Chapter Ten
The next day was spent preparing for their operation at Merlin’s. Meredith stayed as far away from Daric as possible, barely acknowledging his presence. Not that it was hard because the warlock seemed just as determined to avoid her. If the three Lone Wolves noticed anything, they didn’t say.
They came up with the best possible plan on short notice. Connor and Killian were going to stay by the doors to do their job, but at some point, Killian would slip away and try to break into Merlin’s office. Connor could take care of the door by himself—after all, how much trouble could a bunch of women be? Meredith would be working the bar, which would give her an excellent view of the entire area. Meanwhile, Daric and Quinn would work the backstage and try to get information from the other dancers.
They arrived at Merlin’s late in the afternoon, since the club didn’t open until after 9 pm. Merlin explained that since he technically hadn’t auditioned Quinn and Daric, they weren’t going to go on stage tonight, but instead, would be working a private party in one of the VIP rooms. Meredith didn’t know if she was relieved, disappointed, or mad. Although Daric wouldn’t be performing in the main room, he would be up close and personal with a couple of witches at some bachelorette party. Based on her (somewhat limited) experience, she knew that would mean more close (but not overly sexual) contact. It was one thing for some little whore witch to stuff bills down Daric’s g-string, but another for him to be in close contact in an intimate setting.
As she stood behind the bar, Meredith seethed, thinking of the possibilities and she nearly broke a glass with her grip. She had to stop thinking about Daric; had to swallow the jealousy threatening to show its ugly head. The she-wolf was growling and clawing at her insides, wanting to get out and scratch some witchy eyes out.
“Hey, new girl,” the head bartender, Jon, called out. “Don’t break the goods, yeah? Anything broken is coming out of your tips.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she shot back.
They broke for dinner, just before the doors opened. Meredith took two bites of her sandwich and a swig of her soda, but that was all she could manage. Despite her cool and collected exterior, she’d always been nervous before a job, and she didn’t want to risk puking all over the bar tonight.
Soon, the doors opened. Killian and Connor stood by the door, checking IDs and purses as they went in. Meredith rolled her eyes as she spied some of the women giving both men appreciative glances (though most looked wary of Connor’s size, his scar, and near-permanent scowl.) She could only imagine what Quinn would be like tonight. And then there was Daric. Would he take advantage of his proximity to the women? They were witches, and therefore, not forbidden to him. He obviously wasn’t a virgin, and he’d been locked up for weeks without any company. Hot rage and jealousy surged through her again, and she forced it deep down, focusing on the drink orders that were now coming in from the tables and the people standing at the bar.
It had been a while since she’d slung drinks, but it came back to her, the rhythm of taking orders, mixing drinks, and ringing them up. The work was soothing, as it required all her concentration, which meant she didn’t have the time to think about Daric. She did, however, keep an eye on the main floor. Merlin and Ivar seemed to never leave, with the warlock stopping from table to table, talking to patrons and laughing with them. He also sent Ivar scrambling around, getting drinks or whatnot for the guests.
Finally, the lights dimmed, and the first performer was up. “Oh boy,” Meredith said, her eyes zeroing in on the stage. The fireman bit seemed overdone, but this was New York City, after all. The stripper pulled out all the stops, dressed in a fireman’s outfit with a hat, and dragging a hose onstage with him. Of course, he played with the hose, moving it between his legs and the women went wild. Meredith was about to turn away when he started stripping, and then her mouth went dry. The man slipped off his jacket and threw it offstage, revealing a wide chest that was completely hairless but had a well-defined set of pecs and abs. She briefly wondered if she could somehow coax Sebastian into proposing to Jade so that she could have her bachelorette party here. Of course, she’d probably have to bribe or blackmail Sebastian to make him agree.
“Watch out for that one,” Jon said as he came up behind her. “James is a big man whore. And he loves hitting on the new girls.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she replied, as she began clearing the used glasses on the bar.
The performances continued, and by the time the fourth guy was on stage, Killian gave her the signal from across the room. Right, the job.
She scanned the room and saw Merlin seated at one of the tables, while Ivar stood in the corner, waiting for his boss’ next command. She nodded, letting Killian know that the two men were in her sights. Killian said something to Connor and then slipped away. Merlin’s office was located in the back room, opposite of the stage. When they went there to sign some papers, they saw that the door had a standard keypad lock, but Quinn was able to hack into the system using his phone and cracked the code. Hopefully, Merlin didn’t think to change it before tonight.
They really should have used the in-ear comm units Fenrir used for their ops, but with all the lights, sounds, and electronic systems in the club, it was too much of risk. In any case, Archie had taught his pupils how to communicate without any electronics, since he was so old-school. She was glad they listened to him now.
A few minutes later, Killian came back. He shook his head at her as he came closer. Her brother was probably the best thief in the world right now, but he wasn’t that good that it would have only taken eight minutes for him to break in and search the office. That only meant one thing.
“What’s wrong?” she asked quietly as he approached the bar. She handed him a glass of water with a slice of lemon. “Did the code not work?”
“The code worked,” he said, taking a swig of the water. “But I couldn’t get in. There was some sort of invisible barrier.” He shook his head. “I’ve never had to break into a place protected by magic before.”
“Damn,” she muttered under her breath. Fuck. Magic. They were idiots. Of course, Merlin would use magical protection on his door. They didn’t even think of that. Maybe they could ask Lara Chatraine for advice on how to break in. Or Daric would know, right? That’s right, he would know. She looked over to Jon.
“Hey, Jon, I’m gonna take my smoke break, okay?”
“Alright, but make it quick,” the other man said. “There are two more sets, then there’s going to be an intermission. We’ll be in the weeds if you’re not back by then.”
Meredith took off her apron. “Will do!”
“Where are you going?” Killian asked.
“Who else would know about magical barriers?” she asked.
Killian gritted his teeth. “I’ll go talk to him.”
“No, you’ve been gone long enough, someone might notice,” she reasoned. Meredith pointed her chin towards the door. “Besides…I think Connor might be needing your help.”
“My help?” Killian swung his head over to the door. A group of women had surrounded the Lycan and their ring leader, a curvy brunette, had her hands on her hips and staring him down, despite the fact that she was more than a foot shorter than him. “Christ, I swear, when women get drunk, they’re trouble. Fine,” he relented. “Talk to the warlock. See if he knows what we can do about the office.” He stalked off, heading toward Connor.
Meredith slipped away from the bar, moving discreetly against the wall as she made her way backstage. She followed the same path they took yesterday, down the small hallway in the back, all the way to the dressing room.
She opened the door, but unlike yesterday, the dressing room was not empty. In fact, it was filled, wall-to-wall with hard bodies. Hard, half-naked bodies—nope, wait, a guy in the corner just bent over and stripped his g-string off. Meredith was wearing a short skirt and a tube top that had half her tits spilling out, but she suddenly felt very overdressed.
Meredith squared her shoulders, then slapped a palm over her eyes as she made her way across the room, hoping no one would notice her as she tried to look for Daric or Quinn.
“Are you lost, babe?”
She stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around. “Uhm, I was looking for someone.” She looked up. Aw shit. It was the fireman from earlier. James. He was cute, and had closely-cropped blonde hair and blue eyes, which were staring down at her, eyeing her cleavage. Even if he was hot and had a bangin’ body, Meredith felt her skin crawl at the way he looked at her.
“Oh yeah? What are you looking for, babe?”
“Not what, who,” she said. “My…er, Quinn and Daric. The new guys.”
“Oh,” James said in a disappointed tone. “They’re still out back in the VIP room. I heard the girls shrieking. Must be having a good time,” he said. “But, why don’t I take you back there? You can wait for them to come out. Though I’m not sure what time they’ll be done. The boss’ll want to make sure the women are satisfied.”
“Right,” Meredith answered. “Lead the way.” He gave her a nod and a smile, and then led her out of the dressing room. He turned left, walking down a hallway on the right side of the stage.
Anger, jealousy, and rage must have clouded her judgment because she suddenly had a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Are you sure we’re going the right way?” They were halfway down the hallway, and it didn’t seem like it was leading to any of the VIP rooms.
“Oh, I’m pretty sure we’re in the right place, babe,” James said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He moved closer to her and trapped her by placing his hands on either side of her head. “You don’t need those two. Not when you got me.”
“Oh brother,” she said aloud and crossed her arms over her chest. “Seriously?”
“Ooooh, you like to play hard to get, babe?” He suddenly grabbed her wrists and pinned them over her head.
Meredith looked almost bored as she contemplated whether to knee him in the nads (effective, but too easy) or if she could squeeze the air from his body by wrapping her thighs around his neck (slow and challenging, but more satisfying to watch as his dumb face went blue).
“Well?”
“I don’t play hard to get,” she said, an edge to her voice. “But, I suggest you let go of me and show me the VIP room. Now.”
James leaned down and whispered in her ear, his hot, disgusting breath on her skin making her scream on the inside. “And why would I do that? Do you want me to tell the boss that you snuck away from the bar to come back here and play hanky panky with the dancers?”
She sighed. If she hurt James, it might blow their cover. “Look, I’m not interested. I was looking for Quinn and Daric.”
“They’re not done yet, so why don’t you just spend a few minutes here with me—Fuck!” James suddenly howled as his head jerked back and his body staggered away from her, releasing her pinned wrists.
“What the hell are you doing?” Daric asked, his large hand wrapped around James’ neck.
“She…she wanted it—” He stopped short as the warlock’s fist slammed into his jaw, and he fell on the floor, his eyes rolling back.
“What did you do?” she shrieked. “You’re going to ruin things for us!”
Daric’s eyes flashed in anger, and she could feel the rage rolling off him. She had never seen him so angry, and if he were a Lycan, she was pretty sure her she-wolf would be cowering in fear right now.
“I’m sorry to ruin your fun,” he said sarcastically.
“Fun? What do you mean—what are you—” Meredith squealed as Daric bent down and suddenly her world was upside down. “Put me down, you shit head!” The warlock had slung her over his shoulder, her ass up in the air. When she tried to wiggle down and push away from him, he gave her butt cheeks a slap, which shocked her into silence, and if she was honest, aroused her.
Meredith heard the sound of a door opening and then suddenly everything was plunged into darkness. Her feet touched the ground, and she was pushed against the wall. As her enhanced vision adjusted, she realized they were in a storage closet somewhere, based on the various boxes, props, and set pieces piled around them.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” She tried to move towards the door, but Daric’s hands wrapped around her arms and held her in place against the wall.
“If I had known that James’ advances were not unwanted, I might have left you alone,” he said in a raspy voice.
“You believe that asshole? I didn’t want him to touch me! He said he was taking me to the VIP room to see you!” she huffed. “So, did you get your fill of witch poontang? What, a dozen or so screaming girls pawing at you not enough and you were looking for more?”
“Are you jealous?” he asked.
“What? You’re an asshole, Daric!” she said, shoving at him again. He caught her wrists and pinned them against the wall on either side of her head. Oh, God. When James did that all she could feel was disgust, but when Daric did it…well, there goes another pair of panties sacrificed to the sex gods.
“I think I like seeing you jealous, min kjære,” he whispered in her ear. “And as for getting my fill…”
Before she knew it, Daric was kneeling in front of her, pushing her black skirt up to her waist. He yanked her panties aside before touching his wet, hot tongue on her slick pussy lips.
Meredith bit her lip to keep from screaming out. A small cry ripped from her throat, and she realized she kept her hands pinned to the wall, despite the fact that Daric had let go seconds ago. She shoved her fingers into his hair, scraping her short fingernails against his scalp.
Daric let out a small moan against her cunt as his tongue lashed at her. His lips found her hard clit, and he sucked on the bud, making Meredith buck against his face. His large hands encircled her hips and fingers dug into her buttocks as he pushed forward, his tongue doing delicious things to her.
“God…Daric…please…more…”
A ripping sound made her gasp, and she knew he had torn her panties. His left hand moved down her leg, wrapping around her ankle and hoisting it over his shoulder. “Daric!” she cried softly, as he opened her up even more and his tongue teased at her entrance. “I—uh!” She gripped his hair so tight she was scared she’d rip it off his scalp. It was too good. His tongue fucked into her, lapping at her, and tasting her wetness. He nibbled at her lips, then ran his tongue along her slit before plunging back inside her. His other free hand splayed over her lower abdomen and his thumb found its way to her clit, massaging the small bundle of nerves.
It was too much, and she lifted her left leg, hooking it over his shoulder so she could ride his face. Her thighs gripped his head, and she braced herself against the wall for leverage.
“Daric…I…” She closed her eyes and threw her head back as pure whiteness burst from behind her eyelids. She’d never cum harder or faster, and the waves of pleasure continued to wash over her as her orgasm came on. Daric wasn’t satisfied, however, as he continued to eat her out, his lips and tongue sending more shockwaves through her body and she gripped him tighter.
Meredith took a deep breath as she finally remembered to breathe. She touched the ground (literally and metaphorically), but she kept her back braced against the wall. Daric stood, pressed his body against hers and captured her mouth in a soft kiss. Holy fucking crackerjacks, she could taste herself on him. It was wild, dirty, and only turned her on more.
She reached down between them, her hand slipping under his jeans and wrapping around his cock. He was hard—and fucking hell—huge. A brief feeling of panic washed through her, one she hadn’t felt since before she lost her virginity. Motherfucker, she was glad she was so aroused right now, so they might not need any lube. Her other hand deftly popped his jeans open and took his length out from his briefs.
“Meredith,” he whispered her name against her lips. She snapped her teeth at him, giving his lower lips a playful nip, which only made him buck against her hand.
God, she was so ready for this. The tip of his cock brushed against her stomach. He only had to bend down and angle his hips so he could slip into her. Or he could lift her up and fuck her against the wall.
He groaned and dug his fingers into her hips, pulling her closer. His hands wrapped around hers, guiding his cock lower.
She held her breath. So close and—
Meredith froze. Her keen hearing picked something up from the outside. Shouts, screams, tables and chairs turning over. And Killian’s voice, calling for her.
“Goddamnit!” she hissed, pulling away from Daric and pushing her skirt down over her hips. “We gotta go. Shit’s going down outside.” She quickly sidestepped around him and yanked the door open.
He lagged behind her, but she couldn’t stop and wait for him. She didn’t have the strength to say no if he dragged her back into the storage closet. She picked up her pace when she heard him lumbering behind her.
There was commotion outside in the main room. A couple of the tables had been overturned, and a few of the patrons had scrambled to the side.
“Come with me,” Ivar said as he walked over to them. “Your friends are waiting for you.”
“What have you done to them?” Meredith asked, her hands grabbing Ivar’s jacket collar. “I swear, if you’ve hurt them…”
“Relax, she-wolf,” Ivar said, wrenching away from her. “They’re fine. Just a little confused.”
They followed Ivar to the back, all the way to Merlin’s office. He punched in the code and walked inside, the magical barrier obviously lifted.
The three Lone Wolves were sprawled all over the office. Killian was sitting in one of the armchairs, his hands rubbing his head. Quinn was occupying most of the couch in one corner, while Connor was on the floor, his large body spread out. Merlin sat in his chair behind the desk, a scowl on his handsome face.
“What have you done to them?” Meredith growled as she stalked over the warlock.
Merlin stood up, and Meredith suddenly felt the power emanating from him. She stopped short and looked back at Daric. He must have felt it, too, because his brows were drawn together in confusion.
“Tsk tsk, she-wolf. They’ll be fine, just a bit of confounding potion to stop them from tearing my club apart,” Merlin drawled. “What kind of place do you think this is, anyway? You Lycans are such brutes, I swear. Ivar,” he called to his assistant. “I should have listened to you. They’ve brought me nothing but trouble.”
“I told you, boss,” Ivar admonished.
“I suppose my curiosity got the best of me,” Merlin sighed. “Take a seat, she-wolf,” he said, gesturing to the chair opposite Killian.
“What did you do to them?”
“What did I do to them?” Merlin exclaimed. “That one,” he pointed to Quinn, “chased down one of my best dancers! Do you know how much money Sven rakes in? I told you the Viking look was hot! He was human, too, which meant he didn’t cause a lot of trouble.” The warlock shook his head. “Anyway, in the middle of intermission, I see Sven tearing out from the backstage and that oaf—in full wolf form—hot on his heels. Then those two,” he gestured to Connor and Killian, “grab Sven and tried to take him down. I got there just in time to throw the confounding potion on them to knock them out. And now poor Sven’s gone.”
“You chased him down? Why?” Meredith asked Quinn, but the other Lycan didn’t answer, except to let out a pained moan.
“While your friends are recovering, perhaps you’d care to tell me what four Lone Wolves are doing in New York, traveling with a warlock? Does the Alpha know you’re in his territory?”
“You know the Alpha?” Meredith asked.
Merlin laughed. “Of course. I may not be bound by your society’s ridiculous territorial rules, but I’m smart enough to know that it’s better to keep Grant Anderson as a friend instead of foe. Well, not friends, strictly speaking,” he clarified. “But, he’s well informed of my activities and knows I’m just a humble businessman, trying to eke out a living.”
Meredith snorted at his words. “Right. So, why did you hire us?”
“Really, I’m explaining myself to you first?”
Meredith shrugged. “If you want to know why we’re here.”
“Fine,” Merlin huffed. “Like I said, curiosity. And, it seems witches and Lycans are slowly getting along, I thought I’d expand my clientele. Thought it would be good for business. Now, tell me what you’re doing at my club? And I know you weren’t looking to make some cash. That one,” he motioned to Killian, “tried to break in here.”
“We just wanted some information.” Meredith explained to Merlin what had happened to Archie and how they found the card.
“That was it? Why didn’t you ask me?”
A groan came from Quinn. “Ask you? That was all we had to do?”
“Well, if you were just regular Joes off the street, of course, I wouldn’t tell you anything. But, if you are working for Grant Anderson, all you needed to do was ask. Nothing would make me happier than having the Alpha of New York owing me a favor.”
“Well, can you give us the information now?” Meredith asked. “I’ll let Grant know, of course.”
Merlin paused. “Fine. Give me the card and Archie’s photo.”
Killian, who managed to sit upright, handed Merlin his phone and the card they got with Archie’s things.
“Hmm…” Merlin examined the card. “This is just our standard calling card. Only witches and warlocks can see it, but it was also enchanted with a spell so a particular person could read the address.” He looked over at Daric. “I suppose that’s why you have the warlock. He was the one that led you here.”
“Can you tell if it was enchanted for Archie?”
The warlock shook his head. “I’m afraid not. There are traces of the spell, but only the witch or warlock who cast it would know who it was intended for. However,” he continued, looking at the photo on Killian’s phone. “Ivar,” he called. “Take a look at this. Is this the man from last Wednesday night?”
The other man walked to Merlin’s desk and stared at the photo. “Yeah, that’s him.”
“So, he was here? You saw him?” Meredith stood up and slammed her palms on the desk. “Tell me, who did he meet? What did they say? Did they leave together?”
“Calm down, she-wolf,” Merlin ordered. “Ivar and I noticed him immediately. Wednesdays are our biggest weeknight. Witchy Wednesdays, we call it, and this place is packed with witches since we offer some great deals on drinks and private shows. So, when an older human gentleman shows up, he stuck out like a sore thumb. But, you know, we don’t judge here, whatever floats your boat,” Merlin shrugged.
“Did he talk to anyone?”
Merlin and Ivar looked at each other. “Yes, he did. He met with another individual. They sat down to talk in one of the corner booths.”
“Who?” Meredith asked.
“See…that’s the other thing that made your father’s presence memorable. This person that he met with stayed in the shadows and as far as we could tell, heavily glamoured.”
“Glamoured?” Meredith echoed.
“He means the person was using a glamour spell to take on the appearance of another,” Daric supplied. Meredith jumped in surprise, not realizing that he was standing behind her.
“That’s right,” Merlin confirmed. So, even if we did have a photo or video of him, you’d be seeing a totally different face. He could look like Ryan Reynolds or Penelope Cruz or Colonel Sanders.”
Quinn let out a groan and stood up, though he was still disoriented as he swayed from side to side. He sank back down on the couch and covered his eyes with his arm. “The guy,” he began. “Sven…”
“Why did you chase him down?” Killian asked.
“I asked him about Archie. The same questions we’d been asking everyone. Then he starts getting antsy, and I could smell the sweat and nervousness coming off him. Before I knew it, he pushed me aside and ran. And so, I shifted and chased after him.”
“Do you think he killed Archie?” Killian asked.
“Maybe.”
Merlin shook his head. “This Archie…you said he was killed that same night? Do you know what time?”
“The Detective put his death around midnight,” Killian supplied.
“Sven was sweet,” Merlin said. “A little naive, I would say. I can’t imagine him killing anyone.”
“Then why did he run?” Killian challenged.
Merlin shrugged. “Look, I’m sorry about your father. I’ll do what I can to help if you put in a good word with the Alpha for me.”
“Done,” Meredith agreed with a nod.
“Excellent. We’ll go and track down Sven, he’s probably at home, the poor thing. The way he tore out of here, looked like you spooked him good,” Merlin said. “Sven only started…what…a month ago?” Ivar nodded. “I don’t think he has a lot of friends. He was kind of quiet and kept to himself. I think he said his aunt was a witch back in Canada or something, which is why he knew about us. Give your contact details to Ivar, and we’ll call you, but not after we talk to him. I want to reassure him that you're not trying to hurt him.”
“Thank you,” Killian said. “Any chance you got something to take this headache away?”
Merlin laughed. “Just be glad you’re Lycans, and you have enhanced metabolisms. If you were human, you’d all be in the hospital by now.”