We got to the agency in no time, but had to park a block over because the traffic was so bad. It was high season in Savannah, though why anyone would want to come look at a bunch of cemeteries and old houses during the hottest month of the year was beyond me.
Lucy wasn’t behind her desk when we walked inside the agency. If fact, if was downright quiet inside. There was usually this constant buzz of activity and the murmur of voices, but that was all absent.
I saw why when we went into the conference room to meet with Savage. Most of Kate’s agents were inside, sitting around the twelve-seat table. Lucy was pouring coffee and delivering it around the room and Kate was talking to Savage quietly.
Everyone looked up when we came in, and Nick and I took two empty seats at the opposite end of the table from Savage. I was having trouble looking Savage in the eye. I hadn’t forgotten what he’d said the night before, and I wasn’t really sure how to handle the matter. What I was sure about was that this case needed to end so Savage and I could part ways before he remembered he had a first date to claim.
“Thanks for getting here so fast,” Savage said. “It was lucky the two of you were together. Saved me an extra phone call.”
My head snapped up to meet his eyes, wondering if there was a hidden message in there somewhere, but his face was perfectly blank except for the eyebrow he had quirked.
“My mother invited me to breakfast,” I said. “I needed reinforcements.” I didn’t think it would help matters to mention the christening of my new house. “So you said you got a hit on Becca’s phone?”
“Yeah, at about eight o’clock this morning,” Savage said. “The call came in from the Sirin offices and informed Becca she had a new client who was interested in obtaining her services for business purposes. She’s to get a key from the front desk at the Marriott and go directly to the penthouse suite at 7:00. The transaction will be complete by 8:00 and then dinner will be served. The woman kept calling it a business meeting to cover her tracks and told Becca that attire was semi-formal. She said her services had been paid for in advance for an entire night. Becca didn’t say but two words the entire phone conversation.”
“Geez,” I said, suddenly uncomfortable. I shot Savage an irritated look, not sure what I expected him to do about it, but just knowing something needed to be done. “Why the hell would she agree to meeting a complete stranger like that? In a hotel room? The whole thing is just skeezy.”
“Money,” Nick said. “Money is almost always the bottom line. She’s pulling in five figures for a full-night’s work.”
Savage threw up his hands and smiled. “I’m just repeating what was said during the phone call. Don’t look at me like I’m the guilty party. I hear you’re one of those who likes to shoot first and ask questions later.”
I looked at Nick, but he refused to meet my gaze. “It was just a tranquilizer. There are some people in this room who have a tendency to overreact.” Everyone was staring at me with rapt attention. “Sorry. Please continue.”
“Whoever was making the call from the Sirin offices didn’t go into too many details, but she did say specifically that Becca was to be a facilitator for a business transaction. It was mentioned that this is a two million dollar deal and to do whatever necessary to make sure the business was completed to the client’s satisfaction. Further instructions will be given once Becca is in the hotel room.”
“Well we obviously can’t let her go,” I said. “And we can’t let those gems exchange hands.”
“I’ve already had a man pick Ms. Gonzales up, and he’s holding her in a safe house for the time being. I’ve also confiscated her phone.”
“That’s clever of you,” I said, a plan hatching in my mind. I looked up at Savage and saw the gleam in his eye. We were on the same wavelength. It was everyone else in the room that seemed to have a problem.
Kate had laid her head down on the table and Nick was giving me a death glare so strong I could feel it through the side of my brain. The other agents in the room were trying their best to pretend they weren’t there or make direct eye contact.
“So,” I said.
“So,” Savage answered. “With Becca out of commission we need someone to go in and take her place. We can bug the room and set up surveillance with a team one floor below. I can have another team watching Natalie Evans, and if the exchange is made how I think it’s going to be made, we can pick her up for questioning and confiscate the stolen gems.”
“Piece of cake,” I said.
“I hear the phone ringing,” Lucy said, leaving the room abruptly.
“I’ve got to—”
“—doctor’s appointment”
“Root canal—”
Voices clambered over each other as the other agents gave their excuses and fled the scene.
“You and I are coming very close to having a problem,” Nick said.
At first I thought he was talking to me, but when I turned to blast him with my opinion I saw he was looking at Savage, and it wasn’t a friendly look.
“Anytime, anyplace. But you know as well as I do that my orders override your personal feelings. We’ll do this however we need to so we can get the job done and go home. If you have issues with that then I have no problem cutting you out of the loop completely.”
“You’re more than welcome to,” Nick said.
He was stone cold in his reply. There wasn’t even a hint of the anger I knew was boiling under the surface. A quiet Nick was not a good sigh. I moved my chair over slightly to get out of the line of fire just in case.
“But you know as well as I do that I can make things harder on you. I won’t be bothered by playing dirty.”
Savage’s smile was sharp as a blade and Kate looked like she wanted to put her hand on her weapon just in case things got out of hand.
“You can try,” he said. “Or we can see this through and be done with each other. You’re call, Detective Dempsey.”
“She doesn’t go in alone,” Nick said. “I want a man inside the room. And I want in on the bust.”
“Easily done,” Savage said.
“Hey, I’m sitting right here. Don’t I get a say in this?”
“No—” they both said in unison.
“All righty then,” I said. “You guys let me know when you’ve got the details hashed out. I need to go shopping. I’m fresh out of semi-formalwear.”
I decided to take advantage of the situation and walked up to Savage, holding out my hand. He turned those dark eyes on me, and he quickly banked the fire of his anger. I appreciated the gesture, because an angry Matt Savage was disturbing. He raised a brow in question and looked at my hand.
“Credit card,” I said. “It’s the least the FBI can do to catch a group of dangerous criminals.”
Savage rolled his eyes and reached into his back pocket for his wallet, taking out a silver credit card that carried his name.
“This is my personal card. Try not to go crazy.”
“Hey, talent like mine doesn’t come cheap. I’ll look every bit as good as Becca Gonzales by the time I’m through. Kate’s going to help me.” I grabbed Kate by the arm and hustled her to the door before the conference room turned into the OK Corral. “You boys have a good time bonding.”
***
At six o’clock I had on underwear worthy of a high-class call girl and my head between my knees. I’d been close to hyperventilating for half an hour.
“Whose idea was this?” I asked for the millionth time. “This doesn’t seem at all safe. Maybe we should get someone else.”
“This was your idea,” Kate said. “And it isn’t safe. Maybe one day you’ll stop opening your mouth as soon as a thought pops into your brain.”
“Hmmm,” I said. The dizziness was mostly gone and I picked at a piece of loose thread on the bedspread, deciding if I left my head between my legs too much longer I was probably going to suffocate. I didn’t know how guys did it.
I flopped back on the bed, wishing I had Marky-Mark to look upon and as
k advice like in my old room. It was easier to breathe lying down. The boning from my lingerie was no longer cutting off the circulation to my innards.
Kate was sprawled at the other end of the bed. “Look on the bright side. You got some really awesome clothes out of the deal. And maybe you could try this getup on for Nick later. That would probably go a long way in soothing his temper.”
“I’ve already used that approach once today,” I said. “Do you think there’s a limit?”
“Not so far as I’ve noticed. I think as long as you’re naked and semi-willing, then you can get things to turn in your favor when it comes to dealing with a man.”
I put my hair in hot rollers and spent a few minutes looking at myself in the mirror. The corset was black lace and only hinted at the skin beneath. It also did a damned good job at sucking in the cinnamon rolls, Twinkies, ice cream and Oreos I’d gorged on the past week. When I thought about it like that, it was almost enough to make me sick. What can I say? I’m a stress eater. And I’d had more than my fair share over the last few days.
The panties were briefer than I’d like, but I wasn’t actually planning on stripping down. I was assuming Savage would bust in and put things to a halt before it got that far. And I’d forgone the garters because there was no way in hell I was wearing stockings in this heat.
Mostly I was wearing the underwear because Kate was right. I had a whole lot of making up to do where Nick was concerned.
I did a full makeup job and dusted bronzer over my neck and shoulders before slipping on the black strapless sheath I’d bought earlier. Kate helped me zip it up in the back and I waited until the very end to take the hot rollers out of my hair. I was dealing with a hundred and twenty percent humidity, so it was a little bigger than normal. I evened it out by putting on another coat of lipstick and long silver dangles at my ears.
“That’s as good as it gets,” I finally said.
I looked over and Kate was asleep on my bed. She’d opted to be in the surveillance room with Nick and a couple of other FBI agents. I personally thought Kate needed a vacation. She was burning her candle at both ends.
Savage picked us up a little early, and he did a mostly good job of keeping his gaze above my neckline. It was kind of hard to blame him. The corset pushed my breasts up to impossible heights, and I kept catching glimpses of them from my peripheral vision.
Kate took her own car and followed behind us, and Savage put his hands around my waist and lifted me into his Tahoe. I was grateful, considering there was no way I’d be able to lift my leg that high without ripping the dress.
I kind of leaned back against the seat so I could draw air into my lungs a little easier, and decided then and there that I was cutting all sweets out of my diet. My spleen was starting to go numb.
Savage narrowly missed a parked car while glancing over at my décolletage.
“They’re pretty good, huh?” I said.
“They’ll do. I hope the poor bastard isn’t old. I’d hate for him to have a heart attack. Adds more paperwork.”
I was kind of hoping he was old. Even I could probably outrun a senior citizen. And I could probably knock him over if I had to.
“We’ve already got a team set up on the floor below the penthouse suite,” he said as we turned onto Randolph Street and headed straight for the Marriott. “I’ve spoken with the manager and all but delivered death threats to make him keep his mouth shut. I don’t want Natalie Evans getting word of this before we can pick her up, and she has the uncanny knack of having all the right people in the right places.”
“Where are you going to be?” I asked, picking invisible pieces of lint from my skirt. I was trying to figure out how I was going to get my head between my knees in this dress if I had another moment of panic.
“I’ve already been in the room. There’s a second bedroom on the opposite side of the living room. I’ve got sensors placed so I’ll be able to watch on a hand-held device. I’ve got your back.”
“Okiedokie.”
Savage pulled up at the glass front doors and a bellman opened the door for me. I walked as casually as possible into the lobby, wondering if everyone in sight thought I was a prostitute, and ducked behind a potted palm when I recognized Harry Brewer and his wife heading towards the elevator. Harry was one of only three postmen in Whiskey Bayou, and he had no compunction about reading through people’s mail, so I had no doubt he’d love to get a hold of this bit of information to pass along. Just my luck.
I waited until they’d disappeared up the elevator before making my way to the front desk and the manager. Apparently, he’d been waiting for me, and Savage had done a good job of intimidating him because a fine sheen of sweat dotted his upper lip and his eyes were wide as he stared at my cleavage in fascination. I gave him my name and he produced a key to the top floor.
I got on the elevator without company, and slid in the key card to access the top floor. I slouched against the mirrored wall, trying to relieve the pressure in my feet and chest. The next time I had to dress for seduction, I was just going to go au natural beneath my clothes instead of winching myself in a contraption that required the strength of a thousand men to get on. This little scheme wasn’t going to work all that well if I passed out in the man’s lap before the diamonds could be exchanged.
I teetered down the hallway and was just about to slide in the key card when the door jerked open and Savage pulled me into the room.
“Good grief, what’s taking you so long? Can you not feel the sense of urgency here?”
I narrowed my eyes and poked him in the chest. “Listen, buddy. I’m doing you a favor here. You don’t want to push me right now. I can’t feel my toes and my lungs are being strangled by whale bones.”
He looked slightly taken aback at that bit of information, and he got distracted again by my heaving bosom.
“The client will be here in less than twenty minutes, and I just got word from downstairs that they’ve got interference on the visual connection. There’s no time to fix it. There’s only audio, so you’re going to have to make sure you’re giving them an accurate picture of what’s going on up here. Got it?”
“You bet.”
“Here’s Becca’s cell phone. They’ll be calling soon with final instructions on the exchange. Don’t say anything past hello. We don’t want to give ourselves away.”
“Right,” I said. I took the cell phone from Savage and we only had to wait a couple of minutes before it buzzed in my hand. He nodded at me in encouragement.
“Hello,” I said.
The voice on the other end was brisk and impersonal. Male this time. And he didn’t bother with social niceties.
“Once you’ve secured the payment from our client then you’ll call this number.” He rattled off a phone number and Savage handed me a pen and a piece of hotel stationary so I could copy it down. “Tell the client to call down to the front desk and have them send up a bottle of champagne. The product will arrive within a few minutes. The client will set the briefcase outside the door as an act of good faith. Once the transaction is complete you will conduct business as usual.”
The caller disconnected and panic seized me. There was so much potential for a colossal screw up on my end of things that I started to hyperventilate again. Little black dots danced in front of my eyes and it suddenly became imperative that I get out of the contraption of torture.
“It was a man this time,” Savage said, oblivious to what was happening inside me as he took me by the arm. “What were your impressions?”
“I think I’m going to die,” I said instead.
“That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?”
“No,” I said, wheezing. “My guts are being squeezed out the bottom of my feet like a tube of toothpaste. You’ve got to get me out of this thing or things aren’t going to be pretty.”
“Shit, Addison. There’s no time. I’ve got to take cover.”
“There’s time,” I insisted. “Help me or suffer the c
onsequences.”
I reached behind me and yanked at the zipper of the dress and the material fell to my waist, revealing the contraption below. I heard Savage suck in a breath, but I didn’t care about his reaction. I just needed to breathe.
“Just untie it and loosen the strings,” I said. “Kate doesn’t know her own strength. She’s trussed me up like Mammy did Scarlet in Gone With the Wind.”
To give Savage credit, he was a man of action and not one to sit back and let an opportunity pass him by. He untied the knot Kate had made and used his fingers to loosen the strings. Little by little I was able to draw in the all important air that would keep me on both feet instead of passed out in a heap on the floor.
“Oh, shit,” Savage said. And before I knew it he’d yanked my dress all the way down and tossed me on the couch. “Look sexy. He’s here.” Savage disappeared into the room behind me and closed the door quietly.
“Oh, God.” God wasn’t much interested in helping, because the door clicked to signal it had been unlocked and the handle rattled. I was sprawled on the couch in the most unsexy way possible, and I quickly tried to get in a pose that screamed “seduction” instead of “mentally unstable.”
I laid down on my side and propped my head on my fist, crossing my ankles and hoping I wasn’t about to come face to face with Brad Pitt or something. I tried to get rid of the grimace on my face and channel a look of seduction, but all I manage was a wobbly smile and a whole lot of heavy breathing. It would have to do.
The foyer was blocked by a wall, so I couldn’t immediately see anyone, but I heard the footsteps as they fell against the tile. And then there was silence as he stepped to the carpet and came face to face with me.
I didn’t recognize him. Thank the Lord. But the bad news was he definitely wasn’t old, and he looked to be in pretty good shape. I wasn’t going to have much luck outrunning him if push came to shove. He was movie star handsome, and why the hell he’d need to hire an escort service to see to his sexual needs was beyond me. He probably had women tripping all over themselves to get into his bed. He was tall, dark and handsome in a classic sense, but you could see the power he wielded as if it were a part of his skin. This was an important man.
Whiskey Sour (Romantic Mystery/Comedy) Book 2 (Addison Holmes Mysteries) Page 20