Page 30 of Of Desire And Deception

“Fine.” Madden murmured under his breath, but I couldn’t decipher the words. “I’ll have one of the tech team get on it tonight. Somebody will text you when you’re in the clear. I hope you’re fast because it might only buy you a few minutes. Look for documents and files on the computers. Correspondence.”

Thank fuck he couldn’t see me rolling my eyes. The man hadn’t been in the field aside from making contact with agents in years. He was more likely to show up at the end of an operation, so the news stations would film him as he led a suspect away. “I know how to conduct a search, sir.”

“I haven’t seen evidence of that yet,” he said flippantly.

His words stung, even if he was full of shit. All my performance reviews were glowing. I had undertaken an undercover position nobody else could fill, and so far, I was acclimating to the target’s world. Infiltration took time.

My former partner would have been the first to remind me I was the master of my emotions. He also would have made faces behind Madden’s back to keep me from blowing up. For Trey, I reminded myself, using my thirst for justice as a motivator to not screw myself over during the conversation with my boss.

As much as I wanted to tell Madden to go fuck himself, I reigned in my aggravation. Small men loved to be placated with ego boosts, so I appealed to his need for others to grovel. “I won’t let you down, sir.”

“See that you don’t,” he spat. “I want an update as soon as you’re done. No matter the time.”

“Yes, sir.”

The line went dead, and I chugged the rest of my coffee, rinsing the cup and leaving it in the sink. The impromptu meeting could have gone worse. At least I still had a job.

I passed the next couple of hours doing laundry and mentally creating a list of things to look for when I had the chance later. There wasn’t enough time to fold and put things away before I had to leave for work, so I left the pile of clean clothing on my bed, hoping it would motivate me to put it all away before climbing in after work. The tactic only worked about half the time.

After a month, I finally knew the bus schedules, so I had no problem catching my ride on time and getting to Deception a few minutes before my shift. The bouncer even gave me a small smile as I passed by, skirting the floor and heading straight through to drop my things off.

When I caught my reflection in the mirror, I cursed. I was so distracted that I hadn’t done my makeup. I dug through my purse and found the travel bag of makeup I took to work for touch-ups when I sweat my foundation off during busy shifts, then got to work with a quick look. It was less than I usually did, and I looked out of character. That wouldn’t do.

A swipe of red lipstick transformed everything, balancing my simple eye makeup. I flipped my hair over and fluffed it at the roots, then straightened and nodded at my reflection. It was good enough.

One of the regulars was sitting at my end of the bar when I clocked in, and I greeted him with a smile. Time to earn some tips while I waited for my text. “Hey, Joe, how’s it going?”

“Can’t complain, doll,” he answered, openly ogling me.

It was to be expected in a strip club; men came to feast their eyes on everything with breasts. Even though I worked behind the bar, a few patrons had tried to convince me to give them private dances. The bouncers were quick to shut that shit down when they noticed, but it didn’t hurt my nightly tip tally if I engaged in a little harmless flirting.

I ran my fingertips across the bar top, just shy of touching Joe’s hand. “Can I get you another beer?”

“Sure, doll.” He grinned as I leaned forward and took his glass, watching as I washed it and pulled a clean one from the rack, filling it at the tap with his favorite.

“There, perfect head,” I said suggestively, setting the glass on a new black napkin before him. He chuckled as I sashayed to the register and added the beverage to his growing tab.

“Looks like you’re working the room,” Zach laughed as he squeezed past me with a rack of glasses, brushing against my back. “Oh, to be young again.”

“You can’t be over forty,” I quipped back. His blonde waves didn’t hold any hints of grey, and the only lines on his face were the smile lines at the corners of his eyes. Under his uniform, he looked as fit as any man who hit the gym at least five days a week.

“How dare you,” he feigned offense, shaking his head. “I’m thirty-six.”

“I was still right.”

“Don’t you dare make me a day older than I am,” he cautioned playfully, preparing to snap me with a bar towel.

I dodged it, then darted my hand out to catch the cloth, tugging it from his hands in a quick move that left him with his jaw dropped. “I don’t know. Your reflexes are already slowing. Pretty soon, you’ll be firmly in the daddy zone.”

“I can work with that.” Zach stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I might have to switch to a different venue. Maybe an all-male review. Chicks dig the daddy type.”

“I’m shocked you haven’t already found a job with a different clientele.”

“Eh,” he shrugged a shoulder. “I owe the Nerettis for a favor they did my family years ago.”

“Yeah?” I asked, trying not to seem too eager. People rarely discussed the Neretti family openly.

“My sister got in with a bad dude a couple of years ago,” he said, his lips pressing into a flat line. “He was a trafficker. Took her on a date and drugged her, and she woke up in a truck with a bunch of other women.”

---