Positively Criminal (5 page)

“I still think you’re delusional.” Bri signaled for the waitress while she reached into her own purse.

Once the woman stood beside the table, she smirked while she gestured with her head at Bri’s wallet. “Tall, dark and bossy paid your ticket.”

“See?” Bri gave Dara an
I-told-you
glare. “He’s pure, cocky, alpha male.”

“Yeah.” Dara nodded. “Just your type.”

Bri ignored Dara’s accusation and glanced back at the waitress. “Did he tip you?”

“Generously.”

“Well.” Bri paused, too unraveled to think.
Tall, dark and bossy
always had the last word. “Good. Thank you.”

The woman gave her a look just short of
you-must-be-crazy
, and then left to help a nearby table.

Dara giggled. “This is gonna be fun.”

“What?”

“Watching the two of you try to outdo each other.”

“I hate to spoil it for you.” Dara spun the locket on her bracelet to see the clock’s face. “Our paths have no reason to cross. I’ve gotta go. I’ve got a session at nine o’clock.”

“At the club?”

Bri nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell Jake what you really do there?”

Bri slapped her guilt unconscious. “Let him think what he wants. I’m bound by law to protect my information.” She slid from the booth while Dara followed and they headed out the door.

“Well, at least call me from the slammer this time.”

Bri released a genuine laugh. “Okay, promise.”

***

Twenty paces from his cruiser, Jake frowned as his pager screamed yet again against his hip. “Hang the hell on,” he mumbled while he and Mace piled into the car.

“Somebody’s impatient.” Mace unclipped his own pager from his belt, now squealing right along with Jake’s.

“What’s your number?” Jake grabbed his cell phone from his pocket.

Mace rattled off the same series of numbers Jake now punched into his phone.

“Rawlings.”

“Majors here. I’ve called a briefing. Ten minutes, Riverside Pub.”

“We’re there.”

Jake disconnected and turned the key to bring the engine to life. “Majors has decided to share.”

“Finally.” Mace flipped several switches on the radio, checked in with dispatch, and then clipped the microphone back into place. “I think Dara knows something.”

“Really? Or are you looking for an excuse to interrogate the lovely Dara Hamilton, best selling romance novelist?”

“Screw you.” Mace grinned. “I think Dara knows a lot more about Bri’s presence at the
Velvet Glove
.”

“Intel reveals they were college roommates.”

“So Dara probably possesses an arsenal of information.”

“Suit yourself, Turner. As long as you come up with something useful, knock yourself out.”

“Where are we headed?”

“Riverside Pub.”

“A perfect place for cops,” Mace grumbled under his breath.

Jake silently agreed with his partner’s sarcasm. The place reeked of criminals, current and retired. No one stepped inside without protection of some sort.

As soon as they parked and entered the building, Jake took in the surroundings, somewhat amused that the FBI would choose such a seedy place to rendezvous. Somehow he wasn’t convinced the men in blue dirtied their hands in places like this. Eerie silence blanketed the atmosphere, thick with thoughts of criminal activity and Jake knew from experience one false move would land them all in hot water.

“See anyone familiar?” he mumbled under his breath.

“No.” Mace’s speech was equally muted.

Jake drew a silent, deep breath and moved his gaze around the dark interior until he spotted Majors seated at a corner table in the blackest part of the room. He resisted the urge to shake his head in disbelief. Dressed in blue jeans and an obviously-starched white shirt sans jacket, the agent still flashed
cop
.

“You’re lucky I’m such a cheap date,” he told Majors as he approached the table and straddled a chair.

The agent chuckled, out of nervousness, Jake figured. “It’s hard to lay low in this town. Everyone seems to know everyone else and we stick out like a sore thumb. In fact, the recommendation came from a friend. She swears this is the perfect hiding place.”

Jake paused, stuck on three particular words in Majors’ last sentence –
She. Hiding. Place
. He knew only one woman who was the queen of hide-and-seek.

Majors gestured to the three glasses on the table. “The alcohol’s just for looks.” He pushed his aside. “Did you find an informant?”

Jake gave Mace a
keep-your-mouth-shut
glare. “Still working on it.”

“If we have half a chance at finding these women, we need someone now.”

“What about one of the girls you arrested? Doesn’t someone need a break?”

“You’d think so but actually, no. Except for minor indecency charges, those girls are squeaky clean.”

Mace nodded. “Obviously, Lombardy’s thought this through.”

“Not good business to have Johnny Law knocking at the door,” Jake agreed.

“The next logical step is to question the staff. Maybe one of them will enlighten us.”

“You didn’t question them after the raid?”

“Only as suspects. We let them believe we were only looking for drugs. We need to know what they know about Lombardy and his organization. I’d like to send you and Detective Turner. You’ll attract less attention.”

“As far as we’re concerned, the club has a pretty good reputation. We make few arrests and when we do, mostly for public intoxication.”

“Good, then they’ll most likely open up and tell you what you want to know.”

The hair rose on the back of Jake’s neck, not because of his mission, but because of the one woman he might find tangled in this whole sticky web with a hairy, hungry spider hot on her tail. For once, he actually considered reassignment. He glanced at his partner who wore the same pained expression.

Jake swallowed hard, careful not to expose his torment. “Anyone in particular you have in mind?”

“Start with the manager, Jimmy Cooper, and the head of security, Brian Hunt. We want them to believe this is a missing person’s case. If you find a lead, go with it.”

Jake glared at the amber colored liquid that resembled whiskey in front him, sorely tempted to grab the glass and swallow the contents in one gulp. Unfortunately, whiskey had a tendency to render him very, very stupid. “When should we start?”

“No time like the present. I have agents inside who report business to be somewhat slow tonight.”

Jake’s stomach rolled over while he pushed thoughts of the inevitable to the side and attempted to reason. He had just left Bri and Dara not thirty minutes earlier. Surely, hopefully, they planned a girls’ night in to catch up.

He looked to Mace, attempting to find an expression of silent confirmation. Instead, Mace appeared just as concerned.

Sonuvabitch
. She better not be there.

Jake stood and shifted his weapon on one hip. “We’ll touch base as soon as we’re finished.”

Majors nodded at both he and Mace. “Thursday evening. I’ll contact you with the particulars. We’re counting on you, Detectives.”

Jake swallowed incredible nausea as he stomped out of the bar, silently cursing at the top of his lungs the whole way to the cruiser.

Mace broke the silent rage. “What are you going to do if you find her there?”

“Pull her out by her curly, blonde hair,” he spat.

“Blonde? Bri’s not blonde.”

“She dances blonde.”

“I don’t remember that about her,” Mace mumbled.

“With green eyes.”

“Green? Her eyes are—”

“Blue, I know,” Jake spat.

Mace opened his mouth and then closed it.

As soon as he and Mace stepped inside the
Glove
, all five of Jake’s senses went on full alert. His body knew Bri – no way could she escape detection.

While Mace talked to the bouncer at the door, he scanned the main room with precise movements from left to right, trained on any color close to blonde or green. Hell, she’d probably be better hidden without her wig. Then again, her long red mane caused him a raging hard-on every time it swayed against her heart-shaped ass. No, that camouflage wouldn’t work for either of them.

Mace cleared his throat. “C’mon, Jimmy and Brian are waiting in the security office.”

Jake followed Mace across the room and back stage until finally reaching a flight of stairs. Directly to the left, a brightly lit hallway led a path to four rooms, two on the left and two on the right.

His heart skipped a beat. If Bri wasn’t dancing on stage, she might very possibly be behind one of those doors, providing one lucky son-of-a-bitch some pretty dirty thoughts.

“You want a room, Rawlings?”

Jake balled his fists at his partner’s jab, ready to issue a forceful denial. Yet, in some insane part of his brain, he actually considered booking a room; suspension would keep him from dealing with Bri, but the thought of anyone other than himself finding her stopped him.

“Screw you.” He snarled at Mace and then climbed the stairs.

The door at the top opened just as he raised his hand to knock. Jake glanced up at the camera atop the door and snickered.

Jimmy Cooper extended a hand to each of them and then waved them inside. “Detectives, come in.”

Jake moved his gaze over the room, taking in the monitors stacked four high and four long against one wall. Half-dressed women graced every screen, clad in sparkling, sexy costumes, working their bodies to earn the night’s take. His heart pounded a jungle rhythm while he scrutinized each body. Too tall, too thick, too brunette. He breathed a sigh of relief when Bri failed to make an appearance.

“Quite an operation,” he told Jimmy.

“Our girls are watched closely. The only place we don’t monitor is the dressing area.”

“How do you keep trouble out?”

“Security is stationed right outside the front and right outside the back entrance. No one in or out without permission.”

“Your guys are legitimate?”

Jimmy nodded. “Brian has an excellent team in place.”

Brian waved a hand behind his head. “Sorry, I can’t leave the cameras but I’ll do my best to participate.”

Mace grinned. “Sucks for you, Hunt.”

Jake couldn’t stop a snicker.

“What can we do for you?” Jimmy motioned for him to sit and then took a chair opposite him.

“We’re working on a missing person’s case.” He slid a photo from his pocket and handed it to Jimmy. “Have you seen her?”

“Certainly. That’s Melissa Winston.”

“I remember her,” Brian added as he flipped a switch. The camera zoomed in on the catwalk near the bar.

“She worked here?”

Jimmy nodded. “Great talent. She told us she needed money for school.”

“How long was she here?”

“She worked about a month or so then we didn’t see her again.”

“She quit?”

“Not officially. She just didn’t report for a shift.”

“Wasn’t that unusual?”

“Not in our business. Girls come and go all the time. They earn cash and lots of it. Once they have what they need, they move on.”

“Did you try to contact her?”

“Yeah. We require them to provide an emergency contact. We called hers who turned out to be her brother. He assured us she had just taken early retirement.”

“Who hires replacements?”

“Mr. Lombardy provides all the dancers. He interviews them personally.”

“Are they local?”

“Not here. In fact, we only have one local girl.”

“Which one?”

“Sapphire.”

Jake’s dick pulsed and his gaze jumped to the monitors, torn between wanting to catch a glimpse of her and hoping to hell he didn’t.

Jimmy laughed. “Obviously you’ve seen her dance.”

“Yeah,” he mumbled.

Brian chuckled and flipped another switch. Jake’s heart stopped and he fought to breathe.

“Damn,” Mace mumbled under his breath.

Bri.
Damnittohell
, did the woman ever follow orders?

He forced himself to inhale then exhale slowly. Although she sat in a plush, easy chair just outside the dressing area instead of prancing around the stage, incredible anger engulfed him.

Her yellow tank top hugged tight, full breasts and firm muscled curves. False blonde curls fell over her bare shoulders; his fingers itched to rip it from her head and tangle the natural red tresses with the force of his grip.

A short, much too short, denim skirt touched the tops of her tanned thighs, teasing him with the sight of her long, slender legs. Legs that would most definitely squeeze his hips in a tight grip as his hard cock slipped inside her body.