by Tara Brown
I hated him.
It was easy at that moment.
He looked at me, "Makeup is in the bathroom, be snappy."
I sighed and walked past him, "Are you even going to tell me what we are doing here?"
He nodded, "Yeah, afterward. I want you relaxed, you stress too much."
I walked into the bathroom to find a blonde wig and a spread of makeup. I slipped my hair up into a small ponytail and pulled on the hair net. The wig was one of the ones that only the very rich had. It was what all CI agents used. Only the best for our undercover ops. I wondered how he had managed to procure all of this stuff if we were in deep cover.
I pulled on the wig and looked at myself. The wig had been styled, sweeping bangs across the forehead and soft curls. I looked like a Barbie. It was incredible hair. I put the bright-blue contacts into my eyes, hating the feel of touching my eyeballs, and dropped the eye whitener that moisturized into each eye. I blinked several times until it fit and felt good. I put on the dark eye makeup and false lashes. Once I had on the bright-red lipstick, I didn’t even recognize myself.
I was a different girl, completely. If James knew me in that, he was a psychic. I came out of the bathroom to find Coop at the window with the binoculars. He was staring at their room. He put the binoculars down and looked back like he was about to yell at me to hurry up. When he saw me, he stopped, "Fuck!"
I laughed, "I know."
He shook his head, "It's crazy, you look so different." His eyes roamed up and down my body. He was stunned. I was angry. He seemed more interested suddenly, when I no longer looked like me.
But even my libido was annoyed with him so I ignored his roving eye.
He called them as we walked from the room, "Leaving now. Be there in an hour. Be ready."
In the elevator, he didn’t try anything. He stood there, silent and evil. I wasn’t sure what I had done to deserve his wrath, but I had already been married. I had done my time with a crotchety bastard so I chose to ignore him.
We got into a cab. He seemed oblivious to all of the people staring at me until we were in the car, "Safe to say, this was a bad idea."
I frowned, "What?"
He nodded at me, "You are getting more attention than a supermodel, not exactly the incognito I imagined."
I laughed, "Now you know what it's like being with you all the time. Every woman in the room gawking and wondering how on earth I landed such a handsome young man."
He chuckled, "Kim, my precious bride, it is you that is the beautiful one in this relationship."
I shoved him, "Fuck you, Jon."
He laughed harder, but I shook my head at him and looked out the window, muttering, "Your mood swings are unbearable."
I laughed, “Pots and kettles, asshole.”
Chapter Seven
Jon the John
The hotel was magnificent. It was the sort of place people got married at or had massive conventions at. The fountain in the front was nicer than any I had ever seen. It was just as stunning and sparkling at every angle. Beautiful people of all shapes and sizes entered, wearing tuxes and wraps and gowns. Everyone was draped in designer garb and glittering from head to toe. I felt like I was at the Oscars.
Coop took my hand in his. He pulled a pair of tickets from his jacket and pulled me across the plaza to the entrance. He handed the tickets to two men who ushered us inside.
The sign was in Italian, leaving me still confused.
"Why are we here?"
He nodded as we entered a massive ballroom filled with tables and decorations and God knew what else.
"It's a casino charity event. Nights of Monte Carlo, to be exact."
The room was almost spinning, it buzzed so hard with life and excitement.
"And again, why are we here?"
He turned to face me, "We are going to do a little gambling."
I swallowed hard, "What?"
He nodded, "Jack has four people from the list living here in Rome. I think it's a pretty safe guess that the people on the list would be working together to get the Burrow. No coincidence that James and his men are in Rome if four people from the list live here. They'll betray each other later, but for now, they just need to find it. I am going to try to gamble with the one we think is the most obvious."
I instantly started to sweat, "Do you think James is in this room? Or Servario?"
He sighed, "This is why I didn’t want to tell you. Do you want to find Servario? ’Cause I couldn't give a shit about finding him. I'm doing this for you. If you're going to be a baby about it, I'm going back to the States to hide out in Smallville, Montana. Servario and James and all of them can kill each other off and you and I can get back to relaxing around the fire and fighting the awkward attraction we have for one another."
He was doing it for me? Why? I pushed away the way those words made me feel and gave him my usual response. I looked around the room, nodding, "Not going to happen. You and your emotional-wall building need to take a hike. So you want me to be the stupid blonde you bring with you everywhere?"
He started to laugh, "Exactly. Bond, baby. Bond and the blonde. I am a rich young man, you are the pretty girl I have hanging off my arm." He led me down the stairs and down into the massive room.
We walked up to a blackjack table. He sat down and played, I stood there like a statue. Being the pretty blonde sucked. Men leered, one groped, and several propositioned me. Each time Coop looked back, giving them a deadly look. They backed off instantly. He won a huge stack of chips within a few bets. The lady next to him leaned over and kissed him for good luck.
She glanced back at me, "I hope you don’t mind."
Before I could open my mouth, he discounted me completely, "She doesn’t care."
I stood there, stunned and wounded. The lady gave me a look, scooting her chair closer to his. I couldn’t believe he would treat me so poorly, but I knew it was the act. I focused on the room.
Suddenly, my stomach dropped. The room spun and I was sure I would be sick any second. My mouth hung open but he walked right by me.
The man I watched didn’t know me, he wouldn’t. My mother wouldn’t have known me. He looked remarkably healthy and happy. His face was fresh shaved and his slightly-longer hair was chin length and very European chic. He too looked like a model, maybe a Hugo Boss ad. It was disturbing.
Steve had fucked me over.
That was why he hadn’t fought to come with us. Servario had never been taken.
Servario was stunning from every angle as he crossed the wide room. As was the girl he was escorting. A sound left my lips. I didn’t know what to think or say or do. I stood there in my disguise, feeling completely exposed. My heart felt like it fell onto the carpet in front of me.
He was fine.
He was totally fine.
Limping along behind him was worse, far worse. James walked with a cane, smoking a cigar and escorting a beautiful brunette. They strolled nonchalantly into the back room. The trail of smoke and my trembling lip were the only evidence that they had ever been there.
"Servario and James are here." The words left my lips so softly I didn’t think he had heard me. He was laughing with the lady next to him. But I watched his back straighten as he glanced about "Where?" he muttered.
I nodded towards the back of the room.
He could see me in his peripheral.
My heart was in my throat. I was never going to come down from the panic attack I was silently having. I let him fuck me and he literally fucked me, he and my husband. They had strolled past me with a bevy of babes and a cocky grin each. Neither having a care in the world. I certainly wasn’t on the list of things either gave a shit about.
Shit. Shit. Double shit.
How the hell was I going to finish the night of being Coop's Barbie bitch with the two of them there? I couldn’t. I leaned over, "I need to use the washroom."
Coop grabbed my arm and growled, "Stay here. You can go when I tell you to."
I froz
e. I kind of liked bossy Coop. The lady next to him gave him a look and then me. She seemed intrigued, "Why don’t you let her go and let me stay with you?"
He didn’t stop grabbing my arm but looked over at her, "She is my good luck."
I stood there, inwardly sobbing and hugging myself.
The lady nodded, "I see. What makes her so special? Maybe I could be your good luck."
I almost laughed as she proved the whole point he had been making about women being predictable and only really liking men who were assholes. He was being a jerk and the lady was throwing herself at him.
Coop played three more hands, winning a large sum of money, before a man in a suit came to him and asked if he wanted to play in the back room. He answered with a nod. The lady gave him another kiss, slipping him her number. I pretended I didn’t see, but she smirked at me, happy I saw.
I followed him like a fucking geisha girl to the back room. When he walked in, he smiled instantly at Servario, who nearly choked on his cigar. He looked at me briefly, but he didn’t recognize me. His eyes were back on Coop instantly. James didn’t know Coop. He didn’t even notice Servario nearly having a stroke. Coop smiled at them all, "Thanks for inviting me to the game, gentlemen."
The men at the table nodded at him but eyeballed me. I felt like I was on fire or under a microscope. Servario didn’t look at me again. He nodded across the table to Coop, "What's your name?"
Coop smiled brightly, "Jon. Jon Rinaldi from Canada."
Servario smiled back with the cigar between his teeth still, "What brings you to Rome, Jon?"
James gave Servario a weird look. I gagged, being so near to them both.
Coop shrugged, "My friend Steve said I just had to see it. Me and my lady are on our honeymoon. Thought we would stop in and play a bit of cards."
Servario's women were sitting on a couch off to the side. He nodded at it, "You realize your lady cannot stand behind you?"
Coop nodded, "I know. I just need my good luck kiss, boys." He turned and grabbed me. His lips pressed against mine. I wanted to fight, but I didn’t. I let him kiss me like he was made to. I would have swooned over a kiss like that, had I not already been in heart failure. He let me go, wiping my lipstick from his lips and pointed at the couch, "Have a seat, baby."
I walked over, ready to bolt from the room. What the hell was going on? I caught Servario's eyes in my peripheral. He looked like he might bite his cigar in half. Did he know me?
I sat there with the other bimbos and avoided everyone's eyes. I looked like a stripper.
Shit.
The game started but I ignored it. I just listened to the idle conversation of the bimbos and my own heartbeat.
I was getting tired, which was a bad thing. As the night wore on, I was getting less and less scared of the room full of murderers, liars, and anal-sex lovers.
I stifled a yawn and noticed Coop's massive pile of chips was almost gone. The hand ended, and I got a bit excited we might be able to leave and do our jobs from the shadows, like we were meant to. He slammed his hand down on the table. Servario smiled, "You have many tells, my friend."
Coop laughed, "I know I do. My poker club back home is always telling me that."
Servario looked at the few men who were left, "Should we allow borrowing in the game?"
The other men looked hesitant. Coop looked like he might say no, but he stopped himself. Servario nodded, "Fine, next hand you offer what you think is fair and we shall decide."
The cards were dealt. Everyone put in. Coop had just enough for the ante. His lips twisted into a grin. He gave me a smile, it was the smile I hated. It was evil and devious, and usually involved me being sacrificed in some way. I sat back and watched him.
One of the bimbos leaned over, "Your husband is gorgeous."
I nodded, "Lucky thing. He has a really tiny penis." I watched as his face turned red. He could hear what I was saying.
She made a face but I shrugged, "God is fair, ya know. Hot guy, little dick. It always works out that way."
She sighed, "That always happens. It sucks. Only the skinny ones and ugly ones have great dicks." She nodded at Servario, "His is pretty decent but he's weird. The other guy is shit though." I realized she was looking at James. I laughed, "Oh really?"
She nodded, "Oh so bad. He has no idea." She didn’t need to tell me.
I laughed harder. Servario's eyes shot up. He knew it was me, maybe. My laugh was my tell. Shit. He seemed suspicious, at the very least. So I did the thing I thought was the least like me. I smiled at him, like we had just met up at a grocery store.
James was oblivious. Looking at him, I barely recognized him either. He was a stranger to me. I wasn’t even sad sitting there so close to him. I was savagely angry and desperate to carve his eyes out, but I knew it had to be the right moment. We needed his boss. The card game was not the right moment. We just needed to get out of there alive. I didn’t even understand why we were there. I didn’t see the point. It seemed like an awful idea to out our being there to Servario and James.
One sentence shot out into the calm of low voices they spoke in, "I bet a night with my wife, Kim."
My eyes lifted instantly. My jaw dropped but Coop gave me a look of daggers.
My heart was trying to crawl through my massive water bra. I looked at the table of men. Each got a naughty look on their faces, even James. How disappointing for him if he won. God, please let him win so I can murder him.
The bimbo next to me leaned in, "At least you'll be getting a big cock for the night if the dark-haired guy wins."
I nodded blankly, staring at the possible suspects and trying not to care that she had slept with Servario. I forced myself to be more angry with Coop. He may have liked me but he was all about the job, that much was obvious. He was doing his job. Not that I understood the point in selling me out for a night. He better have a royal flush.
Shit.
The hand was played out when Coop called. Everyone lowered their hands. Servario had a full house and was in the lead. Coop lowered his cards, two pairs. Two pairs. He offered me up for two pairs.
I felt like I might cry when he got up and walked over to me as everyone else shook Servario's hand and laughed. James gave me a nod of approval and slapped his hand on Servario's back. I was about to cry and run from the building.
Coop kissed me on the cheek, "Find out what the fuck we need to do next."
I shook my head, "He's with James. Did you know they would be here?"
He nodded, "The stamp on the note for this hotel was pretty obvious."
He kissed my cheek and let Servario walk over to us, grinning like a Cheshire Cat. "This is my wife, Kim."
Servario took my hand in his, "I am Gustavo. It is lovely to meet you, Kim." He handed Coop a card, "See you tomorrow at that address."
Coop leaned in, whispering something. Servario nodded, "I am always a gentleman, sir."
I almost rolled my eyes but that would have been too obvious.
I gave Coop a hateful look, "See you tomorrow, Jon."
He nodded, "I'll miss you all night, baby." He leaned over and kissed me again, with as much fervor as last time. I let him again. James had been walking over as he did it. Turning away from a kiss would have made me instantly recognizable to him.
Coop turned and walked from the room. James and Servario were speaking to each other in hushed tones. Were they discussing me? Did James know who I was? Was Servario telling him? My heart was pounding. Servario pulled me along, "Shall we, my dear?"
As we walked across the floor, I looked up at him, "I need to use the bathroom."
He nodded. I slipped away from him. Inside of the bathroom, Coop was sitting on the counter. He grinned, "That was some turn of events."
I tossed my purse at him, "Fuck you, Coop. How did you know I would go to the bathroom?"
"You are getting good at this shit again, Evie. Calm down and think slowly about it all."
I pointed back at the door, "If he knows i
t's me, which he undoubtedly does, I am going to be put in a very compromising situation."
He rolled his eyes, "This is a job, you see that right? You aren’t being whored out, Evie. You never were. Just say no. He knows who you are. I watched him recognize you when you laughed. You're fucking lucky James didn’t. No, go back out there, find out what the hell is going on, and do your job. That doesn’t mean sleeping with him."
I leaned against the door, "I don’t know what to do. How do I get him to tell me and not have sex with him?"
He shrugged but I could see something in his eyes, "Do your job, Evie."
I could have choked him, "This is what you wanted, isn’t it? You were hoping we would end up back with him, and he would just do our job for us like last time."
He smiled wide, "It makes it so much easier when the answers just fall into our laps. Right now, we need to know why he isn’t in hiding, why is he with James, is he on our side, and why is James still alive? I'm going to start thinking he is a clone or a robot."
I sighed into my hands, "I hate you. I just fucking hate you and the way you do shit and not tell me what we're doing."
He chuckled, "I'm senior officer."
I lifted my flushed face and growled, "Yes, sir. You are senior officer."
He laughed harder, "I like it when you call me sir." His eyes changed for a second as they filled with real humor and charm. "Get over here."
I walked across the bathroom to him and leaned into his nape, the way he always did to me. I pressed my lips softly against his skin, taking in a deep inhale of his cologne. He smelled intoxicating. I whispered against his neck, "You like the wig, don’t you?"
He nodded, "And the boobs." He ran his hands up my waist, cupping them, "These are awesome." I couldn’t even feel his hands on them, there was so much water and foam.
"You can have them to play with when I'm done with them."
He laughed, squeezing them, "I like them on you."
I laughed and placed another kiss on his nape, "Tonight, I want you to dream about how those feel and then…” I shoved him, “Go fuck yourself. Tomorrow, you better be at the spot to pick me up. Not like last time."