Chapter 15
Buck blew out a long sigh and dropped his head back against the back of his couch. He stared up at his living room ceiling. It didn't hold any answers.
His beer was unopened and forgotten on the coffee table in front of him. That wasn't going to offer him any answers, either.
He remembered when Morgan was born. He had been a gangly ten year old, but the minute his ma had put the little bundle wrapped in pink in his arms, he had felt like a grown man, knowing it was his job to be there for the little sister who wouldn't know her father. He had stared down at her innocent little face, and silently vowed that she wouldn't know what it was like to grow up without a dad around. Not the way he had.
Then his little baby sister had freed one of her tiny hands from the pink blanket and waved it around, catching him on the cheek and leaving a claw mark with her sharp newborn nails.
Buck pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, trying to press back all the regrets, all the ways he had failed Morgan, starting with leaving her to go into the Navy, and ending with not being able to say the right things to her today when he saw her standing in front of him with that sorry excuse for a boyfriend.
"Cobra," he muttered, saying the name out loud.
He just wanted Morgan to be happy. He wanted to help her be happy, and he didn't know why she had to fight him and his help every step of the way.
Their ma hadn't had the best track record with men, and Buck would have done anything in his power to spare his ma half the heartaches she had earned. He was doing his best to spare Morgan that now, though she wasn't letting him.
His cell phone rang and Buck dropped his hands from his eyes, trying to reel in the thoughts and guilt that would drown him if he let them.
"This is Buck," he said without checking the caller ID.
"Ezra got invited into a meeting tonight," Chris said without preamble.
Buck sat up a little, already transitioning back into work mode, even after a ten hour day at the office, building what case they could in advance of whatever Ezra would gain against the senator.
"We going to wire him for it?" Buck asked, mentally moving ahead to the options they had used before once Ezra had a cover firmly established.
"We're sending Vin in to keep an eye on him from a distance. Vin'll be wired."
Buck nodded, it was a safer plan. And they all new Vin didn't miss anything. He read people almost as well as Ezra and had a good sense for impending danger.
"We gonna be in the van outside the club in case things take a turn?" Buck asked.
"You, me, and JD. Josiah and Nathan'll be across the street in a vacant apartment. We'll have the strip club covered inside and out."
"What time we meetin' up?" Buck asked, glancing at the clock.
"One hour. JD's already getting Vin prepped."
Buck said he was on his way back to the office and ended the call. At least work would get his mind off Morgan. He could go to the strip club and not have to be anywhere near her or think about her for a few hours.
#
"You remember this?" JD asked.
Vin smiled. "I remember," he assured the younger man. JD took his job of running the surveillance and comms seriously, a fact Vin appreciated every time they had easy communication in the field. Vin took the miniscule ear piece and placed it.
JD keyed on his walkie talkie. "Testing."
"Sounds good," Vin responded. He heard his own voice come back through the mic to JD.
Chris took that as his cue to look up from the papers he was rereading about the players who Ezra suspected would be at the club tonight.
"Ezra said he didn't think you'd have a line of sight to him if they take him to the back room to talk. But if he's in the VIP section they've been keeping him in, you need to get a table on the north or west wall." Chris slid the blueprints of the club, with the layout of the tables and stage penciled in by Ezra, toward Vin.
Vin quickly zeroed in on the tables that would give him the best visual of Ezra from a safe distance so no one would suspect he was there doing any sort of business related to Ezra.
Chris handed him a stack of dollar bills and Vin looked at him.
"You need to play the part," Chris said. "Tip your waitress, watch the dancers. Sell the part."
Vin nodded, pocketing the money. He hated this part of the job. Sometimes he suspected it was the part of the job that made Ezra so hesitant to let anyone in. Knowing that you could just casually slip in to fit in with the criminal element without a second thought sometimes left Vin wondering how different they really were from the criminals they were tracking.
"You talk to Ezra?" Vin asked, knowing Ezra wouldn't be reachable once he was on his way undercover.
"Left a message on his phone, let him know you'd be there tonight. Don't know if he'll get it or not."
Vin wasn't worried about surprising Ezra. Nothing rattled the undercover agent. He'd most likely see Vin and look past him like he'd never seen him before in his life, while making sure he did his best to keep the meeting in full view of Vin. It was what made Ezra so good at his job, nothing rattled him.
#
Ezra listened to the short message from Chris. Vin would be at the club tonight. He disconnected the call through his Jag's Bluetooth system.
Ezra couldn't stop the curse that escaped. He hadn't told anyone about Morgan. He had been hoping he'd be able to talk to her, get her out of the club before they had to move in on their target. He hadn't expected the club manager to be so impressed with Ezra's money that he would make a meeting with him this soon.
Vin couldn't be there tonight. It was that simple. Ezra wasn't blind to the way Vin looked at Morgan. Or the way Morgan's emotions for Vin sometimes got out from behind her mask of indifference when she thought no one was watching. Ezra couldn't risk either one of them being surprised tonight.
He quickly dialed Vin's number. It went straight to voicemail, which meant Vin most likely had ditched his phone already and replaced it with the burner he would use tonight. A number Ezra didn't have. Vin was most likely already at the club, or nearly there.
Ezra pushed down harder on the accelerator. He didn't know what he was going to do at the club, but he was going to do whatever it took to keep the entire job from falling apart and Morgan getting caught in the middle of it.
#
Morgan gave her hair one last spritz of hairspray, then turned and let Emme give her a quick spray with the always present body glitter.
"What section do you want tonight?" Emme asked. "Blitz has some big spender coming in. You want the VIP section?"
Morgan shook her head. She knew the VIP section meant dancing, something she had managed to convince Blitz she didn't do. She was a waitress, nothing more.
Lindy reached over and tugged on the fringe of Morgan's suede skirt. "Cute," she said.
Morgan smiled wryly. "Thanks. Trying to get into the spirit of the west and all that Denver is." Her barely-there top in a red bandana print and hair pulled into two long braids made the look a sultry wild west one.
"I'm hoping for some cops tonight," Lindy said with a smirk, adjusting the fake badge on her miniscule police uniform.
"I'll take the VIP tonight," Emme said. "You take the west section, Annie Oakley," she winked at Morgan.
Morgan nodded and headed with Emme and Lindy down the hall from their changing room to the main venue.
She grabbed a tray from behind the counter, returning Spike's greeting, and headed toward her section. It was already filling up, the waitresses that had been there for the earlier shift looking tired and ready to go.
Morgan squared her shoulders, fixing her persona in place and went to the lone figure at a table against the wall.
#
"Ezra there yet?" Chris asked.
He really hated surveillance. There was nothing worse than listening to his men in the thick of danger and not being right there. It didn't matter he was only outside the building and could be there in seconds. It didn't sit right, letting them put themselves in harm's way while he sat in the van doing nothing more than listening.
"Just got seated," came Vin's voice over their headsets.
"You got a visual?" Chris wished they had eyes of their own inside, but they had decided to let Ezra build some more trust before they risked any extra equipment that could be detected by the thugs Ezra would be doing business with.
"Yep," Vin responded.
Buck leaned over and grabbed the open bag of chips from JD and pulled them closer to himself, offering some to Chris. Chris shook his head. On the other side of him, JD worked with the dials to adjust the audio they were getting from Vin. It was hard to hear anything with the loud music in the background. JD paused long enough to take a drink from his travel mug of coffee. Between the smell of Buck's dill pickle chips and JD's
"Keep your eyes open," Chris instructed him needlessly. Vin caught things most others would miss. The man was gifted at his job. There was a reason he was in there with Ezra. Not the least being, there was nothing that could distract Vin from his assignment.
#
Vin leaned back in his chair, keeping his eyes on Ezra in the far corner of the club. It was directly on the other side of the stage that had a new dancer coming out, amid flashing lights and loud music.
"That's a good song," Buck said in Vin's ear. "Bet there's a good dance to go with it."
Vin kept his face straight in spite of the wistfulness in Buck's voice.
"What do you want to drink?" a bored voice asked, battling against the thrumming music.
Vin turned his attention from the stage to the waitress standing behind his right shoulder.
Everything stopped.
There was no music, no other tables, no dancers.
Just Morgan. In the strip club. Working.
Vin couldn't move.
Surprise flared in Morgan's eyes. But it didn't spark big enough to hide the flash of shame that crossed her face.
"What are you doin'?" Vin managed to push out the words. He looked at Morgan, dressed in a skimpy outfit, clearly chosen to appeal to the lowest men in the club.
"I'm working," Morgan snapped. But she pressed her lips together and her fingers tightened around the tray she held.
"Here?" Vin asked.
"What's going on, Vin?" Chris' voice came through his hidden earpiece.
Vin reflexively grabbed at the earpiece and dropped it into the shotglass another waitress had set in front of him earlier.
Morgan's eyes looked at the listening device and flew up to meet his eyes, clearly putting the pieces together.
It took everything in Vin to look normal, like everything in him didn't want to grab Morgan and get her out of there. "Act normal," Vin said. "Just like you're gettin' my order."
To Morgan's credit, she pulled herself together.
"You're gonna go get me a beer," Vin said, willing the calm tone of his voice to reassure Morgan. "When you bring it back, give it to me and act like you're annoyed with my flirtin' and walk away. Keep it lookin' normal."
Morgan nodded slightly. She took a slight breath and looked more composed, though she glanced once at the earpiece.
Vin picked up the shot glass and discreetly fished out the earbud, pocketing it in his jeans.
Morgan nodded again and headed back towards the bar. Vin watched her go. Watched a table of men reach out and grab at Morgan, at her reflexive glare at them.
He wanted to go over there and get her out of the bawdy establishment. Get her away from everything she was subjecting herself to. Let her know he could offer her so much more than what her false pride was giving her.
Instead, he had to walk away and do nothing. He looked over towards Ezra and saw his teammate looking back at him. Even at that distance, he could see the concern on Ezra's face before he looked back at the men seated at the VIP table with him and smiled, saying something to make the other men laugh.
Morgan took her time coming back, stopping to deliver drinks to another table first.
When she gave Vin his beer, he smiled up at her and winked. "Just steer clear of me tonight. We'll meet up after. I'll explain." He made a motion with his head like he was encouraging her to come closer. Like he was doing nothing more than flirting if anyone looked over.
Morgan narrowed her eyes at him, the same look she had given to the rest of the men she waited on. Without saying anything more, she walked away.
Vin nursed the beer, hoping he had done the right thing. Hoping Morgan wasn't walking into something bigger than she could handle.
He did his job. He couldn't have told anyone how he did it, but he made it through the night, keeping one eye on Ezra, making sure nothing was going off course, while every nerve in his body was aware of every time Morgan passed nearby. Every time some creep laid his hands on her and she had to give him a shove away.
Finally Ezra was shaking hands with the men seated around his table. Vin looked at his watch. The club was closing soon.
Vin tossed down a handful of dollar bills on the table as a tip and headed toward the bathrooms at the back of the club. But he bypassed them, heading down the dark corridor at the back of the club and out the back door.
#
Morgan didn't bother changing. She had held it together with Vin sitting there, everything in her humming an alert that he was near. That he was working a case that involved the club. But now she had finished wiping down the tables and just needed to get out of there.
She went into the changing room and grabbed her purse, ignoring Lindy's question if she was going over to Spike's.
She pushed open the back entrance to the strip club and stepped outside. The cool night air pricked at her bare skin, but she didn't go back for her change of clothes.
"Morgan."
Morgan wheeled around at the quiet call.
Vin was at the edge of the parking lot, near his Jeep.
"What was that all about?" she demanded, all her pent up tension finding a release.
Vin glanced at the door to the club. "We should get out of here."
Morgan set her jaw. "I want to know what's going on."
The back door to the club opened and she felt Vin tense next to her and shift, ready to move between her and whoever it was.
Vin relaxed slightly when he saw Ezra, but Morgan was more on edge. She whirled on Vin.
"Who else is in there?" She didn't want to think about Chris or Buck, if they had seen her working tonight…
"Just us," Ezra said, approaching them quickly.
"Tell me what's happening," Morgan insisted, feeling anger moving in with the fear and shame.
"Not here," Ezra said.
"We need to clear out," Vin said, with another look at the club door. He opened the passenger door of his Jeep.
Morgan hesitated.
"We'll fill you in," Vin promised. "But we need to get out of here before anyone sees us with you."
Morgan wasn't sure if he meant her brother, or their target, but she clenched her jaw against her questions and got into the SUV.
Ezra said something to Vin that she couldn't hear and Vin nodded, jogging around his Jeep and getting in.
He didn't say anything as they drove. Morgan made up her mind she wasn't going to beg for answers. But she was going to get them.
When Vin pulled up in the lot of his apartment building, Morgan grabbed her purse and followed him towards the door.
A shrill whistle sounded, followed by a suggestive comment. Vin turned to fix the teen with a stern look and the kid held up his hands in apology.
Ezra pulled in as Vin was unlocking the foyer door. Morgan rubbed her hands over her bare arms. Vin ushered her through the door and up the stairs to his apartment, Ezra with them.
As soon as Vin closed and locked the door behind them, Morgan spun around, planting her hands on her hips. "Well?" she demanded.
Vin's look of compassion was almost enough to make Morgan back off, not wanting any of his sympathy or to feel weak with him.
Ezra motioned towards Vin's second or third hand couch. "You should have a seat."
"I'll stand," Morgan countered.
"By all means," Ezra said. "I'm sure that's comfortable after being on your feet all night."
"What were you doing there?" Morgan exploded, not even sure which man she was asking for answers.
"We're workin' a case," Vin said.
"Yeah, I figured that much when you took off your wire," she said.
Vin didn't react to her anger. He looked at her, concern mixed with something that was too far beyond affection. Morgan curled her hands into fists.
"How much do you know about what the senator's into," he asked softly.
Morgan almost recoiled, the sudden reminder of Vegas and the senator—of Chad—like a slap she didn't see coming. But then she saw Ezra's gaze sharpen in question towards Vin and it brought her back to the present.
"You're acquainted with Senator Lowell?" Ezra asked, his question more casual than Morgan knew he was feeling.
"Yeah," she said, not bothering to dart around the question. "And I know everything," she said in answer to Vin's question. "The guns that pay for his campaigns, who he sells them to." She waved a hand in the air. "All of it."
Vin and Ezra exchanged a look then.
"Is he in Denver?" she asked. "Are you going after his guns?"
"We're going after everything," Ezra said.
"What does that mean?" Morgan asked.
A pause that told her she wasn't going to like the answer.
"He owns the club. It's where he moves his money and guns," Vin said.
"The club?" Morgan repeated dumbly. She hated how caught off guard she sounded. She hated how caught off guard she felt. "The club I'm working in? I'm working for him?"
"More or less," Vin said with a wince.
"Unbelievable!" Morgan exclaimed. She rammed her fingers into her hair, pulling at the braids that were starting to fall apart. She whirled away from Vin and Ezra, needing space.
She had left Vegas after the senator had made sure she had no future there. After he had ruined any chance of her future. He had made sure his son wasn't going to be held responsible for what he had done to Morgan, but he had also made sure Morgan wouldn't be believed if she said a word about what Chad had told her about the family business. She had left, trying to get away from them and had ended up right in the middle of their firearms business anyway.
Except this time her brother was involved.
"Buck?" Morgan asked, turning back to them. Panic was starting to claw at her chest as she was trying to put pieces together.
"He doesn't know about your tie to Lowell," Vin said softly.
"And he doesn't know about your current career path," Ezra said. "No one does."
"Yeah, thanks for that," she heard Vin mutter under his breath to Ezra.
Morgan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, Ezra and Vin were both watching her, waiting for her response.
"So is Senator Lowell going to be showing up in the club?" she asked.
Ezra shook his head. "I don't believe so. He doesn't want to be directly tied to any of this. It's a fairly convoluted paper trail from the club to him."
"So I can keep my job."
"What?" It was the first reaction Vin had given her all evening. "You ain't still working there, after all this."
Morgan felt her spine stiffen. "In case you didn't know, Vin, there aren't a lot of job options for someone who's been expelled from college and has a restraining order on their record."
"You don't gotta do that, though. Dressing like that and letting those men grope you."
Morgan opened her mouth to respond, but Ezra stepped between them. "It's been a long night for all of us. I suggest we take a step away from this topic for now."
Vin drew in a breath, dropping his head to study the toes of his boots, taking another long breath and clearly fighting for control.
"I should get going," Morgan said. She grimaced at the thought of having to face Buck or Cobra tonight.
"Stay," Vin surprised her by saying. His voice was steady, any sign of frustration buried.
Everything in Morgan wanted to run. Everything in her wanted to stay with Vin. She didn't know what she wanted.
"I'll get you somethin' to change into," Vin said.
"I'll get us all some drinks," Ezra said, heading in the opposite direction to the kitchen.
Morgan stood in Vin's living room, dressed as a strip club waitress, with nowhere else to go.
#
