Never Let You Go [Zabuza Momochi]

Chapter 32

When the Demon Brothers didn't arrive back, Zabuza sent out the thug at their disposal to track them down. His thoughts towards why they missed their deadline were pulled away, watching Lacey emerge from the hall yawning and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She was so disoriented the young woman had yet to pull the bottom hem of her top back into place, revealing the toned stomach area. "We'll be having company," he spoke up. Her head snapped in his direction. "Get dressed."

"Who's coming?" She finally took note of the clothing and fixed it quickly.

"The man who hired us, and what's with the look on your face?"

"Nothing," she answered curtly, turning away.

Zabuza stood, following the dancer back down the hall. "Obviously it's something if you're using that tone of voice."

Lacey looked over a shoulder, smirking slightly. "Are you actually concerned about how I talk to you and my feelings?"

Zabuza gave her a pointed glare. "Don't say things that I don't understand."

Snicking, the young woman disappeared inside the bedroom, leaving the door ajar as she changed in the dark. "If you really want to know, it's the fact that you're working with those brothers."

"We have old ties."

"I still don't like them. The way they acted when we first met made me wish I could go crawl into a hole and never see the light of day again. And this Gato guy steps off my alarm bells too. And it goes beyond his business ventures."

"It's a job that's paying good money if we kill this man. Finish this up and we won't have to do any missions for a long time."

"Yeah right," Lacey scoffed. She emerged, tying her hair up into a ponytail. "I highly doubt that. You have so much bloodlust sometimes you can't keep still."

Zabuza cocked an eyebrow. "Since when did you become so observant?"

"Since I met you."

He rolled his eyes in response, tugging on a loose strand of her hair. "You're an annoyance."

"I've been told many times before." The young woman swatted away his hand to get him to let her go. "So, let me guess," Lacey began to uncurl one finger at a time, ticking off the rules. "I'm to stay as quite as possible, stay off to the side, don't speak unless you say so, leave when told, and don't make eye contact with the client for too long."

This time, Zabuza ruffled Lacey's hair and messed it up, chuckling. "So you actually do listen to me on occasion, huh?"

Lacey glared at the rogue, swatting his hand away for a second time to fix her hair. The action only amused him further from the grin hidden behind the facial wrappings.

"Zabuza!" a voice called out.

"Sounds like they're here."

Once in the main room, the short businessman stood in front of the doors, a guard by his side. The thug sent to find the brothers had come back as well, standing next to Haku on the other end of the large couch. Zabuza sat himself down, Lacey leaning against the far wall. The client became irritated when they all learned the Demon Brothers failed in their attempt to stop the bridge builder before he reached the coast. They'd been caught by the ninjas sent to escort Tazuna home.

"You failed? You failed!" Gato yelled in anger. "What is this, amateur night? I put out big bucks for you! I thought you said you were hotshot assassins."

"Stop whining," Zabuza ordered. He pointed the large sword at the boss's neck in a deadly manner. "This time, I'll go personally. And this sword will be the last thing he ever sees." He glanced over at Lacey, knowing this conversation could get out of hand as he lowered the weapon. Seeing the signal, the young woman left for the kitchen to prepare tea for them once Gato left.