He jerked his eyes back up to her face and struggled to keep his face calm. “I can see how that would be a problem.”
“Right? Since the only people I know in town are my cousins, I can’t really say I’m going out with friends. So sneaking it is.” She glanced to the still waiting cab. “Now, are we going or do you want to talk on the street all night?”
Jace stepped aside and held the door open for her. Two minutes in and the night was already throwing curveballs. Hopefully she would keep her jacket on all night and everything else would go smoothly.
CHAPTER SIX
Emma slid out of her jacket and hung it over her arm as she eyed the line to get into Drax.
“It’s freezing,” muttered Jace. “Don’t you want to keep that on?”
“I’d rather get into the club quicker.” Emma eyed the burly bouncer in front of the door. “Think I can flirt my way in?” Or was that something that only happened in movies?
“Why don’t you let me handle this?” said Jace.
“Or we could bribe him to let us in! I only have a hundred. Is that too much?” Jase shot her an annoyed glance and Emma backtracked. “Too little?”
Jace shook his head and grunted as he stalked over to where the bouncer stood at the front of the line and Emma had to shuffle to keep up with him in her heels. Not exactly the most dignified entrance.
Jace had been grumpy ever since she got into the back of the cab with him and she couldn’t figure out why. On the street, he was fine and then all the sudden, he told her that he was going to do all the talking and she was just there to observe. Granted, that was what she wanted, too, but that didn’t mean he had to talk down to her.
The bouncer was a burly man who appeared to have a good hundred pounds on Jace. This guy looked more like a pro wrestler while Jace came off more as an Abercrombie model.
“Back of the line,” said the bouncer as soon as they approached.
Emma plastered on what she hoped was a charming smile. “Hi—”
“Jace Lance.” Jace held out a hand.
The bouncer looked at the outstretched palm and pointedly ignored it.
“I couldn’t help noticing your tats,” said Jace, seemingly unfazed by the cool welcome.
That seemed to perk up the bouncer. “Which ones?”
“I always like to say hello to a fellow SEAL.”
Emma glanced between the two men. Jace had been a SEAL? And this oversized man had once passed some of the most stringent physical requirements of the US military?
The bouncer narrowed his eyes at Jace. Apparently he didn’t buy Jace as a SEAL. “Name sounds kind of familiar. Which team were you on?”
“Chrome 10. That was awhile ago.”
“No shit? I’ve heard stories about Chrome. I thought all those guys died.”
“There are a lot of people I’d like to keep thinking we’re not breathing,” said Jace.
Emma bristled with the need to ask questions, but she bit herself back. She really knew nothing about this man who she was trusting to help her. Normally she’d do a thorough background check of anyone doing business with her, but as soon as she knew Jace had insider knowledge on what happened with Joslyn, her normal checks had gone out the window.
“So do you think you could do me a solid and let us slip in? My girl here has been dying to check this place out.”
Emma leaned into Jace and batted her eyelashes.
“Sure. Always happy to meet another SEAL.” The bouncer stepped aside and held the rope open for them. With his free hand, he reached out and finally returned the handshake originally offered by Jace.
“Thanks so much,” said Emma quickly.
Jace set his arm around her back and led her inside. “See? No flirting necessary.”
Emma smiled. “Thank goodness. I’m afraid I haven’t had much practice.”
“Don’t underestimate yourself. I think you could get into more places than you realize,” Jace whispered into her ear.
She stiffened against him as his warm breath caressed her neck. Did Jace just pay her a compliment? No. He was just stating a fact. The sun sets in the west. The sky is blue. You can get into more places than you realize. Nothing more than a quick opinion.
“Want a drink?” asked Jace, as though nothing strange just happened.
Emma glanced around her at the crowded dance floor and bar. They’d paused in a relatively secluded corner, but they’d have to move if they wanted to talk to the club goers. “I don’t think drinking is a good idea,” she said loud enough so he could hear her over the thumping music.
“I think you’ll stand out if you don’t have one,” replied Jace. “And I want to talk to the bartender.”
Well, why didn’t he say that in the first place? “I’ll have a fuzzy navel,” she said.
He frowned down at her as though her choice surprised him, but didn’t comment on it. He could laugh at her girly drink if he wanted to. She’d tried plenty of cocktails, but nothing beat the sugary mix of peach schnapps and orange juice, in her opinion.
On second thought, maybe she should’ve asked for something she wouldn’t be tempted to drink quickly. Couldn’t she just get a water and pretend it was vodka?
Jace and she made it to the crowded bar, but Jace was somehow able to get a few guys to move out of their way so there was plenty of room to lean against the black granite bar top. Must be nice to shoot one look and suddenly have a spot open. After a few minutes, the bartender finally got around to their order.
“A fuzzy navel and a Scotch on the rocks.” Jace pulled out his wallet.
The bartender was a handsome young guy who was probably a model on the side. Emma noticed that all of the young staff behind the bar killed it in the looks department, which was probably one of the reasons such a nondescript club was packed to the brim on a weeknight.
The bartender came back with their drinks in a flash and Jace set down a piece of paper and a hundred dollar bill on the granite bar.
“Take a look and tell me what you think,” said Jace.
The young guy stared hesitantly down at the money before he reached out and swiped both the cash and the piece of paper. He held it down low enough so no one else, including Emma, could see what was on it.
She gave Jace an annoyed glance for not telling her what he had planned, even though she couldn’t say she was surprised at this point. It seemed like every guy in her life at the moment knew the best way to do everything and she just needed to stand back and twiddle her thumbs.
The bartender looked at Jace and shook his head. “Can’t help you, man.”
Jace nodded and put two more hundreds on the table. “I understand.”
Emma’s eyes widened as Jace gave the unhelpful man even more money, but Jace picked up the drinks and moved out of the way of the eager clubbers who stood behind them.
“What the hell was—”
Jace twisted and put his back to the wall as he scanned the crowd. His gaze seemed to lock in on something against the far corner and Emma turned to see what it was.
There was a nondescript door along the back with a not-so-subtle bouncer who stood guard in front. “What is it?” she asked.
Jace leaned in so he wouldn’t have to shout as loud. “The bartender looked to it. He didn’t want anyone to know he was helping me.”
“Or he just had an eye twitch,” said Emma. It wasn’t as if they were hunting down cartel members. Why would he feel the need to be so secretive about where Joslyn had been?
Jace shook his head in exasperation. “I think I’d know if it was an eye twitch.”
Emma smiled. There was no need to push him when he was already grumpy. “You’re the professional,” she said in her sweet tone.
If anything, he looked more irritated. “Stay here. I’m going to ask a few more people what they know so it doesn’t seem like the bartender is the one who gave us the tip.”
Well, that was considerate of Jace. Not that Joslyn could really get angry with an
yone for telling her secrets while she was locked up, but she supposed if the bartender wanted to be subtle, they could let him. “Sounds good,” she said, but Jace had already turned to make his way through the club without her slowing him down.
Emma took a few steps back and leaned against the wall and watched him. Just like at the bar, people seemed to move out of his way. Even through the strobe light and alcohol-infused daze, people knew to watch out for Jace. Maybe he could give her pointers on how to do that?
Nah. He was probably born with it. Emma didn’t think anyone ever told Joslyn how to captivate a room or her cousins how to close any deal they wanted. It was just some intrinsic ability they were born with. That gene must’ve skipped over Emma.
Maybe it was her own fault. If she actually practiced being assertive or standing her ground, she could get a bit more respect in her family. Maybe instead of walking away from her argument with Luke, she should’ve laid her reasoning out there and if he didn’t agree, then she could’ve left. Gotten a hotel to stay at so she wouldn’t have to sneak out to investigate with Jace.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder and Emma jerked in surprise. Her untouched drink sloshed over the sides and dripped down her hands. When she glanced up, she saw it was only Jace. Without a word, he took the drink from her and set it on a ledge to the side of them. In a flash, he grabbed some napkins from a table a few feet away and came back, immediately wiping down her hands.
So much for being an assertive woman. She couldn’t even clean her own damn hands.
She stood still as Jace held her wrist in one hand and wiped her palm down with his other. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I’m grumpy,” she said loud enough for him to hear as she stared at where he had touched her. The entire club was warm, but somehow his touch seemed fifty degrees hotter. Great. Now she was grumpy and turned on. Emma yanked her hand away and grabbed one of the napkins to wipe down her arm even though he’d already gotten most of it off.
Jace didn’t seem fazed by her mini outburst. “Are you ready?” he asked after she left her napkins on the ledge next to her drink, since there appeared to be no trash cans in the entire place. Emma wrinkled her nose at the mess, but there was nothing else she could do.
“Let’s go.” She turned back to Jace. He moved to put his arm around her again and she kept walking, not wanting to be led around like his arm candy. He wanted her to be quiet and she had been. No reason to treat her with kid gloves.
She made her way across the floor, pushing her way through the crowds, which noticeably did not part for her. But soon enough she made it to the mysterious door. Unfortunately, in this section of the club, they were so close to the speakers that subtlety was not an option. “Hello!” she shouted to the bouncer.
The six-and-a-half-foot man with the buzz cut didn’t even look down at her.
Jace unfolded the paper, which Emma now saw had a picture of Joslyn on it. “Have you seen this woman around here a lot?”
“She’s not here,” said the bouncer.
Emma rolled her eyes. No shit, she wasn’t there. “She’s in jail,” said Emma.
“Like I said. She’s not here.”
Emma shot Jace a “do something” glance but she could tell from his expression that he was thinking a thousand miles per hour.
Then he looked to her and shook his head. “Let’s get you cleaned up and get out of here.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but then remembered her agreement to let him take the lead. So she obediently followed him to the restroom.
“Why don’t you wash your hands and we can regroup outside,” he said.
“I want an explanation,” she warned as she slid into the restroom, quickly washing the remnants of the sticky drink off. Jace said he would talk to her outside, but instead of leading her to the main exit like she expected, they moved deeper into the club, toward the tiny, glowing emergency exit sign that hung above a barely noticeable door. When Jace pushed it open, she half expected the fire alarm to blare, but she shouldn’t have been surprised to realize that Jace knew exactly what he was doing.
When they emerged in the cool, dark alley, Emma immediately slid her jacket back on. “What are we doing out here?”
“The boring part of investigating. We’re going to wait.” Before she could ask him for a better explanation, he continued, “There was no use talking to that guy in there. He was on home turf. If we wait for him to come out for a smoke break, we’ll get better results.”
Emma stared blankly at Jace, trying desperately to follow his logic. “We didn’t even try! We could’ve asked different questions, could’ve bribed him and where the hell was the intimidating security consultant I thought I hired? You aren’t supposed to run away at the slightest challenge!”
He raised a brow but didn’t seem nearly as offended as she wanted him to be. “This will work better, okay? Trust me.”
She scoffed at the very notion of trusting him. “What makes you think he smokes anyway?”
“He had a pack in his back and front pocket and his fingers and teeth were yellow. I’m thinking we won’t have to wait long for him to get a nicotine fix.”
When the hell had Jace had time to check out the guy’s back pocket? “Fine. If you think this is the best way, I guess I trust you.”
The door burst open and a young couple stumbled outside, giggling the entire time as they tried to regain their balance while tilting dangerously in both directions. Jace immediately moved between Emma and the couple as they passed by, too engrossed in each other or whatever drinks were in their system to pay any notice to Emma and Jace.
“At least they’re having a good night,” muttered Emma once they passed. She glanced around for something to sit on, but everything out here looked as though it had ten layers of filth on it. She settled for leaning against the brick wall, the leather of her jacket keeping the worst of the cold from seeping through.
“Come on, Ms. I’ve Been To Three Colleges. You’re telling me you’ve never stumbled home a bit past curfew?”
Emma rolled her eyes and stared at the pavement beneath her heels. “I didn’t go to college to party. I went in the pursuit of knowledge and purpose.”
“And how did that work out for you?”
“Still lookin’,” she said. “I’m guessing you joined the military right out of school? Or were you bullshitting the bouncer when you said you were a SEAL?”
Jace crossed the alley to lean on the wall next to Emma. “Oh, I joined up as soon as I could fake my age well enough.”
“You’re kidding. You lied to the government about your age? How?”
Jace ran a hand through his hair and for a flash of a second, he seemed uncomfortable with the conversation. “A guy’s gotta have some secrets.”
Come on! He couldn’t weasel out of this that easily. “Not necessarily. I don’t have any.”
He looked her over skeptically. “Really? Not one piece of dirty laundry you don’t want anyone knowing about?”
“I’m keeping you a secret from my cousins, so that’s something. But I make it a point to not do anything I’d be ashamed to cop up to later.”
“Then you’re missing out.”
“How’s that?” she asked.
Jace leaned forward. “Because some of the best things I’ve ever done are the ones I don’t want to talk about.”
She tried to think of something to say back, but then his eyes fell to her lips and her mouth went completely dry. Suddenly Jace was closer. Like an inch away from her close. Had he moved in or did she lean forward? Damn, it was hard to think straight when he was so close.
The door behind Jace swung open again and Emma squeezed her eyes shut. That had not almost happened. This was a professional arrangement and she’d known him for less than a day and—
“Emma?” said Jace softly.
“Umm hmm?” she said, still not opening her eyes.
“Remember when you accused me of running?”
Her lids popped open and for the first time she noticed that the person who’d come out into the alleyway was the bouncer they were waiting on. “I remember,” she whispered.
“Well, keep that in mind.” Jace turned around to face the bouncer. “Hey,” he called.
The big man looked up as he flicked his lighter on. “You again? I told you, she’s not here.”
Jace stood confidently in front of the bouncer, despite his obvious weight disadvantage. “We know she’s not here. When she was, what did she do? Who did she see?”
The bouncer narrowed his eyes and smiled at Jace. “As I said. She’s not here. And that’s all I’m saying.”
Emma moved over a few inches to get a better view of how Jace reacted.
Jace held his ground and didn’t seem deterred by the man’s constant refusals. “I’m just going to keep asking.”
The bouncer took a long drag of his cigarette before he stretched to his full height and took a step toward Jace. “Is that—”
In a blur, both of Jace’s fists shot out in quick succession, one slammed into the man’s gut, the other rammed into his throat. Before the bouncer could recover, Jace gripped the cigarette hand and twisted it hard until the man’s entire body had to move to avoid it breaking and he fell to his knees.
Jace now had both of his hands on the bouncer’s meaty palm as the cigarette tumbled to the ground. “Joslyn Devereaux. What did she do here?”
“Is this really necessary?” asked Emma, but one stern look from Jace had her backing against the wall.
The bouncer grunted in pain and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Jace, on the other hand, didn’t look strained at all as he stared dispassionately down. The bouncer started to swing his free arm around to grab at Jace, but he adjusted his grip just the slightest amount and the bouncer let out an anguished scream as he quickly stopped his assault.
“Your hand’s not broken yet,” said Jace. “How long do you think it will stay that way?”
“I don’t know who she was with!” he screamed.
Jace shook his head. “Not good enough.”
Trusting The Boss Page 6
