The Cabana Club was a large, brick building on the corner of La Brea and Sunset, painted pink and flanked by flashing neon flamingos. Since it was Friday night there was a line to get in, but luckily Dana knew every bouncer in town (most on a more intimate basis than I knew my gynecologist) and we were inside before you could say "Lindsay Lohan."

    As my eyes adjusted to the dimly lit interior, punctuated by pink and green flashing lasers, I realized Dana was right. The placed reeked of hook-up. A crowded dance floor to our right held L.A.'s hottest bodies – actress-slash-waitresses, model-slash-waitresses, a bunch of CW actors, and that girl from Survivor that everyone hated – all gyrating together in a way that couldn’t even air on HBO. Tables to the left were filled with groupings of men and women doing the heads-bent-together thing and drinking tall cocktails while grabbing each other under the table. The bar straight ahead was two people thick with singles looking to score a martini and a phone number. I squinted through the darkness, praying my boyfriend wasn't one of them.

    "This is so not a boys night out," I shouted over the techno beat pulsating off the walls.

    "This is so not the place a recovering sex addict should be spending her Friday night." Dana eyed a guy at the bar wearing leather pants, an unbuttoned shirt and a "how you doin'" smile.

    He winked at her.

    Dana bit her lip.

    "Let's find Ramirez and get out of here fast before I do something I'm going to regret," she said.

    Fine by me. We wove our way through the crowd, circling the bar. I got elbowed by an Olsen twin look-alike and a guy in a cowboy hat spilled a margarita on my Capris, but I didn't care. I was on a mission. I had been patient with Ramirez. I had given him his space. I had even waited a record two months before having sex with him. (Not entirely by choice, but that was beside the point.) I had done everything known to woman to make this relationship work. And what did he do? Blow it all for a night in hook-up heaven. Woman scorned didn't even begin to describe the anger surging through me as I scanned the club.

    Then I spotted him. He was sitting at a table near the back, a half empty glass of beer in front of him. I gnashed my teeth together, my vision going red as I stared my worst fear in the face.

    Ramirez was sitting next to a woman. A tall woman. If there's anything in this world that my 5'1 ˝" self hates more than being dumped, it's being dumped for someone tall.

    Her legs were almost as long as I was, tucked under the table beneath a barely-there leather mini. And her top didn't cover a whole lot more. A plunging neckline dipped almost to belly button, showing off cleavage that was obviously man-made. Over her shoulders was a little red shrug jacket, more for fashion effect than actual coverage, and her long black hair was loose, flowing down her back, giving her that dark, exotic look that a blonde Irish/English mutt like myself could never pull off.

    And then she put her hand on his thigh.

    I felt my nostrils flare, my hands balling into fists at my sides. That's it, police officer or no, I was gonna kill him.

    I vaguely heard Dana yelling something along the lines of, "Maddie, wait!" but I couldn’t have stopped if I wanted to. My body was moving all on its own as I marched straight toward the happy couple.

    "You sonofabitch!" I yelled once I was in earshot.

    Ramirez turned around, his dark eyebrows hunching together at the sight of me. Despite my anger, my hormones did that little happy sigh they always did when he was around. Ramirez had perfected the tall, dark and dangerous look - his black hair just a little too long, his dark brown eyes just a little too hard, and a sleek panther tattooed on his arm, just a little too big to hide beneath the sleeve of his black T-shirt. His tan skin was interrupted by a thin white scar running through his left eyebrow and a perpetual dusting of rugged stubble across his chin. The Bad Boy slash Sex God effect of it all was almost enough to stop a girl in her tracks.

    Almost.

    "I can't believe you blew me off for this!" I yelled, gesturing to his Amazon woman. She gave me a startled look, her eyes darting from side to side as if trying to figure out where I'd come from.

    "Maddie, what are you doing here?" Ramirez asked, his eyebrows still drawn together in confusion.

    "I could be asking the same question." I poked a finger at Ramirez's chest, coming up against his hard, six-day-a-week-at-the-gym pecs. "Who the hell do you think you are that you can lead me on then just blow me off like this for another woman?"

    "Maddie," Ramirez said, his voice low and commanding. "Go home. I'll explain later."

    "Oh right! I'll just go home and let you finish your date with Slut-zilla here." I was yelling loudly enough now that even over the pounding dance music, the couples at the adjacent tables were staring.

    "Who is this?" Amazon's eyes ping-ponged between Ramirez and I. "I told you to come alone."

    "Maddie," Ramirez said again, his eyes shooting daggers at me. "Don't do this."

    "Don't do this? Don't do this! I'm sorry, what exactly am I doing? Because it sure as hell isn't dating some abnormally tall chick when you were supposed to be doing 'or something' with me!"

    "Ramirez?" the Amazon asked, shifting nervously.

    "Maddie," Ramirez warned.

    "Jerk!" I yelled.

    Then I picked up his half-empty glass and tossed the contents in his face.

    "Jesus," he sputtered, jumping from his chair and blinking Budweiser out of his eyes.

    "And as for you…" I said, turning on Amazon Woman.

    But I didn't get to finish that threat.

    She bolted from her chair and before I could register what was going on pulled a gun out from her little red shrug (which, I now realized was clearly not just for fashion's sake) and grabbed me by my blonde roots. I let out a strangled cry as she wrapped one arm around my neck, holding me in a vice grip.

    "All right, nobody move!" she shouted, commanding the shocked couples at the nearby tables, their mouths hanging open as they watched the scene unfold.

    Then Amazon Woman pushed the barrel of the gun against my temple.

    "Or blondie dies."

                     

"Halliday is on top of her game, and readers will love Maddie's new adventure."

   - Maria Hatton, Booklist


"Undercover in High Heels was worth the wait! Maddie is on a bullet-spraying, wardrobe-ruining, get-her-(boy)friend-back, high-speed, stranger-danger adventure and she’s willing to take you along for the ride. And what a ride it is!"

   - Connie Payne, Once Upon A Romance


"The High Heels Series is amongst one of the best mystery series currently in publication. If you have not read these books, then you are really missing out on a fantastic experience, chock full of nail-biting adventure, plenty of hi-jinks, and hot, sizzling romance. Can it get any better than that? Only if you rush right out and get Undercover In High Heels -- this novel is over the top and a Perfect 10!!!"

   - Diana Risso, Romance Reviews Today


"The characters are full of flaws, which make them believable and appealing, and Maddie's amusing, irreverent voice relating the story will have you smiling ear to ear. Halliday pulls off another hit with Undercover In High Heels."

   - Tanzey Cutter, Fresh Fiction


"Undercover in High Heels is an amazing combination of humor, action and romance. The chemistry between Jack and Maddie sizzles and certainly doesn't disappoint."

   - Jennifer Wells, Roundtable Reviews


"Fast paced humor makes the story flow easily. If you enjoy a good, screwball comedy with a hint of mystery, you'll like this."

   - Amanda Killgore, Huntress Book Reviews


"Gemma Halliday is a master writer for a romance series. Readers who love romance, mystery, and a bit of humor will fall in love with Undercover in High Heels. Like me you will find yourself scrambling to find the whole series of Ms. Halliday's 'High Heels' books."

   - Kissa Starling, Fantasy Book Spot


"It's rare to find a romantic mystery that's so funny, but this is certainly one of them. Maddie Springer is one of those characters everyone loves. A fresh story that offers solid sleuthing, this is a novel that'll satisfy romance lovers and mystery fans everywhere."

   - Kevin Lucia, Press & Sun Bulletin, NY


"This third installment of Halliday's Maddie Springer mysteries is quite amusing. The spoof of the nighttime soap opera is entertaining, and the trouble Maddie brings on herself is comical."

   - Susan Mobley, Romantic Times






© Gemma Halliday 2002-2008. All rights reserved.