by Kari Lemor
He faked a pensive look. “Well, I was thinking I’d hang out by the pool and work on my tan.”
He laughed at her exasperated glare. “It’s all part of the undercover assignment, sweetie. You can’t go running around sticking your nose in people’s business. You have to ease yourself in, slowly, so they don’t suspect anything.”
“Sweetie?” Her voice was filled with derision.
He threw her a crooked smile. “All part of the undercover assignment, sweetie.”
She groaned. “Do I have to call you some stupid, sappy nickname, too?”
“Only if you want to. You could make it something to show what you think of me. You know like Stud, Hotcakes, or how about Big Daddy?”
She looked like she didn’t know whether to laugh or throw up at his suggestions.
“I know.” Her eyes gleamed. “How about Cuddlebunny?”
Was she serious? “Nah, Chris is fine.”
“Chris Martin, though, right? Shaunessy is your real name?”
“It’s actually Christopher Martin Shaunessy. It’s easier to keep things simple when undercover if you can.”
“I picked Katie for a similar reason. One of my brothers calls me Maggie Kate and I figured I would respond to it. Harrington, O’Hara, close enough. It’s worked for me so far.”
“It’ll continue to work until we can put Moreno behind bars.”
She finished off the last drop of juice in her glass. “Do you know how long that will probably take?”
He shook his head. “I don’t. More than a few days. These things need to be orchestrated perfectly. Miami PD has been after this guy for a long time. He’s got contacts everywhere and has a habit of getting off when charges are placed against him. Since his activities seem to be branching out into some even heavier stuff, they called us in to help them out. Some of these Miami PD guys have been undercover for almost two years.”
“Two years,” she screeched, her face going pale. “We may have to do this for two years?”
He reached over patting the hand resting next to her now empty plate. “I don’t think it’ll be anywhere near that amount of time. Don’t worry. There’s a lot of info on this guy already so it’s mostly keeping an eye on him and catching him with his pants down.”
“That should be easy for Mr. Moreno,” she spit out. “The man is an absolute pig. He probably has his pants down a lot.”
His body tensed and heat flooded through him. “Has he ever done anything…you know…to you? Forced you to…?”
“No,” she replied quickly and he breathed a sigh of relief. “He likes to touch and make overtures but he’s never pushed the issue. Though he’s certainly offered on numerous occasions. Keeps saying it would bring my debt down so much quicker.”
Chris nodded. “Look, why don’t you give me any information you already know about Moreno. I’ll line it up with what I have and we can go from there. I want to see who he discusses business with and who’s just a patsy to win money from.”
“That I can do,” she assured him. “And it’ll bring me one step closer to getting out of here.”
He glanced around feigning a hurt expression. “What, I give you all this and you still aren’t satisfied. Whatever did I see in you?”
She pursed her lips grinning. “I’m sure it was my charming nature and sweet personality. They’re impossible to resist.”
Yeah, she was teasing, but somewhere deep inside he had to agree.
* * * *
“I still haven’t figured out if dough boy does actual business with Moreno or if he just uses the girls Moreno supplies for him.” Meg’s stomach revolted at the thought.
“Dough boy?” Chris quirked his eyebrow at her in confusion.
She chuckled pulling her legs up under her on the plush sofa. It was almost as comfortable as the bed. She wouldn’t feel too guilty that he was sleeping on this at night. “He’s a pasty white, fat man named Augustus Barone. He’s been around for about a year. He comes in most nights hanging out with a few others while they all hit on the waitresses. He’s only been invited into the backroom games for the past few months but he usually does this several times a week and almost always walks out with at least one of the ladies that Moreno has hanging around the club.”
She cringed at the word ladies. By the expression on his face, Chris understood what she was talking about.
“Hookers.” He nodded typing a few more things on his laptop.
She splayed her hand daintily across her chest feigning offense. “Mr. Moreno calls them escorts. He insists they are merely keeping lonely businessmen company while they’re out of town.”
He frowned at her description.
“I’ve seen them go into the back room when some of the players are getting a little too horny from staring at my butt. Tina says she heard one of them say she gets loads of cash for performing and satisfying the whole group. The thought of it made me want to hurl.”
“I’m curious, if Moreno doesn’t know who you are, why haven’t you taken a chance and skipped town?”
She lowered her eyes. “Don’t think it hasn’t crossed my mind a million times. First, I don’t have the money to get much farther than the next town. Second, even though he doesn’t know my real name, I think he could still find my family if I left. My phone went missing right around the time Eddie lost the game. And there’s this picture I had in my bag…”
She took a deep breath trying to control the fear she felt every time she thought of Moreno hurting her family.
“A picture?”
“I had a picture of my family and Moreno somehow got it. Probably Sonny, one of the bouncers. He has a habit of going through the girls’ bags. Right after Eddie took off, he called me into his office to let me know he expected me to continue until the debt was paid off. I was about to tell him to shove it when I noticed my picture was pinned to the bulletin board behind him. There wasn’t anything else on the board, just my picture.”
“Did he threaten your family?”
“No, he never even mentioned the picture. I didn’t say anything either because I was too scared. I nodded and told him of course I’d keep working for him. What a chickenshit, huh?”
He looked at her, pity in his eyes. She hated pity. Certainly didn’t deserve it.
“You did what you thought was best. Was that the only time you saw the picture?”
“No, it’s not there often but a few times he’s put it up when he thinks I’m getting too big for my britches and need to be cut down to size. It was there the other night.”
Chris narrowed his eyes. “What had you been doing?”
“Nothing, but he wanted to proposition me again to do more than wait tables. Something that would get me off my feet. Maybe he thought the picture would entice me to say yes this time.”
“Entice? You mean scare?”
“I told him no. I keep trying to figure out how much information he can get from the picture. It was taken in front of our house but I’m not sure how you could tell what city or state it’s in. I don’t want to take that chance though.”
She imagined the picture in her mind but all she could see were the happy faces of her parents and siblings. A stab of longing shot through her. Letting her eyes roam the room, she tried to keep the emotion from her voice. Show no weakness. Don’t let them see you sweat. Yeah, it was what her brothers always use to say but it certainly applied to her here too. She couldn’t afford to be vulnerable…to anyone.
“Mr. Moreno has never said anything about the picture but every time it comes out it always has a big red push pin stuck in someone’s head. Each time it’s someone different. And if he has the phone, he could easily call and find out where they are. Convince them to come down and get me. I can’t take the chance that he’ll go after them. If I’m still here, he has no reason to.”
She shrugged trying to appear nonchalant. “And I get to hang out on the beach all day. That’s a sweet deal
, right?”
“Yeah,” Chris muttered then closed his computer. “That’s enough for now. We’ve been at it for a while. I appreciate all the information. It was good, and hopefully we can start building a solid case against this scum bag. How about a little break? You have to work in a few hours, right?”
Standing up to stretch her legs and back, she nodded. The idea of slinking into her stretchy shorts and high heels then doling out the fake smiles and flirty attitude always made her sick. Some of the customers weren’t too bad but most of them simply came in to ogle the cocktail waitresses.
“Yes, but at least my walk is shorter. It’s only a few minutes to get there now.”
Chris got up, glancing out the slider to the balcony. “Looks like Moreno isn’t around the pool today. I got this suite specifically because the bedroom balcony overlooks the beach and this balcony overlooks the pool. I can see if Moreno is down there or keep an eye on him from up here.”
“Today is Wednesday,” she supplied. “Mr. Moreno does the books on Wednesday afternoons at the club. He has to make sure payroll is ready for Friday.”
“You get your paycheck on Friday?”
“Most people do,” she griped. “I don’t actually get paid. Mr. Moreno says he takes what I would have earned to pay off my debt. I get to keep some of my tips if he doesn’t try and take them. I usually have to hide them somewhere but those stupid outfits don’t leave anyplace to put much. I’ve never argued since this way I don’t have to provide a social security number and I can keep my real name hidden from him.”
He frowned looking back at her. “Well, you don’t have to worry too much about money right now. You can stay here for free and I’ll even feed you. Hopefully we can get you out from underneath Moreno’s thumb. How about we go for a swim in the pool then I can cook you an early dinner before you go to work.”
“You cook?”
He grinned. “I got a lot of KP duty while in the Army. Figured out how to make boring food more palatable.”
He pointed to the bedroom. “Go change.”
A few minutes later they were placing the thick hotel towels on a few lounge chairs and kicking off their sandals. The day was hot, like most June days in Miami and she knew the crystal clear water in the pool would be amazing. It would feel even better because she didn’t need to hide from the manager. She undid her sarong then performed a flawless dive into the deep end. When she came up, Chris stood near the edge, his arms crossed, a smirk on his face.
“Perfect form,” he complimented. “I’m almost embarrassed to dive in now.”
She stared at his trim, fit body. Yeah, she’d say perfect form, too, just not in diving. Right now she honestly didn’t care what he could do in the water. He executed a neat dive himself, moving through the pool right to her side.
When his head split the surface she looked thoughtful and quipped, “Not bad, but you could have gotten more height and your feet weren’t pointed. I can’t give you anything higher than a six point five without someone crying foul.”
“A six point five,” he grouched gliding closer to her in the cool liquid. “What are you, some sort of diving expert?”
“Captain of my high school diving team,” she replied smugly. “I was also on the varsity swim team for three years. I had a few people offer to coach me to go further but my parents couldn’t afford it.”
The pain of talking about her family hit her and she quickly changed directions. “What about you? Captain of the football team?”
He laughed shaking his head. “Nah, I was an incredibly skinny kid. But I could swing a mean bat. I wasn’t captain like you, though I managed to play varsity a few years.”
She eyed his wide shoulders with appreciation. For a skinny kid he sure had filled out nicely. “I used to swing a mean bat myself. With three brothers you don’t get a chance to be girly too often. My sister and I were always pulled away from playing dolls to round out a team whenever there weren’t enough kids in the neighborhood.”
“You’ve got a big family, huh?”
* * * *
Meg’s eyes grew moist at his words even though she had first mentioned her siblings. It obviously bothered her to talk about them and Chris didn’t want to make her sad. He looked around trying to find something to get her mind off the subject when Javier wandered into the patio area. He was staring straight at Meg, who had floated a few feet away from him into the deep end. Javier’s face turned to stone.
“Hey, sweetie,” Chris called out, seeing the spark come back into her eyes at his teasing. Feisty was much better when the alternative was disheartened. He took a few strokes to reach her then began to tread water.
“Someone requires a little convincing,” he whispered moving his eyes in the direction of the scowling manager.
She glanced over and a huge smirk lit up her face. Something outrageous was coming. Sure enough her arms wrapped around his shoulders as she giggled loudly.
“Chris, honey, you know I can’t swim all that well. You’ve got to hold me or I’ll sink right to the bottom.”
The sweet-as-honey tone dripping from her mouth almost made him lose it. He’d play along any way she wanted it. Grabbing her hips, he pulled her in next to his body and kicked out a bit until his feet were touching the bottom.
“I’ve got you, sweetie,” he promised, his tone equally charming. “I’ll hold you as long as you need me to.”
“Well, that might be for a long time, muffin,” she teased, her eyes twinkling. “You know I always need you desperately.”
There were parts of him that wished she meant that. As she pressed her silky curves against those parts, he knew this assignment wouldn’t be quite as easy as he thought. Lounging by the pool took on a whole new meaning when there was a gorgeous, sexy siren wrapped around you, teasing you without even realizing it.
Her body stiffened and her eyes moved to the side even though she faced him. Keeping the manager in her peripheral vision? Was she still nervous about getting kicked out of the hotel? As his guest, it wouldn’t happen. The owner had told management he was a VIP and they were to give him every courtesy there was to offer. Javier certainly wouldn’t want to lose his job over this little cocktail waitress who he’d been playing cat and mouse with for a while. Chris hoped he’d let it go.
He sure as heck didn’t want Meg to let go. This little game she was playing was enjoyable. She hated being thought of as a sex object and all that came with it. But he’d seen her at work and as much disdain as she had for the customers, she’d still flirted, cajoled, and been playful with them. She may not like that game but she was definitely skilled at it. He supposed after all this time she’d gotten good at hiding her real emotions.
Her eyes followed a frowning Javier back inside the building. He could tell when she realized her soft curves were pressed intimately against his chest. She turned her head to stare at him and froze. Her body tensed and he hated that she didn’t feel comfortable with him. They’d only met a few days ago and it hadn’t been under the most normal of circumstances, but hell, he’d slept with women he’d known less. She obviously wasn’t that kind. And he didn’t want her type anyway. They made things too complicated.
“Thanks for the warning,” she breathed out softly not making any attempt to loosen her grip on his shoulders. He wasn’t in any hurry to break their connection either. They swayed in the water for a few seconds then he lowered his head to whisper in her ear.
“We need to make people around here believe we’re a couple. See us all lovey-dovey or it won’t seem real. You okay with that?”
She swallowed then cleared her throat with a soft, “Yeah. You’re right, we can’t let anyone suspect we aren’t the real deal. I’m not too sure the manager believes us. I’ve been sneaking in and out of this resort for a year now. There’s a little history between us and it may take some time for him to truly buy into our being together.”
“First rule of undercover work, neve
r slip out of character. You never know who’s watching.”
“I agree,” she said, her face moving closer to his.
Chris gazed into her blue eyes, seeing a tiny spark of trust. That was new and he liked it. If she didn’t trust him this undercover deal wouldn’t work. Resting his forehead against hers, he said, “A kiss might convince people we’re actually together?”
When the pink tip of her tongue appeared momentarily, he stifled a groan. Why did he think this would be an easy assignment? And he’d just suggested a kiss? If simply seeing her tongue skim across her lips sent his cock twitching, what would a kiss do to him? He wasn’t sure he wanted to find out; yet he was also dying to know. But she hadn’t answered his question.
A slight nod of her head had his insides clenching. Buck up, man. It’s only an assignment. You’ve been on ones much more dangerous and life threatening. Best get into character.
He lifted his hand to caress the side of her face sliding into the wet hair at the nape of her neck. Lowering his lips, they were now only a whisper away from hers. The hell with this case, this woman here in his arms was more dangerous than anything else he’d been involved with. She put his white knight overprotective self into full gear making him want to ensure nothing bad ever happened to her again. That hadn’t always been a good thing.
When her lips actually touched his, soft and gentle, all other thoughts were thrown out the window. He simply felt, enjoyed, relished the kiss. His lips had never tasted anything this sweet, except these same lips a few days ago.
This kiss, like the last, was too short lived and soon Meg slowly pushed at his chest, her breathing a little faster than usual. Her eyes were wide, her mouth hung open and her tongue poked out again sweeping across the terrain his lips had just been touching. He hardened further.
She mustered up a smile but she’d been as affected by the contact as he was. Then her lips twisted in a smirk as she cried out, “Race you to the other side…muffin.”
Twirling neatly in the water she dove under and swam away from him. He laughed, shook his head, and pushed through the water to follow. Living here with her might be dangerous but he knew it sure as hell wouldn’t be boring.