After sunset, tight skirts, high heels, and dinner jackets replaced bikinis and boardshorts. Kids were usually discouraged from the area, but since the restaurant and bar were connected, they weren’t completely barred. Two of the kids taken had been last seen near this very same bar. The other teen had been seen last outside by the pool. The young child had been snagged from his hotel room.
It wasn’t as if the Emerald was the only place kids had gone missing in the past few years. A string of kidnappings had taken place all up and down the East Coast during that same timeline. But the Emerald was the only one where four kids had gone missing in such a short time.
Which meant either the perpetrator was a repeat guest or someone on the inside. He was leaning towards the latter. Which was another reason he was working behind the bar instead of playing a wealthy guest.
He was halfway through the main rush when he felt Jade’s presence. There were several reasons why he made a great agent. His memory helped him remember faces, names, and places. His keen eye helped him pick up on specifics about people. His acute sense of his surroundings was key as well.
Glancing up from serving an Emerald Sunset, the bar’s specialty drink, he spotted Jade standing at the end of the bar, watching him. Without missing a beat, he slid a glass of water in front of her and told her that he’d have time to chat in a few minutes. Then he went back to filling his orders.
He’d gone through a few weeks of training to feel comfortable and confident behind the bar. It wasn’t even for this particular job. Still, he felt at ease as he flung the mixer into the air, twirled a bottle of vodka, and then lit the entire contraption on fire for show. There were cheers and claps as he showcased his skills and entertained the guests standing or sitting around him.
Through it all, he continued to scan the crowd, watching everything.
He tried to keep his mind off the fact that Jade had changed out of her simple business attire from earlier into a long flowing red-and-white floral dress with little straps that lay over her tanned shoulders. She’d also put her hair up and even had a red flower in it.
Tonight, as opposed to earlier, she looked like she fit right in.
A little more than half an hour later, as the crowd thinned out, he made his way back over to where Jade sat at the end of the bar.
“Okay, I have to say that was impressive.” She nodded slightly. “The speed with which you serve drinks, the smoothness in your technique… And I’ve overheard a few customers compliment the quality of the drinks.”
“Thanks,” he said, refilling the soda that she’d ordered earlier. Then he leaned on the counter and took a sip of his own water.
Even though the bar was inside, the large French doors a few feet away let in the warm evening air.
“Want to tell me what you’re really doing here?” she asked after taking a sip of her drink.
He tilted his head. “Meaning?”
She leaned on the bar top and lowered her voice. “Meaning talent like that is wasted on a place like this. I would think that the night clubs in New York would be more your speed.”
“They were,” he agreed, “until they weren’t.” He leaned his elbows on the bar and smiled at her. “Why are you here? Did you bore of Miami?”
Being this close to her, he enjoyed her subtle scent. The way the light danced in her eyes as she looked at him. The humor he saw there as if daring him to push the right button and watch the show.
He watched her eyes narrow slightly and then she leaned back.
“Okay, so you needed a change of scenery,” she said slowly. “So, you had your parents pull some strings with my dad?”
The question hung in the air. He figured that at this point, he would let her think what she wanted.
“Just how long do you plan on sticking around?” he asked her, turning the conversation off him and onto her.
“If all goes well”—she took another sip—“indefinitely.”
“Oh?” He shifted and then walked over to fill an order for two glasses of wine. “So this isn’t just filling in for your father?” he finished when he got done.
“No,” she said. “I’ll have a glass of that.” She nodded to the bottle of wine he was still holding.
Without missing a beat, he poured her a glass. “Off duty?” he joked as he did.
“Yes,” she said, taking the glass he slid across the bar. He watched her take a sip and then nod. “I forget how much my father appreciates the finer things in life. The house wine is still one of my favorites.”
“You and a lot of people. Most places choose cheaper bottles.” He glanced down at the wine and nodded. “I’ve gotten no complaints about it so far.”
“But you do hear complaints?” she asked, setting the glass down.
He shrugged. “Bartenders hear a lot.” He leaned on the counter, close to her again, needing to confirm that her scent was as sexy as he had built it up in his head. It was. “You’d be surprised at how comfortable people feel telling their bartender things they normally wouldn’t tell anyone else.”