Chapter 6
6
COURT
Going to a party to be set up with my mark’s girlfriend’s brother was weird. While I had a job to do, I still felt bad for lying to Ryan. But the real kicker was watching Donnie interact with everyone, knowing he had ties to the man who had a hand in Fallon Donnelley being shot. Donnie sure as shit had some balls on him because the entire time, he acted as though he hadn’t a care in the world.
When Ryan arrived, I focused on getting closer to him. While we were chatting, Donnie received a call, and my attention was instantly drawn from what Ryan was saying to trying to hear what Donnie’s call was about.
“What do you mean the fire inspector is at the club? That asshole keeps harassing me. He was just there six weeks ago!” Donnie ran his hand through his blond hair as Morgan stood next to him. “Does he have a warrant? Then no, he can’t come in … He’s going to wait? Fuck! All right. I’m out on the Cape so he’ll be waiting for a while.” He ended the call and groaned.
I hurried over to him. “Hey, boss. What was that about?”
“Fire inspector’s at the club again. They like to have surprise inspections at the wrong times. I need to go.”
“Nooooo!” Morgan whined, grabbing his arm as if to stop him from leaving.
“Sorry, baby.” Donnie cupped her cheek. “I have to.”
“I could go,” I offered before thinking twice.
Donnie turned to me. “You?”
I lifted a shoulder. “I know I’m just a bouncer, but you’ve been drinking and Morgan doesn’t want you to leave. I think I can walk some fire guy through the club.”
He stared at me for a beat and then said, “All right. I’ll call the inspector and tell him I’m sending you in my place. Let’s see how you handle it. Call me after he leaves.”
“Will do.” I grabbed my T-shirt and put it on before waving goodbye to everyone, then stepped over to Ryan. “Sorry about this. It was nice chatting with you again. Maybe we can do it another time?”
“Yeah, sure, no problem.” Ryan gave me a smile, but he was clearly disappointed.
I walked to my Durango in a hurry and drove back to the city.
Everything went smoothly with the inspector. When he was done, I called Donnie and filled him in. By that time, he and Morgan were busy, so the call didn’t last long. I hoped stepping up to meet with the fire inspector would build more trust from him. Since no shady stuff seemed to be happening at the Sapphire Lounge, I needed that extra trust to somehow get Donnie to bring me into the drug side of things. To maybe be a part of the next shipment that came in so I could at least find out the location. Something. Anything. Because, so far, everything seemed legit and I could only stay undercover for so long if we didn’t have any proof.
Once I got back to my building, I parked and headed upstairs. It was nice being able to stay in my place during the undercover mission. Since I wasn’t in as deep this time as Id been on some other operations, I could still live a “normal” life when I wasn’t working the forty hours at the club or asleep in my bed.
As I stepped into my apartment, an unsettling feeling prickled at the back of my neck.
I could sense I wasn’t alone.
Since the party on the Cape had been full of Secret Service agents, I’d felt I didn’t need my weapon, so I’d locked up my gun in my safe before heading out. It was just a few feet from where I stood, so I edged toward the hall closet where my gun safe was located. The floorboards creaked beneath my feet and then a noise came from the kitchen. I swung the closet door open, my fingers rapidly punching in the code, and then I retrieved my Glock.
“Who’s there?” I called out.
“Just me!” came a familiar voice from the kitchen. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
I lowered my gun and rounded the corner into the kitchen. “You scared the hell out of me!”
Dalton leaned against the counter, a smirk on his lips as if he hadn’t just given me a mini heart attack. “Sorry, I just wanted to get an update, and figured I’d surprise you.”
I shook my head. “Surprise me? You almost got yourself shot, you know?”
He chuckled, moving closer. “I know you’re a better cop than that. Besides, I was hoping to do more than talk business.”
Suddenly, I was all for what he was hinting at. “Yeah? What do you have in mind?”
He stepped into my space. “It’s been weeks since we’ve fooled around. I think we can both use some tension relief.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “I think you’re right.”
A few days later, my phone chimed with a text as I fixed myself protein pancakes and fruit.
Donnie: We’re down a player for our game at six. You in?
I had the day off, but given I still needed to gain his trust, I was all in. I texted back:
Absolutely. I’ll be there
Donnie was already at the basketball courts when I arrived. He caught my eye and waved me over. “Hey, Court! You ready to get schooled?”
“Not a chance,” I shot back, grabbing a ball from the side. I dribbled it a few times. “If I remember correctly, you were impressed the last time we played.”
He snorted a laugh. “Yeah, okay, you’re right. You’re on my team this time.”
“Sounds good to me.”
A few other guys started showing up, and once everyone was ready, we broke into five-on-five. I kept up with them, making several three-pointers and driving hard to the basket. The game was fast-paced and intense, and I loved every minute. It differed from other undercover work I’d done in the past, since I could theoretically be myself, and playing ball was fun.
“Court’s on fire!” Lo, one of Donnie’s friends, called out as I sank another three-pointer.
I flashed a grin. “Just trying to impress the boss.”
Donnie laughed. “Dude. You’re solid. I want you on my team every week.”
Finally.
As we took a quick water break, I made small talk with Donnie.
“Hey, so,” I said, stepping over to him as he wiped the sweat from his brow. “I forgot to grab Ryan’s number the other night. Think you can help me out?”
“Sure thing,” he replied, pulling out his phone. He sent a quick text. A moment later, his phone buzzed. “Here you go.” He handed me the phone with the number displayed. I wanted so badly to take off with it and get all the information he had stored inside, but refrained, since that would blow up the investigation. “You know Morgan already wants to go on a double date, right?”
I smiled genuinely, liking the idea of getting to know Ryan better but also seeing more of Donnie outside of the Sapphire Lounge. “Yeah? I’d be down if you are.”
“I’ll tell her. Happy wife, happy life, right?”
Wife? Given how long they had been linked on Morgan’s social media, I didn’t think they’d been together all that long. How did he think he could continue their relationship without Morgan discovering who he really was? I knew he wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger, but if I were Morgan, I’d be just as furious as if he had been the one holding the gun.
After the game, I went home, ate, and showered. Since I finally had Ryan’s number, it was time to get closer to him and not have to run off mid-conversation. I sent him a text:
Hey, Ryan. It’s Court. Got your number from your sister. Still thinking about the other night and having to bail
It took a few minutes for him to reply:
Oh, hey! It’s good to hear from you. What’s up?
Nothing much. Just enjoying my night off. You?
Thinking about hitting up Chrome
I’d been there a few times. It was a cool place where everyone was accepted.
That sounds like fun. Maybe I should stop by ??
Oh yeah? *purple smiling face with horns emoji*
I was going for it and I’d just hoped Ryan would understand one day why I had to lead him on.
I’m always up for a good night out
How are your dance moves?
I smiled and replied:
You’ll just have to find out for yourself
I’m already picturing you shaking your sexy ass. Can’t wait to see it in action
It seemed it wasn’t going to be too hard getting closer to Ryan since he seemed interested.
I’ll give you a show you won’t forget *smirking face emoji*
Meet you there in an hour?
Looking forward to it