The steely look in his eyes, the stony expression, had Bailey on alert. What’d her BIL know he wasn’t telling the rest of them? The team gathered around as Jake held the phone out. “Hello?”
“I’ve been trying to reach you for three days. Thank God you’ll have a person to answer your calls for you when you’re a senator.” It’s Gerald Murphy, and David didn’t look happy Jake had been ignoring the calls. The newest recruit would be getting smoked later because of it, no doubt. David Snyder didn’t take kindly to green agents ignoring anything.
“Mr. Murphy.” Jake locked his attention to David. “What can I do for you, sir?”
“I’m attending a little get together tonight at the Edgewater and would love to introduce you to a few of my friends. Very influential friends. I don’t suppose you can be in Seattle in the next four hours?”
“Actually, I’m in Seattle to visit my mom.”
“I wasn’t aware your parents lived in Seattle. Your mother, at least.”
Shit. Jake regarded his partner. His intel. His lifeline. To Bailey’s surprise, Ryan had already helped himself to the tablet she’d set down. He held it up, screen facing Jake. Shane Greene dead.
“She’s the only one I have left.” Jake held Ryan’s gaze until the intel agent looked away. It didn’t take a mind reader to pick up on the meaning behind that look.
“Of course. I apologize for my thoughtless comment.”
He tested Jake and didn’t even try concealing it. What an insensitive asshole. As if his involvement with the Order wasn’t enough reason to hate him.
“Would she mind if I steal you for a few hours? The people attending this get together could make or break your political career.”
“Campaigning for me already?”
“It’s never too early to start.” Murphy chuckled. “Things seem to be falling into place quite nicely.”
David stiffened and narrowed his gaze. He picked up on something. The frown creasing his brow caused Bailey even more worry. He sliced his hand through the air, signaling to kill the call. “We’ll meet you at the hotel, sir.”
“We?”
“I’ll have my bodyguard with me.”
“There’ll be no need to bring your own security. This is a very small event. We have plenty of security.”
Hell no. Bailey wouldn’t let him go in without some sort of backup. She shook her head, but David brought up his hand. Was he crazy? He grabbed the tablet from Ryan and wrote something before holding it up. Jake nodded and read from the screen, although his strained expression told an entirely different story. “I trust you, Mr. Murphy. If you say I don’t need my bodyguard, then I don’t need one. I’ll find a way to ditch him.”
“Already making the right decisions. Eight o’clock, Jake. Be prompt.”
He ended the call and slipped the phone into his pocket, his attention on Jackson and Jason, who’d moved to the other side of the lobby. Those two butted heads about anything and everything, so to have them whispering and nodding at the same time sent Bailey’s suspicions even higher.
But it was David’s expression that had her most concerned. He brought his phone to his ear. “I was right. He knows. Send her down. We need her with him on this one.”
“What’s going on?” Bailey asked. When he didn’t answer, she pressed him. “David, what were you right about? Who are you sending in with my recruit? It’d better be security detail.”
“This is one better.”
“One better than having a trained agent covering me?” Jake joined the conversation. “That sounds a lot better than sending me in alone and unarmed.”
The elevator ding announced the arrival of the cart. The doors whooshed open and Megan McKoy, Bailey’s flirt of a cousin, walked out of the elevator, adjusting the form-fitting dress by pulling it up in the front and down in the back.
What was she doing there? Strike that. When did she get there and how did Bailey miss her? “Meg?”
“Hey, Bails. I’d hug you, but Charis told me if I so much as get a stain on this dress, I own it. No way can I afford it. I can barely afford rent. Do you know how much bartenders make?”
“I do.” David grinned.
“No one asked you, mister.” She had her dark hair piled high on her head. The blue jewels hanging from her ears brought out the cobalt in her eyes. “This was your bright idea to dress me up as a high-priced escort. I can’t even breathe in this thing.”
“You look great.”
“I look like I charge by the hour. You’re saying I have to go under as an escort?”
“That’s what I’m saying. It’s a better cover. Going in as his girlfriend adds too much risk. You don’t have to know any history on a client. He’s just another John to you.”
She narrowed those intense blue eyes. “Are you asking as an assistant director? Or as part of the family?”
“Which one gets me a yes?”
“The only one I have to answer to.” She smiled sweetly.
“The target is suspicious. We need a way to keep him distracted.”
“Why is it only women get to play the distraction?”
Jason raised his hand. “Not true. I had to keep Whitney Harrington busy while Jer did his thing.” He darted a look Bailey’s way. She avoided his gaze. It wasn’t like they were exclusive. When the mission called for a distraction, it was the agent’s responsibility to distract the target by any means necessary. Jason just happened to be better at a specific physical distraction than others. She understood the reason. That didn’t mean she had to like it.
“Why not send in Bails?” Meg’s question caught her attention.
“We need an agent trained in security detail. Besides, Bailey is too old.”
“Hey!” She thrust out her chin. “Twenty-five is hardly old.”
“Twenty-three is younger. Besides, we need a tease, someone good at flirting. We need a player. You, Bailey McKoy, aren’t a player. You don’t have a forward bone in your body.”
She couldn’t argue that fact. She was the exact opposite of forward. Jason teased her all the time at how terrible she was at taking charge, at telling him exactly what she wanted. Being forward was a trait she lacked, yet something her twin had in spades. She accepted her fate and nodded at her cousin. “Have you been briefed?”
“I’ve been upstairs with the mom and dad twins for the past hour. Between Charis lecturing me to be careful and Chris showing up on the com link feed every five minutes to remind me of something else he’s already told me, I’m about as briefed as I’ll get.”
Bailey regarded her BIL. “Are you sure about this? Meg is barely out of Gahanna. She doesn’t have a lot of field experience.”
“But I have a hell of a lot of flirting experience,” Meg defended and wrapped her arm around Bailey’s.
“How can we be sure there’ll be enough chemistry between them for this to work?”
“Don’t worry about that, Bails. I got this.” She faced the two recruits and asked, “Which one of you high rollers paid to have me as your date for the night?”
“I, uh… I, um… I…” Ryan and his stuttering. He still hadn’t gotten over it when he talked to girls.
Jake, however, had no problem talking to women. He stepped forward and offered his hand. “Jake Greene. I’ll be your date tonight.” Ryan blew out a breath, clearly relieved.
“Megan.” She accepted his hand and giggled when he brushed his lips over her knuckles. “You’re charming.”
“You’re beautiful.” The smile he flashed her even sucked Bailey into the spell it cast. Damn, he was good. “Is that gorgeous blue your real eye color?”
“It is.”
“Amazing. I’ve never seen eyes the same color as my favorite gem.”
Bailey crossed her arms. She had the exact same color eyes. All the McKoys had deep blue eyes and dark, dark hair. It was the classic McKoy look. Why hadn’t he noticed her eyes?
Meg touched the earrings. “You like sapphires?”
“I love them,
especially on you.”
She giggled again. Oh, brother.
Jackson seemed to be as taken with the exchange as the two flirting like crazy. “I’d say that proves it. There are enough sparks flying between them to start a fire.”
David moved to Bailey’s side and said for her ears only, “I knew the kid would never make it having a pretty girl as his partner.” He looked at Bailey and dropped the smirk. “It could be a problem.”
“I know.” She sighed. They had to find a way to get Ryan over his stuttering when it came to talking to girls. Just not tonight. Resigning to the fact Jake would be in the field and Ryan in the van, Bailey cleared her throat to catch everyone’s attention. “We have three hours to brief. Let’s take this party upstairs.”
23
[Jake]
I haven’t ridden in a limo since high school when a group of us all went in on one for our senior prom. I don’t remember them being so big on the inside. Then again, there were ten of us piled into the back of that one.
This one must seat twice that. It has cool blue lighting under all the seats and on the ceiling. There are two sunroofs and a lot of windows. Why we need such a huge limo when there are only two of us, I have no idea.
“Why are you sitting clear over there?” Meg uses her phone to check her lipstick. “It’s not like I bite.” She sets the phone on her lap and flashes me a grin that practically has me panting. When she winks, I’m ready to pass out. “That costs extra.”
Oh, sweet Jesus. Sweet, sweet Jesus. This woman is every man’s wet dream. She’s gorgeous. Not just a double-take gorgeous. She’s exotic. Deep blue eyes that turn up ever so slightly in the corner like a cat. Brown hair so dark it’s almost black. A body that makes me want to cry just being this close. I’ve never been so caught up in a woman before.
That’s a lie. There’s one other woman I’m caught up in. With Megan McKoy, I’m fixated on all the wrong things. Her looks. Her body. How flexible she might be. I can’t stop staring at her and picturing her naked. With that dress hugging every curve of her amazing body, it doesn’t take much of an imagination.
With Kayla Riggs, I see more than what’s on the surface. She may never earn the description of exotic or double-take gorgeous to strangers, and that’s okay. She is to me. It’s more than her looks that make her so intoxicating. It’s her smile. Her laugh. Her quirky sense of humor. It’s the way she’s beautiful and doesn’t know it.
Megan McKoy definitely knows how beautiful she is and has no problem using that to her advantage. She’s exactly the kind of woman I would have chased after before meeting Kayla. Before falling for Kayla.
Would my girl understand if she saw me all dressed for a party, an exotic beauty on my arm? Even if I’d be able to convince her that Meg is an escort, would she ever forgive me for hiring a prostitute instead of taking her to this black-tie event? That would be a big, fat no.
Which is why I’m on the opposite side of the limo. I trust myself, trust I won’t do anything to screw up what I have with Kayla. It’s Meg I don’t trust. It’s that look in her eyes, like she’s a man-eater and I’m her prey or something. I’ve never had anyone look at me like I’m a meal. It’s unnerving.
“Relax, Jake. I’m not going to attack you. My wily ways are reserved for our target.”
Her assurance doesn’t make me feel any better. Still, I have a job to do, and so does she. There’s no reason why we can’t have a little fun—if it doesn’t go too far. “I don’t get any wily? Man, two hundred dollars doesn’t go as far as I thought.”
She laughs. “Try two thousand.”
“For the night?”
“An hour.” She licks her lips and I stare at them longer than I should. “You can afford it, Mr. Greene. Your uncle is loaded.”
My uncle. Right. This is all part of the mission. I relax and even smile as I fall into my role. I’m Jake Greene, nephew to a billionaire philanthropist. “His money is my money.”
“Does he know that?”
“Does it matter?”
She grins and shakes her head, sending those sapphire earrings swinging. They catch the blue lights in the limo and really draw out her eyes. If she offers even the hint of a smile, Murphy is a goner. “Tell me about your girlfriend.”
“How’d you know I had a girlfriend?” Do I give off the ‘already taken’ vibe?
“You would have made a move on me by now.”
“Cocky much?”
“I know how to play the game, handsome. Something tells me you do, too. A good-looking guy like you? I’m sure you’re no stranger to a stranger in your bed.”
I drop my gaze. When she says it like that, it makes it sound like I’m a total player. A man-whore. Then again, those are the exact words Kayla has used on multiple occasions to describe me in the past. And, in the past, I didn’t mind the title. Hell, I embraced it. Now? The thought of playing the field, a different girl every night, doesn’t appeal to me. At all. I only want one girl in my bed tonight. And tomorrow night. And every tomorrow night after that.
“Let me guess,” Meg continues. “That was before you met her.”
Exactly. “Something like that.”
“Good for you.”
Her comment surprises me, so I lift my gaze. “Come again?”
“I can’t keep a steady guy to save my life.”
“Maybe that’s because you’re a prostitute.”
“Escort,” she corrects, an icy flash in her eyes. She definitely doesn’t like my comment. “And it’s only for the job.”
“Is all this part of your cover?” I motion to all of her. “The hair. The makeup. The over-the-top sexuality.”
“This is who I am. Take it or leave it.” She zeroes in on me, her gaze like a sharp dagger cutting through the air and drilling into me.
If she thinks she can intimidate me by pulling the bitch card, she has no idea who she’s dealing with. I get plenty of practice when Kayla gets too tightly wound. “Gee, I can’t imagine why you can’t keep a steady guy.”
“You’re lucky we need you on this find.”
“Or what?”
“Or I’d show you all the different torture techniques they teach at Gahanna.”
I chuckle. Her eyes are blazing, but she’s got a twinkle in them. She’s not nearly as pissed as she’s pretending to be. I change the subject before one or both of us take it too far and say something that may damage the chemistry we need on this find. “What’s Gahanna?”
She drops her jaw. “Are you shitting me? They don’t tell you about TREX’s boot camp during your internship?”
“There’s a boot camp? Like a military boot camp?”
She laughs, damn her. I’m close to coming unglued. No one said anything about a boot camp. “Every cadet has to go through Gahanna before they’re crowned an agent. There you’ll be trained on how to TREX the shit out of any situation.”
Despite my nerves already getting the better of me the closer we get to the event, I laugh. “Although I don’t want to go through any boot camp, the thought of learning how to TREX the shit out of anything has me intrigued.”
She giggles. “You’ll learn to use TREX as a noun, verb, adjective. Pretty much anything. We say things like TREX up all the time.”
“Jackson used that one on me already.”
“When he said it to my cousin Kaylee, she racked him right in the manly bits.”
I wince and instinctively cross my legs to protect my own manly bits. The limo pulls up in front of the Edgewater Hotel and the driver hurries around to help Meg out of the car. Showtime. I slip on the glasses I had the night of the fundraiser and tap the temple. “Visual on.”
“Confirmed.” Ryan’s voice sounds over the com link. I step out and offer an arm to my escort. Meg loops her arm in mine and we walk inside. I immediately spot Gerald Murphy and nod in greeting.
But he’s not looking at me. Hell, he doesn’t even see me. He’s staring at Meg. She drops her arm from mine and slowly licks her lips.
He watches the gesture with absolute focus, licking his in return. “Jake didn’t tell me he was bringing a friend. You are?”
“Megan.”
“Megan what?”
“Just Megan. I find in my line of work, one name is all I need.” She leans closer and lowers her voice. “Sometimes I don’t even need that.”
After several more seconds of devouring Meg with his hungry gaze, he regards me. “Aren’t you full of surprises.”
“My uncle always taught me never to come to a party empty-handed.”
“It’s almost a shame.”
“What’s that?” My neck hairs stand on end. What an odd comment.
“That you don’t live with your uncle, so he can see what a fine man you are.” Murphy chuckles and waves for us to follow. “This way.” Instead of heading deeper inside the hotel, he directs us back out the entrance. Meg and I exchange glances. She nods for me to go along, so I do. She’s the one with field experience. She’s also my security detail. Where she goes, I go.
Murphy leads us around to the back of the hotel to several outbuildings. We stop in front of the first one. A large man stands in front of the double doors, a security wand in his hand. Murphy nods and the man approaches me. “I told you we had plenty of security. Once he wands you, we’ll go inside. I’ll introduce you to a few people.”
“Wands me?” I don’t like the sound of that. Will it pick up our ear wigs? “For what?”
“Anything posing a security threat.”
I don’t like the sound of that. Meg must be carrying. Where, I don’t want to know. I can see every inch of her in that dress. No wonder Murphy can’t keep his eyes off her.
The man runs the wand up the front of my torso and down my back. He then does the same with my legs. When he sweeps in between, I tense when he gets a little too close to my balls. “I’m not hiding anything in my crotch, dude.”
He straightens and nods at Murphy. “He’s clean.” He then eyes Meg and grins wide.
She winks before glancing at Murphy. “I do love a good wanding.”
“She’s clean,” he declares and takes her by the arm, leaving me with the wand guy. “Do you like scotch? The bar stocked Macallan. Eighteen, I believe.”
The Heat Is On (TREX Rookies Book 2) Page 21