Slade (The Protectors #6)(75)
“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 f*cking 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.”
“The rules are: there are no rules.” Once more, the older man looked around. “Each team has been given a confidential word. If you are captured, it is the job of the hunters to get that word from you. If they succeed, your whole team fails. Everyone knows the kill shots. Once you are hit with a kill shot, you leave the field. Each team has a different colored paintball and will be awarded twenty points for kill shots. If you end up shooting each other, it does not count.”
A murmur went through the crowd. Jill looked at each of their Warriors. Slade, Jax and Duncan all wore a vest with a white X, indicating them as observers. Slade, of course, was the only one who wore a black baseball cap worn backward, indicating his role of medic, and he looked really hot. Who knew he’d look sexy as hell in a baseball cap. Jill jerked her attention back, trying to focus as she looked at Jared, Sid and Damon who wore a blue X. The other thing she noticed was she was the only female, and that was gaining her a lot of attention.
“Initiates, you have a ten-minute lead. You each have a map to get you to the end safety zone. There are two off-road vehicles placed in different locations. I suggest you look very hard for these bonuses because they are the only ones you will get. I know you have been over everything repeatedly in preparation for today. We do our best to make sure everyone makes it out of initiation in one piece, but death is possible as it is with anything. Be careful out there and good luck.” The man’s eyes scanned again, this time landing on Jill. “You’re going to need it.”
Jill glanced at Steve who was looking at her. “Burger flipper is looking more and more like a better career choice.”
Sloan walked up to them. “You guys are ready for this. You’re as good if not better than any of the others. Work as a team and get your f*cking asses to that safety zone.”
“Thanks for the pep talk, sir.” Steve frowned, glancing around.
Jared, Sid, Damon, Duncan, Jax and Slade all wished them luck. Slade stopped in front of Jill, a hint of worry in his eyes. “Stay safe, no matter what.”