SLEEPER (Crossfire Series) (8 page)

She didn’t have anything that she wanted to share with him. Certainly not about a sleeper cell on the loose. She stopped the maniacal laugh that rose at
that
idea.

“I’ve heard,” Johnny continued, coming even closer, “about a secret weapon that everyone’s after. Have you heard of it?”

Not
that
piece of info either. She wasn’t going to use that as a way to get the passports. Was she? “Of course,” Lily said. Ambrosia wouldn’t be able to deny knowing about this weapon if it was such hot news. Lily shrugged. “There’s nothing gainful about it till someone finds it. It’s lost or gone.”

Johnny looked a tad disappointed. “I thought you might know more,” he said.

“I will sooner or later,” Lily said, “and I can forward that information to you when I do. But I really need what I came for right now.”

She opened the box. Picking up the stack of passports, she counted them. And recounted. She turned to face Johnny again. “This isn’t the number I ordered. There are a few missing.”

“Yes,” Johnny smiled. “That guy dancing out there offered me a great deal for four of them just before you arrived. That’s all I have for you.”

No way. She couldn’t leave without all the passports. “Then I’m not giving you all my money,” she said.

Johnny shrugged. His eyes turned crafty. “Of course, if you would let me see whether you’re really blond all over, I’ll personally get R.C. to give you those passports. I can’t kill him, you understand. Bad for business. But you can negotiate with him.”

Lily looked at R.C., and then she smiled. Messed-up head or not, she really felt good about fulfilling this urge to beat the crap out of Johnny Chic.

* * *

Reed swiveled his partner one last time. She turned, kicked one leg out, swiveled back into his body, and slid down the length of it as he deftly caught her weight in one arm while he leaned over her. The music ended. The crowd clapped enthusiastically, some yelling lewd suggestions.

Reed looked down at Tess for a second. Her eyes half closed, she didn’t push away, as if she were still in the middle of the dance. He straightened, bringing her up slowly. The music had already restarted.

“Supremo, darling,” T said, scarcely out of breath. She fluttered her eyelashes teasingly. “A girl would fall like a sack of potatoes for a man who can move like you.”

They were just moving slowly to the music now. “She’s heading this way,” Reed said.

T’s gaze didn’t move from his face. “On the other hand,” she said, “a girl would be easily devastated to know you’re looking at another woman while moving like that. It’s very interesting, though, how you seem to know that she’s near when there’s a crowd all around her.”

He couldn’t explain it either. He had been watching for Johnny’s door to open even while they were dancing and was disappointed that it took the whole dance before Llallana reappeared. He hadn’t wanted her to…he quickly compartmentalized his thoughts. T was watching him way too closely.

“What next when she’s here?”

“Tell her no, whatever she offers, unless it’s the right offer, of course.” T’s expression shifted, turning serious. “If she does, you know what to do.”

Then a flirtatious smile appeared and her face resumed its bold, come-hither look as she led him off the dance floor. The woman either guessed right or her timing was excellent, because she bumped right against Llallana Noretski. Reed suspected the latter.

“Oh!”

T somehow managed to pull him forward, using the momentum of their two bodies to knock Llallana off balance. The collision caused Llallana to stumble backward hard, and Reed reached out and curled an arm around her waist, pulling her against him. T, however, was still holding his other hand, and she followed his thrust forward. She swung into Llallana again, pushing into her target’s back and sandwiching her between them.

It was like part of a dance, Reed thought, as he absorbed the combined force, closing his arms around the women for balance. Again, somehow, T was already stepping away and he found only Llallana in his hug. He looked down at her. Her upturned face, cushioned against his chest, registered a startled realization at where she was and then an awareness of their closeness.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” T yelled out in Croatian. “And find a man of your own!”

He could have released her but he didn’t. “Are you all right?” he asked, his Croatian halting and a bit off-key, just the way he’d been practicing. “Sorry, I didn’t see you.”

The dark eyes glared up at him. “Too busy with other things,” she said, in English. “I’ve to talk to you, R.C.”

He liked the way she deliberately used his name. Of course that would get a gunrunner’s attention immediately. The music had gotten louder again and he could barely hear her, so he let her feel his surprise by tightening his hold on her. He noted that she didn’t try to move out of his arms. “Not too busy for you,” he said in English, and in one smooth turn, he had her back on the dance floor. “Care to dance?”

“Hey!” T cut in. “What about me?”

“Does she work here?” Llallana asked Reed, ignoring T as she put a hand on his chest to put some space between their bodies.

“Sort of.” He slid his hand down to the hollow in her back, gently adding pressure. Her bare skin felt hot and smooth. “She’s been given to me to dance with tonight.”

Llallana turned to T. “Johnny Chic wants you in his office. Right now.”

“For what?” T stood there, hands on her hips.

“I’ve bound him really, really tightly and he needs someone to undo all the knots,” Llallana explained in a sarcastic drawl. “He’s also not wearing any pants and I wouldn’t want any of his guys to walk in and embarrass him. You’ll make points with him if you go and help him now.”

Reed glanced over at T. He could have sworn there was a tiny smile in those eyes. “You go, babe. I’ll make sure you get your tip tonight.” He turned back to Llallana. “Of course, if she goes, you’ll have to take her place.”

When he’d seen her from afar that first time, he’d sensed something different about her. She’d impressed him with her alertness and, especially, the bold way she’d warned off danger.

“I don’t take the place of anyone,” she said, leaning closer.

Although he hadn’t recognized her in the photos in the GEM file, he’d gotten an impression of a woman who knew what she wanted. Now meeting Llallana Noretski up close, her vibrancy hit him like a wave. The careless way she tossed her head back as if nothing in the world bothered her. The challenging attitude, the boldness in her eyes, the small smile that was both mocking and amused.

He was intrigued by the package she presented. Maybe he was intrigued because he knew more about her than she thought, or maybe she presented it because she needed his cooperation. Either way, he wanted to know whether it was just a façade. What was the real woman like inside?

“I want to talk to you, not shout out every sentence. Can we go to a table?” Lily asked as she motioned toward the tables.

Reed shook his head no. He had to wait for T’s go-ahead signal that everything was A-OK before he could start talking. It was easy to find distractions in a place like this, so everyone had agreed to let him play it by ear.

He liked the way she felt in his arms. The music was a little slower than the song before, with a heady, melodic beat that was sensually inviting. She didn’t know the steps to the tango, but the way she subtly swayed against him was sexy, like a woman who had secrets to tell. He deliberately pulled her closer, then, inserting one leg between hers, he dipped her. He suspected in real life the woman didn’t like being kept off-balance, literally or figuratively, yet she allowed him to hold her that way for a few beats, her dark eyes flashing challengingly as she looked up at him. As he slowly straightened back up, he slid his hand from her neck down to her upper back, taking away her support and thus not allowing her to get out of position.

It was a move most professional dancers used to show the mastery of one partner over the other, as the male controlled the female’s upper body. In a choreographed dance, the woman could use her arms and legs to express her emotions. She could curl one limb around her man’s leg to show a rebellious streak. She could hold onto the partner’s shoulders or lapels to signify a need for him. Or she could totally relax her entire body, flinging her arms out trustingly, and allow her master to do what he would.

Because it was a dancer’s move, he expected Llallana to grab him out of instinct, like most people who didn’t expect the falling sensation would. Instead, she did all three—she took the leg that he’d trapped between his and curled it around one of them, her knee sliding up dangerously close to his balls, while at the same time she grabbed the opening of his light jacket with one hand and pulled hard enough that he had to bend lower or cause the both of them to fall down. Through it all she relaxed her entire body so that her back arched up to meet him, demonstrating amazing upper body strength on her part.

Totally intriguing.

He found himself staring down at the smooth silky expanse of skin that sloped into gentle mounds. He could see her nipples through the dark, tight material. They were hard and erect, barely covered, and he had the sudden urge to bite on the top and pull it down to reveal them for his eyes.

“Drop me and my knee won’t miss your family jewels,” Llallana said sweetly.

Suddenly Amber’s laughter pierced through his focus on her. “That’s Lily all right,” she said, her voice coming so clear through the hidden listening device that he was sure her friend could hear her. “Oh, by the way, R.C., don’t forget she’s skilled in martial arts. She
will
kick you if you drop her.”Damn. He’d forgotten there was a mic on him. Reluctantly, he slowly straightened up, keeping her leg imprisoned, his hand gliding back up to the back of her neck. Her face was flushed and her eyes sparkled. Another time, another place, he would have finished this dance and they would be naked. The image of Llallana Noretski naked came too easily.

Reed gave himself a mental shake. He shouldn’t have danced. It brought out too much of himself.

“Now we’ll look for a table,” he said.

They weaved around other writhing couples. She pointed to a booth in one corner and he nodded in agreement. T’s voice came through the mic as he headed in that direction.

“Reed darling, she’s tied up Johnny Chic like a hog, with his pants in a knot at his feet. The man isn’t happy with her treatment of him.” T laughed huskily. “He swears, though, that he told her exactly what we wanted him to say, so you can do everything as planned.”

Reed moved back to allow Llallana into the booth. Instead of sitting across from her, he joined her on the same seat. She turned to face him, her eyes glaring a warning now.

He smiled at her for the first time. He was really enjoying the way her eyes were so expressive. Despite the cold, hard facts he had read about her, there was so much contradiction about this woman. He certainly couldn’t see any sign of the calculating woman who had led her friends into a trap. And she hadn’t given in to Johnny Chic’s sexual demands, which, for some reason, made him feel lighthearted all of a sudden.

He could sense the anger coming from her, as if she was impatient about all this but needed to bide her time to get what she wanted. That was okay. He understood waiting. He did it a lot in his real job.

The booth blocked out a lot of the noise from the music. After all, this club was also a place to discuss business. “Something tells me you’re going to dash out on me right after I give you what you want,” he said as he slid in a little closer. “This is just insurance, Miss…?”

When she remained silent, he lifted a brow inquiringly. “Usually I do business with people who have names. Besides, you obviously know mine.” He put out a hand. “Hi, I’m R.C., but you can call me Reed. What can I do for you tonight?”

CHAPTER 5

Maybe it was because she had just been in his arms, or because it’d been a few months since she’d allowed herself to be this close to another man, but Lily was keenly aware of Reed sitting so near. She suddenly realized how much she’d avoided this kind of proximity with a man—it hadn’t been difficult, as she’d been on the run with a bunch of teenagers and young women. But she knew it’d been mostly out of fear of her own memories.

She’d been running from herself and it’d been easy, because as long as there was cash to see to all her charges’ needs, she hadn’t needed any contact with anyone from her old life—the friends she’d abandoned or her shady business “acquaintances.” In the back of her mind, she’d known she would have to deal with her own fears sooner or later, but she had been willing to make it as late as possible.

But now, because of this passport situation, she’d had to go back to her old life, which included dealing with the kind of people who reminded her of what she was. And what she was, no matter how she avoided the truth, was very simple. She was Llallana Noretski, a woman of dubious background with shady motivations. Just like everyone around here. She drank down the glass of wine she’d picked up on the way to the table.

“You can call me…Ambrosia.”

She almost gave him her real name. That would have been stupid, since she was sure she was on several wanted lists.

However, the rush of just being the old Lily while dealing with Johnny Chic had brought back a bit of her old swagger. She knew how to deal with people like that. At that moment, when she had been smacking that lecher around, she had suddenly felt exhilaratingly free. Almost normal, in fact. She’d walked with confidence toward R.C., the man Johnny had pointed out, with her focus on getting those passports from him. What could be so tough? She was used to dealing with gunrunners too, right? It felt good to just go with the flow again and not be suspicious of everyone’s, as well as her own, actions.