Forcing all thoughts of her surly lieutenant from her mind, Phil focused on her case. After viewing Candi’s video a half-dozen times and practicing in front of the full-length mirror in the living room, Phil felt more than prepared to lure a kidnapper from the woodwork.
She looked forward to shifting gears, to becoming Kat, to checking in and surveilling not only the patrons of the night, but probing into the personal lives of the dancers. She was an investigator at heart and she loved unraveling a mystery.
She’d set aside an hour to go through several of the Kashmir employee files. Just as Ty had informed her: from the info gathered, everyone checked out. There were a few priors here and there. The basic possession charges, a couple of DUIs, and traffic violations, and while several of the girls had soliciting charges there were no convictions.
While the general workforce of Klub Kashmir was speckled with peccadilloes, none pointed to felony kidnapping. It occurred to Phil that for a business traditionally riddled with vice charges and convictions, this particular club smelled like a rose when it should reek with the stench of a Dumpster. Her instincts told her things were too neat, too tidy, too pat. She smelled a rat.
The stale smell of smoke from the previous night hit her full force as she opened the back door. The club catered to cigar-smoking men who had too much money. Even though the building was aired out daily, the lingering scent of cigars hung like a winter coat around them. Her nose twitched in distaste. The heavy perfume of the dancers didn’t help matters.
As if she’d been doing it for years, Phil hustled to her locker and got down to business. From what Candi said, Saturday nights were the big money nights for the dancers and servers alike.
But the dancers were a cut above the average strip joint dancers and plied their trade well, and Bud made a decent drink. What more could a guy want?
“Milo, get those tables set up over here.”
Phil’s skin shimmered at the sound of Ty’s deep voice. Then she snorted. What more could a man want? A man like Ty wanted it all and had no problem taking it all. Well, he had another thing coming with her. More determined to turn her blood into frost and give him the cold shoulder, Phil slipped on her stilettos. Her feet throbbed immediately.
She breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. As she did, she slowly smiled. Her metamorphosis was nearly complete. When she stood, her shoulders squared and her hips loosened. A euphoric sensation swept through her and she laughed, the sound throaty. Yes, she was Kat now, and her claws were barely sheathed. Her eyes narrowed: Klub Kashmir, watch out.
She strutted into the main club area, ignoring Ty as she made a beeline for the bar. Wiping a glass dry, Bud smiled up at her. “Missy, if I were a betting man today, I would’ve lost. I thought you’d be turning in your uniform.”
Phil leaned an elbow on the bar. “Not on your life, Bud. I need this job, and the bunions that come with it.”
He put down the glass and hit the register, counted out fifty dollars in varying paper currency. “Thanks,” she said, taking the wad from his hand. “Tonight I predict four hundred. You think I can do it?”
His old eyes glowed and he raked her with his gaze. He chuckled. “Kid, I’d say I’d be a fool to wager against you twice.”
“She’s a dark horse for sure,” Ty said from behind her, his warm breath sliding like warm honey across the back of her shoulders.
Phil stiffened and turned. Bad move. Her breasts dragged across Ty’s chest and immediately responded. She met him eye-to-eye, nose-to-nose, mouth-to-mouth. Their warm breaths mingled. She remained unaffected. Her body relaxed and she let Ty sweep his gaze across her bountifully displayed attributes. “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Masters coming by to say hello.”
Ty’s eyes narrowed.
She twirled away from him and saucily said, “Break a leg.” Then she headed out of his way just in case he decided to touch her again.
“Hey, Kat,” Candi called as Phil checked her lipstick in a mirror backstage. Phil smiled. Gone was the fresh-faced mommy. The blonde bombshell was back. Candi’s hair was piled on top of her head, with sequins and glitter liberally applied. A skin-tight black leather jumpsuit accentuated every sexy curve she owned. No wonder Ty liked sleeping with her.
“You look great, Candi.”
Candi popped her gum. “I have something special planned.” She sidled close, and whispered, “Ty doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to rock his world tonight.”
Phil’s stomach somersaulted. She forced a smile. “I’m sure he won’t be able to wait until he gets you home.”
Candi patted Phil’s ass and popped her gum. “Honey, that’s what I’m counting on. Wish me luck!”
“Good luck,” Phil softly said.
“Here we go, ladies and gents!” Ty’s voice boomed over the dance floor.
Phil hurried back to the bar and watched the men and women flood the tables and chairs. The few women last night surprised her, but tonight, easily one third of the guests were female.
Jase, accompanied by two very attractive women, hurried to the wraparound bar at the stage. Each of the ladies looked centerfold quality.
Jase winked at Phil, then whispered in the ear of the taller woman. His gaze remained on Phil as she strode his way, her tray held high, her hips swinging. Grinning, he ran his hand down the tall brunette’s ass to her bare thigh. His other companion, a petite blonde, got in on the action, as well, sandwiching the brunette.
A thrill of excitement swept Phil’s body. Her nipples responded.
“Do you like to watch, Kat?”
Ty’s deep voice startled her. Her spine went rigid. She whirled around. “Don’t come up behind me like that.”
His million-dollar smile flashed. Mischief danced in his green eyes. “You didn’t answer my question.”
She tossed her long hair over her shoulders. He looked good. She figured he probably didn’t have many bad days. His chest pushed the confines of his ribbed black nylon T-shirt. His black tailored slacks clung to his long muscled legs. He smelled clean. With his dark hair pulled back with a thin leather tie, he looked like refined danger.
Despite her iron-willed attempt, that all too familiar quiver speared from her belly south. When he touched her arm she startled. “Afraid of the big bad wolf?” he asked, for her ears only.
She slapped his hand away. “Hardly.”
He laughed low. “Too bad. I’d like to show you my big sharp teeth.”
Phil looked around and found several people watching their exchange. “Stop it, people are looking.”
“That’s a good thing. Pay particular attention to the two ladies with Jase.”
Covertly, Phil chanced a glance their way. “What about them?”
“All three kidnapping nights they were here, with the same guy. The guy has disappeared, but now they’re back.”
“You think they know something?”
“I’ll leave that to you to find out.”
Phil nodded.
As Ty turned back to other club matters, a woman called to her. “Excuse me, miss, can we get a couple of drinks over here?”
Phil turned to see who’d made the question a statement with her rude tone. Jase’s brunette. Phil smiled sweetly. “Of course, ma’am. What can I get for you?”
“Two Grey Goose cosmos and a JD neat.”
She nodded. Ignoring Ty, who stood grinning down at her, Phil hurried to the bar and gave Bud the order. “Two cosmos and a Jack neat.” Jase always started with a real drink and finished with iced tea.
She glanced around the filling room. She spotted Reese perched in the corner. Reese was the strong quiet type. She wondered if he had a wife. She doubted it. Undercover work didn’t normally allow for relationships. Not the sustaining type, anyway.
These guys were rolling stones, and no moss gathered on any of them.
As she worked her way back to Jase, he smiled his thanks and handed her a twenty. She raised her brow. “That won’t cover it, sir. Thirty-six bucks.”
Jase shrugged and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. He pulled out another twenty. “Keep the change, sweetheart.”
She’d be glad to. Phil finished up the first round of her tables. The crowd was in a good mood. Lots of energy flowed across the floor. The drumbeat of the music blared from the speakers, matching the staccato of her heartbeat. Like a rose blooming to the morning sun, her senses opened, heightening her sense of awareness.
It was party time. Excitement of the unknown, the thrill of answering her sensual side, and the knowledge that both Ty and possibly the kidnapper had her in their sights sent her blood coursing through her veins. She couldn’t kill the smile that stretched across her face, tightening her cheeks, if her life depended on it. She was on, lit, ready to rock and roll.
Phil made the second tour of her area. Her customers were drinking like water-starved camels.
Jase and his two ladies carried on outrageously and she bit back a laugh every time she glanced their way. As she worked her tables and covertly watched for anyone or anything out of the ordinary, on more than one occasion she turned to see Ty’s dark simmering eyes following her. Ignoring him, she approached Reese. “See anything unusual?”
He raised his ginger ale her way. “Just you.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You walked out of the squad room a schoolteacher and walked in here a tease.”
“A tease? I’m not teasing anyone!”
“I saw you with Ty last night. Be careful there. You’ll get burned.”
“I could care less about that man…besides, I don’t poach.”
Reese’s eyes widened briefly. “Ty’s as free as the wind. He doesn’t do relationships.”
“Really? What about playing daddy to Candi’s little girl?”
Reese’s eye narrowed and he sipped his drink. “I don’t know anything about that.”
Phil nodded. “Not only is he a cheat, he’s a liar.”
“Ty’s a lot of things, but I’ve always found him to be upfront and aboveboard.”
Phil leaned against the table edge. “I guess with you he is, but then he doesn’t want to get in your pants, does he?”
Reese snorted, his deep blue eyes glittered. Phil felt a reaction. He was handsome…the classic dark, silent type. But she read something in Reese. Integrity, an innate sense of fairness, and as dangerous as his lieu. What was it with these three? While Jase came off as a jokester, a lethal undercurrent throbbed beneath his amiable surface.
Between the three of them, there was nothing they couldn’t accomplish. No one who could get by them.
She shivered. God help the man who was responsible for kidnapping the dancers. While she knew they all had a responsibility to catch the kidnapper, for the sole reason that he broke the law, when he kidnapped a cop, he made it personal. Despite what happened to Phil’s father, she knew for the most part cops took care of their own. Especially the ones who lived on the edge of the law, like Ty, Reese, and Jase.
“I doubt Ty wants to get in my pants,” Reese said. “If he tried, he’d find himself picking his ass up off the floor.”
Phil laughed. “I’d pay money to see that!”
“Listen, keep an eye on Jase’s lady friends tonight. Marten did a lap dance for them the night she disappeared.”
“Ty told me they’ve been here on each of the nights the girls disappeared. Do you think they’re the lookout for the kidnapper?”
Reese sipped his drink. “I’d bet money on it.”
“What does their background check look like?”
“Pure as the driven snow. Stand-up citizens. Except for the fact that they like lap dances.”
“It’s occurred to me, this club has one too many stand-up Joes. Not even one bust in, what? Eight years?”
Reese shrugged. “The owner is a hard case about a clean-club.”
“Go figure.”
“Hey, sweet cheeks,” a male voice called. “How about another round over here?”
She backed up and Reese leaned forward, his voice low. “Keep your eyes open. I have a feeling our guy is in the house.”
Phil’s skin crawled and Ty’s words came back to haunt her.
Eyes in the back of your head, always be aware.
She’d been aware, maybe too aware, so focused on observing those around her, she neglected the paying clients. She needed to find a happy medium.
The DJ announced a two-for-one special on lap dances after the first set of dancers finished performing. The crowd roared. Phil shook her head. The rabid mentality men assumed when a pair of naked breasts were at stake amazed her. Men certainly had a fixation with them and Ty was just as bad.
She put on her tip-me smile and took several orders from a table of men and women. “Hey, Kat,” one of the women with Jase called, reading her nametag. “Would you lap dance for a chick?”
The question caught her off guard. “I—I never considered that.”
The woman smiled, her eyes heavily painted, her nails long and red. “I have a friend who likes to watch two girls. He tips good, too. Interested?”
“I, uh, I don’t have much experience. I’m sure there’s a couple of girls with more experience who would be happy to dance for your friend.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed as she leaned closer. “My friend specifically asked for you.”
“Is there a problem?”
Ty.
Phil gritted her teeth. He was a pain in the ass. She glared at him. “No, sir, there isn’t.” She nodded at the woman. “Let me make my rounds and we’ll talk.”
As she sashayed to the bar, Ty was hot on her stilettos. “Talk about what?”
“None of your business,” she said over her shoulder, heading straight for Bud. She frowned. The other three cocktailers stood one behind the other. They were slammed.
Tapping her fingers against the tray, she waited to turn in her drink orders. “It’s my business if it has something to do with your work here,” Ty said.
Phil refused to turn around and face him. Pig. She turned on him and flashed. “I’m here to do a job! Leave me alone and let me do it!”
“I need to know what you’re doing. I need to know everything at all times.”
“Apparently you like to do everyone at all times, too!” Shit, why did she just say that? She sounded like a jealous girlfriend. It galled her to hell that she wanted Ty to be an honorable man, only to discover he was the worst kind of dog on the street. If he were honorable, she could justify sleeping with him. The realization sobered her. Since when did she want sex? Since when did she care what a rogue cop who broke GOs as often as she broke bad cops thought of her?