My phone rings before I can answer her, and with a sigh I lift it up and answer it. “Yeah?”
“Gracie.” It’s Don. Great.
“Hey, Don,” I say in my fake-happy tone.
“Need you tonight. Vance is sick and Julio has a case. You got time to bring down a smaller one?”
“Sure,” I say, needing the distraction. “When do you need me?”
“Now. We’ve got a location.”
“Text me the information, I’m on my way.”
“Thanks.”
I hang up and turn to Kady. “Duty calls.”
She narrows her eyes. “Raide?”
“No, another one. I’m still getting some smaller cases, which is good, it keeps me focused.”
She looks like she wants to laugh again. I point to her and say, “Shut up, Kady.”
She throws her hands up. “Sorry, I’m shutting up.”
I flash her a smile. “Call you later.”
“Laters.”
I head out to my car and read over Don’s information, which just came through on my phone. Male, early twenties, skipped bail for a drug charge. I stare at the picture. Skinny enough that I shouldn’t need anything else to take him in but what’s already with me. I shove my Taser and gun into my jeans and head on over.
I’m grateful for this distraction from the mess I’ve made with Raide.
* * *
The club Don texted me to go to is packed when I arrive. There are bodies everywhere, grinding and drinking. With a deep breath, I start pushing through the crowd, scanning each person’s face to see if I can locate Terry, the man I’m supposed to be bringing in. I scan the bar first, and see no one resembling him. If he’s on a drug charge, there’s a good chance he’s a junkie or knows someone who is.
I turn toward the darker parts of the club. The bathrooms, the halls, the back rooms, places like that. I check the toilets first, busting into the men’s toilet as though I’ve been in there a million times. Some of them curse, others smirk at me, but I ignore them, muttering, “Sorry, guys, ladies’ room is full, and so’s my bladder.” I check thoroughly—no Terry. “On second thought, I think I can hold it a little longer.”
I step out into the hall and crash into a tall, hard form. I squeal and leap back, only to feel my mouth drop open as Raide looks down at me, his expression hard. Great, this could not get any worse. Why does the universe hate me so much? He already thinks I’m stalking him, and now, as luck would have it, he’s in the same place as my guy for the night. I just hope he didn’t notice that I was in the process of exiting the men’s room. I don’t think I could come back from that.
“What the fuck?” he barks. “You follow me here, too?”
I blink at him. “Excuse me?”
“I said,” he growls, putting his hands on my shoulders and pushing me against the wall. I gasp when my back hits the cool, hard surface. “Did you fuckin’ follow me here?”
I don’t have time for this. I let my eyes scan the halls, and I’m about to smart-mouth Raide when I notice Terry standing at the end of the hall, mouth close to a young girl’s mouth as he whispers something. I actually watch him pull out a white pill and drop it into her drink as he speaks to her. Pig.
“Excuse me, I have things to do.” I shove out of Raide’s grip, focused entirely on Terry. I approach him casually, acting as though we’re long-lost friends. “Hi, Terry,” I chirp.
He turns to me, narrowing eyes that are so dark, I can’t tell in this light if they’re brown or black. He’s got short blond hair and is tall and skinny, just like the picture. He’s also completely whacked-out, his eyes bloodshot, his body flinching every few seconds. Easy.
“Do I know you?”
“Course you do, remember?”
He stares at me.
“Forgive me,” I say, leaning in close to his ear so no one else can hear me. “Why don’t we go out in the parking lot, and I can give you a reminder.” I thrust my chest out and bat my lashes, and as expected, he falls for it. Once we’re outside where Raide can’t see us, I’ll do the takedown.
I bring my body closer to his, but before I begin to lead him out, I turn to the girl and whisper, “Don’t drink that, honey. He drugged you.”
She stares down at her drink and drops it to the floor, glass smashing into thousands of tiny little pieces before she goes slinking off down the dark hall. I spin back to Terry, wrapping my arm around his biceps and leading him to the door.
“There a problem here?”
Shit. Raide.
I stare over my shoulder to see him approaching. I quickly adjust my strategy. Raide’s the bigger bounty, so if I have to sacrifice Terry to keep my cover, so be it. But I’d still like to try to get the date-raping bastard if I can.
“No problem at all. I’m just taking my cousin here home. He tried to drug that girl, and his dad is going to be super pissed.”
Terry looks at me in confusion. “I think there’s been a mistake here.”
He tries to pull away, but I don’t let him. Instead I use my foot to kick him over so he falls down on his hands and knees. I put my foot into the middle of his back and press. He lands on his stomach with a splat and I lean down, spreading my fingers over the back of his head, and push his face to the floor. “Terry, there’s no need to argue. I’m taking you home. We’re tired of the way you’re behaving. Drugging a girl is unacceptable.”
Raide is staring at me with a mixture of shock and confusion. Probably because I just brought a grown man down to his knees, then squashed him into the floor.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, my cousin and I have some talking to do.”
Raide is still staring at me.
“Are you going to stare at me all night?” I say, and his eyes move to me, his jaw tight. “Whatever. I don’t have time for this. Come home with me, or I’ll break your nose.”
Terry's eyes widen, but he’s so far out of it, I don’t think he’s really getting what’s going down.
I turn to Raide. “Your girlfriend really did tell me your name, and I happen to have friends all over this town, so I was not stalking you. I’m just a busy girl and it would appear you’re a busy boy, and we ended up in the same places at the same time.” I look him up and down, real slow, letting him know I’m taking all of him in. “Besides, I can do better.”
With that, I turn and drag Terry out of the club.
Damned proud of myself.
That is, until Raide stops me with a hand to my arm. He spins both Terry and me around and steps up into my space. “You and me, we’re going for a drink after this.”
I blink at him. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, lady,” he murmurs. “You and me, going for a drink. You’re going to tell me what’s going down.”
Inside I’m doing a happy dance, but on the outside, I want to slap him. I don’t want to seem too easy, too keen, because then I’ll take back everything I’ve just proven by walking away. Dammit. Why can’t life be easy? Knowing, for my own self-respect, I have to lift my head and play this game with him, I say, “Dream on.”