collapsed next to me, her arm thrown over her face.
“That was hard,” she said between breaths. I hummed in agreement. It was the best I could do. We’d just wrapped up an endurance workout that included running, biking, and a bunch of other bodyweight exercises. My arms felt like there were fifty-pound weights attached to them, and moving my legs was like fighting against a strong current.
Staying in shape was a matter of life and death. The difference between outrunning our target and losing them. Carrying a fallen teammate or leaving them to die. We needed the strength to beat someone whose aim was to kill us.
“Don’t forget to practice your pole work. We have that undercover op with the FBI coming up in a few weeks. One of you needs to make the roster for their new stripper,” Betty said as she walked down the line of bodies that had collapsed on the floor.
Twenty minutes later, the six of us were standing around the two poles installed in the corner of the gym.
“Hook your foot here.” I demonstrated wrapping my leg around the pole for Izzy.
“This is deceptively difficult,” she muttered.
“Of all the people, I would have expected Adrienne to be the one that knew how to work a pole,” Jessen joked as she stretched her hamstrings. Adrienne squawked but Jessen waved her off. “Your dad ownsseveralstrip clubs. Don’t pretend to be insulted.”
“Fair point.” Adrienne pointed at me. “It’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it?”
“Shut up. I saw a few YouTube videos, and Aunt Jeannie and Scarlette took me to a few classes when I was a teenager. To help with my self-esteem.” I spun around the pole.
A cough got our attention, and Leanne stepped in with a huge smile plastered on her face and two boxes and a bag in her arms. “Peyton, this was sent for you.” She only made it two steps before Adrienne intercepted her, grabbed the boxes, and ripped the first one open.
“La Perla!” Adrienne dropped the box and held up a satin emerald-green bra and matching panties. Jessen was next to her in the blink of an eye, opening the envelope that had fallen to the ground.
Peyton, be ready by 7 p.m. I’ll pick you up at the office.
I stared at the note, butterflies taking off in my stomach. I’d been on several dates, but none of them had ever put anywhere near this much effort into it. I was lucky if they’d made a dinner reservation.
Izzy had her hands on the second box, and she revealed a short black silk dress, just the right side of the biker-babe look I favored, leveled up with class. Chris whipped a pair of black satin platform heels from the bag.
“Wow. He really knows how to shop for you,” Jessen said, her eyebrows up at her hairline.
Adrienne’s fashionista eyes assessed the dress. “Yeah, your boy did really well. Quality shit. Guess the weed, construction, and smuggling business has been good to him.”
Jessen elbowed her hard and sighed. “So romantic. The effort he put into all this… so thoughtful.”
Adrienne tapped her phone and squealed. “It’s five thirty. We have an hour and a half.”
Tyler groaned and got to her feet. “I’ll get my fancy diffuser.”
Everyone else sprang into action, running to their respective rooms for whatever supplies they thought I might need to get ready.
I stayed rooted where I was. A date with Reaper.
Don’t panic. It was just a date, right?
Twenty minutes later, I had scrubbed, shaved, and oiled my entire body while Adrienne called the time every three minutes. When I opened the bathroom door and walked out, my entire team had transformed from badass, take-no-shit combatants to a beauty squad. Even Tyler.
Jessen stepped forward, her face serious. “Before we start, I need to ask you if you’re prepared for this.”
I considered her question. Considered everything that had transpired between Reaper and me. “He’s not the same man who hurt me,” I finally said. Then I tilted my head back and sighed. “And maybe I think he’s…” I cleared my throat. “Attractive or something.”
