“So you won’t mind if I go say hello?” Luke asks as he stands up from the stool across from me at our small pub table.
“Nope. Give it your best shot,” I say with a shrug of my shoulder as I give my attention to the group of girls across from us. Even wearing their Friday night best, none of them pull my attention like the beauty at the bar. The fact that I have this sudden, crazy urge to punch my brother in the face for even looking at the woman, leaves me unsettled. Maybe I need another shot of Jose.
Just as he starts to take a step towards her, I grab his arm, halting his progress. “That’s what I thought,” he says with a huge grin. Seriously, I’m gonna fuckin’ punch him.
“Just sit down and shut up,” I mumble, doing everything I can to not look back up at the bar. But since my eyes have a mind of their own, I can’t stop from turning my head and glancing her way again.
“Go talk to her,” he adds.
“I don’t think so.”
“Come on, man. When was the last time you dated? Hell, when was the last time you took some chick home from a bar and screwed her brains out?”
Longer than I care to admit. And since that’s a conversation I don’t want to get into with Luke, I change the subject back to the job. “So, I’m going to try to reach out to you tomorrow night and give a report, but I’m not sure when I’ll have the time.”
“Nice distraction,” he says, raising one corner of his mouth.
Luke resembles me so thoroughly that when we were younger, everyone thought we were twins. Despite the two year age difference, our features were the same: brown hair, strong jaw with an always present dusting of facial hair, green eyes, athletic build, and taller than most boys in class. At six foot four, we both sport hard, lean muscles from intense training and rigorous workouts.
“Just check in whenever you can. I know we’ve been over this, but the cell phone you have is self-cleaning. It’s designed to leave a basic trail in case someone checks it for contacts or call history. Any data that you send me will automatically be expunged from your phone following transfer with a master file stored at the bureau,” Luke says seriously.
My job on the inside is to gather information on the day-to-day operations of First Class Auto Repair, an auto repair shop in Las Vegas dealing with top of the line automobiles. That’s the front. What we know about them is that they use the business to scout out potential heist jobs. Of course, not every car that comes through the shop is stolen. That would throw too many red flags that even a kindergartener could figure out. But, that doesn’t mean that the shop isn’t dirty. The Las Vegas field office of the FBI has been watching them for ten long years, well before my time with the bureau, building their case piece by miniscule piece. Every time we think we’re close, our operative mysteriously disappears.
That’s where I come in.
“I’ll get you whatever you need. It may take me awhile to build their trust and infiltrate where needed, but I’m not doing this shit to fail. Roman Hernandez and his entire empire are going down. I’ll see to it,” I tell my brother, munching on a handful of peanuts.
“Just be careful. Mom will never forgive me if I get you killed. She barely leaves my side long enough to let me breathe as it is, but if you -” Luke stops abruptly, eyes smiling just over my shoulder.
I glance over my right shoulder and my eyes instantly clash with deep brown eyes the color of smooth, melted chocolate. Her rose colored lips are plump and perfect for kissing. God, what I wouldn’t give to kiss those lips. Desire tears through me like a tornado hell bent on taking down everything in its path. My pants are so damn tight right now, I’m afraid I might pop the button.
“Ladies, would you care to join us?” my asshole brother asks to the two attractive women just over my shoulder.
“Sure,” the blond says with a friendly smile.
I give her a quick once-over, but rapidly avert my eyes before someone sees me. She’s definitely hot with her short platinum blond hair and crystal blue eyes. Her outfit screams “sex” as she reveals plenty of soft, peachy flesh from head to toe. If I wasn’t so damn drawn to her friend, I could see myself taking this one home for a night to burn up the sheets. But my attention is definitely drawn elsewhere.
I feel another presence over my left shoulder moments before I feel her arm brush against mine. Contact. My entire body ignites into flames from that one little touch. My raging desire for this dark-haired beauty is so intense that it practically steals the very air I try to breathe. My instant attraction for her is all-consuming and beyond powerful. Yeah, I want to feel this woman naked underneath me more than I want my next breath of air.