Page 20 of The Hitman and the Psychic

“You too.” She smiled and shook his hand with her glove on.

I pulled the pouch from my inner pocket and handed it to him. “That should see you through the next couple of shipments.”

“I’m sure it will.” Wes opened the safe on the floor behind his desk and tucked the packet away. He took a thumb-drive from the safe and handed it over. “That’s for you. Vanetti told me about your problem, so I downloaded all the surveillance from the last week. Maybe you’ll see something there that will help.”

“Thanks, Wes. I’ll take a look.”

“Sure.”

We stepped back into the hall, and I hesitated. We were already here, so it wouldn’t hurt to ask. I glanced her way. “Do you want to go inside the club and see if you pick up anything?”

Her eyes widened. “You mean you trust me to do that, now?”

My jaw tightened. “It’s not about trust.” My gut twisted. “But we’re here. So do you want to or not?”

She shook her head. “You know… one of these days, I’m going to save your life, and you’ll have to admit you were wrong. I can’t wait.”

I snorted. “Yeah, right. More like I’ll saveyourlife, and you’ll be sorry you didn’t take my offer to stay out of it.”

“Ha! You’re on. And… for the record, if you saw some of the things I’ve seen, you’d never take your gloves off again. There are some things you donotwant to know.” Shaking her head, she muttered, “I’m definitely never using a public bathroom again.”

I barked out a laugh. “Yeah, okay, maybe. I didn’t think aboutthat, but it would be worth it to know everyone’s secrets.”

Her brows dipped, and her perfect lips twisted into a soft pucker, making it hard to keep from kissing that disdain right off her face. “Yeah, right. Well, if you’re finally ready to give me a chance, then let’s start here, in the offices.”

“Okay.” I stepped down the hall and opened a door to show her the desk filled with monitors and computer equipment. There were six monitors all together, each covering a different part of the club. “This is the surveillance center where I spend a lot of my time.”

Her eyes widened. “Wow. Do people know you’re watching them?”

“I would think so.”

“But isn’t that illegal?”

I huffed out a laugh. “It’s Vanetti’s club. He can do whatever he wants.” She frowned, and it occurred to me that she might not know that Vanetti was a mob boss. “It’s not illegal. This is an exclusive club. People know what they’re getting into when they come here.”

“Oh… right.”

My brows rose. “Have you ever been here before?” I studied her, suddenly wanting to show her around, and not for the investigation, but just to show off a little.

“Me? Uh… no. I’m not into that sort of thing…” She raised her gloved hands and wiggled her fingers. “…mostly because of this.”

“I see. Well, come on. I’ll show you the rest.” I almost reached for her hand, but resisted the urge at the last minute. We continued down the hall toward a door thatopened off the side of the bar inside the club. A worker was re-stocking the bottles of booze, while another guy mopped the floor.

Serenity followed me past the bar to where booths and tables were set up along the outer edges of the hall, with a big wooden dance floor in the middle. Without any people, the space looked big and cavernous.

Special lighting was mounted all along the vaulted ceiling, ready to shine down on the dance floor in strobes of color. But, for now, the place was pretty tame, with golden light pouring from above the wainscoting lining the walls. The club oozed wealth and privilege without being stuffy.

“I thought clubs were supposed to feel sleazy during the day, without all the fancy lights and music, but it’s nice here, especially without any people.” Serenity glanced around the room before sending me a shrug. “But I guess that’s not the point.”

Her phone rang, and she quickly pulled it from her purse. Her brows dipped, and she caught my gaze. “Is it okay if I take this?”

I shrugged. “Sure.” I knew it wasn’t polite to listen, but who said I was polite?

“Hi, Ethan. What’s up?” Listening, she paused and her mouth twisted. “Are you kidding me?” Closing her eyes, she huffed out a breath. “I can’t believe it. He’s suing me? For what?” Rubbing her forehead, her lips pinched together. “Seriously?” She let out another frustrated huff. “He has to know I can’t give him what he wants. I don’t have it. Is there anything else we can do?” Her brows rose. “What? Go to trial? This is unbelievable.”

Someone was suing Serenity? It sounded serious, and an unexpected anger flooded my gut. My fists clenched, and Ihad to consciously relax them. Who would do that to someone like her?

She turned to pace a few steps away, but I could still hear her. “I know… you’re right. I’ll stay the course. Just let me know when you find out the details, okay? Sure. Thanks.”

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