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 did you learn backstage?”
Shaine was all business. His gaze didn’t flicker or falter at the topic of her stripping, but her cheeks felt unaccountably warm as she began to share her intel.
“Big Jane runs the girls backstage. She seems to keep the girls safe from overeager patrons, and she takes a cut of their earnings,” Poppy said. “Raquel is an angry person with a chip on her shoulder. I don’t know if there’s drama between Raquel and the rest of the girls or if she’s just like that naturally, but she’s not very friendly. So I doubt it’s going to be easy to get any information out of her. Capri is sweet and doesn’t seem to realize when she should keep her mouth shut.”
“You ought to friend her. She’s your ticket in.”
“I know that,” Poppy retorted, irritated that Shaine was telling her how to run her end of the investigation. “I’m already working on that angle.”
“Good.”
“What about you? How are you doing getting tight with Angelo?”
“It’s a work in progress. He’s not just going to let me in after a few ‘bro’ moments. I have to earn his trust.”
“And how do you plan to do that?”
“I’ll play it by ear.”
“Don’t you think it’s a good idea to share your game plan with the people who are involved?”
“You stick to your plan, I’ll stick to mine. We’re not supposed to know each other so it doesn’t make sense to share every detail with you. If by some chance someone starts to get suspicious, plausible deniability is your friend.”
He was schooling her and she hated it. “Of course, I realize that. I’m just saying, I didn’t want to inadvertently step on your plan while making my own.”
“Don’t worry about me.”
“I’m not,” she replied coolly. “My concern is for the investigation. You’re not the only one thinking of their résumé with this case.”
“Of that I have no doubt,” he said wryly. “Ambition is your middle name.”
Poppy paused, wondering where that came from. “Which means?”
“You’re so damn sensitive,” Shaine said, shaking his head as if he realized nothing that came out of his mouth wouldn’t set her off. “It doesn’t mean anything. It was never a secret that you wanted to climb the ladder—and judging by how quickly you managed to put yourself on a major undercover case, I’d say you’re well on your way.”
It was true. She’d been tireless in her pursuit up the chain. She’d taken every case she could get her hands on, just to prove that she had what it took to close cases.
Her superior had remarked often that if the DEA had ten more agents like Poppy, they could take down every major drug dealer exporting illegal substances out of the country.
“Thanks,” Poppy allowed, loosening up just a little. She supposed she could drop the chip on her shoulder for now. But that chip kept her focused, kept her mindful of the past and mistakes she didn’t want to repeat.
So hold on to that chip for now, you’ll need it to work beside Shaine.
“Look,” Shaine started, as if needing to get something off his chest. “I know I didn’t take it so well that you were on this case, but we have to put our differences aside to focus on the job.”
“I don’t have a problem with that. I have no interest in dredging up the past.”
“Good. I won’t lie to you and say that I didn’t have reservations, but I trust that you know what you’re doing and that you’ve learned a lot since your first case.”
Poppy stiffened, hating that he’d brought up the case with Lachlan. But she supposed she couldn’t expect him not to reference it when she’d nearly died because of a rookie mistake. “I always make it a point to learn from my mistakes,” she said pointedly, leaving it at that. “But I appreciate your professionalism.”
Shaine jerked a short nod. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way... I’m done for the night.”
Poppy watched as Shaine let himself out, locking the door behind