Lies (Phoenix Undercover #1) (2 page)

Chapter 2

Gabriella

Being forced to hang out with my sister on her twenty-first birthday was the last thing I wanted to do tonight. Okay, so I wasn’t being forced, but I would have rather gone to a quieter club.

Brooklyn insisted we come to Riot only so she could flirt with the owner’s son, who also happened to be the bartender. I tagged along to keep her out of trouble, and she’d left me sitting at the end of the bar to fight off drunk-ass men who thought I was there for a hookup. The spot I held gave me the perfect view of the entire bar, however. It was fun to sit back and silently make fun of the women that seriously thought acting like a whore would land them the perfect man. Speaking of which, I had been watching the same two women for the last hour as they scanned the room for their next victims.

The blonde’s roots were in serious need of a touch-up, and the brunette was the poster child for cake face. Someone needed to give that girl a gift card for a facial, because I could hear her pores screaming in agony.

When they both stopped their hideous excuse for dancing and stared off into the distance, I couldn’t help but follow their line of vision. I was expecting a couple of douchebags who would surely find their ensembles attractive. Instead, I was shocked to see the men they had their sights set on. Both were gorgeous, clean-cut, and nothing like what I was expecting. The shorter of the two was staring back at the girls with lust in his eyes. But the man with the darker hair looked a bit taken aback, even a little frightened, and I couldn’t helped the giggle that escaped my lips when he turned to his friend and argued with him. I leaned against the bar to watch. I had a feeling he was trying to get out of whatever it was his friend was forcing him into.

I turned to the bartender, Jimmy, and held my hand up to signal for another beer. When I looked back toward the men, I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my laughter. The two women had wandered over to them, and the look on the taller guy’s face was comical. His nostrils were flaring, and his eyes were wrinkled up. It was that look people get when they’re trying to make sense of something that just didn’t seem right. I imagined him thinking the same thing that was running through my own mind—
there has to be a person in there somewhere, behind all that clown makeup.

The shorter man rushed past him, linked arms with both women, and led them off to the other side of the dance floor. He was obviously the one who had lower standards. I sort of felt sorry for the other guy. You could see how reluctant he was to join them.

Jimmy set down my beer, and I tossed a ten onto the counter in front of him. He winked before walking off toward the other end to serve the next drink.

I spun on my stool just enough to watch the man that looked like he was having as much fun as I did on my last trip to the ob-gyn. He was now glaring at his friend, grinding his teeth.

“What are you looking at?” Brooklyn said as she stumbled up to my side. “Don’t tell me my sister the prude has finally found someone she’s interested in?”

“Funny, smartass.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Just because I actually enjoy the company of a man that can count higher than fifty doesn’t mean I’m a prude.”

She rolled her eyes before leaning over the bar, and her tits looked like they were about to fall out of her shirt. I watched as Jimmy’s eyes narrowed in on her cleavage, and all I could do was shake my head.

“Oh, Gabby, Jimmy is a very intelligent man. He knows his way around a woman’s body, and let me tell you, he has one magical mouth.” She bit her lower lip as she stared ahead at Jimmy. He was too far away to hear her words, but the two of them were having some sort of silent conversation using only their eyes.

“Just because he’s good in bed, doesn’t make him intelligent,” I insisted. But I knew there was no hope in arguing. She was in lust with Jimmy, and he in turn was loving the attention, just like he loved all the attention he got from women in the bar scene. I also knew he was not a lifer, at least not now, but my youngest sister was wearing her blinders. She would have to learn the hard way about men like him. Just like I did.

Chapter 3

Josh

I would rather be on a stakeout with George. And no one liked stakeouts with George. He was the oldest agent in the narcotics unit, and let me just say the man had no control. He loved his rice and beans, and being trapped in close quarters with him for long periods of time was like a slow form of death.

But right now, I would choose George and his torture over my current company.

“So Grey tells me you’re both with the FBI.”

I stared back at the brunette I now knew as Marissa and tried not to focus on the red blotch of lipstick still smeared on her tooth. What kind of friend was the blonde? I mean, don’t chicks usually inform one another of that kind of embarrassing crap? The crazy thing was, she kept running her tongue over her lip and lightly grazing her teeth. The shit had to come off eventually, right?

“That’s really impressive. I work in retail.” She slid a little closer, and I bit my cheek to keep myself from saying something I wouldn’t be able to take back.

I tried to signal Greyson for help, but the asshole had his tongue shoved down the blonde’s throat, and I knew he would be no use to me.

The moment Marissa lifted her hand to the waistband of my jeans, I’d had enough.

I placed my hand over hers, removed it from my pants, and stepped back. “I could use a refill. You?” I had to put some much-needed distance between her and me. I was hanging on the edge, and I wasn’t sure just how long I could hold back from telling her she was acting like a bimbo and needed to scrape the hooker mask off her face. I didn’t wait for her to answer before I spun around on the heel of my boot and walked toward the bar.

Placing my elbows at the edge of the countertop, I collapsed on the barstool, feeling exhausted. I had never been on a date where I felt like I needed a vacation only two hours in.

“What can I get ya?” the young guy behind the bar asked.

“A decoy, maybe a smoke bomb.” He looked at me in confusion. “Date from hell, dude. Ever had one of those moments where you’re wondering how the fuck you got yourself in such a mess?”

He chuckled and looked up over my shoulder. “Oh.” He smirked and nodded. “Marissa.”

The fact he knew her name made me cringe. I had a feeling this was worse than I had initially thought. “Oh fuck, what? She’s a stalker or some freaky chick that’s gonna claim we’re engaged? I’ll spend months getting her to leave me the fuck alone, won’t I?”

He handed me a beer and shook his head, chuckling to himself, then poured a shot of tequila and set it on the bar next to my beer. “You’re gonna need that.”

I let my head fall to my hands and grumbled as I mentally cussed out Greyson and myself for even showing up.

“Good luck, man.”

I didn’t even lift my head. It was pointless; I knew he was eating this up. His laughter faded as he worked his way down the bar, serving others.

“I see you don’t suffer from coulrophobia,” came a soft whisper from my right.

I immediately lifted my head and was taken aback by the girl sitting at my side. How had I missed her? Oh, I know, I’d had tunnel vision as I ran from Cruella toward my next drink.

“What?” I asked, yet all I could focus on was her piercing blue eyes. I had never seen eyes that blue before.

“The fear of clowns,” she stated. “Coulrophobia.”

I remained focused on her beauty, taking the time to look at each feature, wondering why in the hell she couldn’t have been the brunette from the coffee shop. My night would have been a whole hell of a lot better if she was in Marissa’s place.

I knew I was staring, but I couldn’t stop myself. She had mentioned something about clowns, but I was lost. I had no idea what she was talking about. My gaze fell to her plump, full lips, and I smirked. No red lipstick graced them. They held only a sheer film of shiny gloss, and I loved that she preferred the more natural look. When they curved upward in a smile, I didn’t feel even the slightest bit embarrassed that she knew I was checking her out so closely.

When her eyes met mine, she nudged her head toward Marissa. “I was referring to your date. She kinda resembles a clown.”

I stared at her and could see she was fighting back her laughter. She lifted her drink to her lips and took a small sip before lowering it.

I could no longer hold back my own smile. “I fucking hate clowns.”

Chapter 4

Gabriella

“I’m Gabby, or Gabriella, but I prefer Gabby.” I held my hand out, and he wrapped his around mine.

“Josh,” he offered, still holding my hand.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Josh.”

“You too,” he replied. “I guess my night isn’t a complete bust.”

“So, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you get stuck with Lipstick Lizard over there?” I tipped the top of my beer in the direction of the brunette bimbo who was currently giving me the evil eye.

“Would you believe me if I told you it was my friend’s fault?” he asked, and I shook my head. “Okay, but in my defense, her day and night look are completely different. Earlier when he set this whole thing up, she didn’t have three layers of makeup on.”

I wanted to laugh, but I did my best to keep a straight face when I broke the news. “The torture isn’t over yet, because your date’s on her way over here.”

I took a drink and almost spit it back out in a laugh when his eyes grew wide in horror. “Do I have time to run?” he asked, and I covered my mouth with my hand as she stepped up to his side.

“I guess that’s a no,” he whispered, and I closed my eyes tight as my chest vibrated with laughter.

“Josh, did you get me a drink?” Even her voice sounded fake. I would never understand why women did that—changed who they were to come off as needy and easy. Where was their confidence? This girl’s lack of self-esteem was so obvious, I almost felt sorry for her.

“Um, sorry,” he told her. “I got a little distracted.” He looked over at me once more, and I could sense he was struggling to find a way out of this mess. I thought briefly about sitting back and watching, but that just felt cruel. Instead, I removed my hand from my beer bottle and held it out toward the girl.

“Hi, I’m Gabby. Josh and I are old friends. We got carried away talking and catching up. We go way back, since high school.”

Marissa narrowed her eyes at me, and I smiled back even wider. She was obviously looking for a way to intimidate me, but I wasn’t impressed. Honestly, it just made me want to take this whole game one step further.

When I slid off my barstool, I was only inches from Josh. His knees were parted just enough to allow me to slip between them. I locked my eyes on his and placed a palm on both of his thighs.

His stare held me, almost as if I were in some sort of a trance. I leaned in just a little farther and ran my tongue over my lips. My heart began to race even as I thought how this was completely out of character for me. Closing the distance, I placed my lips gently against his and kissed him softly. The girl gasped.

When I pulled back, he was staring at me with a smirk. “It was really nice talking to you, Josh,” I whispered as I straightened up and removed my hands from his thighs. “Best night I’ve had in a very long time.”

I grabbed my handbag from the bar and walked away on wobbly legs. The heat in my cheeks combined with the adrenaline made me feel slightly light-headed.

I had to find my sister and get a little air.

***

“Um, what the hell, Gabs?” Brooklyn stared back at me, wide-eyed and interested. “Jimmy said you just kissed some guy. You don’t do shit like that.”

“Maybe I do and you just don’t hear about it.” I picked at the zipper on my handbag to hide the fact my hands were shaking.

After ten minutes of searching, I found my sister on the dance floor, sandwiched between two other girls. She argued with me about leaving but gave in when I promised to allow her friends to come back to my place. Only then did she willingly get into the cab with me.

Brooklyn had moved in with me after she dropped out of college. Two years later, she was still living in my spare bedroom and at war with my father about her lack of ambition. She thought working toward shift manager at the deli down the street was a major career goal. Because my dear sister lived with and hounded me daily, I could safely say she knew me better than anyone, so she would know that kissing a complete stranger in the middle of a bar was something I would never do. I think I was just as shocked as she was that I had, yet I didn’t regret doing it. The only thing I did regret was leaving without giving him my number.

“My sister is a tramp,” Brooklyn said with a smirk. “Was he hot at least?”

I nodded as I pictured Josh’s strong jaw and sexy smirk.

“What does he do? Are you gonna see him again?”

My stomach knotted instantly, and I shook my head.

“Can I ask why?”

“Because.” I hung my head. “I didn’t wait around for his number.”

“What the hell, Gabby? You find some attractive man,” she said, making air quotes around the word
attractive
. I rolled my eyes at her. “And you don’t get his number or offer your own? What the hell was the point in kissing him, then?”

I smiled, thinking back to the look on the girl’s face as she glared at me, sizing me up. “He was on the date from hell, and I was trying to give him the out he needed.”

She stared at me, her mouth hanging open in surprise. “I can’t believe you. You’re such a hooker. He was on a date, and you still kissed him?”

“Mhmm,” I hummed while turning back to look ahead of us. The taxi was rounding the corner as it approached our apartment building. Just as it slowed to a stop along the curb, I opened the door. I looked back over my shoulder at Brooklyn. “And his date watched the whole thing.”

Her mouth fell open once more, and I crawled out of the cab, smiling as I walked toward the entrance of our building.

“You slut,” she gasped as she raced behind me to catch up.