License to Love (An Agent Ex Novel)

by Robinson, Gina

  Sol had micromanaged everything, including the repair and cleaning of the original bride costume from Rock’s show that Lani had brought back with her. The shoes had been a bit of a problem. The one had a broken heel and both were covered in blood. As everyone knows, blood is impossible to get out of white satin.

  There was no way Lani could ever bring the originals back to show Sol. But Malene had worked her brand of magic and managed to get an identical replacement pair. Even making them look slightly worn.

  In the meantime, Sol’s PR firm had worked with equal furor ginning up publicity and fervor for this show, aided behind the scenes with help from NCS. Hinting at a stunning surprise, a great feat never before performed on stage, they’d managed to fill the audience with paparazzi, gossip rag reporters, and Rock. Which delighted Sol beyond measure. So much so, that Lani was more suspicious than usual of Sol’s motives, worried that he had a sinister something else up his sleeve.

  These last two days, Sol had watched her so closely he bordered on obsessed. And a sociopath obsessed was nothing to mess with. Hypnotizing him had been a dangerous, and perhaps foolhardy, move. At times, she wondered whether he’d succeeded in fooling her by faking the hypnotic state.

  She would have doubted her success even now. But Sol had made several passes at her during rehearsals and after. He’d grabbed her, held her close, and pressed his aroused advantage. Only to quickly wilt.

  It saved her from having to fend off his advances. But she felt that he somehow blamed his male problems on her. Which, of course, he should. But he didn’t know that. A sexually frustrated sociopath, however, was an exceptionally dangerous animal.

  Sol and his minions watched her every move. She was never left alone and she’d collected little to no new intelligence.

  And Sol’s cast and crew? Tight-lipped or knew nothing. They gossiped innocuously and seemed genuinely happy and excited for the act. She was completely stymied.

  Meanwhile Rock worked long hours in secret with his troupe of young magicians, locked behind closed doors in his private rehearsal space. He hadn’t made good on his promise to win her love. Hadn’t even made any halfway valiant attempts. And she’d so been looking forward to the game. But then he was as much a liar as she was.

  Maybe she should have been relieved, but she’d expected more tenacity from him. And fun. He’d disappointed her.

  But he was sweet in his concern for her safety, insisting on devising a signal, a parade wave aimed at him and Tate, if she felt in any danger on stage during the performance. If she gave the signal, he and Tate would rush to the rescue. They evidently had contingency plans for everything. Rock believed that Sol would stop at nothing to get revenge. Killing Lani was an effective way to do it.

  Lani blew out a breath as she waited for her cue.

  Lani agreed with Rock in theory. But she was convinced Sol would never do anything to ruin his act. Despite Rock’s fears, she was confident she’d be perfectly safe on stage. For the duration of the show.

  The show’s choreographer came by and rested a hand on her shoulder. She jumped.

  “You okay?” he asked. “Got a case of jitters tonight?”

  She gave him a wobbly smile. “Just a bit of stage fright. It’s been a few years.” She paused. “You have to admit—this is a pretty dramatic comeback. What will Rock do when he sees me again?” She laughed nervously. And she didn’t even have to fake it. “My mouth is dry as cotton.”

  The choreographer gave her shoulder a squeeze, twisted the top off a bottle of flavored water he’d been carrying, and handed it to her. “Here. Wet your whistle. You’ll be fine. Sol will protect you.”

  Sure he will. She nodded, took the water, and gratefully took a sip. But only a sip. That’s all her nerves and costume would allow. The water was overly sweet with just a hint of bitter aftertaste. Or maybe that was just the bad taste in her mouth from working with Sol.

  She needed to get her head in the show and calm down. As it was she could barely breathe in the tightly corseted white bodice of her costume. She was sure Sol had ordered it laced extra tight.

  Before the mission began, Malene had altered the costume so that it still went on like second skin. Lani looked down at the wedding gown with a diaphanous skirt that would catch the laser light bouncing around the stage. The sheer material showed off her tanned legs and the tiny white-sequined bikini panties she wore. Just like it had the first time she’d worn it. She was even more nervous now.

  On stage, Sol was performing the pledge, the setup of the trick. “Ladies and gentlemen, behold my beautiful assistant. Isn’t she lovely?” Sol’s voice boomed through the theater, silken and husky, a clear imitation of Rock’s.

  The assistant, who vaguely resembled Lani, was dressed as the sexy vixen in red who’d reappeared instead of Lani in Rock’s act. A close-up of the red lady’s face flashed on a giant video screen behind Sol. The sequins of her costume caught the stage light and flashed sparkles of red, looking as if she was shooting sparks. Sol was making it clear he was performing Rock’s trick in reverse, disappearing the red girl. But could he reappear the bride?

  The audience had already begun to suspect something special was about to happen and grew hushed in anticipation.

  Rock and Tate sat in the third row. Close enough to come to Lani’s aid. Up front to be directly in the spotlight so the press could find them and take in Rock’s reaction. She hoped he acted according to plan and the script they’d all laid out and agreed upon.

  Lani peeked through the curtain, though it was fruitless trying to get a look at Rock and gauge his reaction in the darkened audience. The video of Rock disappearing Lani that final time had gone viral and been splashed all over the news for weeks. Sol was copying it bit for bit. Lani hoped Rock’s handler, Tal, had trained him well enough to maintain his cool.

  Sol, who always wore a tux on stage, was looking slightly disheveled and grinning widely, euphoric he was finally about to upstage the great Rock Powers. Sol wore tight black tux pants. His gauzy white shirt fell open to his waist. His bow tie was untied, hanging loose on either side of his chest.

  He pulled the red assistant into his embrace. “They say that love makes you feel as if your feet don’t touch the ground.”

  That was Rock’s line. The audience recognized it. They were on the edge of their seats. It was so quiet, Lani could have heard a silencer go off.

  Slowly, the two began to levitate together. The audience wasn’t impressed. Not yet. Sol was just heading into the turn of the trick. Another sexy, scantily clad assistant tossed him a shiny silver hoop.

  As Sol spun it all around the two of them, proving there were no strings attached, the audience applauded. But they were still tense with anticipation for the real magic.

  The red-clad woman wrapped herself around Sol. Touched his cheek. Ran her fingers through his hair. Watching a parody of herself, a mockery of how she and Rock had been on stage, a fake, Lani felt sick and a little light-headed.

  The couple levitated higher into the air. The crowd went wild. Lani screwed the lid on the bottle of water she was still holding and set it on the floor out of the way.

  Curls of smoke wafted up over the curtain. The music on stage rose to a crescendo. That was her cue to get into place. The choreographer gave her a gentle shove. “Break a leg.”

  She slid behind the black curtain that was part of the trick and let the stagehands lock her into the cabinet that was part of the illusion. She felt a wave of panic. She’d been in some tight situations and never been claustrophobic before. It was thinking about Rock, how this would hurt him, even though he knew about it.

  In a second, the other assistant would glide behind the curtain. The stagehands would switch the cabinet Lani crouched in with the one on stage. When Sol opened it, Lani would jump out like a stripper popping out of a cake and take the other girl’s place in the act.

  Lani listened intently to the music, waiting for her cue and trying to remain calm and not hyperventil
ate in the tight space. She couldn’t seem to catch a deep breath. The feeling of being light-headed grew. She’d never had this much stage fright before, but she was beginning to feel thickheaded. She practiced a moment of meditation, an old stress-relieving technique they taught at the Farm, and a more pleasant floating sensation washed over her.

  The motion of the cabinet being moved momentarily gave her vertigo. This had never happened in rehearsal.

  There was a tap on the top of the cabinet. Lani loosened the latch from the inside. The lid snapped open. Lani sprang to a stand and threw her arms in the air in a triumphant pose.

  Her long dark hair blew in the breeze created by fans at the other end of the stage. She felt disoriented. The music was louder and more pulsing than she remembered and the laser and lights bothered her as if she was getting a migraine. She had to resist the urge to turn to the audience, find Rock, and stare at him.

  Sol faked a surprised, stunned expression. He took a step back and threw up his hands. His jaw dropped. “This isn’t the girl I just made disappear.” He leaned in for a closer look and then broke into a grin as her face flashed on the screen behind them, eight feet tall and unmistakable side by side with a picture of her from Rock’s act.

  Sol extended a hand to help her out of the box. As they’d rehearsed, she took it and stepped out of the box. And stumbled. She felt oddly clumsy and unable to control her body.

  Sol held her hand, steadying her.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, if I’m not mistaken, a miracle has just occurred. I’ve just completed another magician’s prestige from a trick that began two years ago.

  “May I present, Mrs. Rock Powers!”

  Sol held her hand in the air, entwined tightly with his. The audience went pin-drop silent and burst into applause. Sol grinned into the auditorium directly at Rock. “I believe you owe me one hundred thousand dollars, Rock.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  A spotlight highlighted Rock where he sat in the third row of the audience next to Tate, staring at Lani. Something was wrong. She was clumsy and the fingers of her free hand were twitching.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Rock saw a muscle in Tate’s jaw tic. Tate was realizing the same thing as Rock. Sol had drugged Lani.

  “Damn the signal,” Rock said beneath his breath to Tate.

  “Go.” Tate whipped out his phone and initiated the rescue sequence.

  Rock bolted out of his chair, jumped the two rows of seats in front of him as Jake had taught him how to do in practice, and bounded onto the stage almost as if he flew.

  Rock dislodged Lani’s hand from Sol’s, shoved Sol out of the way, and pulled Lani into an embrace. One hand around her waist, he tipped her chin up so her eyes met his. Her pupils were pinpoints and her eyes unfocused.

  He kissed her for the crowd’s benefit, to throw Sol off the scent, and give his team time to spring into action. Kissed her as he’d imagined kissing her for two years, willing her to hang on. Kissed her deeply as if he’d never let her go again, hoping it wasn’t too late to save her.

  The crowd erupted in cheers.

  Rock pulled out of the kiss, and leaned into Sol’s mic. “I’ll drop the check in the mail. Thanks, man. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have a honeymoon to make up.”

  Rock got a glimpse of Tate getting to his feet in the crowd.

  As Sol took a step toward them, Rock let loose a hefty dose of flash powder. The fancy stuff with the sparks and glitter the guys had made fun of.

  While Sol was stunned and disoriented, Rock grabbed Lani’s hand and pulled her with him behind the black velvet vanishing curtain. With the roar of approval from the crowd masking his exit, Rock dragged Lani past the stunned backstage crew.

  Lani stumbled, clumsy on her feet as he pulled her toward a hotel service entrance to the backstage maze of hallways the hotel staff used. Two of Sol’s thugs hung fast on their tail, closing Rock’s meager lead.

  Rock had to get Lani out of danger and give her the antidote before it was too late. She was breathing shallowly and her reflexes were slow. He recognized these particular symptoms—narcotic poisoning. He’d seen them before. In layman’s terms, a drug overdose.

  Rock aimed his thumb gun at the men pursuing them. He looked like an inept hitchhiker trying to thumb a ride. But his thumb was deadly and he had the element of surprise. No one expected a thumb gun. Only one problem—he had one shot to take down two pursuers. And with his curved thumb, his aim wasn’t that good.

  Should have brought the wand gun. Six shots would even the odds.

  One of the thugs pulled out a semiautomatic pistol and drew a bead on them.

  First rule of dying another day—don’t let the bad guys apprehend you.

  Lani was dragging, barely staying on her feet. Rock scooped Lani into his arms and charged around a corner out of sight of their two pursuers as a bullet whizzed past them. “Hang with me, baby.”

  The service entrance loomed before them. Rock pointed his finger at it. “Alakazam!”

  The door required a key card to open, but Will, his geek-boy magician’s apprentice, had made Rock a jammer finger. The door clicked and unlocked. Rock threw his shoulder into it and barreled through with Lani still in his arms.

  A stick to jam the door was leaning up against the wall just where Rock had instructed Will to leave it. Rock set Lani down for a second, propped her against the wall, and jammed the door just as Sol’s guy thudded against it. Rock also jammed the security cameras with a gizmo he’d borrowed from Tate.

  Even trying to use the wall to steady herself, Lani was wobbling on her feet. “I’m so sleepy, Rock.” She gasped for breath as her skin started turning blue. “I’m OD’ing. Sol put something in my bottled water.” She gasped again as her arms and head twitched.

  In another few minutes she’d convulse and go into a coma.

  “I know, baby. I know.” Rock pulled a syringe from his pocket and jabbed it into her thigh.

  Her eyes went wide and she tried to smile, but the shakes were engulfing her entire body. “Naloxone? Are you a closet addict?”

  “I’ve heard rumors Sol dopes his assistants with narcotics to help them stay calm in tight spaces. Usually he uses small doses of codeine. I came prepared in case he tried something, like making it look like you took your own life or accidentally ODed.” Rock took her in his arms and held her tight, kissing the top of her head. “Hang in there. It’ll take effect in a few minutes and then I’m gonna get us out of here.”

  As her shakes started subsiding, Rock picked her up and carried her along the corridor.

  Her color started coming back and her breathing became more regular. “They’ll be waiting for us at the exits.”

  “Let them. If everything’s gone to plan, my decoy’s already leading them on a merry rabbit chase.”

  “Decoy?” The pupils of Lani’s eyes were returning to normal.

  Rock almost felt like he could breathe again, too. “Ashley.”

  “No, Rock! It’s too dangerous—”

  He laughed and fought back a wave of emotion. Lani was going to be okay. “Worried about others? You must be feeling better. Don’t worry. Ashley’s damn good. She’ll dart here and there, throwing them off, changing outfits in between and mysteriously reappearing.

  “I warned all the kids this would be dangerous shit. No one objected. NCS recruited them for more than their magic. You want them to be agents, then it’s time they started acting like agents.”

  Rock propped Lani up against a wall again and reached into his pocket to pull out one of Ashley’s ingeniously designed quick-change outfits. It was so compact and lightweight, he’d even managed to carry the shoes—a pair of ballet flats—on him.

  “How big is that pocket?” Lani was trying to smile. “What else are you going to pull out of there?”

  He grinned. “Britt’s got us covered with social media magic. She’s whipping up a frenzy of support for us right now. There will be a crowd waiting for us in the driveway in f
ront of the lobby. We’re going to walk right out the lobby beneath Sol’s nose. I don’t believe even Sol is dumb enough to strike us in the middle of a mob of fans.

  “Think how angry he’ll be when he sees the footage of you walking out of this joint on my arm, very much alive.” His voice broke with emotion.

  He covered quickly by holding the clothes out to her. “Change into this? I want it to look as if we’ve changed into our honeymoon clothes and are trying to sneak away. And they’ll provide cover in case anything goes wrong with my plan.” He held the outfit out to Lani. “Do you need my help?”

  Lani rolled her eyes as she reached for the change of outfit. “You’ve been trying to get me out of my costume since the first day you met me.”

  As she peeled off her bridal veil and kicked off her heels, Rock stripped off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt, taking it off to reveal a T-shirt beneath. “Guilty as charged.”

  He took off his signature leather necklace and earrings and pulled on a hat. Then he grabbed the front of his pants, gave a quick tug reminiscent of the old pull-off-the-tablecloth trick and his pants came off, revealing a pair of skintight leather pants beneath.

  “Whoa!” Lani smiled. “Stripper magician.”

  “Ashley’s pure costuming magic.”

  “Quick change isn’t as sexy as a slow, tantalizing striptease.”

  “Next time I’ll bring the stripper pole in my pocket,” he said.

  “I’d like to see that.” Lani turned her back to Rock. “Get me out of this corset. Fast. The stays are killing me. I can barely breathe.”

  Rock’s fingers trembled as he untied the corset strings and clumsily loosened the back of the bodice holding her in. He hoped she didn’t notice. Her back was bare and creamy beneath the bodice. In fact, except for the tiny panties, she was totally bare beneath the costume, period. Her color was returning. She was coming back to life, but he wanted to get her safely back to the mansion.

  Lani took a deep breath and sighed as she shimmied, still somewhat awkwardly, but totally erotically to Rock’s sex-starved brain, out of her costume.