AN: All the comments and views and follows have made my day - thank you to all of you!

Characters are not mine - I am only using them for fun - and this one is really fun

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"We have the intel on Johnson." Tank tossed the folder onto my desk and lowered his massive frame into the too small chair across from me.

I picked up the file and quickly scanned through the pertinent information. Christopher Johnson was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon after slicing a six inch gash through the forearm of his next door neighbor. Apparently the neighbor's Rottweiler had taken a shit on Johnson's lawn one too many times and he'd taken it as a personal affront. He missed his court date and was now FTA.

I flipped the page and then glanced up at Tank after reading half way through. "Hells Angels?"

Tank nodded and I continued to read. I knew there was a small chapter of the club in the Trenton area but had never had any dealings with any of the members. This should be an experience. Apparently there was a bar the club frequented just on the outskirts of town and our skip was known to spend every one of his Friday nights there divesting the place of its alcohol inventory.

When I got to the third page, I knew we would need a female for this capture. I felt a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. I knew just the woman.

I pulled my phone off my hip and dialed her number while Tank watched with a raised eyebrow.

"Yo," she answered, throwing my own standard greeting at me.

"I need you," I said just to see what she would say. There was a significant pause before she answered and I could picture the blush creeping up her neck.

"Business or pleasure," she shot back, surprising me. Stephanie was feeling playful.

"Business, but I'd be more than happy to pleasure you after."

There was a loud clatter and a muffled 'shit' and I knew she'd dropped her phone. She should know better than to play with me. I waited for her to come back on the line and noticed Tank was still staring at me – both eyebrows were raised now.

"Okay…let's stick to the business part." Steph had composed herself and was back in my ear. "When and what's the job?"

"Friday. Need a female for a take down. Meet me for lunch and we'll go over the details. Pino's at one." I disconnected and set my phone down on my desk.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Tank asked and I dropped the smile I'd been sporting through that entire conversation. I looked at him across my desk and noticed that the black eye had almost faded completely. The cut on his lip and the one on his right cheek were nearly healed as well.

It had been a gritty fight, drawing most of the men to the gym to watch and I'm sure, wager. I was still catching some of the guys re-watching the video when they should be working. It didn't help that Ram had copied it and emailed it to the entire staff.

I shifted in my chair under Tanks gaze and managed to hold in the wince. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had cracked one of my ribs. It was better, but it still hurt like a bitch if I moved a certain way.

"I always know what I'm doing." Tank took it for the dismissal that is was and leveraged himself up out of the tight confines. I really needed to order a bigger chair for my office. "We'll need Woody, Cal, Vince and Hal on this one," I told him as he opened my office door.

Tank gave a single nod of agreement. "I'll have them in the conference room for a briefing at five. So you and I will be outside on this one."

"You will be. I'm going in with Steph."

Tanks eyes widened slightly. A normal person wouldn't even have noticed, but I knew this was his incredulous expression. "You're the wrong color for that kind of bar," he mentioned, not incorrectly.

The Hells Angels always made it a point to say they weren't racists, but Tank was right. There would be nothing but white people in there.

"I know what I'm doing," I said again and let him hear a little of the residual anger I was still feeling towards him. I did not like being questioned.

Tank backed down and left my office without another word.

I spent the next two hours working on some paperwork and then headed up to take a shower before my lunch date.

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I arrived at Pino's a few minutes early and secured a table at the rear of the restaurant. Most people assumed it was so I could have my back to the wall and observe everything around me. This was true, but it was also so I could watch her walk in. I loved watching her enter a room. She had absolutely no idea how sexy she was and never noticed how many eyes tracked her every move. It was a huge turn on.

There were eyes on her today, but for a different reason. She was ten minutes late when she wrenched open the door and came stomping towards me through diner. The place was full of cops and she knew most of them but didn't acknowledge any of their greetings. I wouldn't have either; she was looking a little scary and everyone was calling out, asking her what had happened and if her car had blown up.

Her long brown curly hair was a little singed around the edges and there were several black smudges covering her face. One of the sleeves of her t-shirt had been torn off and the rest of it was covered with an unidentified substance. Smelled a little like sauerkraut. There was a jagged hole in one knee of her jeans and I could see that the skin underneath was bloody.

She arrived at the table and grabbed the beer I had ordered for her. She took three long pulls and slammed the bottle back on the table. I was using all my self-control not to smile because I knew it would piss her off. Instead I gave her a raised eyebrow in question. "Don't even ask," she ground out through clenched teeth and then headed for the bathroom. As soon as she was out of sight I let the laugh I'd been containing free and wondered what exactly had happened. No doubt Lula was involved.

Five minutes later she slid into the chair across from me looking much better. She'd tied her burnt hair back into a ponytail, scrubbed the black marks off her face and she must have had a change of clothes in her bag because she was sporting a clean, rip free shirt. It was red and had a low scoop neck. I could see the top of her lace bra peeking out and I felt my dick twitch in response. God, I wanted her.

"Are you okay?" I asked. She rolled her eyes and signaled for a waitress. "I already ordered for you."

"Thanks," she said and blew out a long sigh.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I do not," she replied and the waitress arrived with our food. I had ordered her a large pepperoni with extra cheese and added a slice of chocolate cake when she was in the bathroom. Nothing calms her down more than cake. The server dished out the plates and then left us after refilling my iced tea.

I took a drink and when I set the glass down, Stephanie was smiling at me.

"What?"

"How do you always order the perfect thing?"

"I know you, Babe."

"Mmmm," she said and I couldn't tell if she was agreeing or not. She took a bite of the cake first and moaned a little when the sugar hit her tongue. Jesus. Just that little noise made me hard. I was going to have to borrow some of Lester's porn tonight. I adjusted myself discreetly under the table and then watched as she devoured two slices of pizza.

I was picking at my salad, not really interested in eating any more. At least not food.

She frowned at my plate. "You're eating salad at Pino's. I didn't even know they made salad here."

I smiled and forked a piece of lettuce into my mouth.

She took another bite of cake. "It would make me feel better if you told me that you secretly ate pizza when no one was looking."

"I've been known to eat a slice or two, but I prefer a whole different kind of pie."

Her cheeks tinted pink and she choked a little on her cake. It was just too easy. She had firsthand knowledge of my pie preference and I was going to make sure she didn't forget.

"Stop doing that," she muttered, picked up a third slice of pizza and deliberately changed the subject. "Tell me about Friday."

I slid the folder over the top of the table and she perused the file while she ate. I don't think she realizes the noises she makes when she eats or what effect is has on the people listening. Half of me wanted to drag her across the table and have my way with her and the other half wanted to order her another piece of cake just to listen to her again.

"This guy likes his knives," she said snapping me out of the fantasy I was having of taking her right here on the table.

"Yes, he does. He's not opposed to guns either so we'll have to be extra careful."

Steph nodded as she studied the photographs that were included in the file. "So you want me sexy or slutty and lure him out with suggestive sexual comments?"

"Normally yes, but this guy is a little different. He has a bit of a hero complex."

Steph made a face and I noticed a dot of chocolate frosting on the corner of her bottom lip. I wanted to lick it off. "What does that mean?"

"He gets off on rescuing damsels in distress." That got a big eye roll.

"I can just imagine what sort of damsels frequent that bar. So who is going to be causing me distress?"

"I am," I said and watched her reaction carefully. Her eyes expanded with surprise and just a little bit of excitement. Excellent.

"You're going in with me? You never go in."

I wanted to make a comment about going in her but I figured I'd pushed it far enough today. "It will be an adventure. We'll stage a fight and Mr. Johnson will sweep in and whisk you away on his white horse."

She gave me a look of haughty derision and finished her cake which I enjoyed watching immensely. My phone vibrated on my hip for the second time and I tried not to show my irritation when I checked the display. I hate being interrupted when I'm with Stephanie.

"I gotta go, Babe." I stood up and dropped enough money on the table to cover the bill. "You're going to need to be specifically outfitted for this job so I'll be sending Hector to you tomorrow. We'll talk later about the logistics." I wanted to haul her up and kiss her until her bones liquefied but since we were at Pino's and half the burg was here, I refrained. Next time we would go where the rumor mill wouldn't reach. Like my apartment.

I strode out of the diner and smiled when I heard her call after me, "Wait, who's Hector?" I didn't respond because I knew she'd call me as soon as he arrived at her door and she'd probably insist that I come over. Hector can be a fairly scary guy.