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“Hmm, sure. Whatever you say. Did you at least come back with the gloves and baggie?” Ace’s voice is laced with skepticism.
Lifting my hand, I show him both, and slide the gloves on. Picking up the glass, the remnants of her soft pink lipstick catch my eye, almost making me groan. I honestly want to lick it off to get a small taste of her pretty mouth. I need to stop thinking about her like that, but she’s addictive. For all we know, she could be here to kill us or burn the club down. She wouldn’t be the first insane woman we’ve come across. There’s no telling what her agenda is, so we all have to stay alert.
Yeah, that includes you too, dumbass.
I might fucking come to the image of her, but I’d never act on it.
Ruined. Broken.That’s all that I am.
Shaking my thoughts away, I seal the bag and hand it over to Ace.
“I’ll get this over to Josh. He should be able to tell us in a few days who the hell she is and what she’s hiding. Hopefully her prints are in the system somewhere, otherwise we’ll have to try something else. Something’s definitely going on with her and Novak, and I’d rather not be blindsided by whatever it is. We always need to be two steps ahead of everyone else,” Ace says in his cold voice. Typical Ace. Always so prepared and put together.Except when he’s not.
“Any theories on what she’s up to?” I ask both of them. Blais shrugs, which isn’t surprising considering how much of a liking he’s taken to her. Shifting my attention to Ace, he looks deep in thought.
“Whatever it is, it has to do with Novak. We already know he’s a scumbag, and I don’t take her as the type to be attracted to that. Hell, Blais couldn’t even work his magic on her; and that always works. She didn’t bat an eye when we told her we owned the place, so if she was really looking to score a rich guy, she would’ve been all over us. I don’t know what exactly she wants yet, but I plan to find out.”
Everything he said is true. She was all over Novak on the dance floor, but didn’t take her chances with us when she found out we had money too.
“What happens if we find something we don’t like?” Blais asks, propping his elbows on the marble countertop, nervously rolling one of his eyebrow piercings between his fingers.
“She’ll wish she never set foot in this club.” I can see Ace’s body go stiff, pushing his shoulders back. Ace can portray a charming, hospitable man in public, but if you’re on his bad side, then you better watch out. He’s a ruthless motherfucker when it’s needed. There are times even I’m terrified of the guy, and we’ve been friends for years.
If Ace finds out Courtney Thompson isn’t who she says she is, she might as well start digging her grave now.
He’ll kill her… and I won’t stop him.
Lying on the most comfortable bed I’ve ever felt, I stare at the ceiling, contemplating what I’m going to do next. I didn’t get much from Novak on Saturday night because three incredibly attractive assholes interrupted my work.
I would’ve done anything to get information out of him, even if it meant acting like some dumb, drunk blonde, thirsty for his money.
My plan was slowly working, I didn’t care that I was using my body to do it. Even if it turned out to be a dead end, I wouldn’t have minded;I just needed something no matter how small. Part of me misses the adrenaline rush of being in danger, of putting myself in situations so risky I might not make it out. I was starting to feel it around Novak, but it quickly sizzled.Now all I’m left with isscorching anger at the fact I was close to getting something—anything— untiltheyhad to ruin it for me.
Now five days later, I still have nothing.
I’m not sure how Chief Holt will react if I come out of this without a single piece of evidence. He’ll probably be disappointed in me, but not more than I’ll be in myself. I can’t allow myself to get distracted again. If I keep letting handsome men put me off from my target, I’ll never get anywhere.
I can’t do that to Chief or Matt. They’re counting on me to solve this.
Rich and influential people—men and women—started disappearing about two years ago. The FBI just recently took the case on because the local police department had been under the impression they could handle this on their own—which they obviously couldn’t.
Thinking back to what Novak said to me, I can’t help but wonder if that’s at least a start. He said he knew someone who’d pay a lot of money for one night with me. He said it in a suggestive way, but nothing that confirmed whether or not he meant it literally. Definitely odd to say, but he’s not quite the average man.
I know the case I’m working on isn’t necessarily about sex work like Novak implied he was a part of, but if I can get in with the wealthy, then I might be able to find out who’d want their money bad enough to make them disappear completely.
Blais may have ruined my chances on Saturday, but Ross Novak doesn’t seem like the type of man who’d give a shit if someone was already taken, considering the scumbag himself is married. When I find him again, I can guarantee he’ll still pursue me. I can pretend to be an escort if that’s what I need to do, but I’d rather not stoop so low.
I saw the way he looked at me with a heated stare. His eyes roamed my body like I was a piece of meat he was ready to devour. The man has an ego the size of the city and adding another notch under his belt would give him the power he thrives on. Especially if that notch is someone he thinks is already taken by another man.
Rolling over to check the time, I decide to get up and do something productive. I run my hand over the soft purple comforter as my gaze rifles around the apartment the FBI put me in, the walls are a light gray, and the trim and doors are white—simple but elegant. There’s enough decor and random shit I haven’t seen before to make this whole facade believable. Hell, they printed pictures of my family and me, before they passed away and put them all over the place. There’s even framed ones ofMatt and I. I chuckle when my eyes catch on the potted plants on the windowsill. I can’t keep plants alive to save my life. “Good luck,” I mumble under my breath.
The FBI went all out to turn me into Courtney Thompson.
This apartment is nice—definitely fancier and way more decorated than mine—but it doesn’t feel like home. I live by myself, but Matt is over all the time so it never feels like I’m alone. I’ve only been here two weeks and I’m already missing him. I miss his comforting energy that I can feel in my home even when he’s not there. I miss seeing his bright, devious mouth, ready to make some inappropriate comment. When I get back, we’re stuffing our faces with pizza and having a movie night.
I smile, reminiscing about the fight that’s most definitely going to happen. He’s going to insist on watching an action movie and I’m going to argue with him until he gives in to watching a rom-com just to shut me up.
I can’t sit here thinking about Matt for too long or I’ll get sad and wallow the rest of the day. Standing up, I walk over to the cute white desk in the corner and plop down into the lavender office chair.
