24 – TacitianusThe bouncer with the chrome head-butting ridge was on duty when Hector walked up to the Velvet Strip a couple of hours later. Not that the guy was actively watching for customers; the club wasn’t open. He was just sitting in a chair inside the door, guarding it because it was unlocked.Like many successful businesses, Grando and his boys got to work early. Hector, in a far better mood than the day before, nodded to the thug, and the man nodded back. He seemed less hostile—maybe it was Hector’s confident stride, maybe it was his body starting to show the improvements of two levels’ worth of potentia.He’d gotten in a good workout back at the gym, and the funny thing was, he hadn’t been the only guy lifting weights in jeans. He’d spared his shirt and jacket by removing them, and, again, he hadn’t been the only shirtless guy in the place, either. Nobody had challenged him. Nobody had asked for his membership card. He hadn’t even seen Pete, so he had no idea who had opened the place up. Regardless, he’d had one of the best lifting sessions of his life—not because of the amount of weight, obviously, but just because of how damn good it felt.Two of the dancers on one of the stages, working through a routine, stopped what they were doing and watched him walk by. It took a minute, but Hector realized he knew one of them—Sadie. He looked at her, met her eyes with his, and maybe it was the endorphins left over from his workout, but for some damn reason he smiled and nodded.“Hey, Hector,” she said, her voice a little tremulous, like she wasn’t sure she’d made the right decision to speak to him.He paused and, careful to keep his eyes above her shoulders, replied, “Sadie.”“Um, this is Lexa.”The other girl waved, still looking to the side shyly. “Hey.”“Right.” Hector shrugged and gestured toward the back of the club. “I should—”Sadie hurriedly spoke, talking over him. (...)