Strip Search (Too Hot Too Handle, #3)

by Valentine, Aubree

I huff. “Try not to be so damn intimidating then.” Shit. Cole always said, my mouth would get me into trouble.

  Dallas chuckles and shakes his head. “I’ll give you credit. You’ve got balls.”

  “No, I don’t actually. No balls. Just a vagina and apparently a whole lot of stupidity.” Word vomit. Is it impossible for me to keep my mouth shut?

  “Not stupid at all. In fact, I think you and I have a lot in common. See, with both have the same idea here.”

  “I...I...don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He stands up and walks slowly toward me. “Ah, but I think you do,” he says as he runs a finger across my cheek. “Molly, I’m well aware that your ‘boyfriend’ who’s waiting out front, is not, in fact, your boyfriend. I believe the two of you work together. Correct?”

  FUCK! My pulse quickens as I try to come up with the best answer. In my mind, Cody would want me to deny this information.

  “Incorrect. He is my boyfriend. We’ve been together for three years.” I give him my best lie.

  “They can’t hear you.” Dallas reaches behind me and removes the hair tie that’s holding my long brown hair back. The same one that has a mic laced in it. “Soundproof. Blockers,” he explains. “Your friend Cole isn’t the only one who knows all about the latest and greatest technology. A guy like me? I have to be able to protect myself.”

  “What do you want? Can we quit playing games and cut to the chase? You’ve figured me out. Happy?” Too soon. I probably shouldn’t have conceded yet. I chide myself.

  “Now we’re getting somewhere.” Dallas takes my hand and puts the hair tie in my palm. “Let’s make this quick before they come storming in here and blow my cover.”

  His cover? What the fuck is he talking about? “Care to elaborate?”

  “As I said. I’m not who you think I am. Your boys are barking up the wrong tree.”

  With my hands on my hips, I give Dallas a hard stare.

  “Cute. Really cute, Molly. They could have sent someone better inside if they were really trying to snuff me out.”

  “You’re a fucking asshole.”

  “Yes, I’m well aware. Comes with the territory though. I have to be an asshole if I want to convince people that I’m running a drug ring.”

  Realization slowly creeps over me, and I think, I’m starting to understand the riddle that Dallas has been trying to tell me. “You’re not...”

  “I’m not. I’m undercover and have been for some time.”

  There’s a knock on the door behind me. Dallas walks over and opens it – as if he already knows who is on the other side.

  “Sorry boss, they insisted they had a meeting with you and the little lady. Kammie said it was okay.”

  “I’ll take it from here.” Dallas moves to the side and two very pissed off Davenport brothers step into the room.

  “He’s a fucking cop!” Cole barks as soon as the door shuts behind them.

  My eyes widen as I look between the three of them.

  “And you’re interfering with a federal case,” Dallas snarls. “I’ll admit, sending Molly inside to infiltrate was smart. But not smart enough. Next time, you may want to send someone with more experience.”

  “Fuck you,” Cody, Cole, and I all say at the same time.

  “How do we know you haven’t gone rogue?” Cody speaks up. “Maybe this is all a ploy to get us off your ass.”

  “If I was, you would not have gotten a call from my superior and I sure as shit wouldn’t be wasting my time right now. If I was rogue, Molly would already be up on that stage stripping every night,” Dallas confesses. “And, I wouldn’t be about to ask you for your full help and cooperation.”

  “What?” Cole asks in disbelief.

  “I won’t say it again. And I’m not giving you any more information unless I have your word that you’re willing to work with me on this. Cole, you know that the Feds aren’t going to call in some civilian off the streets to help us out. Your service history and your track record with your private sector shit have caught my boss’ eye. He thinks you can be trusted, an asset to the team.” Dallas crosses his arms over his chest again. “I, on the other hand, will take some convincing.”

  I can’t believe this. We’ve all been played. What’s even more shocking is when Cole and Cody shake Dallas’ hand and take a seat on the couch. They immediately start hashing out details and reviewing what they all know.

  My head is spinning as I try to keep up. Cole’s firm has been under surveillance since about a year ago. Knowing that Feds have been following all of us, watching all our moves, is creepy as hell. Alarm bells went off when Cole really started sniffing around. They felt him out and even hired him for a few contractor jobs to test us all. From the sounds of it, we passed.

  “Okay,” I finally speak up. “This is all well and good but what happens now? What’s my role in all of this?”

  “You strip,” Dallas says far too nonchalantly for Cole’s liking.

  Spitting out the water he was attempting to drink from the bottle Dallas offered everyone previously, Cole bellows, “Fuck, no! This stops now.”

  Rubbing the back of his neck Dallas hisses, “Then we stage her death, and she goes into Wit-Sec.”

  “NO!” I protest. “Fuck THAT.”

  Cody is smirking at me and shaking his head. I already know what Cole’s thinking.

  “Kill her,” Cole affirms.

  “It’s not going to happen.” I’m adamant. Cole really needs to get over his self. “I’ll strip.”

  “Listen.” Dallas holds up one hand. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but I think Molly’s right. She’ll make a better pawn if we kept her in the loop. There’s a client that’s been watching her for a while now, and I think he may be one of our guys. And some of the ladies have already started whispering about favorites and shit. I can potentially buy her a little more time as a waitress, but it will be tough. If we fake her death, it may draw unwanted attention. Let her get to know the ladies more. I could use her on the inside. I have a feeling two of the girls are part of this scheme that these guys are running, if Molly can befriend them, we may be able to get more details,” he sighs. “I’ve been trying for a long fucking time to get closer to them, but I’ve yet to earn their trust.”

  “Again, likely because you come off as intimidating as fuck,” I blurt out before my internal filter has a chance to kick in.

  Dallas looks at Cole and Cody with a smirk. “You have your hands full with her, don’t you?”

  Cole let’s out a huff. “More than you know.”

  His comment earns him a one finger salute from me and a laugh from Cody.

  Chapter Ten

  Cole

  Today has been enlightening, to say the least. I’m fucking exhausted, but before I can go home, or pay Jade another visit, I’ve been tasked with dropping Molly off at her place.

  “I still say we kill you off. Think about it, you could start over somewhere else, and they would probably give you a new car too.”

  “Fuck off, Cole.” Molly flips me off for the fifth time today.

  I can’t fight back the deep chuckle that escapes. This whole entire situation is fucked up. I’m not convinced that her car trouble was mere coincidence. Either way, it gave me the opportunity to have a few minutes alone with her.

  In the back of my mind, I can still hear the tiny voice that begs me to give into this woman. To make her mine.

  “Do you believe him?” I can sense the worry in her timid voice.

  “Dallas? Yeah, I do. Cody’s following up with his story as we speak. Knowing what I know though, I expect it will come back ironclad. Shit, we would have barged in the club a hell of a lot sooner if his boss hadn’t called and delayed us.”

  “I was scared. A little,” she admits softly.

  Fuck if that confession doesn’t tug at my heartstrings, but I’m not about to admit that to her. “You wanted to run with the big guys.”

  “Yeah. I did. I still
do. It doesn’t mean I can’t be scared, or nervous,” Molly snaps at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her turn in the passenger seat to face me. “You guys didn’t train me for that part. How do you turn off the fear Cole? What if Dallas wasn’t clean? I panicked, I could have gotten killed, or worse, blew the whole thing.”

  It’s not lost on me that she thinks blowing this case would be worse than her death.

  Instinctively, I reach over and take her hand in mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Start listening to me, yeah?”

  “Not a chance.” She laughs.

  “You’re fucking infuriating,” I growl.

  “Hmm. I feel like I have heard that before.”

  “You learn to deal. Do this long enough, and you’re able to shut everything off. Or at the very least, you learn to have a better poker face. Besides that,” I run my thumb over the back of her hand. “You’ve got Cody and me watching your back, always. Nothing would have happened to you.”

  “Unless you were too late,” she whispers.

  I’m pulling into the parking space outside her apartment building now. Putting the truck in park, I turn to face her. “We won’t ever be too late. I promise you that. But, now – you’re going to start sparring with us, with the whole team. Running through drills and practicing. Until it becomes second nature, and then we keep going. No stopping. The more confidence you have in your abilities, the less nervous you’ll feel.”

  Molly gives me a weak nod and half smile. “Okay.” Releasing my hand, she tugs at the hem of her shirt like she’s suddenly nervous around me. “Do you want to come in?”

  Fuck yes, I do. “Nah. I’m going to go by Smitty’s see what the new baby’s up to.” It’s when the words leave my mouth that reality really hits me. Jade wasn’t the answer – this time.

  She lets out a sweet laugh. “You’re a dork. Babies don’t do anything except eat, sleep and poo.”

  It’s my turn to chuckle at her assessment. “Regardless, I’m swinging by his place before I head home.”

  With a nod, she climbs out of my truck. Before she shuts the door, I call her name one more time.

  “I’m proud of how you handled things today, kid.” I give her a wink, knowing I’ve pissed her off with the ‘kid’ remark. It was a shit move, but I needed to put that space between us again. If I don’t, I’ll be following her inside and stripping her clothes off piece by piece.

  “Whatever,” Molly grumbles as she slams the door and heads inside.

  A man of my word, once I know she’s tucked safely inside – I make the trek over to Smitty’s house, but not before I call and let him know I’m bringing dinner too. Something I’ve done once a week since Jax has been born, much like I did when Gabby came into the world too.

  Forty-five minutes later when I knock on the front door, I hear Gabby squeal and tiny footsteps followed closely behind even bigger footsteps, running for the door.

  Smitty answers with Gabby giggling in his arms and a smile plastered on his face.

  “This one, is a workout, man,” he says as he stands back to let me in while tickling Gabby’s belly.

  “Trade you.” I set the bags down on the table in the entryway and put my hands out for Gabby who is all too happy to escape her daddy’s arms. She and Rhys may have a tight bond, but my Goddaughter loves me equally too.

  I mean, she really should too – since I was almost responsible for delivering her. Okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration but, fuck, I’ll never forget that phone call.

  Half asleep at two in the morning when Zoey calls me, completely freaking out because her water broke and Smitty’s not answering his phone. In her state of panic, the woman totally forgot their plan of action for how to get in touch with him if he wasn’t answering.

  First thing I did was hop in my truck and head over here. On the way, I called some buddies over at the PD and found out Smitty was responding to a call. For thirty minutes, I stood next to her bedside until Kelsey showed up. I sure as shit wasn’t going to leave her terrified and alone. Then, for another hour and a half, I stood outside her hospital room before Smitty finally walked in. I’m still not sure who was more excited to see his face, Zoey, or me.

  “Jesus, are you about to remind me, once again, about how you almost brought Gabby into the world?” Smitty checks me with his elbow as we walk through the house and into his dining room. “You’ve got that terrified look in your eyes again. I swear, I would have thought you’d be over that by now.”

  “Over what?” Zoey asks as she joins us with a sleeping Jax cradled in her arms.

  “Over how he almost had to cut the cord with Gabby,” Smitty chuckles.

  “You’re still not over that?” Zoey yawns and then apologizes for being tired.

  I scrunch up my face and blow out a breath. “Pft, I do believe, you have a newborn. Exhaustion comes with the territory. As for Gabby’s birth, I’m way over it. Especially since you both made sure that didn’t happen with that little dude.” I nod to Jax.

  They both laugh, letting me know, I’m not as convincing as I think I am. Ignoring them completely, I focus on wrangling Gabby into her high chair and pushing her up to the table instead. “Uncle Cole brought you something special,” I tease her as I sit down in the chair next to her.

  There’s a local place not far from Smitty’s house that serves down-home meals, and my favorite little lady happens to love their grilled chicken and mixed veggies. It’s one of my go-to meals when I stop by. That and pizza because really, what kid doesn’t love pizza?

  “D, do you want to put Jackson down for me while I put this milk in the freezer? Please.”

  I watch the exchange between the two of them – the way Smitty smiles at her, the pure joy on his face as he takes Jax from her and kisses her forehead before walking away. And then, I feel the familiar pain in my chest. It’s the same problem, every time. I can see Molly and I sharing what they have. Just like that jealousy rears its little green head and I feel like a shit friend all over again – for coveting what Smitty and Zoey have worked hard for.

  Choosing to ignore those feelings, as usual, I divert my attention and take the time to divvy up the take-out containers before opening Gabby’s and cutting up the chicken into tiny bites. I smile as I give her tiny pieces of the meat and her veggies that she eagerly eats before demanding “more” over and over. Her little squeaky voice gets me every time.

  When I look up again, Smitty’s back, and he’s standing with his arms around Zoey. She’s sniffling and wiping at her eyes with her smart-ass husband smirks.

  “What is it?” I ask, only mildly concerned by Zoey’s display of emotions.

  “You’re...just...so good with her. You’d make a great dad.”

  Fucking hell. “No. No, I would not, trust me. Nooope. Uh huh. No. I’m only good a this because she’s not mine. I can’t keep a plant alive, let alone a child. It’s why I don’t babysit, remember?”

  Smitty runs his hands up and down Zoey’s arms to comfort her while she sighs.

  “You’re wrong Cole. So, wrong. You’ll make a great husband and dad sometime,” she insists.

  Thankfully, Smitty bails me out, this time. “Leave the man alone, honey, you keep taunting him, and he’ll wind up too sick to eat his dinner.”

  Asshole. I flip him the finger and go back to paying attention to Gabby who’s just smacked my arm with her slobbery hand.

  “More,” she pips at me.

  “Yeah, yeah kid. Tell your mommy to stop being mean to me,” I mumble and hand her more food.

  Lucky for me, Zoey drops the Cole needs to settle down talk over dinner, and instead we catch up on how Jax is doing and what they’ve been up to this week.

  When we’re all finished eating, Zoey takes Gabby for a bath and tells Smitty she’s turning in for the night. As soon as she’s out of earshot, Smitty asks about Molly and Dallas.

  “Let’s just say it’s all fucked up man. I’m still processing it.” Unfortunately, no matter how much I
trust Smitty, I can’t disclose any information about what we found out today.

  “You still going to let her strip?”

  “Fuck that noise. You know better,” I grunt. “She’s got this crazy idea that we’re not friends anymore either and can’t do friendly things. That’s not happening either.”

  “Cole, a bit of advice.” Smitty shakes his head. “I believe you may have told me this same thing once but pull your head out of your ass or give up on her completely. You’ve got feelings for the girl. Act on them.”

  “I sort of like being on this side of the dirt, thank you very much,” I tell him, knowing that Paddy would have my ass on a silver platter if I crossed that line. “You and Cody, both keep pushing. I don’t see this ending well.”

  “Oh, you’re going to get your ass handed to you either way. She talked to Zoey the other day. You’re breaking her heart man. I think if it was me, I’d want to die knowing I had my wicked way with her first. That seems like a better alternative to me.”

  “And when she can’t handle me? I let her walk away?” I already hate myself for the venerable words coming out of my mouth.

  “Dude, if Zoey can put up with my bullshit, I know Molly can handle yours. Shit, she spends most of her awake hours with you at work and hasn’t killed you, or ran off, yet.”

  Fuck this bastard for always being right.

  Chapter Eleven

  Molly

  I’m not at work more than ten minutes this morning when Cole comes strutting in with two cups of coffee in his hands. He stops at my desk and slides one over to me with a smirk. I know exactly what he’s doing. The asshole is trying to butter me up for the note that I found on my desk, telling me that my car had been towed to a repair shop on his dime.

  A little tidbit Cody forgot to mention when he brought me into work this morning.

  “Got a minute?” he asks.

  “Nope. I don’t actually. I have some calls to make before Cody and I head to the gym to work on some hand to hand combat,” I look up at him over the rim of the coffee cup before I take a long sip, savoring my favorite blend. Cole’s playing hardball and bribing me. With coffee. I’m not ashamed to admit, it’s working. This cup is exactly the way I like it.