Wanting (23 page)

Al held out her hand and
shook his. Carrie watched his gaze settle on Al’s chest and stay
there. "Yes. I’m Ally, and this is my Dad and brother, and my
sister. This is our friend P.J.; I believe you met her
yesterday?"

Benito Jr. looked up and
studied the rest of the group. Carrie resisted the urge to fidget
when his attention landed on her. It stayed almost as long as it
had on Al, and that made her nervous. She hated it when people
stared. "Yeah, I remember her. Where’s your brother?"

Paige shrugged. "Who knows?
He’s not the most reliable sort. He agreed to show us around down
here, and that was it. I’m sure he’ll turn up eventually. Probably
wanting money. So are we gonna do this audition or not? We got
another in two hours, so..."

He didn’t like that. Carrie
easily read the emotion that flitted across his face. "Get set-up.
I have business of my own at four. So we’ll make this as quick as
possible. If I decide you can’t cut it, audition ends right there.
If you can, we pay good. Real good. Got me?"

"Crystal clear. We’ll need
ten minutes."

They were ready in five.
Carrie took her place behind the keyboard that was already in place
and Josh settled behind the drums. Al, Paige, and Dan warmed up a
few minutes, then Al gave the signal.

Carrie’s fingers landed on
the keys and she opened the number. It was heavily piano-based, and
Al slipped into the torchy ballad Paige had written when she and
Carrie were eighteen.

Carrie played, then once
the song was underway and she could play by rote, she studied
Benito Jr. and the other two men. They seemed pleased with what
they’d seen. That was good. Benito Jr.’s eyes met hers for a moment
and she fought a shiver as dread slipped up her spine.

She knew then that they’d
nailed it. And Benito Jr. was as dirty as they come.

***

The first night they were
scheduled to play the club rolled around too soon. Carrie had
played clubs like Benito’s before and she knew exactly what to
expect. For once, she was the experienced member of the
team.

Hell had called a small
meeting of the principles. Georgia and Al had procured the right
kind of clothes for the band—clothes that were appropriate for a
club that moonlighted as a small strip club two days a week, when
the band wasn’t playing.

Carrie knew her job. She
was to keep the band appearing as legit as possible, Paige and Al,
the same. All of them were to take note of the bar’s principle
employees and patrons. Her teammate Zeke Norton, and an agent from
Sebastian’s team would visit the club during stripping hours and
check out those patrons and employees, as well. Hell had spoken
with his contacts at Immigration and Customs Enforcement—Benito’s
club hadn’t even hit their radar yet. So the CCU had full
jurisdiction over whatever they found.

The ramifications of what
she was doing hit Carrie full force and her fingers stumbled over
the keys. Paige threw a look over her shoulder, concern on her
face. Carrie shook her head, wordlessly telling Paige that she was
fine. She was a strong, confident, professional federal agent—not a
naive kid trying to look older in a club she had no business being
in. Those days were behind her. She’d focus on what she had to do
to stop the monsters preying on defenseless kids.

Marco Galeano’s photograph
flashed before her mind’s eye followed quickly by every one of the
photographs attached to those hideous purchase orders she’d found.
Then little Ashleigh’s face as she’d realized she was finally safe
from Courtney.

No, Carrie wouldn’t falter
again. She’d do what she had to do.

***

Sebastian and Agent Norton,
going now as just "Z" for this operation, wove through the crowd of
twenty-somethings dancing in front of the stage. Sebastian forced
himself not to look directly at Carrie. It was damned hard. The
dress she was wearing made him want to swallow his own damned
teeth.

He knew the dress was
designed to grab male eyes and keep them. And it hugged the most
beautiful set of curves he had ever seen, so why wouldn’t other men
be drooling over her? He was.

He ordered a beer from the
waitress and waited for "Z" to do the same.

"Carrie looks good
tonight," Norton said. Sebastian studied him for a moment. What had
he meant by that? "Blue is definitely her color. Of course, they
all look good. Don’t you think?"

"Yes. They’re supposed to."
It was part of the game they were playing.

"But Carrie...she looks
especially good tonight."

"Are you fishing?" Norton
was one of Carrie’s teammates, and Sebastian knew he cared about
her. But was now the best time for this line of questioning?
"What’s between us is private."

"So you’re not going to
have a problem with the fact that ol’ Benito over there hasn’t
taken his eyes off of her since the moment we walked
in?"

Sebastian released a curse
and followed the direction Norton indicated. The other man was
right—the bar owner’s son made no secret of the fact that his
interest was in the piano player. They hadn’t figured on that.
Sebastian wanted to rush the stage, then rush her off of
it.

"That’s what I thought you
would think." Norton leaned toward Sebastian. "So how are we going
to handle this? Carrie doesn’t need a guy like that slobbering all
over her."

"I think Carrie can handle
herself better than you think. But the question is, do we need
this?" Sebastian gave it a few moments’ thought. "Carrie needs
taken off his radar."

"And how do you plan on
doing that?"

By putting himself between
her and Benito Jr.. "Just leave it to me."

He pulled out his phone and
shot a quick text to Paige.

Norton laughed. "So it
blows that way. I’d heard the rumors and seen it with my own two
eyes. Never would have believed it, though."

"Why?"

"Because Carrie is sweet.
Wholesome in that girl-next-door kind of way. Naive. You are the
exact opposite. I’d hate to see her hurt, ok? Now, I’m gonna get to
work. Hope K.D. doesn’t mind that I got to play up the lady-killer
in me for this one!"

Sebastian had long
suspected Norton had a thing going on with his female teammate
Kandice Jacobs. The woman was out on maternity leave, but Sebastian
hadn’t thought Norton was the father. At least, he hadn’t heard any
gossip to that direction. "Go. I’m going to give Benito Jr. a show
with Carrie and Dan in a bit. Keep your eyes and ears
open."

"Will do."

***

"Just got a weird text from
boss man," Paige leaned over the keyboard and whispered in Carrie’s
ear. "He says you are his new girlfriend, but Daddy doesn’t
approve. Wants you to meet him just backstage. I think he’s
planning something. He wants Dan to follow five minutes after
you."

"What’s going
on?"

"I don’t know. The rest of
us will carry on out here. Watch your back."

Carrie finished the song,
then slipped off the stage through the back door.

A hard arm wrapped around
her stomach and pulled her back against a hard male chest. Only the
familiar smell of Sebastian Lorcan mingled with his whispered
admonishment in her ear had her not screaming. “Just play along,
ok? We have a bit of a problem.”

He turned her to face him,
keeping his face pressed against her neck. Carrie shivered, both
from nerves and from his touch. She nodded, signaling her
cooperation. Her hands slipped beneath his elbows and around his
back. If he felt necessary for this kind of touching in the middle
of the operation, there was probably a reason for it. Because it
certainly wasn’t something she’d ever expected him to do. And that
confused her. “What’s this about?”

“
You have an admirer.
Benito Jr. hasn’t taken his eyes off of you since you took the
stage. And I didn’t like it.”

Carrie pulled back a bit
and looked up at him. “Why is that a problem? I thought we were
supposed to pull attention our way?”

“
Al is. You’re
not.”

“
Why?”

“
Because, that’s not your
assignment.” He leaned closer, pretending to nip her ear. “And
you’re not equipped to deal with a man like Benito Jr.”

“
But I can deal with you?”
She felt the first burn of annoyance filling her stomach. What made
him so special?

“
You’d better believe it.”
He kissed her, hard, then pulled away just when she’d forgotten why
she was getting angry with him. Why had he done that? Did he
honestly think she couldn’t deal with Benito Jr.? “And this gives
me an opportunity.”

“
What kind?”

“
You and I can sneak around
backstage.”

“
With what
reason?”

“
Easy. Daddy doesn’t
approve of our relationship. Thinks P.J.’s loser brother isn’t good
enough for his baby girl. This gets me back here waiting for
you—and you in various places in the club searching for me.” He
dropped his voice even further. “And I’m going to have Al sleazy up
to Benito Jr. a bit.”

“
Why not me, if I already
have his attention?” Did he honestly think she couldn’t do it? That
hurt, even though she didn’t want that attention.

“
Because I don’t want you
to.” He kissed her again, then pulled back. “I’m not going to ever
lie to you, Carrie. I don’t want you flirting with him. And it has
nothing to do with why we are here, at all. It has everything to do
with just me and just you. Got me?”

No. She didn’t understand
him at all. Would she ever? “I guess. I have to get back out there.
We don’t want people thinking there’s a problem.”

“
Yes…I’ll fill Dan in on
what we’re doing. He’ll need to play his part. In the meantime, if
Benito Jr. tries to talk to you, hedge with him, then finally tell
him in confidence that you are involved with someone but your
father doesn’t approve. Appear as naive and sheltered as you can. I
want Al to appear the exact opposite.”

“
Ok. Now, I have to get
back up there, I’m singing the next song.”

***

Sebastian watched her from
the small area beside the stage. Had he made a mistake? He admitted
it to himself—the only reason he had done what he had was because
he didn’t want some other guy anywhere near Carrie right now.
Period. What did that mean for him?

It meant he needed to get a
hold of himself and do his damned job without worrying about Agent
Carrie Sparks. He had never allowed a woman to influence his job
before. Why her? What was it about her that made him want to toss
everything he ever knew about whom he was aside and claim her in
front of every damned man in the club currently salivating at the
sight of her in navy silk? He had no idea, but he did know that he
wasn’t a damned cave man.

Dan stepped out from the
black curtain separating the stage from the staging area. His face
was guarded, blank. Sebastian tensed his body into an aggressive
pose, knowing the security cameras above their heads had captured
him and Carrie kissing, and knowing that the next stage of his
cover depended on what he and Dan managed to pull off here.
“Reynolds.”

“
What the hell are you
doing back here?”

“
Wouldn’t you like to
know?” Sebastian crossed his arms over his chest, then smirked at
the shorter man again. “Carrie looks hot tonight, and I thought I’d
tell her so.”

Chapter 54

*****

Dan studied Lorcan for a
quick moment. What was the boy playing at? Body language told Dan
Lorcan expected to be challenged. By him. Why? Dan tensed his
shoulders. “What’s this about?”

Lorcan’s gaze flicked up
and to the left. Dan’s followed. The cameras were there, hidden,
but anyone with any experience could spot the devices. Dan nodded;
he understood now. “I told you, I’ll see your daughter when I
want...and when she wants, old man.”

“
And I told you to stay
away from her. Carrie’s too good for a loser like you.”

Lorcan stepped toward Dan,
then pulled himself back. Dan approved; he knew what it would look
like on the security cameras—especially if Carrie and Lorcan had
also put on a show in the few minutes before she returned to the
stage.

It made sense. It would
give Carrie and Lorcan an excuse to find secluded parts of the
club—provided the band settled in to the life at the club slowly.
It wouldn’t work for anyone of them to appear too comfortable too
soon. No, they’d need to balance everything they did.

And Dan wasn’t blind—he’d
seen the looks Benito, Jr. had sent Carrie’s way, and he wasn’t too
happy about it. Last thing they needed was something getting out of
hand between Benito and Carrie.

The whole operation could
blow up in their faces if the band got ‘fired’ because Carrie
didn’t give Benito what he wanted.

And he had to admit it, he
liked the idea of Carrie have someone else vested in keeping an eye
on her in this dump of a club. Even though she seemed fine so far,
this kind of place was dangerous to beautiful, naïve young girls
like Carrie.