No Feign No Gain

by Carrie Ann Knox

“Sorry for the intrusion,” Benton called forward. “But I follow orders. You know how your boss is.”

  I glanced back again, my brow furrowed. “Boss?” Is he referring to Sloan, or Lucas? Neither sat quite right with me. I was my own person. Especially now.

  “Yes, your boss.” He gave me a direct look. “The director?”

  “Right,” I said, slightly embarrassed at the lapse. We had to keep up our covers. And the specifics were my idea in the first place. “I know, I know.”

  “Well, I happen to be walking too,” Levi said. “Just with some stuff to do on the way, obviously. Feel like tailing someone else for a minute?”

  Having a normal conversation with someone who wasn’t part of the lying, scheming world of criminals and espionage? Sounded amazing.

  I gestured at the sidewalk. “After you.”

  We turned and continued down the path, saying nothing for a few moments. He stopped to drop some mail in a box and gave me another little smile before continuing.

  “So, how’s the movie going?” he finally said.

  “The movie?” I had to think. We’re making a horror film. “Yeah. It’s . . . disturbing. Lots of mind games and missing body parts. I think it might just work.”

  “Disturbing, huh? I’m intrigued.” He glanced over, eyebrow quirked. “Any chance I could take a peek while you’re filming? I’ve always wanted to see how something like that works.”

  More complications. But this was one request I actually hated to turn down. I wouldn’t have minded an excuse to hang out some more. “Sorry, director keeps a tight set. No visitors allowed. Can’t even tell people where or when we’re filming.”

  “So is your boss paranoid or something?” he asked, glancing back at Benton. “Why all the security?”

  I shrugged, making it up on the fly. “Just the money, I guess. When you’re loaded, you never know who’s out to get you. At least as she tells it. It took forever before she trusted me.” I glanced back at our chaperone again. “You kinda get used to all the precautions, for the most part. But some days it’s just a little annoying.”

  “I can imagine.” He stopped at the next mailbox but didn’t reach to open it. Instead he turned to look at me, his gaze turning funny for a moment as he stared.

  I flinched as he suddenly reached his hand toward my face. When I realized he was headed for my fake nose ring, I quickly grabbed his hand and yanked it away. My other hand shot up to twiddle the silver loop and I realized it was hanging crookedly, about to fall off. I must’ve been a little too rushed in getting my disguise together this morning.

  “Sorry,” he said. “Looked like it was coming out.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” I tried to straighten it without giving away the obvious fakeness. “Thanks.”

  It took me a moment to realize I was still holding onto him, his fingers cupped in my hand. And Levi wasn’t making a move to get it back. He was just gazing at me pleasantly. I blushed and quickly released my grip.

  “Listen, I was wondering,” he said, hesitating. “I know you’re probably busy with work and all . . . “

  “Actually, I have all the time in the world,” I interrupted. “Nothing but time now.” I gave him a little smile and took a chance. “What did you have in mind?”

  His eyes widened slightly. Then a shy grin appeared. “Well, I mean,” he began, eyes casting about for what to say, “we could . . . you want to . . . I don’t know, should we hang out tonight, or something?”

  He really wasn’t my type, but I had to admit he had a sort of understated cuteness about him. And I did find his awkwardness a little charming. I gave him a reassuring smile. “That could be fun.”

  A throat cleared loudly behind me. I glanced back to find Benton gazing at me expectantly.

  “But I guess we’ll have to have company,” I grumbled.

  Levi eyed the guard watching over us from the short distance. “Yeah, sure.” He glanced at the sidewalk ahead. “Well, I guess I better get back to it. I’ll be behind schedule. But maybe I’ll come by around . . . seven?”

  “Sounds great.”

  He took a step back, then another, still facing me. “Okay, then.” One final backwards step caused him to half-stumble on a decorative rock edging a driveway. He laughed to hide his reddening face as he recovered his balance.

  He met my eyes again. “Anyway, then maybe you can tell me all about your mystery, too,” he said.

  I gave him a quizzical look. “The movie? It’s horror, remember?”

  “No, no. Your mystery.” He returned the funny look. “The investigation? Or do you just call it a case? I don’t know the lingo.”

  I stiffened. My mind whirled as I tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for his words. It came up empty.

  “You know, your secret crime-solving thing?” he continued, reading my confused expression. “Catching bad guys and playing dirty tricks? I’d love to hear all about it.”

  The alarm bells in my head were now at high alert. I had flashes of Sloan’s face when she realized her date Christopher was on the wrong side and she had been used. Something was seriously not right.

  I whipped my head toward Benton. He was watching us closely, his face hard. He had heard everything and was moving closer, slowly and carefully. I gulped for breath, suddenly having trouble breathing.

  The next several minutes were a blur of movement and sound. Benton yelling for support. The roar of men rushing up from the house, from down the street. Then more in cars, circling within minutes. I barely registered Levi’s pale, shocked face as they surrounded him and forced him to the ground. Stern voices, shouting. Questioning. Accusing.

  I was led back to the front porch to wait. I sat on the stairs and kept watch down the street, my pulse eventually returning to normal as my reaction evolved from confusion to anger. Finally seeing clearly. He was just another one of them.

  I stared down Levi, eyeing every move of the little faker. His bumbling innocent act was fooling me no longer. He had failed.

  And it concerned me no longer, because I was done.

  ***

  Guess I can cross that possible love interest off my list. My very short, now non-existent list. I finally gave up on the spectacle outside, the ramifications of it depressing me more by the minute. I locked the front door behind me and cast about for my best friend, desperate to share the disturbing news. I had almost gotten played, just as she had been.

  “Sloan,” I called out excitedly, “you won’t believe what just happened.”

  I rushed into the kitchen, expecting to find her near the coffee, but the room was empty. And there was no response from the rest of the first floor. I turned back and called up the stairs, louder this time. “Have you seen what’s going on out there?”

  Nothing, not even a stirring. She’s still mad at me.

  I started up the stairs, thinking of how to smooth things over. Certainly the incident outside would get her talking to me. But her door stood wide open, the room empty. Had she even come home after my declaration last night?

  “Sloan?” Still no response from anywhere. The house was quiet.

  Too quiet, I realized.

  Just as I began to be concerned, I heard the sound of the shower turning on in her bathroom. Of course. I hadn’t checked there. A moment later, pop music emanated from behind the door.

  I sighed and shook my head at my own paranoia. Just antsy from all the excitement. I needed to try to calm down, as Sloan probably was. I headed toward the kitchen for a nice cup of tea.

  But just as I reached the stairs, two large men in dark suits appeared on the landing below. They were not wearing the typical all-black of the security guys. And their faces were not friendly.

  They’re here.

  Panicked, I turned back and sprinted toward my best hope. I made it into Sloan’s room and had the door l
ocked before the men caught up. The solid wooden door wouldn’t hold them off forever. Hopefully she had her phone nearby.

  I banged on the bathroom door, frantic. “Sloan. Open up!”

  After a moment the door swung open, but it was not my friend this time. Or a glistening god. Instead another man in a black suit faced me, his cheeks distorted with dips and rivets. He flashed me a grin that made my blood run cold.

  The man raised a small black gun and used it to gesture behind me. “Be a doll and let my friends in. Don’t want them to get the wrong idea, you and me in here alone and all. I’m a married man.”

  Behind him the bathroom was empty. I had to take a deep breath before I could speak. “Where’s Sloan?”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of her. We packed her a nice bag and everything.” He took a step toward me. “Now, you gonna open the door or what?”

  TWENTY-NINE

  Considering the gun and the lack of other exits, I did as I was told. The men entered silently and ushered me into the bathroom, their faces grim. They stepped in behind me and closed the door.

  The older man in front seemed to be in charge. He smiled again, this time almost amiably, as though we were here to have a pleasant chat. “I appreciate you getting your men out of here. They’ve been hangin’ around for days. Never giving us a chance to be alone, you and me.”

  I took a deep breath. If they wanted to hurt me, they would’ve already. They wanted something else. “Who are you?”

  “That’s really not so important right now.”

  “Okay,” I said, trying to settle my shaking voice. “Then why are we in the bathroom?”

  “You and your friend are known for being a little tricky, are you not? A little clever. For all I know, you girls have bugged up this entire place like a Moscow hotel room. Just like before.” He looked around the room dramatically, motioning to the space. “But I figure nobody puts cameras and such in their own crapper. So it can be our own private little oasis. While we have a quick chat.”

  Steam was beginning to fill the room. The upbeat pop music still playing in the background gave the entire scene a disorienting, dream-like feeling. “A chat about what, exactly?”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll get to that. But let’s just make sure you don’t have any other tricks up your sleeves first, huh?”

  He motioned to the men, who moved forward to surround me. One patted me down while the other waved a small device across me. I didn’t dare argue.

  A familiar beep rang out when he got to my ears. Their detector could pick up the wireless signal from my hearing aids. The bulky man pulled my hair back and yanked the devices off my ears.

  He held them toward me accusingly. “And what is this we have here?”

  I didn’t know if it was solely the accent or not, but goon number one didn’t sound too bright. It gave me an idea.

  I raised my voice and leaned toward him. “What?”

  “These things, what is this?”

  I shook my head as if frustrated and yelled louder. “I can’t understand you. I need my hearing aids.” I pointed to the items in his hand.

  The man looked to the other goon, then his boss. He seemed stumped for his next move.

  The man in charge waved in annoyance. “Give ‘em back. Sal has some too, they’re always setting off the equipment. Damned impossible to get anything done if he don’t have ‘em, though. Man’s a freakin’ ‘huh’ machine.”

  The goon hesitated. “I never seen ‘em.”

  “That’s because they’re real small. Don’t want nobody to know he’s gettin’ old.” He began to look impatient. “Anyway, just do’s as I say.”

  I held back a sigh of relief at my small victory as I slipped my devices back on my ears. If I had been able to have this conversation, hopefully so would Sloan. Wherever she was.

  “Now we can get down to business,” the lead man continued. “Those tricks you do—tell you the truth, I kinda like that. Takes spunk. I like spunk.” He smiled as if in actual admiration, and then he narrowed his eyes, leaning in. “So I’m here to give you an opportunity. Let you use some of that spunk in a way that’s mutually beneficial. We can help each other, you and me.”

  I glanced back at the men guarding the door. “Help each other how?”

  “We’re all in a bit of a jam here, you see. All our fellas are sittin’ behind bars right now. And we’re the only ones left out here, tryin’ to sort everything out, keep it together. Puts us in a bit of a tough situation. And the way I see it, you girls are the reason for that.”

  I took a tiny step back as he moved toward me. He made a show of shrugging before continuing.

  “Me, I think you didn’t even mean to do it. That wasn’t what you was after. So I think you should be given the chance to make it up to us, no? Undo all the damage you caused. You do that, and I say—all is forgiven.” He shot a friendly smile that creeped me out. “Now what do you say to that?”

  I took a deep breath, dreading whatever was coming next. “And how would we do that?”

  “There’s no we anymore, darlin’. It’s just gonna be you out there. And meanwhile your girlfriend’ll be spending some quality time with us. That’s how we’ll know you’ll get it done.”

  “Ok. What do you want me to do?”

  “Like I said, get yourself a do-over. I need my men. So your job is to make sure they walk out of there, free as birds.” He pursed his lips as if pondering. “Maybe not every one. That’d be tough, I’ll give you that. But I don’t have most of my guys back to work in a few days, we’re going to have a problem.”

  “A few days? I get them out of jail?” I had no control over the sudden stammer in my voice. “How could I do that?”

  He reached out to gently touch my face, letting his hand linger on my cheek a moment. The skin on his fingers was dry and rough. I forced myself not to flinch.

  “We’re not here to give you orders, now, sweetheart. I’m not your boss. You can handle this however you see fit.” He moved his face in a little closer. “But if you want your little roommate to come home, you need to find a way to unravel this mess.”

  He dropped his arm and stepped back again. “So if I were in your shoes—which I’m not—I would think about maybe tampering with some evidence. Changing your story, so it don’t add up the way they need it to no more. Couldn’t be too hard to take it all back, I would think. And then my man Salvatore can walk free.”

  I shook my head, thoroughly confused. “So you need me to get the charges against your boss dropped? But we weren’t responsible for his arrest.”

  His chuckle was loud and unnerving. “Trust me sweetie, he ain’t the boss. He knows who the big cheese is.”

  The man let out another gruff laugh as he glanced back at the men behind him. They lowered their heads, deferential.

  “That gift I sent you should’ve made that perfectly clear,” he continued. “You remember, the little box on your desk? I like to think it was his favorite.”

  The finger. This man had been responsible for that gruesome find. I took another step back.

  The man watched my face with satisfaction. “You never did say thank you. A card is customary, you know. Anyway, you don’t need to worry about who’s who. You just need to have another chat with the police, tell ‘em you were mistaken. Girl like you goes in there and changes her tune—and before you know it, the whole thing’s kaput. Suddenly they have no case.” He twirled his finger in the air. “Just do your part, spin ‘em up a few good lies, and we’ll make sure Sal gets out. And so does your pretty friend. No harm done.”

  The man glanced back to his goons, giving a little nod. I shrank back as the dim one headed for me. But he stopped and held out his hand, holding a small flip phone. I checked their faces for confirmation before retrieving it.

  “Like I said, I like you two,” the man in charge co
ntinued. “And everyone else is put away for now, which you’re gonna help me fix. So you get the rare opportunity to deal with me directly, kid. You just go change your story with the cops, and make it a good one.” He pointed to the phone in my hand. “And keep that by your side. I’ll be in touch, soon as we’re square.”

  My stomach twisted as I tried to imagine getting away with lying. The police would see right through me. I was just getting used to little white lies in investigating. But the authorities? No way.

  I can just tell the truth.

  The man watched me closely for a moment, then stepped closer and leaned into my face. I had to keep myself from cringing at his stale cigar breath. “And don’t go gettin’ any ideas. We’ll still be watching. Got eyes and ears everywhere, you know. Even on your fancy security guys. You go and try to talk to the wrong people, and your friend’ll regret it, trust me.” He smiled a little, amused. “The only cops you need to converse with are the ones you confess all your shameful lies to.”

  He stepped back and raised his eyebrows at me. “Capiche?”

  All I could do was nod in return. He gave me a disturbing satisfied smile, again chuckling, and jerked his head at the men. I felt a rush of cold air as they opened the door behind me, letting the steam escape from the room.

  He pushed passed me and down the hall, his goons lumbering out at his heels. The bang of the back door slamming closed echoed through the otherwise still house. And I finally began breathing again.

  THIRTY

  I hadn’t wasted any time once the men left. Until now. And it was driving me insane.

  Sick of pacing Sloan’s empty PI office for the millionth time, I flopped into one of the leather chairs and let my leg bounce nervously instead. I could think of nothing to do but wait. And let my mind race with terrifying confusion.

  Following Sloan’s previous example, from back in our original-case days, I had attempted to send a message to the one other person who could help me sort out what to do next. A bat-signal, of sorts.