Strip Tease (14 page)

“Can I get you something?” The bartender was
tall and chubby, had a gleaming bald head. Beady little eyes
watched Nate as the man wiped down the bit of counter in front of
him. Nate had never seen him before, and he’d hung out at this
crappy club for a while.

“No thanks. Is the owner of this
establishment in?”

“Who’s askin’?” The man tossed the dirty rag
into the sink behind him.

Nate reached into his pocket and flashed his
badge. Forget the anonymous bullshit. He wasn’t coming back to this
place undercover again. “Police, asshole. Go get your boss.”

“Don’t worry, Frankie, I’ve got it handled.”
The amused voice of Billy himself sounded from behind Nate and he
turned to find the man he hated more than anyone in the world
standing before him.

Billy’s gold colored eyes fairly sparkled,
as if he found Nate showing up here rather amusing.

Which he probably did. The sick fuck.

“Well, well, well, we finally meet after
you’ve been skulking about my club for weeks on end,” Billy drawled
with a smug smile.

“Well, you’re out in the open so I’m out in
the open. I thought I’d play fair.”

“Touché.” Billy’s grin widened and he
indicated a small table and two chairs with a wave of his hand.
“Please, sit. Tell me what brought you here and why you want to
talk.”

“What I have to say won’t take long.” Nate
breathed deep, fire filling his lungs. Having Billy this close made
him angry. Damn tempted to pull out his piece and plug the asshole,
once and for all.

Then get tried for murder and thrown in the
slammer for the rest of his life.

Not the way to do it, Banks.

“If it’s about Ginger, I’m as confused as
you. I have no idea where she is. I wish I did.”

The longing in Billy’s voice didn’t slip by
Nate. His eyebrows rose in question.

“It has nothing to do with Ginger. It’s
about her sister. Call your goons off Janelle and leave her
alone.”

“Ah, so here’s the heart of the matter.”
Billy sat at the table but Nate refused, preferring to stand. “You
want to protect the precious sister, hmm? So interesting. I’ve
heard you and Janelle spent some quality—time together.”

Nate’s eyes narrowed and his nostrils
flared. He hated hearing the slime ball say Janelle’s name. Had
Billy or one of his men been following them all along?

Damn it, he was totally falling down on the
job.

“Leave her alone, Diaz. She has nothing to
do with this.”

“She has everything to do with this. That’s
why you’ve been spending so much time with the beautiful Janelle,
to get to Ginger. You think the minute you find her, she’ll squeal.
Trust me, it won’t happen.” Billy sipped from the glass the
bartender had set in front of him, a satisfied expression on his
face.

“Don’t you think Ginger has gone into hiding
to get away from you?”

Billy’s features hardened, anger making his
mouth draw tight. Interesting. Just as Billy had discovered his
weak spot, it appeared Ginger was Billy’s own Achilles’ heel. “I
told her to go underground. She was getting too nervous. So let
this be a warning—stay out of my club.”

“Well, let this be a warning to you. Stay
away from Janelle. If you’re the one who sent Ginger into hiding,
then go find her and leave Janelle out of it. You got it,
asshole?”

“Fuck you, Banks. Get out.” Diaz stood
quickly, overturning his chair. Two men appeared out of nowhere to
stand in front of Billy. The both of them towered over Nate and he
was no slouch in the height department.

He got the hint. But so did Billy. His work
here, for now, was done.

“Thanks for inviting me.” Janelle smiled,
leaning in closer to her coworker and new-found friend Theresa. “I
really think I needed a drink tonight.”

Theresa laughed, waving at the bartender to
come their way. “I know honey, that’s why I asked you. We’ve been
going here every Friday after work for almost a year and you’ve yet
to join us.”

“I didn’t know I was invited.” The words
left her mouth and she immediately wanted to take them back. She’d
been so busy taking care of her family when she was younger, she
never made much time for friends. It still came hard for her,
acting casual around people, loosening up.

“Anyone and everyone from work are always
wanted. It’s a standing, open invitation.” Theresa smiled at the
bartender who smiled in return. “Hey Bud. Me and my friend here, we
want one of your special butterscotch martinis.”

“Don’t you wanna experience a real drink,
Theresa? Not some frou-frou crap?” The bartender leaned in close,
his expression flirtatious and he clearly had eyes only for
her.

Theresa batted her eyelashes. “I like
frou-frou and so does Janelle. So come on, hook us up.”

He rolled his eyes and walked away,
presumably to go fix their drinks.

“His name is really Bud?” Janelle giggled,
shaking her head.

“Yeah, he’s so sweet. I think he has a
little crush on me.” Theresa smiled, looking a bit smug. “It’s
okay. I have a little crush on him too. Never thought I’d fall for
a guy named Bud. It doesn’t hurt he makes my favorite drink like no
one else.”

“I love martinis but I’ve never tried a
butterscotch one before.” Janelle remembered the chocolate martini
from Temptations. Which of course made her remember Nate and the
way he’d kissed her, how he’d touched her and told her he didn’t
share.

The tail was still on her. She’d gotten
quite used to the nondescript dark blue car following her
everywhere. It sat outside of the restaurant at this very moment.
Always watching, always there, yet always discreet.

She wished it was Nate who was always there
for her.

“Mmm, well a butterscotch martini is like a
decadent taste straight from heaven, trust me. You’ll love it.”
Theresa sighed, glancing around the room. “There are not a lot of
people here for a Friday night. Usually there are more guys.”

“Cute guys?” She cocked a brow, feigning
interest. Not that she cared. The only cute guy she wondered about
now avoided her like the plague.

“Oh yeah, definitely. Lots of corporate
types come here for drinks. Or they watch football, baseball,
whatever’s playing on the big screen. It’s a lot of fun.” Theresa
cocked her head, watching her. “So tell me. Do you have a
boyfriend?”

Janelle shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m
single.”

“Dating anyone?”

“No, not at all.” A flush heated Janelle’s
cheeks and she hoped Theresa didn’t notice. How could she explain
Nate to her? She couldn’t tell Theresa how they met.

“Mmm, hmm. I remember that guy who came to
see you a couple of weeks ago, the detective. He was hot. What
about him?”

Bud the bartender appeared with their
drinks, interrupting them. She was thankful he kept Theresa talking
for a few minutes with flirtatious banter, making Theresa
giggle.

She didn’t want to get into the details over
why a cop came to talk to her. The truth would make Theresa’s head
spin. She’d probably ask a million questions. None Janelle would
want to answer.

“So? Why did he come and talk to you?”
Theresa turned her attention to Janelle after Bud walked away. She
sipped from her glass and smacked her lips together. “God, that’s
good.”

Great. Theresa didn’t forget, unfortunately.
“Um, there was a string of robberies in my apartment complex and he
was investigating the case. I guess a neighbor told him I might’ve
seen someone. A suspect.”

Good lord, she hadn’t lied like that in
ages. She hated that she was fibbing to her new friend, but she
couldn’t reveal the truth.

A lie was much, much easier.

“Wow, really?” Theresa’s light brown eyes
nearly bugged out of her head. “So you saw some guy breaking into
an apartment or what? Has yours been broken into?”

“Luckily no. I really didn’t see anything. I
think my neighbor got me confused with someone else or—something.”
Janelle winced. What a lame story.

“Ah, bummer. Well, actually it was probably
best you didn’t see anything. I would never want to be a witness to
a crime. I think that would bring too much trouble into my life. I
hate drama.”

Oh, God did Janelle ever hate drama.

“True.” Janelle took another sip, enjoying
the sweet, powerful liquid as it slid down her throat and warmed
her stomach. This was nice, having a drink with her new friend,
talking about silly stuff, flirting with the bartender who kept
checking up on them. No one else from work showed up, but that gave
her a chance to get to know Theresa better.

They ended up sharing a plate of nachos and
gossiping about work. Theresa told Janelle about breaking up with
her boyfriend and how hard it had been on her, how she was looking
for someone new. Theresa also invited her to have brunch on Sunday,
which Janelle took her up on.

It was the nicest night she’d had in a long
time. She felt almost...normal.

“I need to get up early tomorrow. I’m going
to my parents’ house for a birthday party for my nephew and they
live two hours away,” Theresa told her as they left the restaurant
and walked out into the cool night.

“Oh well, drive safe.” Janelle smiled,
though she felt wistful. She wished she had a nice big family to go
hang out with and celebrate a nephew’s birthday party.

“I will. I’ll fill you in with all the
details on Sunday. My mother drives me nuts. My entire family
drives me nuts, but doesn’t everyone’s?” Theresa embraced Janelle
quickly, surprising her. “I’m so glad you came tonight. I’ll call
you tomorrow after I get home and we can set up a time to
meet.”

“That sounds perfect.” Janelle watched
Theresa walk to her car, a thread of jealousy coursing through her
veins.

Theresa didn’t know how good she had it. A
nice normal life. She had a job to complain about, a boyfriend who
broke her heart and a mother who drove her nuts, probably because
she cared too much.

Janelle would give everything to have a
glimmer of that.

With a sigh, she headed for her car, her
heels clicking loudly on the asphalt of the vast parking lot. She
caught sight of the familiar navy blue car. It sat up ahead, not
too far from her Toyota.

Normally her anonymous guard parked far
enough that he wasn’t obvious, but close enough she always saw
him.

As she walked closer, she realized she’d
have to pass the blue car, which meant she’d catch a glimpse of
him. Finally. She was curious. Of course, it couldn’t always be the
same guy who tailed her but she wanted to see one of them at least
once.

Turning her head slightly, not wanting to
appear too obvious, she glanced in the direction of the windshield
to find Nate sitting behind the steering wheel, watching her with
an intensity that nearly scorched her where she stood.

She stopped in her tracks, stunned. Was he
the one who’d been following her since day one? No way, it couldn’t
be. He was too busy conducting his investigation, trying to find
Ginger, trying to nab Billy.

Her feet started to move of their own
volition and she headed for the driver’s side of the car. He threw
open the door and climbed out, waiting for her, a hint of a smile
curving those appealing lips.

Her knees quaked at the sight of him, her
nipples chafed against her bra. Nate appeared and she reacted, just
like that.

She wondered if he had a clue of the power
he wielded over her body.

“So you’re the one keeping tabs on me?”

Nate shrugged. “Not all the time but lately,
yeah.”

“Why? Aren’t you busy? Trying to catch all
the bad guys?”

“The investigation’s been...stalled. Diaz’s
operating somewhere else, the club’s clean. And your sister is
still hiding out.” His expression was grim, his voice low and he
sounded disappointed.

“I still haven’t heard from her,” she
offered, wishing she could tell him something different.

“So is everything okay?” He clutched the top
of the car door and breathed deep. “Have fun in there?”

She was surprised by his question. “Yes, I
did.”

“Meet anyone?” Clenching his jaw, his lips
thinned and his eyes glowed bright with a strange light.

Was that jealousy she saw reflected in their
dark depths?

“Not really.” She met him at the door,
pressing her hands on the top edge of it much as he did.

“What the hell kind of answer is that?”

Oh yes, he was most definitely jealous. His
big body was tense, his face a glowering mask as he watched her. A
thrill shivered through her veins.

His reaction showed he might actually
care.

“Well, I met the bartender, but he only has
eyes for my friend. And I talked to our waitress, who was a real
sweetheart.”

He visibly relaxed, though his jaw was still
tight. “Oh.”

Her eyebrows rose and she crossed her arms
in front of her chest. “That’s all you have to say? ‘Oh’?”

“Look, I have no right to interrogate you
about your social life. It’s none of my business. Have you tried to
get a hold of Ginger?”

Janelle shook her head at his quick change
of subject. All business, that was her detective. Relaxing her
defensive stance, she gripped the door frame again, tempted to
place her hand over Nate’s. “I told you I’d let you know the minute
she called.”

“Good.” Nate nodded once, then climbed back
into the car. “You ready?”

She stood there, still hanging onto the
door, feeling like a damn fool. Why wouldn’t he make the first move
and tell her how he felt? She knew he wanted her as badly as she
wanted him.

Why did they step around each other so
cautiously when all they really wanted to do was throw themselves
at each other?

“You’re following me back to my place?” She
watched him wrap those long fingers around the steering wheel after
he started the car, remembering how they felt on her skin.