Page 58 of Shadows of Justice

“I need to get back out there. We’re going to call attention to ourselves,” I say, pulling in a shaky breath and straightening. I lace my fingers through his and then blink, bringing them closer to my face to inspect the fresh cuts on his knuckles.

“What happened to your hands?”

Leo’s gaze turns murderous, and the hair on my arms raise at the sight. I can see the wild beast pulling against its chains inside of him, just clawing at the chance to escape and take control of this situation. “I tapped into the club’s cameras. I’ve been watching you since you arrived.” The muscles in his jaw visibly twitch as he grinds his teeth.

My stomach drops. He must have seen Bull Dog manhandling me at the bar. Completely unable to intervene, just forced to . . . watch. I look at him with new eyes for a moment, everything about his crazed demeanor making sense, because I know in this moment that I’d feel the exact same way if I was forced to observe him in danger and was powerless. He’s hardly holding it together better than I am.

“What happened with Trismo?” he asks, taking noticeable deep breaths.

“Didn’t you listen in?” I point at my ear.

“No, you cut out for a while right before you went to the bathroom. Once you went down the hall, I lost eyes and ears on you. There a storeroom back there?” I nod. “They must have a scrambler in it to jam all in and outgoing signals.”

“Well, he’s definitely an ugly motherfucker,” I say. “But knowing he’s here is even better for our case. I’ll try and get a picture of him too.” Leo rolls his eyes and swears under his breath.

“You need to stay as far away from him as possible. Don’t attract his attention—for anything. Be fucking boring, Viv, please. For my sake.”

He squeezes my hands for emphasis and I bite my lip. I’m not going to tell him that I’ve probably already done enough to keep Trismo’s attention on me for the rest of the night. I don’t want to worry him any more than I already have.

His gaze on me warms and he leans in to kiss me, but I turn away.

“I can’t,” I say, and hurt passes over his face. “If you kiss me, I won’t let you stop. I need to keep my head.” I cup his cheek, and he presses a kiss into the palm of my hand instead, leaning into my touch. “I’ll be expecting that kiss as soon as I get out of here, though,” I say, forcing myself to sound stronger than I feel. “It’ll be my motivation.”

More banging on the door has my skin going clammy again, the sounds of angry men on the other side making my heart race.

“Please, come back with me, Viv,” he says, gripping my shoulders. “You can leave with me, right now. I can get you out of here.” I manage to smile, and shake my head,

“I know you’ll be watching me,” I say. “That’s all I need. I got this. Trust me, Leo.”

He closes his eyes and forces out a breath, then he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a knife, bending to put it in my boot.

“Other one,” I say. “I’ve got one in the left already.” He smirks at me and does as he’s told, before rising and kissing me once firmly on the forehead, and then my temple.

“Four a.m.,” he rasps against my hair. “Not a second later.”

He slips away from me and strides to the last stall, not looking back again. And just as quickly as he appeared—he’s gone.

I find Sugar at a table in the thick of the crowded seating area, laughing maniacally and making it rain singles on a stripper as she gets a lap dance. I sit down heavily next to her, eyeing the tray of the remaining shots on the table.

“You watch the bartender pour these?” I ask, motioning at the tray. I’m sure this place has a vending machine of roofies.

“Sure did, chickie-pie,” she croons, gripping the stripper’s face and forcing her to motorboat her boobs.

I pick up one of the whiskeys and shoot it back, instantly following it with another. I can almost hear the echoing as they splash into my empty stomach, but I don’t care. I need to get loose. Seeing Leo either ruined or galvanized the remainder of my resolve—I can’t decide which.

I spot a clock over the bar reading 2:12 AM. I should have just enough time to get back in that storeroom and get some images that we can use to obtain a warrant. Maybe we can inform an affiliate of K213, have them deliver the images, so there’s no more of this “anonymous tip” nonsense.

Nothing is standing in the way of victory this time.

Sugar smacks the stripper on the ass as the girl bends over, shaking her bony rear in her face. Sugar turns to me and smiles, her pupils the size of saucers. There’s white powder all over her nose, even dusting the black fabric of her shirt.

“So, cheerleader at State, huh?” I ask her, and she nods at me, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

“You liked that, hmm?”

“It was quick thinking—I have to say,” I reply, shooting back another shot.

“We’ve all got a story,” she says wistfully, snapping the stripper’s g-string loud enough to make me wince. The listless blonde hardly notices, continuing to grind with a faraway look on her face.

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