idea of what to do.
And now taking the stage, a sweet treat, a country girl from Connecticut, Lovely Laci!
Poppy emerged from the curtain, her eyes blinded by the neon lights until they adjusted, and then, of all people, the first person to make eye contact was Shaine.
For a moment she froze, her lungs squeezing with panic, but her desire to win this case was bigger than her fear.
Stop being a pussy. Get the job done.
Any way possible.
Deliberately holding Shaine’s gaze, she slowly gyrated onto the pole, remembering a time when being sexy for Shaine Kelly had been natural.
The rest of the crowd disappeared and it was just Shaine and her.
And when she ripped her tiny dress off, she could’ve sworn Shaine stopped breathing.
Just like that...Poppy was back on track.
* * *
“Hot damn,” Angelo murmured as he rested his elbows on the bar during Poppy’s set. “The new girl is a smoke bomb.”
Shaine forced a casual grin but shrugged. “Not bad. I’ve seen better.”
The words actually felt stuck in his mouth, but Angelo didn’t seem to notice as he was too busy staring at Poppy.
Close your damn mouth, you prick.
Horny patrons were throwing their paychecks at Poppy and she was eating it up, dancing as if she’d been born to it.
A tiny blonde with giant breasts popped up to the bar, practically purring at Angelo. “Can I get something to drink?”
“Sure, babe. What do you want?” Angelo asked, distracted, still watching Poppy.
The girl tracked Angelo’s gaze and then giggled. “That’s Laci. Isn’t she pretty? I think she’s really nice, too.”
Shaine nudged Angelo as if fishing for an introduction, but actually he needed to know all the players coming and going through Lit, and at this point all the dancers were suspect. “Who’s your cute friend?”
“Oh, sorry man, this is my girl, Capri. Capri, meet the new bartender, Rocco.”
Capri exaggerated the hard C with a suggestive look. “Rocco? That’s a hot name.” Then she giggled again before returning to Angelo with a soft pout. “Brandi is being a royal bitch again. Can you please tell her to be nice?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Angelo said, his gaze dipping to Capri’s breasts as he grinned. “I liked your set. Good job, sweetheart.”
“Thank you, baby.”
Angelo looked to Shaine. “Hey, can you hold down the bar for a minute? I’ve got some business to take care of.”
Shaine nodded and watched as Angelo draped his arm around Capri and led her off to the back office.
I wonder if Brandi knows that her guy is shagging Capri, too?
He made a mental note to poke around and ask some questions, maybe even play some head games to see what got put into motion.
Sometimes stirring the pot uncovered interesting ingredients.
Poppy’s set ended and Shaine refused to let his stare gravitate toward her. But damn it, his eyes didn’t seem to want to obey. Against his better judgment, he caught an eyeful of Poppy’s strong body and succulent breasts, immediately hating that men were practically drooling on the stage, calling out her name and catcalling.
Poppy scooped up the cash being thrown at her and then walked with sass off the stage.
The redhead, Raquel, approached the bar. “Whiskey sour,” she said, watching him with interest as Shaine made her drink. “What’s your name?”
“Rocco.”
“Nice to meet you Rocco... I’m Raquel.”
“Pleasure.”
“We’ll see.”
He arched his brow with feigned interest. “Oh?”
She smiled, revealing slightly crooked teeth. “Only if you’re lucky.”
Shaine chuckled. “If I were a smart man I’d stop right now, but I’ve never been accused of being overly smart.”
“Dumb and cute...just the way I like them.”
Shaine pushed her whiskey sour toward her, then leaned forward, using every bit of his charm to get what he wanted.
“So, you seem like a woman who knows what’s going on... Tell me, who really runs this joint? Do the owners ever pop in?”
“Stick around and you’ll find out,” Raquel said, grabbing her drink and sauntering off, leaving him with an unobstructed view of her generous ass and the tramp stamp etched along her lower back of a scorpion.
Poppy’s legs ached from the workout on the dance platform, but the fat wad of cash in her purse felt pretty good, even if she was required to log the cash into evidence.
She was loath to admit it, but knowing Shaine had been watching her dance had given her that boost of adrenaline that’d put her back into character.
Thank God her realization was between her and the Almighty.
Shaine was already insufferable; knowing she’d needed him would make him unbearable.
She kicked off her shoes and clicked on the light, going to check her perimeter cameras. The sound of Shaine entering his own apartment made her painfully aware of how close they were, but still so apart.
A few moments later, the adjoining door opened and she had to bite back sharp words, reminding herself that they were on a case together.
“I have some intel that might be useful,” Shaine said without preamble. “That young girl, Capri, is either sleeping with Angelo or she’s moving product for him. And Raquel has a scorpion tattoo on her lower back, which doesn’t seem like a coincidence.”
“She’s probably sleeping with him,” Poppy said, worrying her bottom lip. She hated the idea, still troubled by how young Capri seemed. “But I’ll check it out. What do you think about Angelo?”
“I think he’s smart. He’s not going to slip up easily.”
“So you think he’s involved with our target?”
“My gut says so.”
“Too bad we can’t use your gut to get a search warrant.”
“What
