by Autumn Dawn
Azor joined him at the hand hewn, highly polished table. The bead curtain in front of their alcove was made of a dampening material that muted sound. From outside, all he could hear was soft music and the sound of falling water from the fountain mounted on the wall. The potted ferns and delicate moonflowers dotted around the restaurant added to the air of serenity.
There was little of that in Blue’s hard gaze, though. He waited until the waitress took their order, then said impatiently, “You realize she wants to see ‘Azure’, don’t you?”
Azor took a sip of tea and considered what it was safe to say. “She was very upset, that first morning. I followed her to the track, guessing she’d go there. She’s predictable in her habits.” He looked at Blue. “She’d been crying, which isn’t the safest thing to do on a tryck. I had a helmet on, so she didn’t know it was me. I figured it was better that way, since we didn’t have a history of peaceful interaction.” The sight of her tears had done something to him, twisted his heart. He'd wanted to make it better.
Blue nodded to show he was following Azor’s reasoning.
“I revved my tryck a few times to let her know I was willing to go a few rounds. As a distraction, it worked great. She seemed to feel better. Then she asked me for my name.” He paused, remembering how he’d felt then. There’d been peace between them, and it was restful. He didn’t want to see her interest fade to her usual annoyance. “I said I’d call.”
“Thus ensuring she’d be left with a memorable impression. You knew she’d expect to hear from you. You knew she’d be upset if you didn’t.” Blue frowned. “You’re too good a cop to make a mistake like that, ‘zor. Don’t tell me you didn’t want to call her.”
Azor frowned. “It just happened. Everybody slips up.”
“But then you told her you were a stripper. Why didn’t you just tell her you were involved with someone?”
“I was trying to get her to lose interest,” he defended himself. “I didn’t want her to think I was scum.”
“Strippers aren’t scum?” Blue said mildly.
Azor’s eyes narrowed. “Watch it.” Blue knew Azor had gone to the academy via juvenile corrections. Azor had never pretended to have a pretty past, but then neither did Blue.
“Fine, you were ineligible, but she was still interested. Couldn’t you have tried harder?”
“I told her I was younger than her,” Azor said wearily. “Usually that sends women running. Didn’t work with her.” Another surprise, one that had made dissuading her difficult. It had been a lot easier talking to her in disguise, and she’d been surprisingly kind. It had made him wish he really had known her years ago, before the investigation had made her hate him. She was always so acerbic with him, and he hadn’t known she was such a soft touch.
Thinking of her touch made him remember their almost-kiss. He deeply regretted missing out on that. Given enough time and privacy, he would have enjoyed seeing where it would go.
He wasn’t from Polaris, and while the Kiuyians who came here adapted, they weren’t known for being restrained in their passions. He would have taken pleasure in giving Brandy the release she so obviously needed. His mind began to follow that thought, but his companion didn't give him a chance.
Blue was still harping. “And now she’ll want to meet this mystery man! You know Brandy. I’ll bet you a weeks pay that she’ll try to visit that club before we leave. With two days time, she’ll have the opportunity.” Blue’s eyes tightened at the corners. “I’m not interested in seeing my wife stressed any more than she already is. You need to talk with that girl.”
Azor nodded. He could easily picture Brandy tracking down her amorous stripper. If he weren’t the man in question, he might feel jealous. Even if he didn’t have a rightful claim on her, Kiuyian men tended to be possessive.
And he had to agree; the last thing she needed was to be seen in a strip joint. Speaking up would protect her from her more ruinous impulses. “You’re right, though you realize it’s going to make getting her on my ship difficult. She’s going to want blood.”
Blue grimaced. “Has to be done. On the bright side, the wife won’t feel the need to chaperone anymore once Brandy hates you again.”
Azor smiled acerbically. It was a happy thought—the lack of chaperone, not the hating. That he would regret. It would simplify his life, however. At least their old pattern was familiar…if not as much fun. “I’ll tell her tonight.”
CHAPTER 7
Brandy was at the back door to the stripper’s club late that afternoon, about an hour before opening. A hefty bribe to the suspicious manager got Brandy in, and she offered the older woman a couple of bottles of aged liquor that was older than she was. The gift won her a seat to herself at the empty bar while she waited for the strippers to show up for their shift. Azure wasn’t scheduled to dance that night, but for the promise of three cases of Nebula, premium draft, a com call was made, asking him to show. The manager made certain to mention that a “special lady” was waiting to meet him.
Of course the message had to be entrusted to his voice mail, so it wasn’t a sure thing, but Brandy was content to wait. Since she was there, she decided to soak up the atmosphere and consider why men like him did the job they did. She also considered the ambiance.
Once, The Spark had been more like this place, less polished, a touch dangerous. It was almost nostalgic to see the battered tables and feel the occasional chipped tile underfoot. Dim lighting gleamed off the self-cleaning glasstic mugs on the shelf behind the bar and limned the poured concrete counter. Music came softly from somewhere back stage, made her think of days she’d spent cleaning bathrooms and changing sheets. They’d been hard days, but good.
She had to wonder if her days were good now. Was her desire to meet Azure an attempt to reach for something more? Would seeing him in person really change anything?
When Azor reached The Spark that night, Blue told him Brandy wasn’t home. “I can’t get her on her com, either.” They’d already searched her empty apartment, looking for clues. He stared at Azor as if he were to blame.
Azor thought about where she might be and felt a moment’s unease. He opened his com to try to call her himself and saw he had a message on one of his accounts. He checked it, listened to it twice. His face was expressionless as he glanced at Blue. “I think I know where she is.”
Blue’s jaw tightened. “I don’t like your expression.”
Azor drew in a breath. “I guess I’m going to work tonight. I can’t show up there as myself.”
“By “there”, you mean that strip club, don’t you?” Blue growled. “You think she’s there.”
“Gut feeling,” Azor confirmed, gesturing with his com. “The message asking me to come in says there’s a lady who badly wants to meet me.” He’d already requested the time off for vacation, leaving the option of coming back to the cover later. The lady who’d run the club was disappointed, but she’d allowed him the time off. After all, he’d made her good money, and he worked as a free agent. She wouldn’t be calling unless she’d been given a hefty bribe.
Of course, it might not be Brandy. If his cover had been blown again, it could be bad news waiting instead. He looked at Blue. “I could use some backup. You’re the only one I can think of who’s motivated to keep this under wraps.”
“Great,” Blue said dourly. “Now I have to find an excuse Gem will believe. Fine, I’ll be there, but let’s make this fast. The quicker we retrieve the girl, the less damage she’s likely to cause. I swear she’s going through a second adolescence.” He cast a look over his shoulder as he headed out of Brandy’s apartment, where they’d been talking. “I blame you.”
The place was beginning to fill up. Brandy nursed her bottle of water as she watched the gathering crowd of masked women. Looked like the place did good business.
She absently touched her own silkskin mask, marveling that the lightweight material felt so insubstantial, yet provided such opaque coverage as it hugged her skin. The fi
lmy substance could be peeled off and tucked in a pocket when she was done, all without disturbing her makeup, the clerk who’d sold her the mask had promised.
When she’d gone looking for masks, she’d been surprised by the number to be found behind the room of a local cosmetics shop, proving that the serving girl at The Spark knew what she was talking about. The shop did a mint in black market disguise, and there’d been glitter and sparkle and feathers galore to choose from. She’d opted for simplicity in the plain mask. After all, she wanted to be found.
Her mouth curved in a half smile as she wondered why she’d never done anything this crazy before. She’d been so busy trying to clean up her act for the last few years, she’d never had the fun of flaunting convention. It was a juvenile delight that was long overdue. Maybe she needed that stage in her life.
Maybe it would be fun to rebel. Aspiring to follow her sister’s example had led her nowhere. She savored the thought as she took a bite of the pickled veggies and savory black noodles she’d ordered, using the disposable, wooden mini rake they’d provided to capture the noodles. She twirled another bite around the tines, using the food as a way to ignore the other women as she thought. For the first time, she thought about ditching responsibility and simply having fun.
She wasn’t the elder sister. She didn’t have to be diligent and save the family with hard work and sacrifice. The family was saved. There was no reason for her to grind her life away on the stone of responsibility. She could try being herself.
Maybe she could figure out who that was.
The firing of the stage lights made her glance up. Sensual music with a hard beat made her put down the little rake. She frowned. She hadn’t actually planned to watch any dancing, was pretty sure she didn’t want to see Azure baring his body in front of a crowd of strangers. It wasn’t what she’d come for, but now it was too late to back out, for his name was projected onto the smoke effects on the stage, spelled out in blue laser lights.
Azure had come to dance.
He hadn’t come to dance. Azor glanced at the stage curtain in frustration as he changed backstage. Unfortunately, he’d been cornered by the manager when he showed up, told he would dance, because his admirer was a generous tipper. He’d been tempted to blow the manager off, but he couldn’t get away with that, not if he wanted to return to the cover. It had been a lucrative one, generating many arrests. He didn’t want to risk blowing it.
As a result, he was getting dressed, preparing to strip it all off in front of the woman he’d come to dissuade from chasing him. Oh, and he had Blue grousing away in his ear.
“I can’t believe I have to sit here in the dark and watch you bare your green Kiuyian butt when I could be home with my wife,” he muttered. He was safely stashed in a transport across the alley, but he had tapped into the security system to help watch for trouble.
“Shut up,” Azor said with uncharacteristic frustration. It didn’t help that he knew the whole situation was his own fault. “And stay out of my head while I’m up there.” The communication device in his ear was tiny, undetectable to the naked eye. At the moment he didn’t appreciate its crystal clear reception.
“I’ll go one better and keep my eyes on the crowd,” Blue shot back. “I don’t want to be blinded for life.”
Azor grunted and stepped out from behind the dressing screen and up to the curtain. He felt a pang of nervousness—after all, this was Brandy— then pushed it from his head. If she was watching, she was just another woman tonight, just part of the crowd. While he was dancing, she wouldn’t exist. He stepped onto the stage, into the light.
Brandy drew in a quick breath as he stepped out. Azure was deeply tanned, with hair so light a shade of gray it was almost white. His face was young enough to match his claims about his age, but the expression on his face, the way he carried himself, spoke of experience. This was not a man young at heart. Wild, maybe, but not young.
Her jaw clenched as he began to move. She wanted to leave. She could not make herself go.
His moves were smooth, undeniably masculine. Altogether tempting. She could not take her eyes away as he undid his shirt, each button sliding free with a brash flick. He stripped it off and tossed it behind him, revealing slick, sharply delineated muscles that made her mouth go dry. She covered her face, hiding her eyes as his hands reached for his belt, years of strict upbringing making her blush furiously. Except for a single, censored picture when she’d been a teenager, she’d never seen a naked man. Even her encounters with M’acht had been in the dark, for they’d both been shy.
There was nothing shy about Azure’s display. She heard a cheer and looked up, right as his pants were tossed backstage. There was very little to the briefs he had underneath. She met his eyes, saw that he knew exactly where she sat. Slowly, he smiled, and it was fierce, almost a warning.
The music ended with a flourish, and he performed a sketchy bow. With one last, burning glance at her, he turned and walked behind the curtain.
She felt an edge of panic as he strode back stage. She figured he’d come looking for her, and she was no longer sure she wanted to be found. She felt confused, frighteningly aroused, and that’s not what she’d come for…was it?
The crowd had grown thick, and it was slow going, trying to get out. All the bodies were moving in the opposite direction. She was almost to the side door when she felt his hand close over her arm. She froze.
“Going somewhere?” he murmured.
For one moment, she could have sworn it was Azor speaking. Her heart gave a strange little jump of sheer horror. She glanced at him, but no, it was definitely Azure who’d stopped her. She could feel his heat like a prickling swell all along the side of her body. “I’m…going home.”
He smiled even as he guided her in a different direction, to a side door. “I thought you came to see the show. You paid a lot to see me dance.” He ignored the admiring glances sent his way, and the flirtation. His attention was all for her. He seemed almost angry.
Her head came up and she spoke sharply. “That’s not why I came.” She let him tug her though a side door and looked around. They were in a service hallway, next to the kitchens. She could smell the food cooking. “I wanted to meet you, yes, and I came early enough that I thought it could happen before you had to work. The music started while I was eating. I thought I had more time.”
He raised a skeptical brow. “The food was that good? I’ve never had anyone say they were more interested in the noodles than me.”
She felt awkward, but raised her head. “I have a talent for insulting people. It’s unintentional this time, though. I did want to see you.”
He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. He was dressed casually now in canvas pants and a short-sleeved shirt, sturdy boots. He could have passed for a laborer, or the student he claimed to be. “Here I am.”
Yes, he was, and after all that effort on her part, she’d be a fool to waste the chance. She felt an ironic smile tug up her mouth. She’d almost run from him. “Were you going to call again?”
He thought about it seriously. “No. I had no business doing it the first time.”
She drew a breath. “I turned out to be less interesting than you thought, then.”
He didn’t say anything; let her draw her own conclusions.
His rejection stung, but it wasn’t the end of her world. She was leaving. She could afford to take a risk.
She nodded at the waitress who passed her, then to him. “I’m sorry for that, then. You were. Interesting, I mean. Why ever you called in the first place, I thank you. I think you’re a man who will do something with his life, Azure. I wish you well.” She couldn’t smile, but she let her face show her honesty. Even as she turned to go, she told herself he had done her good. He’d pulled her out of herself, and that had helped more than he knew. He’d been catalyst for change, though he wouldn’t be the opportunity she’d hoped for. It was sad, but she’d live.
She didn’t get three steps before sh
e was spun around and pushed up against the wall. Azure was there, his heat the only stimulus in the dim, plain hall.
He didn’t ask to kiss her, just took her mouth in a searing, gentle kiss. It shook her bones, stopped her heart. M’acht had not kissed like this.
Thunder rumbled in her ears, made her heart knock like an engine gone bad. He was burning her from the outside in, and she curled into his heat, determined to warm her bones. She burned. Any moment she’d go up in flames.
His hand settled on her waist, dipped down to squeeze the leg she’d raised to curl around his thigh. He gently lowered it, breaking the kiss. He stared into her glazed eyes, his breathing ragged, too. “I hear something.”
At first all she heard was blood thrumming in her ears. Then there were screams, shouts.
His mouth tightened. “Police raid.” He looked at her wide eyes and glanced around, pulled her to a door. He opened it, revealing a utility closet. “There’s only room for one of us,” he said as he stuck her inside. “Good luck.”
Good luck? She thought as she stared at the door. The absurdity of the situation struck her. She couldn’t stay in a closet. It was the first place they would look. She had to get out.
She opened the door, glanced left, then right…directly into the frowning gaze of Officer Azor Bn’Ji.
When she tried to recall the events later that night, she found she was a little shaky on what happened next. Shock, probably, though she didn’t realize it at the time.
Azor stopped and just stared for a moment, then slowly shook his head. He walked to her with an air of resignation. “There’s only one redhead I know who’d go to a strip club wearing a racing jacket and practical brown shoes.”
She drew a breath. She knew she’d looked out of place among women dressed to dazzle, but she hadn’t come here to party. She’d come as herself, and it hadn’t been enough.
“Follow me.” He touched her arm lightly and gestured for her to precede him down the hall.