The Payback (Team Zulu 2)

I nodded, then glanced at where his hands rested. “You promised to keep those to yourself.”

He arched one dark brow. “Do you want me to remove them?”

I really wished he hadn’t asked, because acknowledging how much he turned me on was almost as disturbing as the situation we were about to face.

“We need to stop.” It took all my willpower to lean back and put space between us. This lap dance was done.

He sighed. “You’re right. It’s time to get moving.” Brandon’s gaze roamed my face before he swept my hair from my shoulders. His fingertips brushed over my collarbone, leaving goose bumps in their wake. “Be careful,” he said, and his gentle words made my chest tighten.

“You, too.”

I should get off his lap instead of staring into those sparkling pools of aquamarine, but there was one thing I desperately wanted to know. “Brandon?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you risking so much for me?”

His eyes flickered between mine before he pressed his lips together. “Because I don’t want to fail you, too.”

I assumed the other failing he referred to was his sister. Did he blame himself for not saving her?

I swallowed against the knot in my throat and regrouped in time to climb off Brandon’s lap.

We slipped beyond the curtain. I spun to face him and held my hand out, palm up. “No one gets a free lap dance in this joint. Pay up. I think I earned it.” This would also provide a believable cover in case anyone saw us exit the room together.

Brandon grinned and pulled his wallet from a back pocket. “You certainly did. I won’t forget that experience for the rest of my days.” He removed a few hundred-dollar bills and placed them in my hand.

“Wait,” I said when something odd occurred to me. “If you’re able to loop the cameras, why didn’t you do that for the room we were just in?”

“I suppose I could’ve.” He smiled and headed for the stairs.

If we made it out of here alive, I was going to kill him.