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Ellie sat patiently at the bar and swirled her straw around in her drink while she waited for Spinner. She knew he would come find her as soon as possible. So she sat, a huge grin on her face, and waited.

She knew he was close before he actually reached her. Several of the very tipsy women around her straightened up, fussing with their hair and adjusting their clothes, and struck what she assumed were supposed to be seductive poses. It was all Ellie could do not to burst out laughing.

A warm, somewhat sweaty, hand landed on her shoulder and her already huge grin broadened even further.

"Evening, Officer," she cooed as she swung around on her barstool.

The scowl on Spinner's face, coupled with the remains of his 'uniform,' caused a snort to break free from her lips, and Ellie clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed.

She shrugged. "I got a tip. And you?"

Ellie waggled her eyebrows suggestively and his entire face flushed a deep red. "Oh right," she said, "It's obvious what you're doing."

Spinner leaned closer to her, giving off a faint smell of sweat and aftershave that she had to admit wasn't half bad. "I'm undercover, Ellie."

She spied a few of the women around them throwing dirty and envious looks her way and the very inappropriate urge to rub it in came into her head. Deciding to play it up to its fullest advantage, she took hold of the tie Spinner had slung over his shoulder and rubbed it idly between her fingers.

"Not under very much, are you?" she teased.

"You're not funny," he muttered, a small pout forming on his face.

"Sorry," Ellie told him. "Never figured a guy who wears a thong would be so touchy."

Something close to a growl escaped Spinner's throat and he wrapped a firm hand around her upper arm, tugging her away from the bar. The dimly lit hallway off to the side of the club seemed to him to be the perfect place, for he came to an abrupt halt and shoved her up against a wall.

"Ellie, these are not people you want to mess with," he warned in a low voice. "They're dangerous and you could get hurt if they figure out what you're up to."

"What about you? You don't think a cop is a bigger threat than a college reporter?" she shot back.

"I can handle myself. It's you I'm worried about," Spinner said with sincerity coating his words.

The lights from the club bounced in and out of the small space they were in, casting eerie shadows over Spinner's face hovering above hers, the bizarre situation making her heart thud in time with the pulsating hip hop rhythm of the song. Ellie licked her lips subconsciously in the grip of nerves plaguing her that she couldn't explain.

"Spin," she fought to keep her voice calm, "if I don't get this story, I can kiss editor goodbye."

"If you get caught you can kiss your pretty little head goodbye," he told her.

"Hey!" Somebody yelled from the end of the hall, drawing both of their attention to the fact that they weren't alone. Heavy footsteps, obviously belonging to a very large man, drew closer to their location. "Who's back here?"

"El," Spin whispered urgently, "go with me on this."

Before she had a chance to ask what he meant by that, Spinner pressed her further into the wall and himself against her, and dropped his head to her neck, sucking gently.

"Oh!" she gasped, more out of shock than anything.

Her hands still pinned to her sides, Ellie was helpless under his assault and squirmed at the beginnings of a hickey she felt forming at the base of her throat.

A flashlight shone in her face over the outline of Spinner's head, and he jerked back from her abruptly. Her hands now free, Ellie rushed to smooth out her clothes and hair from the impromptu mussing.

"Oh, Jim. Hey," the bouncer said once he recognized Spinner. "Didn't realize it was you, man."

He leered at Ellie, taking his time raking over her form. She turned her head to the side, embarrassment making her blush hotly. And Spinner made no move to show he even noticed.

"Hey," he threw back. "Sorry, dude. I know I'm not supposed to have company back here, but you know how it is …"

The guy grinned, nodding his understanding and turned to leave without another word.

Once he was gone, Ellie smacked Spinner as hard as she could on his arm indignantly.

"Ow! What was that for?"

Ellie's mouth dropped open in surprise at his obliviousness. "First, for mauling me, and second, for letting that … that … Neanderthal think we were back here …"

He cut her off abruptly. "Women don't come here for polite conversation, Ellie. I let him think that so neither of us would get busted."

'Polite conversation?'

She chewed on her lower lip in concentration as she mulled that over. When it finally occurred to her what he was implying, she felt heat flood her face once it dawned on her.

"You mean … you're a hooker?" Ellie exclaimed.

"No," he said abruptly. "Some of the women who come here like to pay for certain things, but it's optional."

"So that's why you're here? To bust some kind of high-class male prostitution ring?" she said.

He nodded in confirmation. "Basically."

Ellie let that run around in her head. This could turn out to be a bigger story than she had originally planned on. Underage bartenders were one thing … hookers would most definitely guarantee her the editor job.

"So please don't come back here," he pleaded. "This is serious stuff."

Ellie smiled at him widely and brushed her hair away from her face, noting the way his eyes fell to the mark he had made on her skin. Spin took an involuntary step back at the motion. She was making him nervous and she could tell.

"Just try and stop me."

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Ellie wandered into the kitchen later that night after Marco was asleep. She had headed straight up to her room the second she got home, knowing she couldn't lie to him and not wanting to be interrogated about the hickey she indeed now possessed on her collarbone thanks to Spinner.

Upon thinking of the offending mark, she rubbed at it angrily and then Spinner walked in through the back door as if the action had summoned him.

"Hey, Hot Stuff," she teased.

Spinner let his black duffel bag fall into one of the kitchen chairs and glared at her. "What is it gonna take to keep you out of Haze?"

Ellie shook her head furiously. "Don't even try it, Spin. This story could be huge. There's no way I'm going to pass it up."

He collapsed heavily into another chair, rubbing his hands over his face tiredly. For he first time that night, Ellie felt the humor of the situation let up and she saw the whole situation from Spinner's eyes.

"Spin," she sat across from him and placed her hand over his on his face. He lowered it and she squeezed it comfortingly, "I don't want to complicate things for you. Honestly, I don't. But Nina as much as confirmed my getting editor hinges on this story."

He sighed and nodded. "Ellie … these are not people you want to make angry. They won't hesitate to kill you if they figure out what you're doing."

"And you?" she questioned. "What if somebody down there discovers you're really a cop?"

"I'm trained to handle this kind of stuff," he stated.

"What? Do you hide your gun in your g-string?" she asked, the teasing returning to her voice.

Spinner's face darkened at her mockery. "Funny."

"Oh, come on. You have to admit there is a very comical aspect to all this," Ellie said.

"It's not like I'm enjoying this."

Ellie sat back in her chair, arms crossing over her chest, posture conveying her challenge to his statement. "You honestly expect me to believe that Spinner Mason gets absolutely no enjoyment of having dozens of women drooling at his feet? At all?"

A glint of thought appeared in Spinner's eyes while he mulled her question over. And when his expression turned somewhat sheepish, she knew she had him.

"So I was right. You're getting a kick out of this, aren't you?"

His hands went up in defeat. "Okay, okay. I admit it; it's a bit of an ego boost having all those women wanting me."

After her laughter subsided, Ellie's face grew serious. "How did this even happen?"

"We got a tip a few weeks ago when this college kid turned up dead in an alley a few blocks away from the club. After some digging, we discovered he worked there and what was going on. The guy who owns the club, his name is Dominic Antonelli. He's bad news, El. Serious mob ties," Spinner leaned in closer to her as if there was someone that could possibly overhear the intimate details of the case he was telling her. "We're talking drugs, guns, trafficking …"

Ellie gulped involuntarily. There were few things that could cause Spinner's voice to take on the cold tone it held now; empty and emotionless and it terrified her.

"You're scared," she whispered, not even noticing the way her hand fell back over his or how he entwined their fingers like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I'm scared for you," Spinner's gaze fell to the stretch of table between them and his breathing became noticeably rougher.

"Why?"

A wan smile worked his lips out of their frown, even though his eyes never made it up to hers. "I've gotten to know you pretty well the past couple years, El. You're not going to drop this. And if something happened to you …" She squeezed his fingers within hers. "I don't think I'd be able to live with myself."

"Well then," she stated matter of factly, "I guess we're just going to have to work together."

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