The few lackeys hanging around the entry paused their conversation and gaped at her, flanked by Elias and Isaac.
What had they heard? How much did they know?
“Jo. You’re back,” a jovial man said.
She turned her head toward Chris, a big guy with silver streaks in his black hair and a sport coat that would never button around his middle.
“You thought I’d miss this party?” She grinned at him. Chris was one of the better ones, but at the end of the night he’d still put a bullet in her if he thought she’d stepped out of line.
Elias pressed his fingertips to the small of her back.
Isaac peeled off, going his own way as planned.
Their fate was tied together.
She made some small talk with Chris for a moment, letting others see her there without a care in the world. The show was on.
“Where’s your drink?” Chris scowled. “You gotta get a drink. Go.”
“Alright, you take care, Chris.” She went up on tip-toe to do the idiotic required air kiss on either cheek.
If she had a dick, this wouldn’t be expected, but this was the way of things. Through tonight, at least.
Elias shadowed her away from Chris.
“Who was that?” Elias asked.
“No one. Are you jealous?”
“No, I just don’t know who I’m supposed to care about and who doesn’t matter.”
She turned and splayed her hands on his chest. If she were honest, she was a little turned on by this constant show of faith from Elias. Maybe someday, next week, tomorrow, they’d be able to talk about what they really wanted.
He looked down at her and the scowl eased.
Right about now she was grateful they weren’t wearing comms. It wasn’t worth the risk of getting caught.
“You’re sexy when you’re watching my back,” she said.
Elias’ eyes narrowed. “You’re telling me that now?”
She grinned at him. “It’s nice to focus on something other than, you know.”
He nodded and reached for her, settling his hand on her hip. “Isaac is gone.”
“I expected him to run to his master.”
“You think we can trust him?”
“No. Isaac will look out for himself. He’s a bottom feeder. Right now he thinks that working with us is in his best interest, but I wouldn’t put money on him upholding that. Isaac... I did my homework. He might seem like a cowardly low life. Wrong place, wrong time. But, Isaac’s here because he wanted to attach himself to someone he thought would be powerful. Isaac’s hands are not clean and he will look out for himself.”
Elias closed his eyes. “I don’t know how you did this all on your own.”
She didn’t either, but that was in the past.
He was here with her.
The FBI were positioned a block away in all directions, ready and poised for Elias’ signal.
Then there was more back-up courtesy of Aegis Group.
She knew there was an end coming, she just couldn’t see it. Yet.
“Marjorie-Jo? Where’s my girl?”
She turned, surprised by the hard tone.
Giovanni himself stepped into the archway leading into the main entertaining space in the house. He was dressed in a pale, beige suit with a green shirt and a tie with little Christmas trees on it. He wasn’t even pretending to be his typical, jovial self.
“Boss, merry Christmas.” She pasted on her best cocky smile.
It was time to sell the story.
He blinked at her once, then twice.
“My office.”
She inclined her head and gestured at Elias. “May I introduce my associate first?”
“Later,” Giovanni said.
Jo put her hand over Elias’ and squeezed. They’d talked about this and while she didn’t like being separated, there was no way to remain together and not raise suspicion.
Elias leaned against the wall, arms over his chest.
She winked at him, then turned to follow Giovanni.
The real test started now.
She’d thought this might play out a bit longer, that he’d wait until there were fewer people around to haul her in. Things must be more dire than she realized.
Good.
She wanted Giovanni to sweat.
Jo followed him away from the party, down a hall and into the large office that screamed trying too hard with its glossy wooden paneling, leather furniture and brass light fixtures.
There were the usual faces.
Giovanni’s two bodyguards. They were cousins of some sort from his father’s side. Then there was the uncle from his mother’s side sitting on the leather sofa smoking a cigar, pretending like the bodyguards weren’t there.
The strife between the two families was obvious and amused her. Normally. Not tonight.
And there, hovering by the windows, was Isaac.
Giovanni shut the door behind them with a thud.
“Well?” he demanded.
She slid her hands into her pockets and turned to face him. They all had a part to play, and this was hers. She grinned and allowed herself to feel the thrill of uncertainty that would no doubt sell her act.
“Not even a happy holidays?” she asked.
Giovanni leaned toward her, arms crossed over his chest, gaze hard. This was the real him, the one he hid behind smiles and jokes. “What happened in Seattle?”
She glanced at Isaac and shrugged. “We got you a Christmas present.”
Jo removed the slim external hard drive from her pocket and held it up between her fingers. It could have fit on a thumb drive, but in the end they’d all agreed a slightly bigger delivery method would sell the story harder.
“You—what?” Giovanni’s jaw dropped.
“Don’t ever say I didn’t get you anything.” She tossed the hard drive at him.
Giovanni’s hand snapped out, and he grabbed the bait. “It really exists?”
Now Jo paused and let her eyes go wide. “You didn’t know? You didn’t really know?”
Giovanni opened and closed his mouth.
She was banking on his need to always be in control. He might be the product of a business relationship, but he still had to bear a profit. Most people saw his bodyguards and uncle as a support structure. She saw them as his puppet strings.
Giovanni’s back straightened and she could have cheered.
She had him.
“Hook this up. I want to see it.” He held the drive out to the bodyguards.
The one with fairer hair stepped forward, taking the drive in hand and turning it over. He spared her a glance before crossing to Giovanni’s desk.
The instant they plugged the drive in, they were sentencing themselves. Zain had engineered some code to look like a bomb, but in truth it was their Trojan horse, delivering a virus to Giovanni’s system that would capture everything and commit it to the FBI’s evidence against Giovanni, and by extension his family.
“Isaac?” Giovanni turned toward Jo’s partner in this drama.
“Yes?” Isaac perked up, seeming more like his normal self.
“What happened to Dion?”
“Oh.” Isaac shrugged. “He thought he could eliminate the competition.”
The FBI had taken Isaac’s recordings off him before releasing him into her custody for tonight. If they dared to believe him, he’d never passed on the content of the recordings. The only thing Giovanni should have to go on were their suspicions and the brief conversation Isaac had with his boss the first night.
Isaac and Giovanni stared at each other.
Something was passing between them she couldn’t understand.
Giovanni turned that scrutinizing gaze on her. “You’re aware we have a rat.”
Jo glanced at each man in the room in turn, watching her, then shrugged. “I heard things, but I also knew you’d handle it.”
“Remember that deal down at Mike’s? You were there that night, weren’t you?”
> “Of course.” She shrugged. “You asked me to be there.”
Shit.
She remembered that deal. She’d had to wear a wire and nearly got heat stroke from how hot the place had been.
“One of my old man’s people remembered something funny about that night.” Giovanni pulled out his phone.
Crap.
What was he doing?
She glanced at the computer. The drive was plugged in and the bodyguard tapping away at the keys.
“I’ve got someone who wants to ask you a few questions.” Giovanni reached for the door.
“Sure thing. What can I help with?” she said with swagger.
The office door opened and Sasha stepped in. His arm was wrapped in a bandage and there was a bruise on one side of his face.
Fucking hell...
“Sasha?” Giovanni gestured at her.
This was bad.
She didn’t know what he had on her or what he wanted, but she knew that if Giovanni himself was bringing Sasha in, this couldn’t be good for her.
“That’s her.” Sasha’s voice was heavily accented.
“Nice to meet you.” She let her gaze travel up Sasha’s body.
Three budges that were likely weapons stuck out to her. One at the ankle, another at his left hip and under his right arm. With the bandages on his right arm, he had to be at a slight disadvantage.
Would the FBI come in the instant the data transferred? Or would Elias have to signal?
If she had to rely on them, she could be dead before Sasha was finished with her.
“I remember you.” Sasha took two steps straight into her personal space.
“Buy a girl dinner first, buddy.” She held up her hands and took a step back.
He grabbed her wrist and twisted. “You followed us to the warehouse. You took pictures.”
“She—what?” Giovanni gaped.
This was bad.
Jo turned and twisted, kicking out at Sasha’s leg. He moved with her, turning the move around.
She wound up on the floor with his knee pressed against her back.
“Isaac,” Giovanni roared.
“I can explain! I swear! I’m here to save you, boss. I’m on your side,” Isaac sputtered.
“Something’s wrong,” the bodyguard said with a note of alarm in his voice.
The virus was unleashed.
Jo tried to push up with her knees, but Sasha had her with nothing more than one hand. Panic rose up, clogging Jo’s throat.
She knew this job would be the end of her. She’d known it and she’d come anyway, because some part of her brain thought girls like her got happy endings.
They didn’t.
Not now.
Not ever.
Not even for Christmas.
10.
Friday. Giovanni’s Home, Newark, New Jersey.
Elias swirled his drink. He hadn’t actually touched the liquid. The glass was a prop, something to make him look like he belonged.
The other guests were giving him a wide berth which he was grateful for. In his current mood, he wasn’t going to make small talk with these people.
Was Jo okay? What was going on?
They’d known it was likely that they’d be separated. He was still a hell of a lot closer than their back-up in case anything went wrong.
He glanced at his watch.
Twenty minutes.
If he didn’t hear from her in another ten...
No.
Five minutes and he was going looking for her.
He hadn’t seen anyone go near the hall save one guy. Elias hadn’t gotten a good look at him, so there was no reason for this unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach. It had to be in his head. He didn’t like crowded, noisy places. Never had. Add to it, the vibe in this place was not exactly of the holiday cheer variety.
Something wasn’t right.
His mind screamed at him to the point that his temples throbbed.
Elias set down his drink and ambled toward the hall.
Still no one spoke to him and only a few glanced his way.
This was feeling more and more like a trap. Like they’d walked into something instead of the other way around.
He pulled out his phone, but there was no text or missed call. Nothing.
Once again he wished he’d pushed back and demanded comms or something so they could be in constant communication. The FBI and Jo had won out, claiming that any sort of surveillance would be found.
He got it. He really did. He just didn’t like it.
Elias quickly tapped out a text, the first one to Jo.
How’s it going?
She’d know what he really meant.
Next he sent one to Zain.
Something isn’t right. J with G. Going to find her.
There.
He’d done his part on the team, now it was time to look out for Jo. That was his main job here, to watch her back and be there for her.
A few party goers gave him sidelong looks, but no one stopped him from wandering down the hall where he’d seen Jo disappear.
He had no idea which door or where she’d gone. They should have turned on location sharing for each other’s phones. That at least would have helped him figure out where he should be looking.
On a whim, he twisted open the door on his right. The lights were off, save for a lamp, and he got a glimpse of a very white ass before quickly shutting the door.
Not his business.
What if they’d taken her off-site? What if she was somewhere else and had no way of reaching out?
Fuck. This was a bad plan.
Elias opened another door, leading to a bathroom.
The next was a closet.
Ahead of him was another door where the hall made a right turn.
He approached it, head tilted, listening for any sign of Jo.
Was that a scuffle? Was something happening? Or was this another case of a mid-party booty call?
A woman’s strangled cry reached his ears, and not the pleasurable sounds of sex. There was distress mixed in there, and he had a sick sensation he knew who that was.
Fuck it.
They needed help now. Not later. Now.
He pressed the emergency signal button in his pocket. If all went right, the FBI would be there in moments. But it could still be too late.
Elias eased his gun from the holster under his jacket and twisted the doorknob with his left hand.
“You’re making a mistake!”
That was Jo.
Elias shoved the door open and brought his gun up. He side-stepped the door and grabbed the man closest to him.
Giovanni sputtered, but the man had no fight in him.
Jo lay face down on the ground while a man knelt over her, one knee on her back while he pointed a gun at her.
Two other younger men were focused on Elias, hands frozen halfway to their weapons while an elderly man by the fire simply frowned at them all.
“Let her go,” Elias demanded.
Jo turned her head. Her hair partially obscured her face, but she knew he was there. She knew she wasn’t alone.
The man restraining her was another matter. He stared at Elias with a cool disdain.
“Put the gun down, you idiot,” Giovanni snapped.
“I don’t work for you,” the gunman said.
Shit.
It was time to bargain.
“The FBI is going to be here any second. You can either get your revenge—or whatever—on her, or you can clear out of here and save your own skin.” Elias embraced the coolness spreading through him. The ice made it easier to deal with seeing Jo in trouble. “Your pick.”
“I fucking told you something was wrong,” the man behind the desk said.
The gunman threatening Jo didn’t flinch.
“Shut up,” Giovanni roared. He thrust his elbow back.
Elias swung his gun, cracking Giovanni across the back of his head. The man went down like a sack of potato
es leaving Elias exposed.
The other two men jumped to action, drawing their guns.
Elias squeezed off a single shot, aiming wildly at the man restraining Jo before throwing himself to the floor. The leather sofa took the brunt of the firing.
He rolled just in time to catch sight of one of the bodyguards rounding the end of the sofa. Elias fired, hitting the man’s leg first. He cried out and pitched forward. Elias fired again and the man’s strangled cries cut off.
Jo roared something, he couldn’t make out words, but he knew she was fighting for her life.
The sound of yelling and feet pounding the floor resounded through the house.
Elias and Jo weren’t going to have the upper hand for long.
He scrambled to his knees.
Jo was on her feet, grappling with her attacker. She rammed her knee into the man’s stomach while digging her nails into the bandages on his arm.
Elias swung his gun toward the other man as he straightened from behind the desk. Elias fired first, the first shot going wide and hitting the large window behind his target. His second found its mark. The would-be shooter staggered back and hit the already broken window. His weight caused the rest of the glass to shatter and he pitched backward out of the opening.
Elias dove at the door, slamming it shut. A moment later someone pounded on it.
“Jo!” He dug his heels in while she continued to grapple with the other man.
She delivered a hard punch to the guys face and got some distance between them.
The old man surged to his feet, wielding a fire poker. Elias didn’t have time to react or call out before the old guy smacked the back of her thighs. Jo went to her knees, howling in pain.
Fuck this.
Elias lifted the gun.
The injured man dodged just as Elias fired, resulting in maybe a graze.
Jo roared and surged to her feet, turning and decking the old guy with an uppercut.
“Go, get out of here,” Elias shouted.
She whirled, eyes wide, hair everywhere.
God, she was beautiful. Like some mythic thing he didn’t have a name for.
The gunman rose from the shadows, but Elias was faster. He squeezed the trigger.
The man pitched backward just as something heavy slammed into the door behind Elias.
“Go, run!” he yelled.
Mind of Danger (Body of Danger, #3) Page 12