Phantom Warriors: Linx (6 page)

Red slashed his cheeks.
He straightened and slowly lowered his leg. "Nothing," he said, but
his eyes remained locked on the faint glow.

Tabby jerked the
flashlight to the right and watched his sharp gaze track the beam’s movement.
Just to be sure that
she wasn't imagining things
,
she reversed direction
. Linx didn't move, but his body
tensed. Sheer will kept him in place. Tabby had seen videos online where dogs
and cats chased the red beams of laser pointers, but she'd never seen a human
do so.

She bit her lip to keep
from laughing and whirled the flashlight around a few more times.

“Knock it off!” Linx
said, as his foot came down on the beam of light.

He might be
good-looking, but he definitely had his quirks. Tabby supposed that was a good
thing, since any sane person would’ve refused to help. Like it or not, she
needed Linx’s assistance. With him here, she at least had a chance of getting
Taylor back.

How many men would
knowingly break the law for a virtual stranger? Not many. Beggars like her
couldn't afford to let a little thing like insanity get in the way of her
mission. Tabby knew she'd work with the devil himself if it meant getting her
sister away from Sergei. Given Linx’s dark good looks, she wasn't altogether
sure that she wasn't.

Linx had gone from
chasing the flashlight beam to suddenly sniffing the air. Tabby inhaled, but
other than the eye-watering stench coming from the dumpster nearby, she
couldn't smell a thing.

"If you're having
second thoughts about helping me, tell me now." She prayed hard that he wouldn’t
take her up on her offer.

The statement startled Linx
out of...whatever he was doing.

"What brought that
up? Are you having second thoughts about your plan?” He didn’t have to sound so
damn hopeful.

“No,” she said. “Are
you?”

“I told you that I would
assist you and I will."

Tabby ran her hands
over her arms. "Sorry, I’m just nervous. I’ve never broken the law before,"
she said. “It doesn’t help that you seem distracted.”

“Don’t mistake my
actions for distraction.” His stormy eyes seemed to glow in the dark. "I
am trying to get a feel for our surroundings. I don't think you want anyone
sneaking up on us."

She glanced around
warily. "No. That wouldn't be good." Tabby didn't want to go to jail,
but she was desperate. The fact that Sergei had sent his men to do...she
shuddered at how close she'd come to being hurt or worse. It was only a matter
of time before he turned his anger on Taylor. Her sister was just too blinded
by her attraction to the knuckle dragger to realize it. She stared into the
darkness. "There it is."

* * * * *

Linx followed her
outstretched finger. A lone gray door appeared like a smudge next to the
off-white paint. Every hair on his body stood on end. He didn't sense any
humans nearby, but Linx couldn't seem to shake his growing unease.
"Perhaps we should do this some other night?"

Tabby shook her head.
"He's already sent his assassins after me once. Sergei knows by now that I
got away. What if they don't miss next time? Or heaven forbid, what if he takes
his anger out on Taylor?" She clutched the tools in her hand and shined
the flashlight in his eyes. "I can't take that chance."

Linx reached out and
lowered the light. "Are you sure that you can get the door open?"

She nodded, but was
unable to meet his gaze.

His brave little thief
was in way over her head. She was too proud to admit it. He couldn’t fault her
for that, since he suffered from the same frailty. All Linx could do now was
make sure that she came to no harm.

Tabby’s blunt white
teeth kept gnawing on her bottom lip, drawing his attention again and again to
her lush mouth. She'd made it more than clear that she didn't want anything to
do with him, but that didn’t stop Linx from wondering what was hiding under
that gruff, sensibly clothed exterior.

"Are you in or are
you out? I need to know now before I get to work on the locks."

Linx listened to her
heart rate
accelerate
. Sweat dotted her brow, even though the air was cool. Her sour
scent took on the sharp tang of fear. "I'm in." The little fool would
do this with or without his help. He had no doubt.

Tabby approached the
door and carefully opened her toolkit. She rolled out the instruments and ran
her fingers over each one. She picked out two and stared at the lock.
"Keep an eye out. This may take a while." She slipped the flashlight
into her mouth.

Twenty minutes later,
Tabby was still struggling with the lock. She’d changed tools twice to no
avail.

"Do you need
help?" he asked.

She pulled the
flashlight out of her mouth. "No! I got it."

Linx stepped back,
allowing himself to blend into the shadows. He watched for a minute more to
make sure Tabby's attention remained on the lock, then closed his eyes and let
his body fall away into nothingness. Linx stepped through the wall and walked
over to the door. Red lights flooded the space illuminating the room and the
various exits. He could hear the scratches the instruments made as Tabby
continued to pick the lock.

At this rate, they'd be
here when the afternoon shift arrived. He sent out his senses to ensure they
were alone. Other than a few rats scrounging for food in the walls, the place
was empty. Satisfied, Linx unlocked the door, then hurried back over to where
he'd slipped through the wall. He felt himself solidify a second before Tabby
squealed in triumph.

“I did it!” Her face split
into a wide grin as she turned the knob and opened the door. "Told you
that I could."

Linx’s hearts kicked a
beat at her obvious pleasure, but he kept his expression placid, so she
wouldn’t suspect his intervention. "Congratulations."

“Thanks!” She stepped
into the hazy darkness, holding the door open for him to follow. He'd already
noted the lack of a system alert, but he didn't understand its absence.

"Why are there no
alerts on this building?" he asked.

Tabby frowned.
"Alerts?"

"Protection
devices.”

"Oh, you mean
alarms." Tabby shrugged. "Because most people know who owns this
place.
This neighborhood. They wouldn't dare steal from him
unless they want to end up dead."

Linx held out an arm to
stop her from going deeper into the club. "You are here to take
something." He thought it pertinent to remind her of the fact, since she
placed her welfare far below all others.

Tabby slithered out of
his grip. "That's different." She rubbed the back of her neck.
"I'm here to save my sister. I am not going to rob Sergei."

"Will he note the
difference?" Linx watched her pale before his eyes.

Tabby swallowed hard.
"You don’t understand. You don’t have family." She flicked off her
flashlight.

Her words cut him.
Perhaps that had been her intention. Linx knew it was the fear talking, so he
let her escape...for now. They wound their way through the back area, getting
turned around a couple of times before ending up on the stage. The soft red
glow of the exits bathed the room. Linx recognized the gold poles, but what
surprised him was Tabby's reaction to them.

She froze and looked
around wide eyed as it dawned on her where they were. She approached the
nearest pole and carefully ran her finger around its circumference. The second
she realized what she was doing, Tabby jerked her hand back.

But Linx hadn't missed
the curiosity in her eyes or the
longing
.
"Have you ever danced?"

"What?" She
gasped. "Me? No! I'd never..." Her voice trailed off. "Why would
you even ask that?"

He kept his stance
casual. He didn’t want to spook her anymore than she already was. "I find
it odd that you've never been curious about what your sister does for a
living?"

She scowled at him.
"Haven't you ever heard that curiosity killed the cat?"

Linx licked his lips.
"It takes far more than curiosity to kill a feline.
Trust
me
,
kitten
. I know."

“Don’t call me that.
And don’t look at me like that.”

Linx lowered his voice.
“How am I looking at you?”

“Like you want…like
you…just stop. Okay?” Tabby huffed. "I know what you’re thinking, but I'm
not a prude."

"I never said that
you were." He cocked his head and watched, as she got even more flustered.
It was obvious that she'd given dancing some serious consideration.

Linx's body tightened
as he envisioned Tabby naked, slowly twirling around the pole, her long hair
flowing down her bare back, nipping at her waist. The thought of seeing this
buttoned-down woman let loose brought an unexpected wave of desire coursing
through him.
How curious...

She stared at the
floor. "I've seen my sister...dance, if that's what you want to call
it."

Linx arched a brow.
"And?"

Tabby scowled and
glanced at him. "And what?"

* * * * *

Taylor had looked
beautiful, sensual, and oddly happy as she twirled around the gold pole,
displaying herself like the goddess that she was. Is that what Linx wanted to
hear? And why did that bother her so much?

She knew she shouldn’t
be surprised. He had been leaving with two gaudy strippers when she met him. It
was more than obvious that Linx had a type and that type didn’t include the
average woman.

Her shoulders slumped
as she glanced down at her less than stellar figure. Tabby did her best to work
with what she had, but she had to admit it wasn’t much.

She wasn’t like Taylor,
who was magnificent, commanding, powerful. Her sister didn’t need a ton of
makeup or padding to look beautiful.

After Tabby had gotten
over the initial shock of seeing her half-naked twin in front of a room full of
strange men, she'd had to admit that part of her was...
envious
.

What would it be like
to enthrall a room full of men with just a sway of your hips? The thought was
titillating and terrifying, since part of her was convinced she couldn't
enthrall a twig. She licked her suddenly dry lips.

"There's no one
around but us. You could always dance for me." Linx's warm breath brushed
the sensitive skin of her ear. He was sin and temptation all rolled into one
perfect male package.

His tongue darted out
and touched her other lobe. When had he moved? And why hadn't she heard him or
seen him? He gave her a quick nibble and delicious shivers trickled down her
spine, leaving every nerve in her body thrumming.

“Dance for me.”

The breathy request
left her dizzy…and tempted. Could she? Should she dare? When would she get
another chance to live out her private fantasy?
A little
voice inside her whispered.
Tabby shook her head. "We don't have
time," she said. "We need to find proof that Sergei is a crook and
get out of here."

The heat from his body
poured over her in waves. "Doesn't have to be a long dance."

His words dripped with
raw desire, making her shudder. "Why are you here?" she whispered.

"I told you that I
want to help." Linx ran his finger down her arm, scorching her skin.

Tabby bit her lip.
"I can't." But oh, how she wanted to. Just this one time
be
irresponsible. What would it feel like? What would it be
like to dance for a man like Linx?

"Sure you
can," he murmured. "We have time. Dance for me. And only me."

She closed her eyes as
need warred with commonsense. "One song." She cracked a lid and
looked at him. If he tried to bargain for more, Tabby knew she’d back out of
dancing. Part of her hoped that he would, so she had an excuse. While the
primal side, she rarely acknowledged, prayed that he wouldn’t.

"One song." He
gave her a Cheshire grin that did funny things to her stomach and made her
knees wobble.

"You can't be
onstage with me, if I do this," she said. No way would she make it through
a whole song with him standing next to her. Was she really going to do this?
Tabby pulled out her phone and selected some music, while Linx swaggered across
the stage and dropped down onto the floor. He sat in a seat next to the stage
and waited.
His attention riveted on her.

Oh my god! She was
really going to do this. What if she looked stupid? Tabby had never been super
coordinated, but from the expression of longing on Linx's face, she didn't
think he'd care.

She pressed play and
the music started with a blare of horns and a straining bass beat. A man with a
soulful voice started singing, telling her to take off her coat, then her
shoes. Tabby did as he asked and swayed her hips from side to side to the
ballsy beat. She wasn't wearing a dress, but she did have a hat on, which she
promptly pulled off, even though the singer told her that she could leave it
on.