Page 63 of Nails

“Oh, and one thing that I almost forgot.Everyone is vetted before entry.If you’re not cleared, you’re not getting in.Period.It is almost like a membership thing.And from what Adam said, what happens at the club, stays in the club.”

“In other words, everyone keeps their mouth shut,” Bear stated, with one of his eyebrows raised.

“That’s how I interpreted it.”

That drew a moment of silence.If everyone had to be vetted, that meant the rest of the team couldn’t just walk in.She could tell that detail didn’t sit well with the team.

She looked at Nails.“There is something else that you and I need to discuss before we walk in there tomorrow.”

“What’s that?”he asked.

“Do we pretend that we never met, or do we go in there saying we know each other because we live in the same apartment building.We share the same address on our applications, just different apartment numbers.We can pretend we are just friendly neighbors.”

Nails looked at Bear, and he nodded.“I say, you guys keep it simple, and that you’re just friendly neighbors.That way, if Nails were to offer to walk home with you, it wouldn’t look suspicious.Though I would act surprised when you two first see each other.”

Nails nodded.“Works for me.”

She agreed.

Dinner wound down with lighter talk, a few jokes about her “lightning-fast intel gathering” and how she’d already pulled a critical lead before even starting the job.

But tomorrow was when the real work would start.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Riley leaned in toward the mirror in the dressing room, adjusting the twisted halter neckline of her top.The white fabric hugged her upper body perfectly.The classy twist at the top drew attention to her cleavage.

She had seen worse on some of the dancers, but then again, they were strippers, and eventually they would be nude.

At least she had a top that covered her boobs and a skirt that covered her ass, though the black skirt was tight enough to be a second skin and short enough to make sitting down something she would need to strategize.There was a subtle slit on the left side.It was just enough to be sexy, not scandalous, though it did make her toned legs stand out, especially in the four-inch black stilettos strapped around her ankles.

She glanced down at the heels and snorted.The damn things reminded her of weapons disguised as shoes.Good thing she knew how to walk in them.She hated heels.She was a sneaker or flip-flops kind of girl.

She applied some lip gloss to her lips and gave herself one final look in the mirror.

If one didn’t know better, they would think she was heading out to a girls’ night in Miami instead of stepping into an undercover operation inside a club that possibly fronted one of the largest human trafficking networks in the region.

She smoothed her skirt one last time and stared at herself in the mirror.As much as she hated showing her body off, she had to admit she looked damn good.All that time she spent at the gym was paying off.

She grabbed her name tag and clipped it on her top.Then she took a breath.“Okay, Riles.Don’t screw it up.Be confident.Be cool.You’ve got this,” she told herself.

She opened the door to the dressing room and stepped out into the hallway, and nearly walked into a wall of muscle.

When she looked up, Adam stood there with that smooth smile of his.“There you are.Are you ready?”he asked, looking her over.

Absolutely not,her inner voice screamed.But she plastered on her best smile.“Yep,” she said brightly.

“Great,” he said, eyeing her over.“I’ll take you out to the main room and introduce you to Audrey.She’s one of our bartenders.She’s been here for a few years.But more importantly, she is one of the few I trust not to stir up drama.”

Riley could only imagine the drama in a place like this, full of women.Women could be mean and manipulative.And when there was money to be made, drama most definitely followed.”

“You mean you have drama here?”Riley asked, grinning sarcastically.

Adam chuckled.“Too much, sometimes.I probably should’ve warned you that some of the women can get territorial and jealous.Especially when a new girl walks in.”He let his eyes drift down her body and back up, giving her an appreciative smile.“And definitely when she’s beautiful.”

Riley resisted the urge to roll her eyes.Cue the charm.

She gave him a small smile.“Well, I’ll do my best to keep things peaceful.”