by April Zyon
Evernight Publishing ®
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2014 April Zyon
ISBN: 978-1-77233-165-3
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor: Brieanna Robertson
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
I would like to first thank Evernight Publishing and everyone there that works tirelessly on helping me put out the best possible book, and for taking a chance with me.
I would also like to thank all of my fans and readers. I love you all. Every single message that I get, every Facebook PM or email makes me want to do better and be better – for you!
To Linda E, your kind words about Massey Texas always make me smile. Thank you for loving the town as much as I do.
For Karen D, I’ve loved having you Beta read for me and your constant support has been tremendous, thank you for being you.
Krystal F, lady you make the sun shine. Seriously you are an absolute riot and I love you like crazy.
Kathryn L, you amaze me. Each time we talk I’m humbled by you. Keep on being you!
To Moira, you give me all the time in the world when I’m trying to work out an issue. Your friendship and constant support mean more to me than you can ever know.
HIS UNDERCOVER LOVER
Massey, TX 6
April Zyon
Copyright © 2014
Prologue
2009
Her body moved with the music. She danced in a way that had everyone watching her. She knew that they watched, but she didn’t care. She danced because she loved it. Her whole body was like liquid rhythm as she swayed and moved, her hands under her hair and flipping it as she teased with saucy looks and winked to fan the flames of desire. She knew what they wanted. Megan had known what the male species had wanted since she was twelve and the first boy hit on her because she had suddenly gotten breasts.
Her hands moved up and down her sides, she cupped her breasts and watched the man who was watching her. She was ready to let go. She had done what she had set out to do and, damn, she deserved to have a good time. If only once.
She felt his hands on her hips, pulling her ass back and against his pelvis. His breath smelled of whiskey and he reeked of cheap cologne. She let him manhandle her. She allowed his hands to move over her body when all she wanted to do was head butt the bastard and then knee him in the balls.
She did neither. She let him touch her, let his hands move over her, because she knew that it would be a means to an end. She looked back over her shoulder at him and smiled. “Oh you know that you want to touch me,” she offered over the thumping of the music.
“You are one sexy woman.” His voice came out with the lust clear in his tone. “I want you to dance for me.”
That’s what she had been waiting for. She had been coming to his asshole of a place for the last six months trying to get the eye of this fucker on her. She finally made it.
“I know that you are from the town that I’m working on owning, and I want you there with me.” His hands moved up and down her ass, molding her closer to him as he gyrated against her.
“Mmm, I don’t know. I left that backwoods place and never want to go back.”
His hands moved up her inner thighs, brushing against her covered pussy.
She was thankful as hell she had worn leather pants tonight instead of the mini that she had wanted to wear. “What can you offer me?” She needed this far more than he could possibly know. This was her in. This was what she and her team had been waiting for.
“I can offer you a hell of a lot more than you have here, kitten. You know that you want it.” He was grinding against her again, his semi-erect cock rubbing against her ass and making her sick.
“Yeah?” She turned to look over her shoulder at him. “What’s that?”
“I can cut you in on the profits that will be made from you dancing.”
“Yeah? That’s not a lot. I can get that from here as well. Why would I want to go back to some ass water town that I worked my ass off to get out of?” Oh yeah, she knew just where he wanted her to dance. He wanted her to go back to her town of Massey, Texas. She understood why as well. It was a prime and sweet spot that was only a few hours from Mexico and a few hours from Louisiana.
“Ah, well, kitten, you and I both know that what I have out there is a hell of a lot more than anything you could get here. We both know that you can make an assload of cash there rather than here baby.”
“You have me intrigued. Why don’t the two of us get out of here and go talk about this?”
“I love how you think,” he said, and pulled her out of the club and toward a small cafe.
****
2015
Megan hated her job. When she began everything, she loved it. When she started to work deep undercover for the DEA, she was happier than she could possibly explain. She had been made to look like she had flunked out of the police academy when she tested the highest they had ever seen before. She had been pulled into her dream job, but now, she wanted out. She was sick to fucking death of dancing and showing her body to drunk twats when all she wanted to do was actually go back to her family farm and finally relax. She wanted to spend time with her twin and her new niece and nephew. She was ready to simply be her.
She looked at the file before her and sighed. “So fucking close, but so damn far.” She was missing something, and that was seriously pissing her off. There was something that she needed to remember, but for the life of her, she couldn’t. She hated it, too. It was important and it was something that happened when she had been forced to partake of the drugs that had been circulating around the club. Sadly, the fuckweed that ran shit was making her do what she didn’t want to do and that pissed her off.
It was time for her to pull fully out. She was ready to get the hell out of the place, even if it meant breaking her cover. She didn’t want to be there next week when shit went down. She was ready to get her ass out of the club and keep her damn clothes on for once. It was bad enough that the entire fucking town thought she was a drug-addicted whore, and she hated it. That wasn’t who she was. Sure, as a kid, she had been a screw up at times, but she was so much more than that. She was talented and a damn good operative, but that was something that the town would never know.
She took a deep breath, looked out of the window, and shrugged. “Fuck it,” she grumbled, and rose to her feet. Once she was up, she went outside to the pool that she had installed the year before. Once she was certain that the gates and doors were all locked, she stripped out of her clothes and dove in to do some laps in hopes she would remember what the fuck it was that she had missed.
Chapter One
Holding his cup up, he tipped his head to Mercy when she refilled his coffee. “Thank you,” he said. When she patted him on his head, he rolled his eyes.
Brant Carver, Mercy’s husband, was laughing into his own cup of coffee. His expression changed to something softer when Mercy moved closer to him. Lowering the cup, he let her fill it, tipping his face up for the kiss she dropped on his lips.
Unable to help himself, Simon rolled his eyes again. This time, he knew no one saw him do it. They were too into one another. Taking a drink of his coffee, he set the cup down, and then began to drum his fingers on the table top. As the k
issing continued, he progressively got louder and louder.
Finally, Brant pulled away and turned a glower on him. “Is there a problem?”
“Was trying to determine if I should go to another room or not.”
“Why would you?”
“Well, given past experiences, I figured you were about ten seconds from tossing her onto the table and stripping her naked. Or maybe stripping her naked, and then throwing her on the table. Little unsure on that part. But I knew the end result would be something seared into my memories for the rest of time.”
Simon shot Mercy a grin as she turned pink. Brant was a rather interesting shade of red as well, likely more pissed than embarrassed, though.
“Just saying it like it is. We all know how you two are, and you asked me over here for a reason, so spill it so I can get back to helping Vic with whatever insane project he’s dreamed up today.”
Brant really didn’t look amused, but he did seem to agree getting down to business was best since he let Mercy go and faced Simon across the table. “I need a favor,” he said.
“Gee, like I didn’t guess that from the phone call I got.”
“Are you always this much of a smart ass? Rhys never once mentioned you were a smart ass.”
“Rhys doesn’t know everything about me, or any of the guys really. But he does know I have a tendency to be a smart ass when people behave like I’m an idiot that needs to be led around by the nose. Spit it out already, Brant, or I’m heading out and you can talk someone else into being the sucker to watch over Megan.”
Snorting at the stunned look he got from Mercy, and the barely there flinch from Brant, Simon sat back in his chair. “Really, you two? Anyone that’s been in this town for more than an hour, and pays even the slightest bit of attention, knows that something’s going down. The fact that I happen to know several people out in this neck of the woods has allowed me to draw my own conclusions.”
“Like what?” Brant asked suspiciously.
“Well,” he drawled slowly. “Like the fact she’s not actually a stripper. She’s an undercover DEA agent working on a case that happens to have deep roots in Massey. I know she’s been digging around looking at the mayor. She’s also looking to see what she can find in regards to drugs being funneled into and through Massey. She’s close, but she’s missing something. Otherwise, she’d already be out and on vacation instead of going into the club every single night to shake her nearly naked ass for singles.” Simon shot Mercy a quick look before focusing on Brant again. “I know you’re DEA, you’re also the agent in charge down here since being reassigned so you could be closer to Mercy. You have a number of big busts under your belt, several commendations, and narrowly avoided getting stuck on the hook from another bust when some wanker took a case from you and fucked it up royally. Got his dad, your boss at the time, fired as I recall.”
“Close enough,” Brant muttered.
“You can’t go in to keep an eye on her since everyone in town knows your face. That and the fact you’re married to her twin sister. Might raise more than a few brows, and it’s not something you want getting around. Plus, given the smarts of the folks in Massey, they’d soon clue into the fact that you weren’t there to watch the girls but because of your job. Questions would then be raised, and if spoken of in the wrong place, the whole operation would go tits up, as it were.”
Brant grunted at him, and crossed his arms over his chest.
Taking it as a sign to continue, Simon took a sip of his coffee. “Good brew, by the way, Mercy,” he said. “So you want me, a single guy, new to town, to go in and keep an eye on her. It won’t seem too strange if I’m hanging around, especially given the fact that Crank’s out of town visiting relatives, and Vic’s making kissy faces at his bride. I’m odd man out, and need to find something to fill my time with at night. How am I doing now?”
“Rhys never mentioned you were practically a mind reader either.”
“I’m not, but I know people. I’ve also taken a few behavioral courses from the Feds over the years. I also have degree in psychology. Never put it to any use, but I figured I could always use it if the military didn’t work out, or if I needed a career when I got out. I watch people, take note of what they say, and what they don’t say. Then I start adding it all together.”
“Well, you’re right on pretty much everything,” Brant told him.
“So what am I wrong on?” Simon asked.
“Not much, except the premise I’m asking you to take on. Given you are new to town, and have been seen with Megan a couple of times, I want you to go in as her new boyfriend. Unhappy with her working the club, but since she’s bringing in the big bucks and enjoys the money, you’re there to keep an eye on her while she does work.”
“Uh-huh,” Simon said. “And you’ve cleared this with Megan, right?”
The look on Brant’s face said it all. “Not yet,” Brant told him. “Wanted to see if you were up for the task first.”
Snorting, Simon shook his head, and closed his eyes to rub at his lids. “She’s going to shoot you, you do realize that, right?”
“Probably,” Brant said. Oddly, the man seemed pretty happy about the thought. Idiot.
****
“You want him to what?” Megan practically shouted into the phone and paced. Son of a bitch, she was ready to kill someone. She was ready to kill Brant, and if he didn’t make her twin so damn happy, she likely would. She listened to him and began to count, that was all she could do in order to get her anger under control.
“He doesn’t even fucking like me. The last time that he and I were together, he called me a stuck-up bitch.” Well, she deserved it because she had just called him a snot for something he said. Truth was, Megan liked Simon, far more than she should. The Marine did something to her, and every single time she saw him, her panties got wet, her tits went hard, and she began to ache in need. Damn, the sexy man that he was. “It won’t work, Brant. Besides, I think I can handle a few nights without a watcher.” Her regular watchers that rotated had been in a bit of a tiff with their wives and had been barred from going back to the club. Ever. So yes, she did need a new one, but God, she hoped it wasn’t Simon Markham because that man made her want and need things that she wasn’t so certain she would ever be able to have from him.
“You need a watcher, and Simon’s willing to do it. That’s the end of it, Megan. You will accept him as your watcher, and you will play the girlfriend card well,” he told her. “Otherwise, I’ll end this whole farce right now, and send your ass back to Washington.”
“You are being a dick.” Oh lord, part of her wanted to end it all. She hated her job, hated dancing and showing her bits to the natives. She hated being debased the way that she was, but she was so damn close and knew it. So did Brant. But if he did end it and sent her back to Washington, she wouldn’t get the time with her twin and her new nephew and neice like she wanted either. Damn, she was not happy. “Who says that I can play a girlfriend card well? Seriously, have you ever seen me in any sort of relationship?” Not for her lack of desire for one because she did, want a relationship that was, but it was more she couldn’t have one because of the secrets she had to keep and had been keeping for many years.
“You can play any part you put your mind to, Megan. I know you haven’t gotten into any sort of serious relationship because you hate lying to people you like. It’s why you’d always flinch a little right before you lied to your sister. Simon will watch your back, and maybe we’ll finally have the piece we need to end this farce. Then you can live a normal, happy life here, and do the whole country life bit for once. But question me again, and I’ll ensure your next assignment is in Siberia.”
“You are an asshole,” Megan said with a growl. “But I will do it. Just make sure that he has a backup weapon as well. We need to ensure that he is able to handle anything, and with him being in the service and doing what he did in there, he will be able to handle anything that he will need.” She looked up at th
e ceiling and sighed. “I wish that I could remember that night. There is something that I’m missing, and it’s really pissing me off. I know that whatever it is, it’s the key to the whole case, and it’s making me angry.”
“You should try talking it out with Simon. He’s got an interesting way of seeing things, and might help you figure out what’s missing from that night. You need to remember it, or figure out another way to close this case, Megan. And sooner rather than later, if you would. Mercy’s having a conniption as it is, since you haven’t been home lately.”
“I know.” Megan sighed. “Give her and the kids a hug and kiss for me.” She knew that it drove Brant crazy that she called their son Junior, but she loved doing it because she loved her nephew. Her niece was an angel, pure and simple. That child was the best baby that she had ever seen in her life. She thought that the world revolved around the kid and Brant knew it.
“Yeah, I will,” he muttered. “Be safe, Megan. Simon will stop by your place before you head out for your shift tonight so you two can start the facade you need to have in place. Good luck, and we’ll see you soon,” he told her before ending the call.
“Sounds good.” She hung up the phone and barely kept from throwing the phone. Taking a deep breath, she counted to ten and then back again. She put the phone down and walked away so she could get ready for her shift at the club. Megan also needed to get into character, to school her features so that she could play the hardest part she’d ever played in her life. The part she had wanted to play since she met Simon Markham. His girlfriend.
