When their target emerged from the curtained area, Elsa sucked in a surprised breath. She’d turned her body so that the micro camera mounted in her headband would face him. Jessica did the same. In her ear, Jessica heard Pierce say, “That’s him. That’s our guy. I wasn’t sure about his voice, but I know that arrogant face. This is the guy we want. This is the guy we need to take down. Fuck me. I can’t believe he’s showing his face, the idiot, but it’s good for us.”
Reece followed the guy all the way to the dance floor, seemingly trying to get him to go back to the curtained area. In the surveillance van before they’d even entered the club, they’d all watched the target arrive in the limo accompanied by very heavy security. They’d seen him make his way inside, hiding behind the umbrella and his men all the way. They’d heard every word he said before he left the safety and privacy of the premium center court seat. The bugs they’d used were state of the art, transmitting a different kind of signal than what most bug detectors used to find them.
Reece stepped between Elsa and the rude man. “Sir, please let me escort you back to your table.”
He made a face at Reece, shoved him aside and suggested to the women, “What about a blow job? I won’t pay you as much, but still, it would be worth your while.” He grinned like he’d offered them riches far beyond what they could possibly imagine. Pierce wanted this guy to rot in prison. Having just met him, Jessica already wanted to kick him in the balls repeatedly.
Reece made a noise like an angry grunt. “If you say one more word to these women, I will escort you out to the curb,” he said, inserting himself firmly between the three of them. “Besides, private entertainment has already been arranged for center court.”
In her ear, Pierce said a few choice words about things he’d like to do to Cecil Bickley. Abruptly, he said, “Elsa, I want this guy, but do not go up there if sexual favors are expected. And if he tries anything, kick his ass.”
Jessica was glad he felt that way. The only guy she’d be willing to have sex with looked like he was about to punch their target in the face and render him useless for their carefully laid plans.
Elsa leaned around Reece and said, “Listen up, dude. I am not having sex with you. Nor am I giving you a blow job. However, if you stop trying to buy sex and nicely invite me and my friend up to your premium space for a drink, we’ll consider it.”
“Sure. Okay,” he said at the exact same time Reece said, “No! Absolutely not.”
Reece glanced around the room as if searching for someone. Probably Arthur, Jessica surmised.
“Do not trust him,” Reece said over his shoulder in Elsa’s direction.
Elsa patted Reece on the shoulder. “I don’t trust him. Guess you’ll have to keep an eye on the both of us.” She turned to Bickley. “This is my friend’s guy. He’s our bodyguard. He comes with us or we don’t go.”
Bickley gave Reece an annoyed onceover, then smiled. “Fine. He can come inside. What’s one more muscle-bound guy taking up space?” He headed back to where he’d started, his four guards following his every step. Elsa and Jessica, Reece’s guiding hand on her back, moved toward the stairs.
Before they climbed up, Reece whispered to Jessica, “I will not let him touch you. But be careful. Don’t provoke him.”
“I know you won’t. I’ll be careful. And trust me, I’d never provoke that ass.”
One side of Reece’s mouth lifted in amusement as they ascended the stairs to the premium table. Pierce remained quiet in her ear. The bugs Elsa and Gordon had planted were still working, but were turned off as she and Elsa entered center court through the curtain.
With all of them crowded into the curtained space, the area seemed small and confining. It was sheltered by gauzy draperies, looking somewhat like a sultan’s tent only with popular music blasting through the filmy walls.
“What do you want to drink, honey?” Bickley asked Elsa. The leer was hard to miss, but at least he’d stopped propositioning them. Jessica didn’t expect it would last.
“Champagne, of course,” Elsa said with a sparkle in her tone. She sounded like a total party girl. Or at least what Jessica perceived as one. The day they’d met, Jessica got the impression Elsa was a very savvy, very competent agent. Apparently, she was also a superb actress when the need arose.
Bickley leaned in closer. “Geez, for champagne I should be getting my rocks off.”
Elsa got up so fast she bumped the small table across the floor several inches. Jessica also stood, and swore she heard Reece growl. Or perhaps it was Pierce in her ear.
“Sit! Sit! Please, I was just kidding. You people are all so serious.” Elsa inhaled deeply, put a stiff smile on her face as if she was not at all amused, and sat back down. Bickley whispered to one of his guards. Jessica heard him ask for the cheapest champagne available to be brought to the table. What a turd.
Their cheapskate host sat at one end of the horseshoe table. His entourage was lined up next to him like soldiers in formation. Elsa and Jessica were on the opposite side with Reece standing close enough she could feel his warmth against one shoulder.
“What’s your name, honey?” Cecil put an elbow on the table, planted his chin on his palm and waited for her response.
“I’m Elsa.” She nodded once at Jessica. “This is my friend, Jessica. What’s your name?”
“Bickley. Cecil Bickley.” He stated it like a British secret service agent with a license to kill. Jessica could practically hear Pierce roll his eyes from where she sat.
The waiter brought a bucket of ice with champagne already inside and three chilled flutes, and placed them next to Bickley. There was quite a production of getting the bottle popped opened, pouring bubbly, and passing the flutes around to Bickley, Elsa and Jessica.
“What shall we toast to?” Bickley asked with a big grin. Jessica was certain he was about to salute seeing their bare breasts tonight or something equally inappropriate. Elsa raised her glass first. “To new friends,” she said, turning her gaze on Bickley as she added, “and second chances.”
“Here, here,” Jessica said quickly.
Bickley nodded and amazingly refrained from saying anything foolish. He lifted his glass and took a sip. The champagne tasted pretty good in her unschooled opinion. Perhaps even the cheapest champagne was good quality stuff in Arthur’s favorite club.
Jessica glanced at Reece. His hands were clasped loosely in front of him, but his posture was rigid. No doubt he was ready for anything.
“What do you girls do when you aren’t dancing in clubs?” Bickley asked.
“I’m on vacation, visiting my friend,” Elsa said. “What do you do when you aren’t asking women for sex every chance you get?”
Bickley’s laugh sounded much like a donkey’s bray. Jessica pressed her lips together and noticed Elsa’s eyes widened appreciably at his amusement.
“I’m a businessman.”
“Vague,” Elsa said.
“Well, if I told you what I really did, I might get arrested.” That hee haw sounded again and Jessica couldn’t hide her smile. His laugh was so ridiculous.
Loud voices beyond the protected cocoon of the table stopped their conversation. Reece turned as Arthur and Dixon pushed past the curtains from a hidden opening on the opposite side of the dance floor.
“Arthur!” Bickley exclaimed. He stood to greet the Lexicon Club’s owner, nearly knocking over the champagne bucket as he did so. One of his guards managed to keep the bucket from tipping over and spraying tiny ice cubes all over the floor. Arthur, Jessica saw, didn’t look pleased.
“Sit down, Art. Let’s talk some business. I’m long overdue for your particular services.” That hee haw sound came again.
Arthur frowned. “Did you truly leave this protected space and go out onto the dance floor, Cecil?”
“What?” Was Bickley’s constant state of confusion an act or was he truly clueless? Jessica would have guessed the latter, except that he’d managed to escape Pierce for quite a while.
Arthur pointed toward the club’s wide dance floor beyond the curtains. “Did you go out on the club’s floor and out of this space that you insisted had to be completely protected to safeguard your identity?” Arthur’s gaze moved from Bickley to Elsa and Jessica. His eyes narrowed in recognition. His gaze shot to Reece before turning back to his perplexed guest.
Bickley puffed out his chest. “Well, I wanted some eye candy for my table.” He gestured at Jessica and Elsa. “I couldn’t buy any sex from them, but they agreed to have a drink.” He shrugged like his bad behavior should be tolerated.
“I didn’t go to great lengths to keep your identity hidden tonight so that you could promptly waltz out into the crowd to find women to decorate your table.”
“We just want to drink champagne,” Elsa said brightly, lifting her champagne flute. “You can have your meeting. We promise not to interrupt, don’t we, Jess?” Jessica nodded.
Bickley put a hand on Arthur’s shoulder. “Lighten up, Art. No one knows I’m here.”
“Now they do.”
He shrugged. “But nobody cares about me. I’m old news. You worry too much, Art.”
“No. I worry exactly the right amount.” He pointed to Jessica. “She’s an FBI agent. Did you know that?” Jessica felt the blood drain from her face.
Shit. Shit. Shit. How did Arthur know she was in the FBI?
Beside her Reece exhaled deeply as if shocked, and Jessica got her answer. A look at his face confirmed her suspicion.
Reece had given her up to his boss.
Chapter Thirteen
“FBI? Really?” Bickley turned to Jessica as one of Reece’s worst fears was realized. “No wonder she wouldn’t blow me or take money for sex.”
Reece could see it. Arthur was ready to kick Bickley to the curb for his incautious actions, at which point Reece’s opportunity to discover how Arthur kept track of his contacts would evaporate like a drop of water in the Sahara.
Arthur paled in fury. “You are a jackass, Cecil. I will not do business with you.” He turned away and Reece watched the best chance to cease this endlessly long undercover operation dissolve before his eyes.
“Wait!” Bickley grabbed Arthur’s shoulder. “What are you doing? We can still do business. Why can’t we?”
Reece abandoned Jessica’s side, moving rapidly to step between the two men. He faced a suddenly fearful Bickley and said, “Hands off of my boss, Mr. Bickley.”
The four men with Bickley swarmed around their boss, crowding Reece away from him. The table was knocked aside and the champagne bucket wobbled on its stand. Amazingly, the champagne flutes somehow stayed upright on the jostled table. It was a little comical to watch so many men trying to aggressively share the same small space and protect their clients.
Arthur raised his arms and shouted, “Stop! Everyone stop right now.” Perhaps he foresaw an epic battle of the bodyguards and the bouncer that might ultimately level his favorite club.
Bickley shoved past the two guarding his front. “It’s fine. Back off. Don’t crowd us.” He tried to catch Arthur’s eye. “Art, please. We can make this work, can’t we? I really need you to take care of my money for me.”
“Not tonight. And stop talking about your money, for heaven’s sake.”
Bickley put his thumb and forefinger together, brushed his lips and did a juvenile locking gesture. “Name the night. I promise not to invite any women.” Reece noticed Jessica and Elsa’s subtle reactions to this change in plans. Bad news, obviously. Was someone listening in on their conversation? Undoubtedly. Or were they simply hoping to hear firsthand the gist of tonight’s meeting? The other question that circled his brain was who the FBI was after, Cecil Bickley or Travis Arthur.
Reece has swept the whole area with his personal anti-bug instrument and found nothing in the way of surveillance. But the FBI could have turned it off until showtime. That would have been the best call. He’d personally invited the two women to the club, giving Jessica an opportunity to do exactly what she and Elsa had done—insert themselves into the private meeting. Well, they’d done it with Bickley’s help. He’d also been invited, which hadn’t hurt.
Given who Jessica worked for, it wouldn’t be a stretch to believe they were both wired at this very moment. He hoped there were no further surveillance checks.
Arthur turned his attention to the two women, specifically, Jessica. “So tell me, is it safe to talk?”
Reece hadn’t discussed with Jessica his undercover chain of command’s plan regarding her being a dirty FBI agent on the take for Arthur’s club. He looked over and tried to say sorry with his gaze, hoping she wasn’t about to toss her champagne in his face.
Jessica didn’t hesitate. She stared back into Arthur’s eyes and said, “It is completely safe, so far as I can determine. I checked again before I came here tonight for any new operational chatter.” She shook her head slightly. “There was nothing.” She shrugged very convincingly, as if bored to even be asked about law enforcement involvement in the Lexicon Club. Reece was impressed.
Arthur visibly relaxed. “What about the guy who flashed his badge trying to get in here the other night? That was a bit troublesome.”
Reece had already explained that to Arthur, but likely his hyper-suspicious boss was about to test their stories against each other. Fuck.
Jessica frowned. “Well, now. That’s personal.”
“What do you mean?”
She pushed out an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. “That agent thought he had a chance with me romantically. Trust me. He never did. He followed me here because he’s jealous of Reece. He still believes he can win me over.” She looked at Reece. “As if I’d give Reece up for anyone. The man is delusional. I am sorry if he caused any trouble for your club.”
“No. Reece took care of it.” Arthur clapped him on the shoulder twice. One big happy crime family once again.
Arthur turned to Bickley. “I still don’t want to discuss business tonight, Cecil. Tonight was always going to be about getting to know each other and discover whether we could do business, not the actual meeting.”
“Okay, so where can we meet? I got to tell you, Art, it needs to be soon. I’ve got a bunch of cash in desperate need of a shiny new home.”
Arthur cleared his throat loudly. “Be that as it may, I will not discuss any business whatsoever tonight. We’ll set another date in a few weeks—”
“A few weeks! Art, that’s way too long,” Bickley said. “I’m in dire straits here. I need your services sooner not later. You may not have been planning to do business, but I expected that we’d hammer out a deal tonight. I won’t make it days, let alone weeks.”
“Fine. Tomorrow night. We’ll meet at a location that I determine later on. You’ll get a text to your private number two hours before our meeting with an address. You may only bring three others with you. I’ll do the same.”
“Only three guards?”
Arthur shrugged. “You may bring guards, financial planners or hairdressers. I don’t care. I’ll be bringing my personal bodyguard and assistant, Dixon, and Reece and her.” He pointed to Jessica. Reece blanched, but couldn’t object.
Bickley seemed pleased. “Great. Guess we’ll have some eye candy after all. That works for me. Wear another hot dress, will you, honey?”
“You want me there, Arthur?” Jessica laughed nervously. “Why?”
“Two reasons. First, I’ll know the meeting won’t be interrupted by any law enforcement assholes because if they do come in, I’ll have to assume that you don’t truly have my best interests at heart. Reece will promptly have to prove his loyalty by taking you out of the equation. Do you understand now?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Jessica said without a single glance in Reece’s direction. “What’s the second reason?”
He smiled unexpectedly with a surprising look of admiration. “I read about the robbery you foiled. You took down two rather nasty gunmen, shooting the gun out of one man’s hand, a
s I understand it, and saved a hostage without killing anyone. I was impressed. I’d say you have exactly the skillset I require when going into a possibly dicey situation.”
She lifted her glass of champagne. “Here’s to kickass girls with guns, and also no law enforcement assholes showing up at your next meeting.” She took a deep drink, closing her eyes for a few moments.
“Reece has been singing your praises, and he’s a difficult man to impress. I’ll have him contact you with the address. Or perhaps you two could come together.”
She shrugged. “That’s fine. I’ll be ready.” She took another deep sip from her glass. Did she feel like she’d just made a deal with the devil? That’s certainly the way Reece felt.
Her eyes opened and her serious gaze found Reece. He felt unsettled. They were likely going to have an interesting discussion very soon. Her tight expression said she was unhappy. It wasn’t a stretch to assume he might be persona non grata. At least he’d see her at the meeting tomorrow. Where he’d have to do his level best to protect her and ensure at the outset she wasn’t wired for sound. He couldn’t risk her getting caught with a wire.
Reece pushed out a breath, already hating the coming get-together. At the very least, he wished he could tell Jessica that he was an undercover DEA agent, knowing that would never be an option even after this was all over. He needed to carefully consider what he’d say to her. And more importantly, what he wouldn’t.
~ ~ ~
Jessica discovered that not only did pure hell exist, she currently lived there. As Arthur outlined his proposition for her to be present at the next clandestine meeting as his insider insurance policy, she had to pretend she’d been in on it the entire time. She’d managed to pull it off, so maybe she was a better actress than she thought.
In her ear, Pierce had been all over the place with his candid remarks. Ready to kill Bickley for his sexual overtures, and then elated they’d been invited to the hidden room without any sexual favors required, and then incensed when Arthur suggested Jessica would alert him to any possible operation in his club, cursing Reece and his assumptions.
Bouncer (Bad Boys in Big Trouble Book 2) Page 14