Eric clenched his jaw. “I already apologized for that.”
“Can’t hear you,” she said as she drifted away.
He grabbed her wrist again and pulled her close. He refused to be distracted by her light perfume or how her soft curves yielded against his hard body. “We need to talk,” he growled in her ear.
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“Great, then you can listen.” He escorted her off the dance floor, giving her hand a short tug when she tried to resist. He wanted to take her out of the club, but he knew she would walk right back in. Instead, he found an empty table in a dark corner where they could talk privately.
Julie wasn’t pleased to see him and she didn’t care if she made it obvious. She crossed her arms and leaned against the table, unaware that her breasts were about to spill out of her dress. She turned her attention to the dance floor.
“What’s up with the femme-fatale alias?” he asked.
She smiled and faced him. “You think it works?”
“Yes.” Julie was a seductress. She enchanted men with her eyes and natural sensuality. The others faded in the background. “What was wrong with your other aliases?”
“I learned my lesson yesterday and I needed to look like I belonged.”
She didn’t belong here. Julie looked like a sex goddess and the women were her acolytes. But once she mentioned it, he noticed that Julie’s hair was straighter and there was a sprinkle of glitter on her arms and chest.
“You don’t recognize the dress?” she asked.
He frowned and tilted his head. There was something familiar about it, but all he could think of was how it lovingly hugged Julie’s body. He knew she wore nothing underneath and he was tempted to peel the dress off her. “I think I would remember if you wore it to work.”
“I would hope so. It’s stunning and has an equally stunning price tag,” Julie said with a laugh. “Blondie wore this last night, but in black.”
The dress was unmemorable on Blondie. But he’d never forget it on Julie. “And you just happen to have it in your closet?”
“No, I scoured all the consignment stores in Bellevue today. They didn’t have my size so I had to go a size smaller. I maxed out my credit card for it.”
“Why?”
She shrugged and looked away.
“So you could investigate the intellectual property theft?” he said, answering his own question for her.
“Maybe I like the club and couldn’t resist coming back,” she said as she fiddled with her hair.
“More like you couldn’t resist looking into what Blondie and Red were doing.”
“That’s a possibility.” She twirled her finger in her hair and yanked it away. “Okay, fine. I wanted to get closer to Blondie and Red.”
He sighed. “Julie.”
“Come on, Eric. Haven’t you ever followed a hunch? Didn’t you need to investigate because you had questions? Was there ever a time when you needed to know for yourself?”
“Maybe. When I didn’t know any better.”
“The guys at work are right. I am a rookie and Uniform Girl. I won’t get far on my own, but I want a few more answers before I go to Z-Ray.”
“What happens if you tip off Blondie and Red? You said so yourself—you are a rookie.”
Julie pressed her lips together and drummed her fingers on the table. “Okay, now you’re just making me mad.”
“That’s not my intention,” Eric insisted. “I want you to see how your actions can influence a chain of events.”
“All I wanted to do was find the women and see what they were up to. I bet it’s an ongoing scam. That’s it.”
“Have you seen them tonight?” He took a quick look around.
“No, which is strange,” she said, her frustration thick in her voice. “They’re regulars and they’re usually here on Saturday night.”
Eric paused and glanced at Julie. “How do you know that?”
“I asked the bartenders, the bouncers and the waitresses.” She caught his expression. “Don’t worry, I didn’t say anything about thefts or Z-Ray.”
“I’m not worried. I’m surprised that you got any details. It can often take a couple of visits before you get any information. What did you find out?”
“Not much,” she admitted. “The blonde’s name is Mercedes. The redhead is Tiffany.”
He raised his eyebrow in disbelief. “Really?”