Well, the end of this chapter gets a little over the top. But I wanted to speed up Danny/Angie romance a little bit. Hope you like it anyway...

Chapter Nine - The Power of a Woman

Club 51 in Manhattan - Fifty Two Hours Missing

"Well, I just did what any self respecting girl would do. I threw my shoe at him." Angie's eyes sparkled as she recounted for her girlfriends a story about the end of yet another one of her past relationships. Of course, the sparkle in her eye was probably the result of the many empty cocktail glasses on the table in front of her. Once Angie had started drinking those sweet, pink concoctions she had found it hard to stop. She had a few sorrows to drown out this night. And she couldn't tell the fabulous women at her table about any of them.

"So, did you hit him?" Angie's friend, Cassie Walker, wanted to know, leaning in closer so that she could hear her story over the music pulsating through the club.

"Of course. With my spiked heel, right in the head." She pointed to a spot on her own head to demonstrate her point. "He probably still has the scar to prove it. So he'll always remember me."

Cassie, Liz and their friend Amy all dissolved into laughter at the look on Angie's face. It was so good to see her happy. "Just a fair warning to all those boys out there...don't piss this woman off." Liz warned through her laughter.

"Speaking of boys," Amy said, taking a sip of her drink and looking slyly at Angie, "I do believe you are being scoped out by that hottie over there." Amy nodded in the direction of a nearby table and all four women turned to look in that direction.

Turning back around, Cassie pretended to fan herself. "Whoo, girl! It's getting hot in here!"

Angie tore her eyes off the man in question and shook her head. "Don't get excited, ladies." She said, her eyes narrowing. "This isn't a scope out. It's a stake out." Angie's friends looked confused, but Angie was beginning to seethe. For sitting on the other side of the room, pretending not to notice her, was Agent Danny Taylor.

How did he get here? Danny wondered to himself as he nursed his ginger ale while listening to Martin drone on about something he had lost interest in long ago. The more time he spent in this place, the more things he found to dislike about it. The music was tolerable, but people were packed in like sardines. In the bar, on the dance floor, in the pool hall area. With all of these people, he wondered how this place could still lack soul. He sighed and looked back at Martin. He had wanted to come here after work to take the edge off. Something was going on, again, in his relationship with Samantha. Danny suspected it had something to do with her flirtation with Mike Sullivan but he wasn't asking any questions. So, when Martin had asked him to join him for a drink, Danny had decided to join his friend. He owed him that much. But Danny had wanted to leave almost as soon as he arrived, until he saw Angie Sullivan walk through the door.

From the moment she had walked in with her three friends, Angie had captured the full attention of every man in the room. Of course, the low cut jeans, eye popping black tank top, and the tousled hair-do she sported probably had a something to do with that. It was a far cry from the well put together doctor and the half asleep woman in her pajamas Danny had seen on their last two meetings. But Danny knew it was more than just her outfit. There was something in the way she walked, in the way she had downed too many drinks too quickly, and laughed in an over animated way with her friends. Something was wrong and she was trying very hard to cover it up or drown it in alcohol. Something that he hadn't sensed about her before. And in a strange, twisted way it made her sexier than ever. Danny couldn't take his eyes off her.

She was no longer sitting at her table and Danny's eyes scanned the crowd until he found her. She was easy enough to spot, her hair sparkling under the neon lights. Some guys had challenged her to a game of pool and she was about to take them up on their challenge. He chuckled to himself. If those men only knew that they were about to play against a woman who grew up in the Caruso crime family and probably learned a few tricks along the way, they would just hand their money over to her now and save themselves the humiliation.

"She is beautiful, isn't she?" Martin's voice suddenly invaded Danny's private thoughts.

"Hmmm?" Danny looked over at him, not realizing that he had just been caught wearing his thoughts on his face.

"Oh come on now. We're too old for that kind of nonsense." Martin took another swig of his drink, the challenge to Danny in his voice. "Angie Sullivan...Caruso...whatever the hell her name is, is gorgeous. Be a man and admit that you've noticed. You'd have to be dead not to."

"I'm surprised that we came here tonight, Martin." Danny said, changing the subject and refusing Martin's challenge. "This doesn't seem to be your kind of place."

Martin smiled slyly and continued. "I'm a complex guy, Danny. There are many things you don't know about me." Martin glanced around the room and then said, "There are always plenty of beautiful women in here. Besides, I would think you would be glad that I dragged you in here. Did I mention that Angie is a beautiful girl?"

"Yes, I believe you did." Danny raised an eyebrow as he grinned at his friend and took another sip of his ginger-ale. He and Martin had gotten off to a rocky start, but he had come to really like his fellow agent. Now he was beginning to understand why.

"She's got some serious baggage, though." Martin remarked.

"Some of it's pretty familiar to me." Danny said, watching Angie line up her next pool shot.

Martin went in for the kill. "You should take the lead on this case, then. Use your common ground to get her to talk to us."

Martin's eyes were twinkling with mischief and Danny couldn't help but smile. "Are you telling me how to do my job?"

"No, I'm telling you how to get the girl. The girl you haven't taken your eyes off of all evening."

Danny lowered his voice, even though their conversation couldn't be heard above the loud music. "What makes you think I need you to tell me how to get the girl?"

"Well, the fact that you have been sitting here all night staring at her instead of going to talk to her seems to be an indication." Martin replied, almost smugly.

Danny shook his head. "Do you know how much trouble I could get in for even thinking about getting involved with her?"

Martin grinned and said, "About as much trouble as I could get in for being involved with Sam. But you've got to admit, the danger of getting caught is part of the fun." Martin took another sip of his drink and then said, "Although the very real danger that you could get whacked may be a cause for concern."

"I was actually thinking more along the lines of getting fired, but thanks for bringing that up." Danny replied, glancing again at Angie, who was collecting her winnings from the very embarrassed guys she had played pool with. "Besides, I don't need your advice to get the girl. I can do just fine on my own." Danny raised his glass to Martin's meddling ways and finished off his drink.

"Yeah, well you may just get the chance to prove it." Martin said, nodding in the direction behind Danny. He looked up to see Angie making her way over to him.

"Are you following me, Agent Taylor?" Angie demanded, standing over their table with her hands on her hips and a pissed off look on her face.

Danny quickly shook his head and stood up so that he was level with her. "Ah...no. We're just a couple of guys," Danny motioned to Martin, "having a drink."

"We come here all the time." Martin said, unable to hide the smirk on his face.

Ignoring Martin completely, Angie did something next that shocked the hell out of all three of them. "Prove it." She said, lacing her fingers through Danny's and moving her body closer to his. He could smell the alcohol on her breath, but knew that wasn't what was making him dizzy. "Dance with me." She whispered sexily into his ear.

"I don't dance," he grinned down at her, putting his arms around her to steady her. Angie Sullivan had obviously had a bad day and way too much to drink. "Especially to this." When she twisted her beautiful features into a fake pout, he said, "I've got no rhythm."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" She whispered, seductively. "You want to protect me so badly, Agent Taylor. Well, here's your chance."

"I thought I asked you to call me Danny." He said quietly, locking eyes with her.

Again she was in his ear, whispering, "Dance with me, Danny."

Danny was not sure if it was her hot breath in his ear, the sexy tone of her voice, the scent of her perfume, or the feel of her body pressed up against his that caused him to do what he did next. But something silenced the nagging negativity in his head and he found himself following her out to the dance floor. Ah, the power of a woman.