And then, before they opened the door, she felt Elliot's hand on her back, and the warmth of it felt like it was flowing through her body like a calming, grounding breath.

"I've got your back."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was clear was the club was driven by big money. It resembled a bit of a nightclub, but unlike the usual boozy New York dance bar, its floors were not sticky from spilled drinks, and there were no drunken youth groups to watch out for. Instead of a dance floor, there was a casino, expensive drinks were served from the bar, and instead of modern dance music, the speakers were playing clearly older music.

So, the place was like a combination of a modern nightclub, a casino and a sophisticated bar, and even though it sounded confusing, somehow the club had been created into a functional and harmonious whole. Surprised, Olivia and Elliot just stood there for a moment after entering the door until they remembered the gravity of the situation again.

They weren't here to spend their evening off.

They were here to infiltrate the inner circle of a human trafficking ring.

There were a surprising number of people at the club, all talking in their own circles, some sitting, some standing, but all sipping their drinks. Slowly, Olivia and Elliot moved to the bar, trying to look carefree, yet they were alert. Their detective instincts were almost screaming at them that these people could not be trusted.

"Good evening, ma'am," the bartender greeted Olivia, who smiled warmly at him. She felt the bartender's gaze lick her body, different kind of way than the guard had looked at her before. Although she wasn't insecure about her body, she suddenly found herself wishing she had put on something more covering.

And this time it wasn't about the cold.

"Good evening," she greeted. "Which wine would you recommend?"

"Ah, is such a beautiful woman asking me for advice?" The bartender flashed her a smile. "Why such an honor?"

"Well, you work here," Olivia answered. "So you probably know the selection."

An inexplicable gaze flashed in the bartender's eyes, and he was about to open his mouth to say something clearly inappropriate, but then Olivia felt Elliot next to her, and he clearly got second thoughts. He shrugged.

"Yes I do. Just a second," he turned and began clinking wine glasses. Olivia glanced at Elliot standing next to her, who had directed his gaze at the bartender who had his back turned to them. As if imperceptibly, the warmth and strength radiating from him made her feel better, and on a whim, she took his hand in hers. If Elliot was surprised by the situation, he didn't show it in any way.

This is fine.

We are supposed to be engaged.

The engaged couple holds hands.

But the thought of how warm it made her feel, she immediately suppressed.

Because it was far too intense to be appropriate.

"So, first time here?" The bartender asked as he handed them glasses. They took a sip, and Olivia had to admit that the bartender really knew his stuff. She had never tasted such good wine.

"Yep," Elliot answered, and when he turned his gaze to Olivia, it was so warm it almost made her knees buckle.

What's wrong with me?!

"My business partner Jack praised this place, and I thought it might be a good place to bring my fiancée for a Friday night date. And he wasn't wrong, we're impressed," he added, and the bartender nodded.

"Yeah, this is something else compared to the usual clubs in New York. And here earns much better," he winked at Olivia, who grinned.

"We heard that Mr. Reed is behind all this. Do you know if he is here today? We'd like to thank him for letting us come," Olivia asked, but when the bartender suddenly looked suspicious, she removed her hand from Elliot's and set the wine glass down on the bar. Then she began to slowly roll her finger along the edge of the glass, softening and quieting her voice. "You know, I've always liked successful men. They kind of…" She licked her lips and bent down so that her open neckline revealed more than she felt comfortable with. "...They attract me. I'm sure you understand what you mean?" She looked up to see the bartender gulping. However, his gaze was not fixed on her eyes but somewhere else. "What's your name?"

That's when he seemed to snap out of his trance and tore his eyes from her neckline. "W-what?"

"I asked, what's your name?" Olivia repeated, straightening her back. If the bartender didn't give them the information they wanted, there was no chance waiting for a gift in return either.

"I'm… Lucas…" He looked disappointed at the change in sight, and Olivia lightly wiped her bangs from in front of her eyes.

"Okay, Lucas... I believe that you have also been successful in your life, because you have gotten to work in a place like this. It sure wasn't easy," she smiled lightly as she looked deep into the younger man's brown eyes. "And I'd really like to know that person from whom you can get such opportunities. So, I'd really appreciate it..." She decided to raise the stakes and lightly touched the bartender's hand. "…If you could tell if Mr. Reed is here," she blinked her eyes and watched intently how the man's protection lowered in seconds as her fingers stroked his hand. Then he looked up and slowly nodded his head in the direction of a few men sitting on a couch in the corner of the club.

"Thank you," Olivia smiled, removed her hand and then started walking in the direction of the men. She didn't dare glance at Elliot for fear it would reveal something to the bartender, and slowly they walked over to Mr. Reed and the other two men. Seeing them, they stopped their conversation and looked at them evaluating.

"Good evening, I haven't seen you two before. How can I help you?" Mr. Reed asked, and Elliot reached out to shake his hand.

"Good evening, sir, I'm Harry Roberts, and this is my fiancée Sharon Johnson," he greeted and after looking at them for a while, Mr. Reed seemed to remember their names. His expression brightened, and he stood up.

"Right! Jack Moore told me about you," he smiled and then turned his gaze to Olivia. "You look really charming today, Miss Johnson," he took her hand and kissed it. Cold shivers ran down Olivia's spine, but she had to tell herself to stay the part. She smiled and let Mr. Reed believe she was flattered.

"Oh, thank you, sir," she chuckled lightly. "This place is amazing."

"Yeah, I like a slightly higher class style," he winked at her and then gestured for them to sit down. "Please, take a seat."

The two other men nodded to him and moved towards the bar counter. Olivia sat down next to Mr. Reed, Elliot sat down on the other side of her, and suddenly she felt her head spin. Since she'd only drunk half of her wine, she couldn't blame it either.

She felt like she was a magnet between two magnets. In her subconscious, the other was attracting, the other was repelling, but she had to resist these forces, and act precisely against them. She was supposed to get close with Mr. Reed and distance herself from Elliot.

But here, sitting between them, her subconscious was screaming at her to cling to Elliot and get as far away from Mr. Reed as possible.

She could hear Elliot and Mr. Reed talking somewhere in the distance, but the buzzing that had filled her head prevented her from understanding what they were saying. She shook her head and picked up the wine glass, and in a few sips, she emptied it. Then she forced herself back to the present, focused on Elliot's warm leg against her bare thigh and then decided to move on to the next step of the plan. She turned her gaze to him and raised her empty wine glass.

"Hey, sweetheart," she said. "I…" However, the words got stuck in her throat, because "sweetheart" had felt so foreign in her mouth that it made her train of thought stop for a moment.

However, Elliot saved the situation, and she got her ability to speak back.

"Yes?"

"I thought… Could you get me another drink?" She smiled and handed him her glass. With her eyes she told him that this was part of the plan, but for some reason Elliot suddenly looked hesitant. He looked at her, glanced at Mr. Reed sitting next to her, then looked back at her and licked his lips quickly.

"Yes… I can…" He answered slowly, got up even slower from the couch and glanced once more at Mr. Reed, who grinned at him.

"Don't worry, Harry, I'll look after your fiancée," he laughed, and his laugh made a chilling feeling spread inside Olivia.

Please, don't be long, her gaze begged, and Elliot nodded.

I won't.

Then he turned, and at the same moment Olivia felt Mr. Reed's hand on her knee. Nausea felt turning her guts upside down, but once again she forced herself to stick to the plan. Even though every cell in her wanted to escape the situation, she upped the ante, turning her head in Mr. Reed's direction with a smile.

"You really are an incredible woman," Mr. Reed's voice had suddenly taken on a completely new, syrupy tone, and his eyes had darkened. It didn't take much to guess what he had in mind. Olivia took a deep breath to calm her heart, which felt like it was about to jump out of her chest and turned her upper body to zigzag her finger around the buttons of Mr. Reed's collared shirt.

"And I can see that you have the right taste, Mr. Reed," she said quietly, and the color of his eyes darkened even more. "There's something about you that Harry doesn't have, and I have to admit that… It fascinates me."

"Please, call me Ralph," his voice had become hoarse, and out of the corner of her eye, Olivia saw that his body had exactly the same plan as his mind. Suddenly she felt like she didn't have much time before Mr. Reed would drag her into some private room, and she had to swallow hard.

Please, Elliot, hurry up.

She felt his hand slowly slide up along her thigh, his gaze glued to her open neckline, and she felt like her heart was about to explode.

But then his hand detached from her thigh, and when she turned her gaze in the direction of the bar, she saw Elliot walking towards them with a glass of wine in his hand. She heard Mr. Reed grunt quietly beside her, and when Elliot sat down next to her and handed her the glass, relief washed over her like a tidal wave.

And that's when she leaned towards him and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Surprise flashed in Elliot's eyes, but only for a second, and then he replied with a smile:

"There you go, honey."

Honey.

And with the kiss still tingling on Olivia's lips, she couldn't tell why it suddenly sounded so right.