Crap.
Why couldn’t the job just be a job? Why did emotions have to surface? Feeling like she’d snatched a bottle from a baby, Phil turned and hurried to the bar.
The DJ announced last call. In forty minuets Ty and Milo would be herding the crowd out into parking lot.
She started at Ty’s voice behind her. “The guy is as clean as Mother Teresa.”
Quickly, she turned to face him. He looked pissed. He wanted the guy to be it, or at least a lead, as bad as she did, probably more.
“That proves nothing.”
“The fact that he’s been overseas for the last five months does.”
“Where overseas? Maybe he was setting up buyers.”
“The guy manages the Kings of Prussia, as in the European football team. I spoke to an owner and he vouched for lover boy.”
“Oh.”
“So you’ll have to date him on your own time.”
Phil hissed back a breath. “Why do you think so little of women?”
His brows creased. “I love women.”
“You use women.”
“Kat, your drinks are up.”
Ty grabbed her arm as she turned to fill her tray. “I don’t use women any more then they use me.”
She looked at his hand on her arm and flashed him a glare. He removed it.
“Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
“Sure they do.”
Phil shook her head and turned away. He was beyond saving. As she filled her tray, she wondered why she ever thought she’d be the one to save him.
Glancing at the bar clock she sighed; one more hour and she could go home. Her feet where screaming and she was tired. And, she hated to admit it, she was horny. Ty might be beyond redemption, but her body didn’t seem to care much. Too bad for her body. Her brain had the final say and there was no way she would get tangled up in the sheets with the likes of him.
As she sashayed in and around her tables, serving the thirsty men and staving off their lustful gropes, her eyes clashed with Ty’s more than once. Each time his heated gaze raked her body, she felt it as surely as if laser beams swept her skin.
She’d never encountered a man remotely like him. He was a paradox. Hard, boorish, and moody, yet he burned with a passion for his job, and this case, that she had yet to encounter in another cop. Not even her father. Ty had the highest conviction rate of any officer in the department. While others had higher arrest rates, many of those walked before they were formally charged. Ty’s cases were solid, airtight. The DA loved prosecuting them. Ty’s unshakable tenacity on the witness stand was legendary.
She glanced up at Reese, who silently saluted her. His men would follow him to the gates of hell if he asked. And through the grapevine she’d heard over the years how he’d stuck by his men when more than a few had found themselves under the scrutinizing eye of IA.
While he did wrong, skirting the law and sometimes stepping over the boundaries, he did it with the sole intention of getting the bad guy. Her IA training shuddered at the thought of anything but following the clear letter of the law. As much as she wanted to get the bad guy, she could not see her way to lying, cheating, or thieving to see a case through. Not under any condition. She didn’t understand how Ty could. While she didn’t condone his behavior, she respected his passion for fighting crime.
The DJ announced last call for lap dances. His voice boomed over the speakers, jerking her out of her musings. Too much Ty on the brain could get her in serious trouble.
She scanned the room for the object of her thoughts and caught him in deep conversation with Milo. He looked up and their eyes locked. Her skin warmed. He stirred her deep and she found his pull irresistible.
“I’ll be out front waiting for you, Kat,” Mason said from behind her, his hot smelly breath stirring her hair and her gag reflex.
She whirled around and put the empty tray safely between them. “Mr. Mason,” she stuttered. “You startled me.”
He pressed against the edge of the tray so hard it jammed against her breasts painfully. She moved back, but he followed.
“I’ll be out front. Don’t make me wait.”
“I, ah, something came up, I won’t be able to keep our date.”
He grabbed the tray and twisted it out of her hands. Like the bully he was, he pushed her back up against the mirrored wall.
“Something’s up, all right. My dick. If you’re not out front in thirty minutes, you’ll live to regret it.”
Phil pushed back. “Threaten me again, mister, and you’ll be the one who regrets it.” She pushed past him, furious, and at the same time more then a little bit sad. Was this the life of an exotic dancer? Treated like a second-rate citizen? Constantly at the whim of men who because they had money and could pay for sex thought they were superior?
While she had gained a certain amount of satisfaction as Kat, it was different for her. She didn’t need to do this for a living. She had options. What about women like Candi, who had a child to care for, who out in the regular workforce, without a decent education, couldn’t afford to live and pay her high-priced attorney to fight for custody. The girls here were just as hardworking as the next person, and she respected the hell out of them and their talent, but the downside was what they had to put up with.
As she made her way to the bar, her eyes fell on Ty, who was escorting a drunk who’d, by the looks of the cocktailer standing nearby, gotten out of line. Her heart thawed a degree. For someone who didn’t care much for the opposite sex, he sure took care of the girls here at the Kashmir.
As she cleaned up her tables, Phil watched Candi come out of the same room where she had danced for Jase and his lady friends earlier. Candi held her clothes to her chest and kissed the man who followed her out, long and hard. Before he stepped away, the man shoved a wad of bills at Candi.
Candi looked around, making sure no one saw her stick the wad in her shoe. She glanced up to catch Phil’s gaze.
Averting her eyes, Candi hurried past Phil. Although Candi was stealing, Phil felt sorry for her. Not sorry that Candi did what she did for a buck, but sorry she had to steal to make ends meet.
The owner of Klub Kashmir, Mr. Z., was a greedy bastard. In her opinion, the girls should be able to keep all of their tips.
As Phil followed Candi with her eyes, she caught Ty doing the same thing. Her blood pressure spiked. Just when she started to think of him in a better light he had to go Neanderthal on her.
Phil sighed. Lusting after Ty Jamerson was a lesson in futility. While he had openly demonstrated and even conveyed in words he wanted her, he apparently wanted Candi, too. It wasn’t in her nature to share.
Besides, Candi wanted Ty. Who was Phil to mess with a ready-made family?
The lights flared on and Phil realized most of the men were gone. Once the booze stopped and the stage and lap dance doors were closed, there was no reason for any of them to stick around.
She scanned the large room for Scott Mason. He was nowhere in sight. Was he waiting out front for her? He could wait all night. Her car was parked out back. She would drive right past him and he wouldn’t even know.
With the club empty, Phil hurried to the ladies’ room. She stopped short when she saw Reese lurking in the shadows. “Took you long enough, Zorn,” he grumbled.
“Sorry, didn’t realize you had a ladies’ bathroom fetish.”
“Funny.” Reese pushed open the door and nodded for her to follow. She did. He checked the stalls. Confident they were alone, he said, “I know Ty told you Mason was clean. But you need to be alert. Those two ladies you danced for tonight have had lap dances on the nights of each kidnapping. I’ll follow you home.”
“I think Ty has that market cornered. If you want to trade, that’s fine. But don’t think you’re parking yourself at my house.”
Reese grinned, the first genuine one she’d seen. He was damn good looking.
“Not even on your sofa?”
“Not even in my dog house.”
“You’re not a very accommodating lady.”
The bathroom door slammed open and Ty burst in.
Both Reese and Phil started. Ty stopped and narrowed his eyes. “Is this a private party or can anyone join?”
Reese shrugged. “I was just letting Zorn know she needed to be extra alert tonight since those two ladies had their lap dance. I don’t need to tell you the MO.”
Ty looked at Phil as if she would confirm Reese’s explanation. “I also told her I’d follow her home,” Reese added.
“No need, I’ll take care of that chore.”
Reese nodded. “Good enough. Jase and I’ll go over the video for the night.” He nodded to Phil and exited the bathroom.
Phil stood with her hands on her hips and tapped her foot, the sound on the tile floor sharp. “Are you quite done with acting like a jealous sixteen-year-old?”
“I didn’t act that way.”
Phil shook her head. Her bladder called. “If you don’t mind, I have to pee.”
“Don’t let me stop you.”
“Get out of here.”
“I’ll wait for you outside the door.”
As she slammed the stall door closed, she said, “Then go already.”
When she exited the restroom, she sauntered past Ty and hit the rest of her tables. She wanted to get home and take a shower.
Her cleanup duty complete, Phil hustled back to her locker and changed into a pair of comfy sweats and sneakers. For the second time in twenty-four hours she wished for a foot massage. As she hiked her bag over her shoulder, Candi walked in.
“How’d you do tonight, hon?”
Phil shrugged. “I didn’t count. But not bad.”
Candi popped her gum. “I made eight hundred dollars! My ex is going to wish he never sued for custody. I’m going to buy me a shark of a lawyer.”
Phil wondered if that eight hundred included what Candy hid in her shoe. She decided she didn’t care. “I hope it all works out for you.”
Candi moved in closer. Her eyes narrowed slightly and Phil tensed, knowing what was coming. “If that’s true, then you need to back off.”
Phil sighed. Under normal circumstances, she’d bristle up and tell the little dancer what she could do with her commands. But Candi touched a soft spot in Phil, or rather, the vision of little Lola’s face did. The girl needed a daddy more than Phil needed to get laid.
“You have nothing to fear from me, Candi. I’m not interested.
Tired, frustrated, and now suddenly angry, Phil headed out the back door, her brain a whirlwind of colliding thoughts. Ty, the kidnapped dancers, Candi, the chance meeting with Scott Mason, and the memories that came with him.
She’d moved past what happened to her that summer night so many years ago. The nightmares had long since disappeared, but it didn’t mean she’d forgotten. She would never forget. Her life lesson learned was sex on any level would be on her terms and her terms alone, because she was in control. No exceptions.
Her frustration rose. Her anger, she realized, stemmed from her desire for Ty. She wanted him exclusively and that wasn’t possible.
“Kat!”
Phil hesitated at Ty’s voice. Then she stepped up her pace to her car, afraid of unloading on him. She didn’t want a scene. Not tonight.
Just as she opened the car door, he caught up. “I called to you,” he said, out of breath.
She whirled around. “Yes, and I ignored you.” She tried to go butt first into the car, but Ty grabbed her arm and pulled her out. “What the hell’s going on, Zorn?”
“Why don’t you tell me, Lieutenant?”
“I swear you females talk a different language. Why not speak to me in English.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my communication skills, sir.”
He swiped his hand across his jaw. “I hate it when you get all official on me. My name is Ty, use it.”
“Yes, sir.” She kept her face impassive as color darkened his cheeks. Any measure of discomfort she gave him suited her just fine, and the more painful the better.
She decided to be crystal clear with him, and if he chose not to get it, then that was on him. “Look, Daddy Dearest. What you do on your own time is no business of mine. But I’m not going to allow your extracurricular affairs to impede this investigation.”
“What the hell are you talking about? I’m working this case just as hard, if not harder, than you!”
“My point exactly, sir. You seem to be working this case from every conceivable angle, which is fine, you’re the boss after all, but leave me out of it.”
His silence stopped her from slamming the door in his face. Instead, the way his lips twitched and his eyes danced intrigued her.
“Zorn, are you mad at me for not taking you in the dance room?”
Oh, for Christ’s sake. She didn’t dignify him with an answer. “Just leave me the hell alone.”
“I will after I follow you home. But I have a few things to tie up. Stay put.”
“Have Reese follow me.”
“Too late, he’s on his way to go over tape.”
She remained silent.
“Piss me off and your ass is canned.”
Phil remained silent and Ty finally stepped away from her car. She glanced in her rearview mirror to see him walking back toward the club.
She slammed the door shut and turned the key.
Nothing. Dammit!
She needed a jump start. She opened her car door and looked around. A few lingering patrons milled about in the lot, no doubt hopeful to get a chance to snag one of the dancers for some of their own extracurricular activities.
She scooted out of the Taurus and lifted the hood.
“Need a jump start, Kat?”
The fine hair on the back of her neck spiked straight up. Slowly she turned around.
“Thank you, Mr. Mason, but my manager is going to get the cables right now.”
“Well, then, I guess we’d better hurry.”
He moved in on her so fast she was unprepared. He slammed her hard against the front right fender of the car.
“I can make you want me like you did Kyle,” he said as his hand grabbed her breast and squeezed.
So he remembered her as well. She kneed him hard, but he was prepared. His knees locked. He backed away.
“I can assure you, I didn’t want Kyle the way you think I did.”
No, she didn’t. Kyle had lured her under those bleachers with promises of love and devotion, and like a little lamb she’d followed. She couldn’t have been more wrong. What followed was a free show for half the football team, of which Scott Mason was the ring leader, and a case of the crabs. From that horrible day forward she vowed never to be a victim again.