Sofia Salgadoâs latest case at Maloney Investigations has some pretty tempting ingredients: blackmail, male strippers, and whipped cream.
When a friend of Sofiaâs mom finds herself the victim of blackmail, stuffy Aidan has to go undercover as an exotic dancer, much to Sofiaâs delight.
Can Aidan make it in the cutthroat world of male stripping? Can Sofia stop her mom getting too involved? Does whipped cream have fewer calories when itâs licked from a manâs naked torso?
All these questions and more will be answered in the latest hilarious adventure featuring actress turned PI Sofia Salgado, from New York Times bestseller Rebecca Cantrell and Sean Black.
Chapter One
Mom, sex, and tape.
Three little words that Sofia Salgado hoped sheâd never have to deal with in the same sentence. And not just anyoneâs mom either. This was her own mom, Janet.
Yet here she was, staring in wide-eyed, jaw-to-chest horror at her worst nightmare come to life.
And, to make matters worse, the male star of the show wasnât Janetâs husband, Sofiaâs step-father, Tim. It was Aidan Maloney, her colleague at the detective agency.
Hurriedly, she clicked the video playerâs stop button. A freeze frame of Janetâs face filled the screen, her lips slightly parted. Sofia closed her eyes. Maybe when she opened them again sheâd see something different. Perhaps her brain had just played some kind of warped trick on her.
She counted down from ten. When she reached zero she would open her eyes.
She would look at the freeze frame again, only this time the womanâs face closing in on the tiny camera attached to Aidanâs undies wouldnât be her momâs. It would be someone elseâs.
Doing her best not to hyperventilate, or have a full-blown panic attack, Sofia finished her countdown.
Four, three, two, one, zero.
She exhaled slowly, and opened her eyes.
Nope. Still her mom. Her mouth, lips slightly parted, inches away from Aidanâs babymaker.
Sofia closed her eyes again. Her stomach was churning and she was worried she might throw up all over the office carpet.
How? Why?
This could not be happening.
She couldnât look at it again. With her eyes still closed, she got up from her office chair, and fumbled for the off button at the back of the computer monitor. She found it and pressed. She gave it a few seconds to make sure the screen was off.
Eyes open, she stared at her reflection in the black monitor. She looked like someone interviewed on television just after theyâd witnessed a plane crash.
She startled as the office door opened behind her.
Aidan Maloney stood in the doorway clutching a takeout container with two juices and two coffees. He walked over to the desk and put it down. âHere you go, OJ and a latte from Marmalade.â
He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw her expression. He glanced around the office for any sign of whatever might have caused such visible distress. âYou okay?â
No, she wasnât. She was about as far from okay as it was possible for a human being to be. Even one who, ever since sheâd started at Maloney Investigations, had been the object of any number of humiliations.
She tried to find the words. She didnât have any. She was all out. She wasnât even entirely sure what her precise thoughts were right now. Apart from Eww.
âSofia? You okay? You look like youâve seen a ghost.â
She didnât reply. She still had no words.
Aidan slumped into the chair next to her, completely casual. âYou reviewing the footage from last night?â
Sofia nodded. Everything around her had taken on an air of unreality. It was like she was there but not there. She guessed this was how people felt when they were in shock.
Aidan scooted his chair over a few more inches. âSo what we got? Anything good?â
She stared straight ahead. Aidan seemed oblivious to her. That was par for the course.
âSo, let me take a look.â
âNo.â
âWhat do you mean ânoâ?â
He stood and reached over her. âYou know this monitorâs shut off, right?â
Sofiaâs hand shot out and grabbed Aidanâs wrist. âLeave it.â
He stared at her. âWhatâs going on? Youâre being really weird. Even by your standards.â
That was it. Him accusing her of being weird. Something snapped. She glared at him as he shook her wrist. âHow could you? My mom?â
He looked at her blankly. âHow could I what? And whatâs your mom got to do with anything?â
Sofia stood so fast that her office chair scooted back with such force it smashed into the wall. âYou know what you did. Donât deny it. I saw it. On tape.â
He reached behind the monitor. He was about to press the button to switch it on. Sofia launched herself at him. She tackled him shoulder high, propelling him off his chair. They landed in a heap on the floor.
He might have been six feet two and well built, but Sofia was filled with righteous anger. She drew back her fist, ready to sock him one.