Shaine tossed back the shot purchased for him and grinned with a wink directed at the cute coed who was trying to get his number.
Miami was a happening place with everything from drag queens to supermodels milling around. Everyone had the same agenda, and Shaine’s goal was to circulate, so he happily flirted, charmed and lied his way around every female that came within two feet of him.
And he’d just hit the jackpot.
“There’s a party over at the warehouse. Wanna come?”
“I don’t know... What kind of party is it?” Shaine said with a shrug, playing hard to get. He knew just how to twist women into doing exactly what he wanted. Poppy had once called it a diabolical skill and he hadn’t disagreed.
However, the one time he’d needed it to work, it’d blown up in his face.
Yeah, don’t go there. Not now.
He pushed that particular memory away and refocused on the blonde in front of him.
“It’s going to be epic. DJ Raven is spinning tracks. It’s going to be off the hook.”
“Yeah?”
“And who knows...you might get lucky,” she said suggestively, leaning over the bar, giving Shaine a good, unobstructed view of her ample breasts.
“Tempting.” He pushed a pen and napkin her way. “Write down the address.”
She grabbed the pen and his hand, scribbling an address on his palm with girly loops and swirls before pressing a kiss to the center of his hand with a tiny dart of her tongue. “I hope to see you there. I’m Carly, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Carly.” He waited a beat, then said, “I’m Rocco.”
“Yeah, I know.”
That was interesting. “Have we met before?”
“No, but I’ve heard about you. Capri is a friend of mine. She said you’re supercute.”
“Did she?”
“But I have dibs,” Carly said with a wink before melting into the crowd.
Angelo appeared from the back and Shaine asked if he knew about the warehouse.
“Yeah, it’s a place where the college kids end up when they want to rave. It’s usually an abandoned warehouse in the industrial district. Pretty wild. Usually everyone’s high on Bliss or Molly. Great place to go if you want to get laid. Nearly everyone is down for some action.”
He tried not to react, but asked with natural curiosity, “Bliss? What’s that?”
“You’ve never tried Bliss? Oh, buddy, you’re in for a treat. It’s the best high there is. No pain, only gain.”
“Sounds too good to be true. Does my dick fall off or something?”
“Only from overuse,” Angelo wisecracked and Shaine grinned. “You in? I was planning to make a pit stop. See who’s kicking it.”
“Sounds like a cool place. You sure the cops ain’t gonna bust it up? I can’t afford a run-in. I already have a strike.”
“Naw, you’re good. Nothing to worry about.”
Angelo didn’t elaborate, nor did he share how he knew that the cops would leave them alone, but that made Shaine believe that whoever was on the take within the police department was probably on shift to help divert any calls.
“You in, brother?”
“Hell yes. I need to blow off some steam. Am I supposed to bring anything?”
“Just cash and your appetite for destruction and mayhem.”
“Sounds like my kind of party.”
Angelo grinned and drifted toward the end of the bar, leaving Shaine to process what’d just happened.
He knew Victoria and Marcus were listening on the other end, thanks to the discreet wire that looked like a diamond stud earring in his left ear.
Capri appeared with Poppy in tow, her perennially bubbly personality almost too sweet to handle.
“Laci, you have to meet Rocco. He’s the cutest bartender ever,” Capri gushed, winking at Shaine. “I’ve been telling Laci all about you.”
“Flattered,” Shaine replied with a casual flick of his gaze toward Poppy. It was imperative that no one suspected that they knew each other. He returned to Capri. “What kind of trouble are you up to tonight?”
“I don’t find trouble, trouble finds me,” Capri returned with a little-girl playfulness that was entirely too convincing. He shared Poppy’s belief that Capri was younger than she claimed to be. “But tonight I’m heading to the warehouse. You coming? It’s going to be epic.”
“So I heard.”
“What’s the warehouse?” Poppy asked. “Is it another bar?”
“Nope. Invitation only, hottest party in town. And the best part is, the location changes to keep out the people who don’t belong,” Capri said.
That tidbit of information seemed useful. “Sounds like a bitch to coordinate,” Shaine said.
Capri shrugged as if she never thought about the logistics, nor did she care. Curling her arm around Poppy’s she begged, “Please say you’ll come. It’s so much fun.”
“Yeah, why don’t you come?” Shaine added with a predatory grin as if he liked what he saw.
Capri giggled. “See? Even the new guy thinks you ought to come.”
Poppy laughed, playing along. “And if I do...”
Shaine’s smile curved with promise. “You’ll just have to show up and find out.”
An undercurrent of something real flickered dangerously between them. Shaine’s pulse raced as his breathing quickened.
“If you two hook up, can I watch? You guys are hot,” Capri said, laughing. “Okay, it’s settled. You’re coming, right?”
“Sure,” Poppy said with a flirty smile at Shaine. “I’m down.”
“Perfect,” Capri exclaimed, bouncing on her toes a little. “Okay, I have to get ready for my set. I’ll see you after. We can ride together.”
Shaine shared a final look with Poppy and then walked away with a small wave, as if he were hooked.
Of course, he didn’t like the idea of Poppy going with him to the party, but he’d have to get over it.
Moreover, playing up a flirtation with Poppy could work in their favor. Angelo seemed to enjoy certain privileges with the strippers. He would follow Angelo’s playbook.
He knew Poppy would do whatever it took to solidify her cover, even if it meant pretending that they were attracted to each other.
Was it an act?
Yeah, that was sort of the problem.
It wasn’t an act. At least not on his part.
Poppy was still in his blood and his dreams.
Perhaps now wasn’t the time to admit that when he fantasized, Poppy was the one stroking him, getting him off, not some porn star or supermodel.
That was his own shameful secret. One that he couldn’t quite shake loose.
What could he say? Sex with Poppy had always been pretty hot. Why wouldn’t he fantasize about hot sex?
Will you friggin’ focus, already? Get your head out of the damn gutter.
Shaine wiped the bead of sweat dotting his hairline and forced a chuckle at his own ridiculous detour.
Detours like that could get a man killed.
Rookie mistake.
It’d only been a few days since becoming embedded in the scene, but he was already catching the ebb and flow of the clientele through Lit.
Upscale, trendy and flashy, the clientele were millennials with plenty of cash, no sense of how precious life was and a general belief that they would live forever.
A perfect breeding ground for a drug dealer to peddle something dangerous such as Bliss.
And tonight he’d get a chance to see firsthand how the drug was being moved around.
* * *
Marcus, Victoria, Shaine and Poppy met at Poppy’s apartment to debrief before heading out to the party.
“You’re both equipped with state-of-the-art wires disguised as a necklace for Poppy and the earring for Shaine. These are undetectable and used by the CIA for clandestine operations, so they are the best money can buy,” Victoria said, handing the necklace to Poppy so she could put it on.
“It’s pretty, too,” Poppy said as Marcus clasped it. “Added bonus.”
“Only the best for this operation,” Victoria said with a wry twist of her lips. “See what happens when a senator’s daughter gets caught in the cross fire? The stranglehold on the budget suddenly loosens.”
“True,” Shaine agreed, and then he returned to business. “All right, so we’re going to focus on the Bliss trail, find out who’s distributing it and then follow the chain. Sooner or later, someone is going to slip up and we’re going to be able to find out who El Escorpion is.”
“Don’t be overconfident,” Poppy warned. “I’ve been doing my own snooping around and whoever this person is has layers of protection, which means they are serious about hiding their identity.”
“Of course, but human nature is generally predictable. Someone is going to slip.”
“They haven’t yet.”
She knew Shaine was being Shaine—confident, cocky, self-assured—but this case was bigger than either had ever worked, and Poppy didn’t think those “Shaine” qualities were going to be helpful this time.
“All right, you two, settle down,” Victoria said, flashing Shaine an irritated look, which could’ve been referencing either of them. But she left it a mystery by continuing, “Marcus and I will be monitoring the situation via our coms. If anything goes sidewise, we’ll send in the cops to break it up.”
“That’s not going to work,” Poppy said. “If the cops show up, they’re going to know someone is planted on the inside.” She shook her head, adamant. “No, we are going to have to be on our own for this one. We can’t blow this opportunity to see how this operation works.”
Shaine agreed, saying, “Poppy is right. We’ll be fine. This is just a fact-seeking operation. There’s no need to get twitchy.”
Victoria and Marcus seemed to share a private concern. Poppy frowned. “What was that look?”
Marcus took point. “Look, we’re a little worried that you two were invited too quickly to this ultrasecret party. Something doesn’t feel right. I think you ought to sit this one out, make some excuse to see how they react.”
“And if we never get another invite?” Shaine returned, echoing Poppy’s fear.
“It could be a trap,” Victoria said, shaking her head. “Think about it. You’ve been on the scene for three days and suddenly you’ve been invited to this inner circle party? Doesn’t that smell like something rotten?”
Shaine tightened his lips as if unwilling to admit that maybe they were right but couldn’t ignore what everyone was saying.
But Poppy didn’t want to back down. This could be their only chance. “What are you doing? We’re supposed to be elite agents and you’re all acting like rookies.”
“They have a point,” Shaine said, freshly irritating Poppy. “Let’s take a step back and see what happens.”
“I can’t believe this. A minute ago, you were all cocked ready to go and now you’re backing down. What’s going on?” An ugly thought came to her. She narrowed her gaze at Shaine. “Is this about me? You think I can’t handle the heat? That’s bullshit, Kelly. Utter bullshit.”
“I didn’t say that,” Shaine returned hotly, but Poppy wasn’t buying it now.
Marcus and Victoria didn’t know about the history between Shaine and herself, and neither of them wanted to enlighten their partners, but damn, Shaine was making it difficult to handle things professionally.
“Nobody is saying that,” Marcus said. “Stop wearing your feelings on your shirtsleeve and listen to reason. If you stop and think for just a minute, you’ll agree that it was too easy. It was a test and you’re about to blow it.”
Poppy couldn’t believe this. Everyone was turning on her. Her chest tightened with the urge to scream, but she held it back. Instead, turning to Shaine she said stiffly, “I disagree with the consensus, but since you have more experience in the field, I’ll defer to your judgment.”
God, the words felt like glass leaving her mouth, but at least she managed to get them out.
Shaine held her gaze for a moment and a shock of awareness coursed through her—an electrical current that sizzled down her nerve endings and jolted awake a fitfully sleeping giant—and she had to break contact to preserve the illusion that they had no history.
“Poppy is right,” Shaine finally said, shocking her. “We might not get another chance to get into the inner circle. We have to take the risk that it’s a trap and go for it.”
Poppy blinked back the sudden wash of emotion and managed to jerk a short nod of gratitude, then turned to Victoria and Marcus who were shaking their heads, resigned to going through with it.
“Fine,” Marcus said. “Good luck. Don’t get your ass killed trying to be a hero.”
Victoria said to Shaine, “Same goes for you.”
Poppy’s cell jangled to life. “It’s Capri. We’re riding together.”
Shaine nodded. “Stay sharp. Capri may look young, but she’s got something going on with Angelo, which makes her a suspect.”
Poppy accepted that advice, though she hated to think that Capri was bad. She knew that was dangerous thinking, but she had a soft spot for the kid and desperately wanted to put her on the right path when this was all said and done.
Grabbing her purse, Poppy exited the apartment, leaving behind the team.
Shaine would follow fifteen minutes later in his own car.
Capri honked and waved from a sleek convertible Mercedes and Poppy cringed internally. The kid was in deep if she was buying sports cars for herself or, worse, allowing someone else to buy her expensive cars.
“Hot ride,” Poppy said with appropriate envy, admiring the black leather interior. “Damn, girl, that’s a lot of lap dances.”
Capri giggled as Poppy buckled up, saying, “Only if you’re giving the right people private shows.”
Poppy swallowed her trepidation and smiled encouragingly. “You go, girl.”
Time to put on the game face.