Author: Jaci Burton

He pulled her against him. “Where’d you go?”

She slid into his arms and put her mouth against his ear. “He’s here.”

He tensed. “Where?”

“The private room on the north side of the club. He’s occupied with a raven-haired dancer. Don’t know her name.”

He drew back far enough to search her face. “You’re sure about this guy?”

“Positive.”

He took her hand. “Let’s go for a walk.”

Same as last time, they took the stroll nice and easy, smiling and nodding at customers who looked her way. Spence stopped her at the pole where she’d hidden before.

DeLaud was still the only one in the private room. Spence maneuvered Shadoe against the pole and nestled in between her legs, giving the impression that he was nuzzling her neck. That should give him a clear view of what was going on in the room.

“Thin guy, midthirties, shadow of a beard, wearing white polo and jeans?”

She clutched his shoulders. “That’s him. Jerry DeLaud. He’s a D.C. agent.”

“He’s early by several days. This deal isn’t supposed to go down until at least this weekend.”

“I know.”

“Maybe he’s checking out the club to see if there are any New Orleans agents.”

“That would be my guess.”

Spence wrapped his arm around her. “You need to go on in about fifteen minutes.”

Shit. She’d forgotten all about her next set. “You’re right.”

“Go ahead. I’ll alert Pax and AJ that our target has made an appearance. We’ll keep an eye on him.”

“All right.”

He moved away, pressed a kiss to her lips, and she headed down the hallway toward the dressing area.

By the time she was ready to go on, DeLaud would be finished with his private dance. What would he do? Where would he be? From the stage, she’d be able to catch sight of him if he was still in the club.

Excitement skittered down her spine, her nerve endings tingling with the desire to spring into action. She had to force a calm she didn’t feel, remember that she had to maintain her cover.

But damn, this was thrilling.

The game was on.

SPENCE HAD TO USE THE SIGNALS HE’D SET UP FOR PAX AND AJ to get their attention. He hung out at the bar, and Pax slid in next to him and ordered a couple beers. There was so much noise since the crowd was thick it was easy for the two of them to nod at each other and carry on a low conversation.

“Target’s been acquired,” Spence said, not making eye contact with Pax.

“Who and where?”

Spence had kept tabs on DeLaud since the agent had finished up the lap dance with the stripper. DeLaud had tipped her, then grabbed his drink and moved to one of the tables next to the stage.

“Solitary at a stage table, about ten o’clock. White polo, jeans, needs a shave.”

Pax took the two beers the bartender slid his way, then turned around and leaned against the edge of the bar. “Got him.” He pushed off the bar and walked away without another word.

Spence knew Pax would fill AJ in, and they’d do their job of helping him keep an eye on their rogue agent. He wanted to know everything about this guy—who he talked to while at the club as well as where he was staying in town. That way they could put him under constant surveillance since he’d decided to show up early.

DeLaud sat at the table alone drinking his beer and watching the dancers on the stage. No one approached him and he didn’t seem to be looking for anyone.

The lights went out and Shadoe came out to do her dance. Spence took advantage of the darkness and the crowd gathering closer to the stage to move in around the side so he could get a better angle on DeLaud.

Unlike most of the guys at stage level who rushed up there hoping Shadoe’d come close so they could tuck money in her G-string, DeLaud watched calmly from his seat and drank his beer. The guy never took his gaze off the stage. He seemed to be mesmerized by Shadoe’s performance, focused on her every move. He tilted his head to the side as if he was studying her.

Spence didn’t like the way he watched Shadoe so closely, but maybe DeLaud just liked strippers. Still, there was something a little bit different in his eyes, the way they followed her across the stage. It wasn’t raw interest, the out-there kind of enjoyment most of the men got. This was something darker.

Maybe it was because Shadoe gave the guys so much attention, making eye contact throughout the crowd. She scanned her gaze over DeLaud more than a few times, too, cocking her hip to the side after she’d discarded her clothes, turning around to shake her ass, then throwing a look over her shoulder. Spence caught the way DeLaud looked at her, the pure male appreciation in his eyes.

And Shadoe played to that, making sure she held his attention.

When her dance was over and she’d changed into a body-hugging minidress that barely covered her assets, she came out and bypassed Spence, working the crowd instead. Spence lingered in the background nearby, close enough that he could intervene if necessary, but not wanting to get too close to her.

She’d made some eye contact with DeLaud. He understood what she was trying to do, so he was going to stay out of her way and wait to see what happened.

Shadoe didn’t approach DeLaud. She did what she had been doing since last night, which was make her way around the crowds, pausing to chat with guys at their tables or the ones who stopped to talk to her. Spence kept his focus between Shadoe and DeLaud.

DeLaud observed her the entire time. Another dancer had gone on stage, capturing some of the crowd’s attention, but not DeLaud’s. His hawklike gaze had zeroed in on Shadoe and stayed there. When Shadoe passed by his table, he motioned to her. She smiled, sashayed over to him, and he pulled out a chair for her.

DeLaud ordered Shadoe a drink and they started talking. No touching, nothing that would send Spence running over there. Just talking. He didn’t smile much, and Spence would guess DeLaud was a fairly good-looking guy, so that hardass rebel look might be appealing to some women. Shadoe seemed to be engaged, keeping up her part of the conversation. She laughed a lot, talked a lot, made good use of body language to let him know she was interested in being there with him.

Dammit, he wanted to know what she was saying. That reminded him she wore that communication device in her belly piercing. Time to get that baby activated.

She did a good job. She knew not to linger too long, instead just enough to finish her drink, pat him on the shoulder, and get up. Then she made her way to the next table. Spence let about twenty minutes go by before he caught up to her and stood behind her. She tilted her head back and winked at him.

DeLaud left about two-thirty. Pax and AJ took off right after him to follow.

An hour later, Shadoe had done all she needed to do for the club. “Ready to go?”

He nodded and she went to the dressing room to change. He went outside and climbed on the bike, pulled out his phone, and left a text message on AJ’s cell.

Shadoe came out within a few minutes and they rode back to the hotel.

Once in the room, she tossed her bag on the chair inside the door and turned to him. “DeLaud is slime.”

“Figured that. But hold off on any debriefing until Pax and AJ get here.”

She cocked a brow. “They’re coming?”

He shrugged. “Not sure yet. I texted AJ and told them to meet us here. They followed DeLaud out of the club when he left, so depending on where DeLaud went, they’ll either be here sooner or later.”

“Okay.”

It turned out to be sooner, since they heard a knock on the door within thirty minutes of their own arrival. Spence opened it and let AJ and Pax in. They all slid into chairs in the sitting room.

“He’s checked in at the Western Springs,” Pax said.

Spence frowned. “Nice hotel. Downtown.”

“And about equal distance between the club and the docks.”

“Okay. You two check in there tonight.”

“Already planning that,” AJ said.

“Anything else?”

“Yeah,” Pax said. “I bribed one of the bellmen to keep me informed if anyone goes to his room or if he leaves. I told him I think he’s screwing my girlfriend so I want to know everyone going near his room or whenever he makes a move.”

“Oh, good idea,” Shadoe said. “So you’ll have someone there to keep an eye on him when you can’t.”

“And all this time I thought I was the brains and he was just the pretty one,” AJ said with a sly grin.

“No, I’m pretty and I have the brains, dickhead.”

“No, I have the dick,” AJ shot back. “That’s why you need my help with the ladies. You reel ’em in with your face, I keep ’em in bed with my dick.”

Shadoe snorted and looked over at Spence. “Are they always like this?”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah.” Spence stood and leaned against the wet bar. “Okay, so he’s here early. We need to figure out why.”

“AJ and I are gonna tail him tomorrow. We figure he isn’t here to hole up in that room all day and wait around for the show at night. He’s gotta leave sometime, and when he does, we’ll be there to follow him.”

Spence nodded at Pax. “Okay. Shadoe and I can step in and help with that, too.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, man,” AJ said. “That’s a risk to your cover. You’re in good with the club now. Shadoe has a presence as Desi. You don’t want to blow that. If he spots either of you while you’re following him, this whole mission is screwed.”

“Much as I hate to agree, since I’d love the opportunity to do surveillance, he’s right.” Shadoe laid her hand on his knee. AJ and Pax exchanged knowing looks.

Spence would hear about that later.

“Yeah, probably. But if you need me to step in, let me know.”

Pax leaned back in the chair. “We can handle it.”

“What did he say to you tonight?”

Shadoe wrinkled her nose. “Nothing much, really. Said he liked my act, that I had a nice body. Some general chitchat. Then he asked about my background, where I got my start, what clubs I’d danced in before. Really probing questions.”

“Could be normal considering he’s an agent and used to interrogation,” AJ suggested.

“Maybe. But I’ve been trained, too, and I don’t interrogate people I meet. It seemed to me he was really interested in getting to know me.”

Spence laid a hand on her shoulder. “It could mean he’s interested in you.”

“Yes, I thought about that. He seemed really focused on me when I danced.”

A lot focused.

“He might be the kind of guy that really gets off on strippers,” Pax said.

“That could be. And it might be he takes a liking to them when he’s in town and picks them up.” Spence knew a lot of guys who traveled and had stripper girlfriends in different towns.

“That could work to our advantage if he likes me.”

Spence frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Remember what I suggested before?”

“You and me breaking up?”

She nodded. “It could work here. Say DeLaud is interested in me. He’s not going to make a move with you and I stuck together like peanut butter on bread.”

“But if we’re not a couple anymore . . .”

“Then maybe I can get close to him, see what I can find out.”

Spence didn’t like it. “He isn’t going to tell you anything.”

She shrugged. “I doubt he will, either. But one of us on the inside won’t hurt, will it?”

He couldn’t argue with her logic, and if he wasn’t sleeping with her, it wouldn’t make any difference to him.