Positively Criminal (15 page)

Now this was definitely something to get out of bed for.

He silently challenged his cock to behave and approached the table.

With a distinct sparkle in her eyes, she smiled. “Hi Mace, thanks for coming.”

“My pleasure.”

“I ordered coffee for you.” She nudged a box toward him. “The cinnamon rolls are awesome.”

He sat opposite her, lifted a roll from the box, and shoved half of it into his mouth, hoping the taste would satisfy his craving for something sweet.
Right
. There was only one thing – woman – who would satisfy that craving at the current moment and she happened to be sitting next to him, tempting him with cinnamon lips.

His eyes left her mouth and met her gaze when she cleared her throat and then lifted an eyebrow.

He blinked several times to clear his head and buy some time to figure out the meaning behind her quiet reprimand. Obviously, she expected an answer of some sort but since he hadn’t been concentrating on her voice, he didn’t exactly have one.

“Yes,” he said finally.

“Yes what?” she countered.

Oh. Hell
. That definitely hadn’t gone as planned. Yet, maybe there was still a way out. “Sorry, I was distracted by the cinnamon on your lips.”

Those gorgeous brown eyes widened and another wave of pink colored her cheeks. “Oh, well I asked if you’d spoken to Jake.”

“Oh yeah, I talked to him.”

She stared at him several seconds and then finally rolled her eyes. Normally, he found that action rather bitchy, but she managed to make it sexy.

“So?! What happened?”

“Bri didn’t tell you?” He stuffed the remainder of his cinnamon roll into his mouth, enjoying the flirty banter between them.

“If Bri had told me, I wouldn’t ask you.”

“I realize that, but after the ordeal I experienced, you deserve a hard time.”

“What?” she drawled, “Jake threatened to shoot you?”

“No. He made me go with him to confront Bri. Damn near threw me out of the car on the way to her office.”

“Poor baby.”

His cock stretched at her sarcasm. “Seriously, he drove like a maniac. I almost went through the windshield.”

“Then I made the right choice in asking you to tell him.”

“For a woman who writes about love, you’re downright brutal.”

She simply shrugged – raised that creamy white shoulder in a definite
whatever
motion. “Jake discouraged her, right?”

“Affirmative. But do you really think she’s going to back off because Jake told her to?”

“Well, no. However, I hoped he could talk some sense into her and that she would listen.”

“She won’t budge. She’s planning on following through, but Jake will be right there with her.”

And he planted a tracking device to make sure she stays safe
.

Mace paused at that thought, almost tempted to let her in on that secret. Only, Jake would surely shoot him in the ass.

“You are all insane! People disappear every day, even when they are careful. And we all know something will happen to her, that’s the whole idea behind this idiotic plan.” Although her voice didn’t lose its soft-spoken, siren-like tone, he suddenly felt very, very uneasy.

“I can see that neither one of you will be any help,” she continued, “so I guess it’s up to me.” A heavy breath left her lungs as she reached for her purse.

“Whoa, hang on there, Tiger.” He snatched her purse. “What does that mean?”

“Forget it.” Dara shook her head. “Give me my purse.”

“Look at me.”

“No. My purse, please.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” He lifted a hand and tucked his fingers under her chin, lifting her face to capture her gaze with his own. Flames danced in the depths; realization issued a perfect sucker punch to his solar plexus. “Stop thinking what you’re thinking.”

“You have no idea what I have on my mind.”

“The hell you say!” He didn’t bother to disguise his anger and leaned in closer. “Listen very carefully. You will not step one tiny little foot into the
Glove
. Do I make myself clear?”

“Don’t give me orders, Detective Turner. Nothing you say —”

“Since the rules dictate no one touches the dancers, that crowd of horny bastards wouldn’t hesitate to use you as a substitute. No, Dara.
I’m
going to be there every time Bri dances. No arguments, no negotiations. Period.”

Although she didn’t speak, he heard the wheels turning in her gorgeous mind. Instinct told him he wouldn’t sway her easily. Once again, he entertained the thought of telling her about the tracking device. The information would put her at ease but he knew there was no way in hell she wouldn’t tell Bri and that wasn’t good for either Jake or himself.
Damn
. All these secrets made his head spin.

“Promise you won’t try to interfere, Dara.”

“Okay,” she agreed, “I won’t interfere, but rest assured that if you fail to keep her safe, I’m coming after both you and Jake.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you threatening an officer of the law?”

“Yes.” She didn’t hesitate to answer. “Off the record, of course.”

He reached to grab another roll. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not officially on duty.”

“You’re not?”

“Not until nine-o’clock tonight.”

“What’s so special about that time of night?”

“Bri goes on as the headliner.”

“You just make sure she’s safe,” she reminded him, “or you’ll have to answer to me.”

“Don’t remind me,” he mumbled around the last bite of cinnamon roll.

“More coffee?”

“No, thanks. I need to get to the station. Jake and Agent Majors are supposed to discuss strategy.” He stood, took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “Promise me you’ll leave the detective work to us.”

“I promise.” He didn’t miss the twinkle in her eye.

Reluctantly, he released her hand and turned to leave, ignoring the wide-eyed stares from women at the neighboring tables. Suddenly he understood why a bull should steer clear of a china shop.

***

Jake swallowed the last of his coffee then tossed the foam cup into a nearby trash can as Mace stalked into the Primrose Police Department’s briefing room, obviously pissed off.

He glanced at the man next to him. “What time did you call him, Majors?”

“About six thirty this morning. But, he was awake when I called.”

The agent’s confession didn’t do much to explain his partner’s mood so Jake decided to go straight to the source. “What crawled up your ass, Turner?”

“I should be home – sleeping! Why the hell do we have to talk about this now?”

Majors leaned back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head. “What’s your problem?”

Jake just smirked, propped his feet on the table, and waited for the gauntlet to drop.

Mace’s bloodshot glare bounced between both of them. “I’ve had about three hours’ sleep in the last forty eight, women are being snatched right out from under our noses, a good friend of mine is in danger, and I just had
morning tea
with a stubborn, way too intelligent pain in the ass who is going to be just as much trouble as Bri.”

Jake analyzed his partner’s uncharacteristic meltdown in awe. “Morning tea? You were with Dara again? Why?”

Mace took an opposite chair, braced his feet on the table, then leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “She wanted to know if you talked Bri out of her crazy plan.”

Jake snorted in unison with the other two men. Yeah, like anyone could pull off that miracle.

Majors shook his head. “Both of you are so screwed.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mace demanded.

For a brief moment, Jake wondered if his partner was going off the deep end and even tossed the idea through his brain that he should tell Majors to shut up. Then he abruptly changed his mind; Majors was on his own.

“It’s pretty clear,” Majors continued. “Everyone knows Bri belongs to you, Rawlings, so just do her already. I haven’t met this other chick, Dara, but I can see that she’s got you all tangled up, Turner, so find a way to work it out of your system. This assignment is serious business and you two need to be on your game.”

Jake dropped his feet from the table and squeezed the arms of his chair until his fingers cramped. He could’ve sworn he heard Mace growl. Majors had the decency to look a little green, as if the poor bastard realized he had just said the wrong thing.

Jake pinned him with a narrowed stare. “Do you and I have a problem?”

“No.” The agent scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “We all just need to keep a clear head.”

“Turner and I are clear. What’s the plan?”

“Turner, you take the front door. Rawlings, you work the bar and the main stage. I’ll position five agents around the interior. With the whole establishment covered, we’ll know if anything goes down. What time is the main attraction?”

“Nine o’clock p.m.,” Jake mumbled.

“I’ll see you at eight thirty.” Majors stood and exited the room without hesitation.

Jake looked at Mace. “You look like you’re going to explode.”

“You know, shooting him would have been too quick and painless. Not to mention the noise would have brought half the squad room in here. I was thinking more along the lines of beating the life out of him and finishing him off with a chokehold.”

“You’ve put some thought into this, haven’t you?” Jake grinned. “That must have been some tea. Or, have you been reading one of Dara’s novels?”

“No, and Dara is not a
get-her-out-of-your-system
kind of woman.”

“Really? You must’ve spent quite a lot of time on your research.”

“Nuh uh.” Mace stood. “Don’t even go there. She’s way too high maintenance. I’m just looking out for her because she’s a friend of Bri.”

Jake snickered as he stood and headed out of the room. “Yeah Turner, like I believe that’s all it is.”

“Believe me,” Mace said as they made their way out of the station and into the parking lot, “that’s all it is.”

Jake chose not to answer as he climbed into his truck and closed the door. There was no use arguing with Mace when Majors was absolutely right – they were both screwed.

Later that evening, Jake entered the
Velvet Glove
and headed to the bar, still wary of the whole plan. Although he supported Majors in his intent to penetrate a violent crime ring, he still couldn’t digest the thought of using Bri as bait. He took a stool not too far from the stage and signaled for the bartender.

“Cola.” He chuckled to himself. Whiskey and cola sounded a whole lot better.

He turned to look at the stage where a petite blonde shook her ass for tips. Although dollar bills decorated the waistband of her g-string, the male attention at the bar was not focused on the dancer. Instead, most men were interested in a woman who sat alone in a far corner of the club. His curiosity went on full alert. Why would a woman come alone to a gentlemen’s club? He had no sooner asked himself the question when his earpiece came alive.

“Holy hell!” Turner’s booming voice threatened to cause his ears to bleed.

Adrenaline gathered in his veins. “Turner? Do you need backup? What is it?”

“Not
what, WHO
! Dara’s here! Dammit, I told her to stay out of this place.”

“Welcome to my world, partner.”

Jake witnessed the animated conversation between Mace and Dara, amused when Mace hoisted her over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold and made his way back to the front door. The fallout from that move would definitely prove entertaining to watch but at least he could listen.

“How dare you manhandle me!” Dara’s high-pitched tone screeched over the wires like fingernails on a chalkboard and Jake was eternally grateful he didn’t have to deal with her.

“I need to throw you over my knee and spank your ass!” Mace spat. “I asked you to stay away and you promised.”

Jake almost felt guilty for listening in. After all, he knew wholeheartedly that Mace didn’t have a chance – Dara would chew him up and spit him out. Too bad every single FBI agent in the club could also hear.

“No,” Dara argued, “I promised not to
interfere
and I didn’t.”

“Your presence interferes.”

“How? I was sitting in a corner, minding my own business, drinking tea.”

Jake frowned. Had he heard correctly? Tea?

“
You
are causing a commotion, which distracts me,” Mace continued. “I have to keep an eye on you and can’t concentrate on my job. Besides, they don’t serve tea here. You’ve been drinking because I can smell it on your breath.”

Jake winced. A drunken female was a force to be reckoned with. Funny that no one spoke in his earpiece. Maybe they were too busy watching the stage.

“Where’s your car?” Mace still sounded severely pissed. “Or do you need a cab?”