bottles, chairs, and drink glasses flew in every direction. Fabian and the dancers were
long gone. Smart move.
The doors to the showroom burst open, and cops in riot gear charged in. Yippee.
Better late than never. I let out a long sigh. Time for more surveillance. Didn’t that
sound fun?
CATCHING DRAGOS | 11
Chapter Two
After the show all the Perfect Girl’s Night Out dancers were required to spend
time at Dante’s Inferno, a Latin nightclub. They had to mingle and dance with their
horny fans.
Wearing a red wig, fat suit, and a long putrid-green handkerchief dress, I plunked
myself down at the bar and ordered a soda.
Fabian and the other dancers were surrounded by a group of giggly women who
didn’t see anything wrong with grabbing the dancers’ butts or stuffing dollar bills
down their pants.
You’d think a gigolo would enjoy the attention, but Fabian looked seriously
pissed. Maybe it was because none of the ladies were over sixty.
The DJ announced, “Next up is the Best Tango Contest. The first dancer is Fabian.
Who will he pick to dance with him?”
Fabian’s fans squealed in excitement, and several dozen voices yelled, “Me! Pick
me! Pick me!”
A spotlight roamed over the crowd. The DJ asked, “Will it be the smoking-hot
blonde in the red dress?”
The blonde thrust out her considerable cleavage and licked her lips suggestively.
“Or maybe the plus-size model in the thrift-store dress. “
The light fell on me. Oh, hell no.
The other women laughed and jeered.
Nice bunch. Wonder how they would feel about being turned into a flock of
squawking chickens? Pissing off a psychic with magical abilities was never a good idea.
12 | GAIL KOGER
Fabian surveyed the crowd.
The women held their collective breaths.
His brooding amber eyes settled on me.
Horror knotted my stomach. There was no way in hell he’d pick me. Was there?
Fabian sauntered toward me.
I grabbed my soda, wishing it was something a little stronger. My girly parts
wanted to do the horizontal mambo with Fabian, but I wasn’t sure if my disguise would
pass muster. I had slapped it on a bit hastily. Wouldn’t do for pieces of my face to start
falling off.
Fabian held out his hand. “Dance with me.”
I choked on my drink. His voice alone was enough to make a girl come. “Me? You
wanna dance with me?”
The man-whore gave me a seductive smile and laid on the Italian accent. “Si,
amore mio.”
I sighed. Damn. Talk about animal magnetism. Fabian had it in spades. All I
wanted to do was wrap my legs around him and fuck him blind. But that wasn’t going
to happen. Pity. “Oh. Well. I’m honored, but I’m not a very good dancer, and you
should—” I yelped when he scooped me off the bar stool and carried me to the dance
floor. “Really. This is not a good idea.”
Fabian slowly slid me down his taut body, letting me feel every delicious muscle.
“A beautiful woman should dance the tango at least once.” He took my hand.
I gasped as an electric spark leaped between us. What the hell?
Fabian flinched, dropped my hand, and gave me a strange look.
“Sorry, I’m full of static electricity tonight. Must be the weather.”
“Si, love is in the air.”
“Are you drunk?”
“Drunk on your beauty.”
CATCHING DRAGOS | 13
The man was in serious need of some glasses. I mean, how could he miss the
hideous wart on my chin? “Uh, okay.”
The music started. Fabian circled me like I was his prey and he wanted to eat
every inch of me.
One look at his smoldering gaze. Shazam! He had me. My nipples hardened. My
pussy clenched. Wait a minute. It was almost magical. Nah. He was a normal. Wasn’t
he? Better to be safe than sorry. I was very good at sleight of hand and quickly planted a
tracker under his belt.
Seizing my right hand, Fabian spun me around him and pulled me into a tight
embrace. His lips brushed mine.
I jerked away.
He jerked me back, sliding his leg between mine.
Fuck. Had he noticed my panties were wet?
His large hands skimmed down my back, grabbed my hips, and up I went.
“No! No! No! Bad idea.” Did that stop him? Hell no.
Fabian twirled me around his shoulders.
Twang! The padding around my right leg flew off. It smacked the waitress in the
back of the head. She staggered forward, spilling her tray of drinks all over the
smoking-hot blonde and her jeering friends.
They screeched like scalded cats.
The man-whore lowered me until our lips met. “Why are you wearing this ugly
disguise?”
“I happen to like my dress,” I huffed.
Fabian dropped me to the floor and spun me around him. “I love a good
mystery.”
“How nice for you.” I stumbled as the padding on my left leg fell down around
my ankle. Desperate to get rid of it, I latched onto Fabian’s shoulders and kicked. The
14 | GAIL KOGER
padding shot across the dance floor like a heat-seeking missile, right under the hot
blonde’s feet.
She tripped and fell face-first into a skinny dude’s lap.
The skinny dude grinned in delight.
I broke free and made a run for it.
“We haven’t finished our dance yet.” Yanking me back, Fabian promenaded me
across the dance floor, spinning me this way and that.
My eyes narrowed. He wanted to dance? Game on. Step. Step. Kick.
Fabian pivoted at the last moment, and my foot missed his groin.
I scowled.
An amused smile curved Fabian’s mouth. He dipped me and rained kisses up my
throat.
My brain turned to mush and my body caught fire.
“You fucking bitch, get away from my husband.”
Huh? I turned my head and saw Terie, the love-struck bimbo, charging across the
dance floor. “You better let me go.”
Fabian shot me between his legs.
I skidded across the dance floor and watched Terie climb him like a tree. Time to
leave before I made a fool of myself. I headed for the door.
Smack! “You bastard! I want a divorce,” Terie screamed.
Fabian rubbed his face and watched her storm off.
“Ain’t love grand?”
As if he had heard me, Fabian turned toward me.
Throwing him an air-kiss, I quickly chanted a “nobody’s there” illusion spell and
poof. I was invisible. Only a powerful witch could see me. I hurried out.
CATCHING DRAGOS | 15
The street was lined with stretch limos, taxis, and luxury vehicles. The door to a
classic black Rolls was abruptly thrown open.
I dodged to the left to miss it.
A huge mountain of a man stepped out.
A gasp escaped me. Sergei. One of the Dragos clan’s deadliest enforcers. Once a
hunter put you in his crosshairs there was no escape. I scooted into the shadows. What
was he doing here? And why hadn’t my psychic radar warned me about him?
Sergei carefully surveyed the street and raised a cell phone to his ear. “I don’t see
her. You think she’s a Vizzini spy?” He nodded. “Will do. I’ll take care of the woman,
but you need to get that ring tonight. We’re running out of time.” Sergei frowned.
“Relax. Your little spy won’t get far.”
Okay, I might belong to the Vizzini clan, but I wasn’t a spy. I was the competition.
The only one not going anywhere was him. I pulled a tranquilizer gun from my thigh
holster and fired. The dart hit Sergei dead in the chest.
He yanked the dart out and sneered. “This toy won’t work on me. I. Am. Dragos.”
What a dumb ass. I shot him again.
His eyes rolled back in his head, and down he went.
“Tacitos obturo.” With a loud bang, all the tires on the limo went flat. God, I loved
that spell.
The limo driver jumped out armed with a Glock.
I shot him too.
He crumpled to the asphalt.
“It’s been fun playing with you boys.” I got into an old battered van, grabbed my
laptop off the passenger seat, and typed in the password. The bug I planted on Fabian
was operational. What naughty things did Fabian have planned tonight?
Speak of the devil. Out walked the bad boy. He came to an abrupt halt when he
saw the Dragos clan’s enforcer sprawled on the sidewalk. Cursing a blue streak in a
16 | GAIL KOGER
Gypsy dialect I didn’t know, Fabian dropped down beside Sergei and checked his
pulse.
This night was full of surprises. Was the Dragos clan using the famous
supermodel, or was it the other way around?
Fabian suddenly lifted his head and looked straight at my van.
I did not like the feral gleam in his eyes. It was like he was a Dragos hunter too.
But that wasn’t possible. I started the engine.
The man-whore leaped to his feet and sprinted toward me.
I put the pedal to the metal and sped off. One look at the side mirror, and my jaw
dropped. Fabian was actually running after me, and damn, was he fast. I tossed a
smoke bomb out the window. “Buh-bye.”
CATCHING DRAGOS | 17
Chapter Three
On every job I have at least two safe houses. Sometimes my prey gets a little pissy
about being exposed and they hunt me in return. Not a pleasant experience, but a good
Girl Scout is always prepared. My dad was big on me doing normal girl stuff, and I
joined the Scouts to please him. To my surprise, I picked up some useful skills. I still
have my Trailblazer and Special Agent badges.
This safe house was actually a seedy biker’s bar called Outlaws. I had done Trixie,
the owner, a favor, and she loaned me vehicles or muscle when needed.