Licensed to Kill

Chapter 31

"What's the deal with the name of this place anyway? Does Ricky Martin own it or something?" Matt cocked a brow, staring up at the flashing neon strip club sign that read La Vida Loca in thick cursive.

We'd been sitting in our stolen SUV for twenty minutes, casing the club and going over our game plan. Alana had hacked into La Vida Loca's security feed for us and verified that Miguel Santiago was indeed living it up on alcohol and strippers just on the other side of those doors. Tonight was likely our best opportunity to take his ass down, as we suspected that he'd be off to Madrid to move shipments the next day.

After ordering room service at the hotel – thank heavens we finally got to eat – the three of us had readied all of our weapons, geared up for battle, and slipped out a side exit so we wouldn't draw attention to ourselves in the lobby. The drive across town was fairly quick, despite the large number of tourists roaming the streets at nine o'clock, and we'd arrived at the far northern tip of Barcelona within a mere fifteen minutes.

Putting our heads together, having all raided a strip club at some point in each of our careers, we came up with a plan that I thought was pretty decent, considering how many enemies we were potentially up against.

First, Matt was going to head inside, pretending to be a regular customer. Since he wasn't originally supposed to be involved in this mess, we decided to take a gamble on the idea that Santiago and his cohorts wouldn't be expecting to see Matt Carver there. With any luck, he'd be able to successfully let Dallas and me know what was going on inside the club and tell us when would be the best time to jump into the action.

Next, Dallas and I would move in from the alley behind the building. Alana's quick research on the strip club's blueprint had told us that the entertainers' dressing rooms would be on the left side of that back door and the bathrooms would be to the right. I was sure plenty of patrons went in and out that back door to smoke or to take a fist fight outside, so I doubted anyone back there would think anything of Dallas and me entering from the alley.

The rest of the plan was tentative. We didn't know what to expect or how many other drug lords and their bodyguards might be there with Santiago, so we decided to play the rest by ear.

"When do you think would be best to go in?" Matt looked back and forth between us.

I glanced over at the entrance. The bouncer we'd been keeping an eye on for twenty minutes had apparently gone on a smoke break with no one to take over during his absence.

"Now seems like as good a time as any," I said, my focus trained on the door. "At least you won't have to deal with the beefcake that was guarding the entrance."

Matt took another look around the parking lot and nodded to us, getting out of the vehicle and quietly shutting the door. Dallas and I watched carefully as he headed into the strip club without a problem.

I blew out a heavy sigh of relief when the bouncer didn't emerge from the shadows and chase after him.

"How do you feel about tonight?" Dallas asked softly, his thumb brushing over the back of my hand. "You seem tense, Tali. You alright?"

I tried to play it off like it was nothing, but I knew he could tell something was up. Dallas and I had been on so many missions together. He'd probably memorized every detail about how I handled a mission, whether it was the tone of my voice, or the way I breathed when I discussed the plan, or even the slightest change in my complexion. He knew me inside and out – literally and figuratively. The was no such thing as bullshitting Dallas David. He'd see right through it every time.