From a strip mall addition, stuck out a red neon sign that spelled “BAR.” With the same tan cement as the other shops, this locale stood out by its dark windows and reflective lights that shone a line of rainbow against the edge meeting the sidewalk. The name, “Vale”, hung above the entrance, but no one called it that.

Mia watched Audrey step past the colored lights and into the bar, like nothing had happened earlier that day.

She changed in her van again, jumping into black jeans, a revealing green tank top, and a leather jacket. She was more prepared for this type of scene, far more than for a horse racing track. Next time she’d carry an entire wardrobe in her back seat since this job wanted to be anything but predictable.

Mia hesitated, gripping the car handle as she eyed her gun on the passenger’s floor. She would most likely not need it, but if she did... She shoved the firearm into her purse and followed through the heavy doors.

The stuffed air inside clued Mia in that this was a busy night. It took a second to adjust before she headed for the only place with proper lighting: the bar on her right.

“Mia,” a cheerful voice greeted from behind the counter, raising over the music. “You want your job back, yeah?”

“No, not today, Jim.”

She twitched him a smile, too busy surveying the area. The place was packed, and the dim lighting made everyone that wasn’t sitting at the bar blend as one indistinguishable mass. Even an unforgettable face could get lost. This was the worst game of Where’s Waldo ever.

Jim clicked his tongue and offered to make a drink, which she also rejected.

“Come on, you’re giving me nothing. You here to rub it in?” Jim asked. Mia raised an eyebrow, finally looking at him and he said, “That place up North opened and it cut my business in half. I mean it’s only been- “

“Hm, where did you say it is?”

“Up North, Covewood.” He leaned over to clarify, then he realized. “You are here to rub it in.”

Mia relaxed into a laugh until her eyes landed on Audrey’s from across the bar. On Audrey’s. She and Audrey made eye contact. The air escaped her lungs.

“Mia?” Jim asked.

“Sorry, let’s talk later.”

There was a pause. “Okay, don’t be a stranger.”

Mia offered an exaggerated nod before looking to Audrey again, who wasn’t there anymore. She was approaching Mia instead. Fuck.

She knows.

How could she explain being at all the same places today? I’m a big fan?

Once she was close, Audrey tilted her head, smirking.

“I don’t bite, you know?”

Mia’s hanging mouth closed into pursed lips, and her mind went blank.

What?

“Would you allow me to buy you a drink?” Audrey asked. She leaned a hip against the bar, already signaling for a bartender.

Mia blinked. Oh.

“Yeah, I think I’ll allow it.” She said the words slowly, feeling them out.

The makeshift plan made her uneasy. Besides drinking and flirting being unprofessional, leading Audrey on was also immoral. It took a split second for the guilt to pass. She was a bounty hunter, after all.

“Whatever you’re having.”

Audrey smiled, like she never expected a different answer.

The bar was a deep, red-brown wood with a black counter and matching stools. They each pulled one out to sit, and the other woman ordered their drinks. Long Island iced teas.

Fuck.

Mia watched Jim add vodka, then rum, tequila, gin... like she had done herself many times before. She hoped enough staring would telepathically tell him to skip the hard alcohol in hers, though when he failed and passed the two their correct drinks, she masked her panic with a smile.

“Thank you.”

I’m screwed.

If she got too drunk, she could blow her cover. Everything ruined because she didn’t order her own drink.

Audrey turned to her, and there was an exchange of looks before either of them spoke. They studied each other, openly admiring. Mia’s gaze dropped to the woman’s bare midriff and dragged over the red crop top until she met Audrey’s eyes again.

Mia took a sip as a play, grinning with the straw between her teeth. If the look on Audrey’s face was any clue, a distraction was going to be easy.

“I haven’t seen you around before,” Mia said, tilting her head. “Not from the area?”

“No, but I have heard of this place.” Audrey’s knee brushed against hers as the woman leaned closer. “A friend told me about the exceptionally beautiful women here, and I was ready to call him a liar... until I saw you.”

“So I have your friend to thank,” Mia said.

Audrey’s lips spread in a charming smile. “To thank for what?”

“The view, the flattery...”

The lawyer let out a soft laugh and took a long sip of her drink. Hopefully she wouldn’t notice the short, rare drinks Mia took of her own.

“What’s your name?”

“Bryn, and yours?”

Audrey took hold of Mia’s hand, bringing it to her lips and placing the softest kiss on her knuckles. “It’s a pleasure meeting you,” she purred. “I’m Audrey.”

Mia's lips parted, dumbfounded by the chivalry. Then her eyes narrowed. "You're smooth. I'll give you that, Audrey," she said with a playful smile. "What’s your goal tonight?"

Audrey’s eyebrows arched. Just as Mia wondered if she’d gone too far, the other woman’s smile widened.

“And you’re quite forward, Bryn. I like it.”

Audrey’s hand reached for her cheek. Mia’s eyelids fluttered low as the other woman’s fingertips traced the soft line of her jaw and she leaned to whisper into her ear, “My goal is getting you, alone, in a room.” The warm breath caressed Mia’s skin and sent a heated wave through her body.

Mia shifted on her stool, her muscles tensing.

Then Audrey’s lips brushed against her skin, voice impossibly lower, “Do you like the sound of that?”

And for a moment, Mia forgot everything: where she was, who she was, why she was there. Then she remembered, and this was perfect.

The woman leaned back, studying Mia like a predator watching prey. Ironic.

An instant yes would’ve seemed desperate, so Mia held back a nod. It was all the more difficult once Audrey’s hand snaked up her thigh. Mia’s eyes never strayed from hers, but a blush crept up her cheeks.

After Audrey took yet another long drink, Mia gestured for her to lean in.

Mia’s hand slipped onto the woman’s leg, fingering the denim fabric there. “The sooner you get us out of here, the better. I want...” Mia pulled back enough to peer into Audrey’s eyes, finishing the sentence with an expectant look.

Audrey stood and took her hand, pulling Mia to her feet, bare inches separating them.

“Let’s go, then.”

More than one excited shiver rushed through Mia’s body.

This was almost too perfect.

She had been following the lawyer all day, but this time Audrey's hand was pulling her along, and her heart was racing even faster.

They found a taxi in no time, though Audrey stopped halfway through getting inside. Mia followed the woman’s gaze to a white van across the street—her van.

“Something wrong?” She asked, heart pumping as they both settled into the back seats.

“It just looks oddly familiar,” Audrey said, throwing one last glance towards the vehicle as the cab took off.

Mia let out a silent sigh and made sure to always keep her purse close.

Ten minutes later, Audrey pulled Mia inside her apartment and pressed her against the front door once it was closed. The woman's lips crashed against hers with urgency and desire, fingers digging into her hips. Mia's back arched off the wood, pressing their bodies together.

It wasn't until their lips parted for a second that any trace of thought found Mia. Then Audrey's hands felt up her stomach. With one more kiss, Audrey pulled back to drop Mia's purse to the floor.

Mia went cold, her body language clear as she gripped the purse tighter. Audrey’s movements faltered.

“I lied.”

She grabbed Audrey’s upper arms, flipping their positions. Mia was sure of her actions, but not violent.

The woman’s eyes widened, though there was no trace of fear in them. Audrey was annoyed. She was underestimating Mia, which was more infuriating than expected. This job would be impossible if no one took her seriously.

Mia gave Audrey an arm’s length of room and pulled out Lara’s photo. “I’m here because I need to hear everything you know about this woman.”

“How dare you come into my h- “ Audrey’s eyes landed on the picture, and everything changed.

“Lara Milbourne.” Mia pushed.

Instead, Audrey’s features darkened, and she straightened her back, towering over Mia even from her compromised position.

“Get out. Now.”

Mia held her ground, her eyes never shying from Audrey’s.

“I’m not leaving without knowing what you know.” She pulled the Glock from her bag and moved it to her waistband instead, just to show the other woman she had it.

Audrey smirked. “It’s such a pity, this could’ve been fun.” She then made a show of acknowledging the handgun, lifting her eyebrow as if to ask, ‘Is that supposed to scare me?’

She sure was confident, or stupid, but the way her body tensed up betrayed that Audrey had become more apprehensive.

Mia offered a tight smile in return, her nose scrunching. “We could still be perfect for each other if you’d just help me out.”

Before Audrey could reply, she continued.

“Lara got herself into some trouble. I’m trying to help her, but I don’t have much time.” She wanted to confirm if it had been worry she noticed on the woman’s face earlier. That was, if Audrey believed her. “There are others looking for her too—I promise, you want me to find her first. Do you know where she is?”

Audrey seemed neither confused nor concerned as to why Lara would have multiple people searching for her. In fact, her face remained expressionless.

“If that’s true, then you can tell me whatever it is you have to say. I’ll make sure to get word to her.” Audrey crossed her arms.

Over the pooling stress and frustration the past two days, that last drop was more than Mia could handle.

“Fucking Hell,” Mia muttered under her breath before grabbing the lawyer’s shoulders and yanking her down.

“Tell her,” she said and drove her knee hard into the woman’s abdomen, straight at the lowest rib, producing a sickening crack. Audrey bent over with a grunt. “She shouldn’t have stolen from the Testas.”

Putting pressure on the rib with her thumb, she forced Audrey to kneel on the floor before pinning the woman down with a knee on her spine.

She found Audrey’s phone in her front pocket and twisted the woman’s arm back to use her fingerprint. Audrey kept her fingers clenched in a tight, stubborn fist.

“I will break your finger if you don’t open your hand. Now.”

Mia contorted Audrey’s arm further back until the woman opened her hand with a whimper. She grabbed her index and unlocked the phone. It worked. Of course it worked, but Mia was still surprised things were going her way.

Rising from Audrey’s back, Mia expected the woman would stay on the ground as she walked away. A barking dog never bites, her dad used to reassure her.

She went directly into Audrey’s messages, and ‘Lara’ glowed in front of her eyes. The contact was the second from the top. Not only was it Lara’s number, but a conversation. Mia clicked into the log, and her knees were kicked in from under her.

The moment flashed in a blur. Audrey used the momentum to slam Mia’s head against a table’s corner, leaving its edge bloody, and she snatched the gun from Mia’s waist.

“Fucking bitc- “

“If I see you again, you’re dead,” Audrey panted.

And then everything went black.