Slade (The Protectors #6)

“Yeah, we sure do.” Jax studied the picture a little longer before sitting back down, his eyes black as night.

Sloan seized the envelope and opened it. Thumbing through the contents, a large smile spread across his face.

“You going to share?” Sid leaned in, trying to see what Sloan was looking at.

Ignoring Sid, Sloan looked up at Jill. “Looks like I owe you an apology.”

“Is it good?” Jill grinned, focusing on the papers scattered across his desk.

“There is enough here to get Mayor Ferguson thrown out of office and into prison, along with Alice.” His grin widened. “There’s more, but I’ll have to go through it better, but it looks like we just hit the jackpot.”

“That’s great!” Jill beamed, filled with pride at successfully helping her team.

“Sounds like we owe George the Groper a steak dinner.” Sid shifted through some of the papers himself. “Damn, looks like our Mayor has some explaining to do.”

“So does that mean George will become Mayor?” Jill also glanced at the papers, not really knowing what she was looking at.

“Yes, I believe there’s a very good chance of that,” Sloan replied, making eye contact with her. “Excellent work.”

“You know, I think George has a crush on you,” Sid winked at Jill. “You’d make a wonderful wife for Mayor Groper, Ms. Jillian Groper.”

Slade growled, “Over my dead fucking body.”

“Well, I mean, he did give her a two-hundred-dollar tip.” Sid shrugged. “He either really liked the lap dance or her, hell, maybe both.”

“Yeah, about that.” Slade’s eyes turned to Jill. “You never told me he gave you a two-hundred-dollar tip.”

Jill shot Sid a nasty look. “The girls said that was a pretty good tip on your first night, but normal with regulars.”

“Yeah, well, you’ll never find out,” Slade warned with narrowed eyes, his fist clenching.

“I guess if this Warrior stuff doesn’t work out, I can always fall back on stripping,” Jill mused, shrugging. “That is pretty good money.”

“I think the doc has had enough, Jill.” Sid nodded toward him. “If that tick gets any more pronounced, he’s going to break his damn jaw.”

Jill smiled, heading to Slade. Pulling him down toward her, she whispered in his ear, “I’d give you a lap dance anytime you want. You wouldn’t even have to tip me.”

Slade’s eyes snapped to hers, then to Sloan. “We finished here?”

Sloan, who was focused on the papers Jill obtained from George, waved them off. Taking Jill’s hand, Slade pulled her out of the office, leaving the laughter and whistles of the men in their wake. When she wasn’t moving fast enough, he picked her up and carried her up the steps.

“The only lap you will ever dance on is mine,” He hissed into her ear sending delicious shivers throughout her body.

Oh, she was going to enjoy this.

Chapter 22

The day finally arrived. She could become a Warrior. No. She was determined to think positively. She would become a Warrior, yet glancing around, she had a small tinge of doubt. She had never seen so many Warriors in one place and they definitely outnumbered the trainees. Her eyes met Slade’s briefly. He just gave her a nod of encouragement before scanning the crowd.

She had been doing the work of a Warrior; they all had, but after the initiation, she could earn the title. It was a surreal moment as she stood side-by-side with Adam, Steve and Dillon. Everyone was dressed in black combat clothes; the only difference was, Warrior trainees such as herself, had a vest with a large red X. Talk about standing out. Not all trainees were half-breeds. Actually, she’d only seen two others. Everyone had paintball guns, which she felt great relief about, because until that point, she wasn’t sure what would be used.

An older man walked into the crowd, holding his hand up for silence. “In five minutes, the toughest test you will ever take will begin. You have one main objective: stay alive. The course is five-miles long. It may not seem like much to you, but throughout the course, you will have not only obstacles, you will also have highly trained Warriors hunting you. You are all teams of four. Once your whole team reaches the end, you have completed the course.” He regarded the trainees before continuing. “On the field, you have the hunters who are identified with a blue X on their vests, while the observers wear the white X. Each team will have one observer. If an observer says you are out, leave the field immediately with hands raised. Anyone with a black baseball cap is a medic.”