The Perfect Ten Boxed Set

by Dianna Love

  “People,” Jaylene said. “Lots and lots of—oh, not what but who.” Jaylene leaned closer. “That’s Suzette.”

  “Suzette,” I said, adrenaline humming through me. Adrenaline and fear.

  “What’s the assistant got to do with anything?” Mandy asked.

  I kept my gaze glued to the screen. “Anyone have the date when Suzette joined the tour?”

  Kelly slipped back into her chair, clicked the keyboard, but it was Vaughn who answered. “Just after the tour started. Dominique brought her on.”

  “Which makes perfect sense, Dom would need help within the tour to do what she wouldn’t or couldn’t do.” Like kill a model who knew too much. “When was the first theft reported?” I asked.

  “Three weeks after Suzette was hired.”

  “Three weeks, that makes sense.”

  “But there were people who’ve been with the tour that long.” Jaylene eyed me.

  “There are. But that’s why Suzette was used. She was invisible.”

  “Explain,” Vaughn as team leader spoke now.

  “Suzette was one of the few on the yacht the night of the murder and had access to all the rooms, including the staterooms. She could have been the victim of the drug as much as anybody else, keeping Dominique’s hands clean.”

  “So she could hide the murder weapon in Franco’s room,” Mandy said. “But why would Dominique want that?”

  “To cast suspicion and doubt. If she suspected Sasha was an undercover agent it could explain the poor girl’s death. If Franco was arrested, the whole tour would have been in an uproar, causing confusion and doubt.”

  “Dominique using this Suzette sounds plausible,” Jaylene whistled.

  “She’s a perfect patsy.” My gaze remained riveted on the screen. “Because she’s as invisible as we are, only working for a different agenda. Dominique’s agenda.”

  “So what now?” Kelly asked.

  “Now we have to remove Suzette from the Center without Dominique knowing. The only way to keep Suzette safe.”

  “But we still don’t know where Dominique is,” Vaughn pointed out the fact that was bothering me most.

  “Somewhere close to Suzette.” I weighed the options and came to the worst case scenario. “Close enough to whisper an order when needed. What if Suzette’s already been drugged?” I glanced at the clock. “When are they making the announcement that the First Lady won’t be arriving?”

  “Less than fifteen minutes.”

  Which meant once that news was known, nothing could hold back an attack on the remaining guests. “Damn.” I sprang to attention. “We’ve got to do something!”

  Vaughn as tactician spoke, “We can alert the Secret Service to keep an eye on Suzette, but if she hasn’t done anything we can’t break in there and haul her off—her or one of the guests of honor on a hunch just for being present, and Dominique’s a guest of honor along with Bran. That’s all we’ve got so far, a scenario that may be way out of line.”

  Jaylene broke in. “Couldn’t the SS folks ask her to step outside? Nice like?”

  “But if they did, Suzette could be programmed to react.” I couldn’t get past my gut feeling. “I know she’s in trouble.”

  “Is that experience or abilities speaking?” Sometimes Vaughn didn’t hold her punches. “We have no probable cause to remove anyone without creating an incident.”

  “And no way to stop Dominique if she’s planning to use Suzette. If Suzette’s under the influence of the drug she could be primed with anything, a bomb, magic, who knows,” Jaylene said. “It’s brilliant.”

  “Brilliant and deadly.” I straightened, glancing around the room.

  “What are you doing?” Jaylene eyed me warily.

  “I’m making a plan.”

  “And the plan is?”

  “The plan’s simple.” I took a deep breath. “Stop Dominique. Save Suzette. Save the world.”

  “Oh, good,” Jaylene grinned. “And here I thought it was going to be too easy.”

  CHAPTER 61

  I raced from the control room, hearing every second’s tick of the clock. Bran was in that room, but more than him there was a room full of innocents who could be hurt simply for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I adjusted the ear mike I’d grabbed and hustled my way down the hallway.

  Vaughn and Jaylene were notifying the Secret Service detail, those remaining now that the First Lady wasn’t on site, letting their call determine if they acted. But there were not enough to do a lot. We were on our own.

  Kelly would remain with Mandy to scan the monitors, last thing we needed was for Kelly to panic, go invisible, then pop back on scene minutes later blind.

  My gut told me the announcement of the First Lady not arriving would change what was about to go down. Suzette being used to kill the President’s wife would cause greater headlines, but Dominique killing a senator or general, or any number of the other guests would work, too. It would prove the designer drug effective. That’s what Dominique wanted—one last test to prove to the eventual buyers. We may have found a stash of the drug, but she could easily still have the formula. It was sheer brilliance.

  I had to stop her.

  First step—get into the gathering. Not in the jeans I was wearing though.

  I reached a door, guarded by two Rent-a-Cops.

  “Halt.”

  I panted as I held up my security badge. “I work here and am late for the show.”

  The first cop scanned my badge then me, as if expecting me to bite her. “Looks good,” she said to her partner, a tall black man. “What do you want here?”

  “I’m meant to wear one of Bran’s creations. It’s stored with the model’s dresses behind that door.” I didn’t even miss a beat with my lie. “Can I go now?”

  “Yeah,” the woman waved me on. “You have five minutes.”

  What woman could get dressed in five minutes? Heck, it took me that long to find the hidden buttons and zippers.

  I slammed through the door as I scanned the frenzied back stage activity. What now?

  I plunged into the thickest knot of models, sidestepping swaths of silk and organza with experience learned over the last weeks. Franco would have been proud. “Collette?”

  The willowy model looked up and smiled. “Didn’t expect to see you here, ducky. Tell me you came to do hair? The twit they have nearly torched me with a curling wand.”

  “Sorry, no can do.” I reached the other woman, my breath coming faster now. “Look, I need a huge favor. Will you help?”

  “If I can.” Collette looked confused then flashed a million dollar smile. “What’d you need?”

  “I need a dress. Something simple to get into and I needed it ten minutes ago.”

  “The fuchsia ostrich one,” she murmured, as if it were a secret code. “Where is it?”

  “Follow me,” she chatted as she headed to the dressing rooms. “Guy who replaced Franco isn’t half as anal retentive about the frocks. There should be a couple hanging—there we are.” She stopped at a deserted room.

  “Thanks, Collette. I owe you.” I brushed past her, never so happy to see dresses in my life.

  Jade stepped forward and grabbed an orange and yellow column dress sporting a side silver clasp. The fact that I recognized the details had me silently groaning. “You’ll tell me what’s going on, won’t you?” she asked, leaning against the doorway.

  “Not that one.” Collette joined us, reaching for a strapless feathered confection in fuchsia and thrusting it at me as if my life depended on how swiftly I could dress. My life didn’t depend on it—Suzette’s did.

  “Don’t forget the shoes!” Collette called, a pair of kill-me-stilettos dangling from her fingers.

  Some days saving the world was harder than it looked. I slipped on the shoes.

  Collette gave me a big thumbs up as I finished and rushed to the door, every thought screaming, ‘it’s too late, it’s too late.”

  I entered the grand hallway,
ignoring the gigantic chandeliers overhead, the tide of voices washing against me, the throng of people packed tighter than the holding pens come slaughter time back in Idaho.

  Where was she? I pressed my ear mike and murmured loud enough for Mandy or Kelly to hear. “Any sight of them?”

  Mandy’s voice sounded in my ear. “Ten o’clock. Between the woman with the watermelon chest and the walking anorexia victim.”

  I scanned the direction but couldn’t—

  There. Suzette stood there, looking very much her normal self. Quiet. Constrained. Waiting to be summoned, her hands at her side.

  Maybe I was wrong. She looked fine.

  Then I spotted Dominique, a good foot taller than Suzette, wearing fuck-me red with some fabric tie crossing her chest, her hair scraped back from her face. A very animated face. Smiling. And right next to her stood Bran.

  Damn the man. His cousin almost killed him; wouldn’t that be enough to cut familial ties?

  I touched my ear piece. “Got them.”

  I weaved between the crowds. Fifteen feet away and gaining.

  I’d go after Dominique first, cull her from Bran and Suzette.

  I still didn’t trust Bran to do what was necessary to bring her down.

  Ten feet. Dominique was turning my way.

  “You sure you’re going to be able to stop Dom? “ Kelly spoke in my ear piece.

  Five feet.

  “There’s no wards against magic here. If I have to drop an elephant on her, I will.”

  Dominique spotted me. Her gaze packed a weighted punch as she stilled, her body tensed, her facial muscles tightening.

  Watch out, Dragon Lady, this witch was on the prowl.

  “You sure?” Kelly murmured as only a few strangers separated me from my quarry.

  “Oh, yeah, I’m sure.” My gaze never wavered from hers. People nearby noticed something was up. A few heads angled in my direction. A camera flashed.

  I ignored everything, except her.

  This close I could see the differences in her; the strain bracketing her eyes, the stiffness of her body. She angled her head but kept her look locked with mine. Her eyes were slightly wild, slightly unfocused, not Dominique’s eyes at all.

  I stumbled, glancing between Dominique and Bran, who was just now spotting me. Then Dominique and Suzette. What now?

  Improvise. I had to get close to Dominique. Get her out of here with none the wiser. But how? A ? If she were one of my brothers the approach might work, but not in this crowd. Get close enough to pinch a nerve, render her temporarily incapable of anything but basic muscle group movement? Wouldn’t last long enough.

  So what?

  Voices swirled around me; the echo of Vaughn’s words joined them. “Don’t be afraid of your power. As a witch.”

  What power? I couldn’t run in this dress. Or deliver a roundhouse kick. No weapons on me. What good was—

  Wait. Stop confusing agent and witch. I was both. Use both. What better way to contain a threat than to approach with a containment spell? Did I know any strong enough?

  Out of the corner of my eye I caught the flash of Bran looking at me, a frown darkening his expression. A few feet from him, meek, mild, invisible Suzette had just now noticed me.

  Bran stepped forward. I ignored him. I had to keep Suzette safe and the only way to do that was to stop Dominique.

  I raised my head, chewed my bottom lip, and kept Dom’s gaze one hundred percent focused on me as I started muttering the only spell I knew that might help.

  “Protector, I call upon you. Make me a barrier between man and monsters. I am willing to pay the cost.”

  Black magic.

  How true that was, especially with Dragon Lady in Grimple form as I noted the green rim of her eyes, inhaled the scent of sandalwood and cinnamon even in a room choked with thousand dollar perfumes.

  “From head to toe. From ancient times so must it be.”

  Using one of the few dangerous spells my first and only witch mentor taught me was still with me in time of need. And man, did I need it.

  More light flashes went off. Gnats to be brushed away.

  I was here to stop Dominique. Only Dragon Lady. Just me and her.

  Bran was suddenly at my side. “I’ve got to contain her,” I said, not looking at him. “Get her outside.”

  “It’s not her,” he said.

  I ignored him.

  The skin of Dominique’s face tightened, nostrils flared, cheekbones in high relief.

  I stepped in front of her, making my actions look natural and easy to all the people standing around. I had to contain her but not here, not where innocents could die if she did something to Suzette.

  “Dominique?” My greeting came out husky, not planned but all the better, one woman friend to another.

  She said nothing.

  I stepped closer. “Dominique, we need to talk.” Then added in a lower tone, just between the two of us. “Deep calleth unto deep.”

  Bran grabbed my arm. I shook him off.

  “To the light, better things and to death. To struggle and emerge, advance as I follow.”

  Her eyes grew wider but I didn’t stop.

  “Going on forever, light shines in the darkness.”

  Her whole body vibrated. Her eyes pleaded, her shoulders and arms held rigid, her nostrils tightened like a wild stallion struggling against restraints.

  “What are—” It was Suzette’s voice, but not sounding like a victim’s voice.

  What was going on? Could I be wrong? Who was victim and who was threat? If I tackled the wrong one we all could die.

  “It’s not Dom,” Bran repeated, only this time I heard him. Heard him and the protection spell he was mumbling low and intense. So intense sweat had broken out on his brow.

  He was protecting Dom? From whom?

  Was I totally, one hundred percent wrong?

  I cast Bran a quick, desperate glance. If what my gut was screaming was right, he was standing next to Suzette. The real killer. And what was I standing next to?

  I whispered for Dominique’s hearing alone. “I understand. I know what you’re going through, but you can fight it.” I stepped closer because of the viewers nearby, repeating in her ear. “Fight it. You’re stronger than the drug. Fight it.”

  I needed her to use whatever powers her Grimple genes could give her without morphing.

  She shook her head, an almost imperceptible movement. The drug was winning. The drug and whatever order had been programmed into her. Her pupils were saucer dark discs, sweat dampened her brow.

  Then I saw it and tensed. A small square shape. A bomb, beneath the fold of her sin-red dress, next to her heart.

  Alpha-3 would be my best guess: dough-like and malleable, odorless, a small amount could cause extensive damage in a closely packed space and without the metallic bond Semtex contained. Semtex couldn’t get through the metal detectors into the Center, but its older and less stable cousin Alpha-3 could, especially if sneaked in the back door by a determined someone.

  “Bran?”

  “I’m here.”

  I didn’t dare glance over my shoulder to verify his nearness. Time for trust. “Remember that stop time spell you did at the restaurant?”

  “I didn’t—”

  “Can you do it or not?”

  “Slow maybe.”

  “Slow will help. Do it. Don’t need the whole room, just around the four of us.”

  “Four?”

  “Include Suzette.”

  Please make it be enough. I stepped closer to Dominique. “I’m here, Dominique. Right here.”

  Now I had a choice. Save the woman who held Van hostage and tried to have me killed, at the risk of my own life. Or back away.

  “Go.” I muttered to Bran, the one word wrenched from my soul. “Now.”

  “Dom?”

  Choice made.

  “I’ve got her.”

  Unless she killed me first.

  CHAPTER 62

  “W
e have to go outside,” I said to Dominique, interspersing every order with the makeshift containment spell, but I needed to get her and the bomb outside where I could create a true containment spell around her. “I’m here.” I leaned closer. “You go down, I go down. I won’t let you die but I can’t do this without you.”

  I hoped Dom wouldn’t take this as an opportunity to get rid of me and dozens of others standing near us once and for all. That she valued her own skin enough not to do something stupid, even as I noted how badly she was shaking, her skin pale beneath a sheen of sweat.

  Was Bran’s spell taking effect? It had to be as I felt the weight in my arms and legs, the effort to breathe, the space around me shimmered. Not enough so others could see and understand but enough that it felt like wading through very, very thick air.

  I spoke again. “Save yourself.”

  She closed her eyes, a tormented woman. If the bomb was plastique, it needed a fuse or electrical pulse detonator to set it off. But which one? I guessed the latter. More control but was Dom programmed to explode the bomb herself or would Suzette?

  A shift in the crowd as sounds broke through to me. A rise in volume. Some mucky-muck had arrived, squeezing people closer together. Making it harder for Bran to hold his spell.

  Crap.

  I kept my gaze locked with hers. I’d meant what I’d said. She’d kill us both if she gave into the drug.

  Maybe she had no choice.

  But I did.

  “Dominique.” It was Suzette, shouting from a dozen feet away, restrained by Bran grabbing her arms. “Dominique.”

  Dominique shifted. Stepped toward Suzette.

  I blocked her. Good thing I had several inches on her, enough to block her visually from Suzette. “I mean it. You’ll have to kill me before I’ll let you do anything.”

  “Get away,” her whispered words tore at me, but I didn’t budge an inch. I couldn’t afford to, for all of our sakes.

  “Come with me, Dominique,” I said, aware of the pleading tone in my voice. “Take my hand and walk out of here with me.”

  I grabbed both of her hands to keep control of her and to prevent her reaching for a trigger. They trembled beneath my touch.