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“Like hell. Talk. Do you want to be a big man? Go ahead.” I fold my arms, which I know draws attention to the tits he’s so concerned about me flashing around. “Because you’re not going to say anything I haven’t already heard. A twenty-four-year-old couldn’t possibly pass the exam without blowing a few guys along the way, right? Maybe I let them touch my tits? Slide their dick up in between them and—”
“Enough,” he snaps, curling his lip in a disgusted sneer.
“No. You don’t get to act disgusted when you were the one who brought it up. Sorry if you and your buddies can’t possibly accept that I got where I am through hard work.” Snorting, I nod to the empty glass he’s holding. “Why don’t you have another drink to make yourself feel better?”
He lowers his brow. “Bitch.”
“Asshole.”
At least we’re finally being honest with each other.
“You know what? Waste your time here. Be my guest. And find your own damn way home while you’re at it because I’m sick of wasting my time on your bullshit hunches.”
I would tell him to wait, but I don’t want him to. I didn’t want him around tonight, anyway. I only mentioned my plan to him as a professional courtesy and the fact that if I found anything tonight, I didn’t want to hear a bunch of crap afterward about how I didn’t give him the heads-up I was going to the club.
It takes me a while, standing with my back against the wall, fighting to control myself. That pig. I always knew Craig was one, and I had a feeling he resented me being not only a girl but also ten years younger than him. I just didn’t think he’d go so far as to accuse me of sleeping my way into a detective position.
My pulse is still a little faster than it should be by the time I gather myself enough to push away from the wall, but then thoughts of Luca Santoro aren’t helping. I’ve never met anybody like him. I figured charm, as well as clever and sly, would be part of it. Somebody who has managed to evade law enforcement his entire life would have to be charming. That’s how he gets what he wants.
But it’s one thing to know the Empire State Building is tall and another to stand at the top and look down over the city. That’s how I felt in his presence—a little dizzy from being so high up, slightly disoriented. Exhilarated. He did that to me, and all it took was a few minutes together at a table and the briefest touch of his fingers and lips against my skin.
I can only imagine how it would feel if he put his lips in other places.
This is why I don’t typically drink. A single glass of wine has me thinking ridiculous thoughts.
What do I do now? Drink some water, definitely, but then what? Do I stick around? Do I leave? There’s a good chance he’ll forget about me while he’s doing whatever it was that was so important, and that deduction has my gaze landing on the narrow hallway where he disappeared down.
My detective instincts kick in, and I instantly question where it leads. The man who shadows him, what does he know? I square my shoulders and fold my arms across my chest, wondering what he’s doing right now. What business distracted him and pulled him away from me? That matters a lot more than a pair of slightly moist panties and the warmth still blazing between my thighs when I recall the electricity that flowed between us when he met my gaze over the top of my hand.
It has to be the wine playing tricks on me.
I make it a point to move around the club after grabbing a bottle of water from the bar, but my attention is always on that ominous dark hall and the giant of a man, Vinny, blocking it. I catch his eye once or twice, but he seems unimpressed and uninterested, always turning straight ahead while wearing a stony expression. That’s for the best. I don’t want him to remember me after…
After what?
There’s one thing Craig was right about. Aside from trying to get a look at Luca and how he does business, I have no idea what I’m doing here. It all seems to be above board from what I’ve seen so far. Something tells me the bad stuff happens in his office or whatever is behind the door.
I have to build this case. Captain Dougherty is counting on me, for one thing. I practically begged to be put on this case. I was desperate to prove myself.
I still am.
But is coming around here and putting myself in Luca’s path the same as the sort of clichéd bullshit jealousy Craig accused me of? Maybe I’m no better than he thinks, which is why I have to find something. Anything. The first in a long line of dominoes. All it takes is the first one to fall.
Vinny disappears down the hall. Interesting. I wait five minutes, then ten, but he doesn’t return. Neither does Luca. I wonder what’s happening in there that could be important enough for him to leave the hall unguarded after hovering for so long.
I’m already walking toward it before I know what I’m doing. That seems to be the way things are going tonight. I’m usually so methodical in everything I do, thriving on the chaos and noticing every little detail surrounding me, but tonight, I keep acting without thinking. I don’t know if it’s Luca or my own determination to find something. Something to prove my worth.
This is crazy. I shouldn’t do this. That’s the only bit of common sense that filters through my mind before I duck down the hall and head straight for the only door at the far end.
Testing the knob, I hold my breath.
It turns.
Here goes nothing. Before I can talk out of it, I ease the door open while pretending to stumble inside drunkenly like I’m trying to be provocative. “I couldn’t wait for you another minute—”
It comes to me in flashes like I’m looking at pictures after the fact.
Plastic sheets covering everything.
