Dangerous Bond (Jamie Bond Mysteries Book 4) (14 page)

I pursed my lips. "Johnson already lied about knowing Julio. I doubt he's going to be more forthcoming if we just knock on the door and ask."

"We need to get a good look around the place ourselves," Maya agreed.

I nodded. "But Heavy and his manager know Sam and me. They're not likely to let us in to snoop around."

"And he might have seen me with you at the mall," Caleigh chimed in.

"Which means there's only one of us he wouldn't recognize…"

I turned my gaze to Maya. Sam and Caleigh followed suit in unison.

Maya looked to Sam and then me. She sighed heavily. "Oh, this is when you ask me to go undercover again, isn't it?"

I imitated Caleigh's earlier mischievous grin.

Walking along the strip at night among the people and lights was exhilarating. Dragging Maya in and out of stores looking for an appropriate outfit was not. Partly because she was reluctant about going undercover again and partly because of the outfits Caleigh kept holding up against her body. Also, I hadn't thought about changing before we left the hotel, and the tape was definitely slipping now.

We stopped in front of a small boutique whose mannequins in the window display looked like hookers.

"Oooh, let's go in here," Caleigh said and practically ran the couple of feet to the door.

Maya groaned.

Charley and I followed. Sam and Elaine had gone to check out surveillance equipment. I thought for sure Elaine would've preferred to shop for clothes and Charley would've been interested in spy gear. I suspected Charley tagged along with us as support for her daughter and to make sure we didn't dress Maya in anything too risqué. So far, however, Charley had approved of every item Caleigh had picked out. It had been Maya refusing to wear the pieces. Now here we were at the fourth shop, and I hoped we could finally convince Maya to agree to something. The night wasn't getting any younger.

The bell above the door jingled, and the store clerk behind the register nodded to us as we entered. She wore her long, blonde hair slicked up into an alarmingly high ponytail. The tip of her winged eyeliner met the edge of her thick brows, giving her large eyes a slightly slanted look. Or maybe that was just the way her skin was pulled back so tightly from the ponytail.

"If you need help with anything, let me know," she said.

"Thank you, dear," Charley said and lifted up a red bustier to inspect.

The radio played a hip-hop beat through the small wall-mounted speakers. There was less than a handful of other customers looking for something inappropriate to wear. Two of the four women were tall, broad, and had long, shiny brown hair. One even had bulging muscles and a tat on her arm of a heart with the word
Mom
beneath it. The tatted woman faced me, and I did a double take at her five o'clock shadow. Oh, oops, my bad. They weren't women but men in drag.

By the time I turned around, Caleigh was already deep in the store. "Look." She grabbed a purple leather miniskirt and raced back to us. She held it up to Maya's body. "This is adorable. I might have to borrow it later."

Maya glanced down at it. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her expression was defiant. This wasn't working. I didn't want to force her into doing something she hated.

I stepped to her and gripped her shoulders. "If you are dead set against this, say so. I think you'd be great at it. I have total confidence, but if you hate it, you don't have to do it."

She unfolded her arms and let them drop to her sides. "Then how will we get inside the penthouse and see if Julio's in there?"

I thought about this for a moment. "We can buy a wig and some heavy disguises, and I can go up. Or, if that doesn't work, I'll ask Elaine." Although that idea sent chills through me. It wasn't that I didn't trust Elaine, but she wasn't experienced enough to know what not to say. And Derek would kill me if he found out.

Maya shook her head. "No, this is for Sam and the agency. I'll do it."

"That's my girl," Charley said and kissed Maya's cheek.

I dropped my hands and smiled. "Thank you."

"So…" Caleigh held up the purple leather mini. "Yay or nay?"

Maya grinned. "I like it. It's cute. Do I get to keep the outfit when we're done?"

I chuckled. "It's all yours."

Maya's eyes lit up. "All right then. Let's get shopping."

Things sped up at this point. We ransacked the store, having Maya try on at least eight different tops and shoes with the skirt before settling on a skintight, purple-and-black, cropped halter top and black thigh-high boots.

While she tried outfits on, I took the moment to try calling Danny again. Again it went straight to voice mail. I didn't have the heart to leave a message. Mostly because I wasn't sure what to say. Everything he was suspecting was true. Okay, maybe not
everything
,
but my lips still tingled with Aiden's kiss, and instead of feeling as sweet as it had in the moment, it just made my insides twist with guilt.

At the register, I handed my credit card to the clerk and overheard Charley whisper, "I still think the black bustier was a more hoochie choice."

"Mom, I'm your daughter. You should be mortified, not encouraging it," Maya said.

Caleigh giggled.

Charley playfully smacked Maya's butt. "Getting the bad guy trumps showing some skin."

When we got back to our hotel room, Sam and Elaine were already there. I changed into my denim shorts and a light-pink tank top. Super casual and super comfy. It was a far cry from the outfits I wore to work, but this was Vegas. And other than the girls and possibly hotel staff, no one was going to see me. Plus the tape was totally unstuck at that point.

Maya stepped out from her room, and Sam and Elaine whistled in approval. Maya spun around. "I do kinda like it."

I smiled, glad she was no longer kicking and dragging her heels.

"Is anyone else famished?" Charley asked. "I'm calling room service, and it's my treat."

The five of us nodded and mumbled our desire to stuff our faces. Maya opted out. She wouldn't have time to wait, and I assumed her stomach wasn't calm enough for food anyway.

While Charley ordered, Sam pinned a tiny microphone to the inside of Maya's halter.

"It's so amazing how those things work, and they're so small," Elaine said.

Sam glanced over her shoulder and widened her eyes at me. She was trying to tell me something, but I could only frown. I didn't read bulging eye language. She lifted a black choker from the coffee table and turned back to Maya. Then she stood behind Maya, fastening it to her neck, and I noticed a white, iridescent stone on the center.

"Look," Elaine shouted and pointed to my laptop.

Suddenly I was on the computer screen. I lifted my arm, and the me on the monitor did the same. Very cool. The opal-looking stone was a camera.

Charley hung up the phone and joined Elaine on the sofa beside me. "They said thirty minutes. I hope they hurry."

I smirked at the conversation. "Okay, so you know what to do, right, Maya?"

She nodded and swallowed hard. Her nervousness was clearly returning. "Yes, I need to get inside, look around, and see if I find any sign of Julio." To Sam, she said, "I got this."

Sam squeezed her hand and looked very grateful. Then she pulled out her phone, swiping the screen. "I'm sending you a recent photo of Julio. You can use that photo to show around, in case someone up there has seen him."

Maya nodded, waiting until the text came through on her own phone before slipping it into her little black purse.

"Just play it cool," I said.

"But how do I get in again?" Maya asked, her confidence bubble popping. "The elevator isn't going to just take anyone up to the penthouse. Won't I need special access?"

Caleigh and I had already thought about this. I nodded to my associate, and she stepped forward. "Yes, that's why you'll have to hitch a ride."

Maya raised her brows, and I felt the panic simmering inside her just from her expression. "Excuse me?"

Caleigh wiggled her phone in her hand. "According to social media, the party is still going. It was a birthday bash for someone. Heavy was just performing, and he's invited some people up to his suite. Do you remember the guy in the Speedo?"

Maya snapped her fingers. "With the John Lennon glasses?"

I grinned, so proud at how observant they'd been.

"Yes. He and several others are heading up. Now. Just find one of them and tag along. They should be pretty drunk and hopefully won't notice so much. Here, I took pictures. These are the others who I found out were going up. But some may have left already, so you'll need to hurry."

I gave Caleigh and Maya half a minute to run through the photos on her phone, and then I got to my feet. "Okay, let's do this."

Maya gave a weak smile to her mother.

"You're gonna be fine, baby," Charley said.

Elaine cheered. "This is so exciting."

Maya and I stepped into the hall and over to the elevator. Then I gripped her by the shoulders again and gave her the best "go get 'em speech" I could muster up, filled with encouragement and words like
confident
,
trust
, and
exceptional
. It was basically the speech from the boutique, just ramped up.

When I could no longer think of encouraging words, I finished with, "I really appreciate this."

She took in a deep, boob-lifting breath and exhaled slowly. "I know. What if I can't get in though?"

Obviously my little speech hadn't been as successful as I anticipated. I cupped her face with my hands and stared into her eyes. "You are one of the most capable women I know. You're smart, beautiful, and brave. You can do anything you set your mind to. Don't forget that."

She smiled as the elevator dinged.

I let go, and she stepped on. And as the doors closed around her, I felt like a proud mama.

When I walked back into the hotel room, her real proud mama stepped forward and wrapped me in her arms. "Thank you," Charley whispered in my ear.

I'd momentarily forgotten they were able to see and hear us. "I meant it."

Charley moved over to the sofa, and I waved Sam over.

"What were you trying to tell me before with your eyes?" I asked.

She chuckled. "When we were in the store, Elaine was very interested in the small spy cameras. Under her breath, she said they would be great for catching cheating boyfriends." Sam pursed her lips. "I thought you'd want to know."

I inhaled deeply. Derek and Elaine were going to be the death of me if they didn't stop suspecting one another of being unfaithful. As far as I could tell, they loved each other and needed to stop acting like they were in high school. Then again, if she planted a camera, maybe we could put all of this to rest finally. "Did she buy anything?"

"No."

"Okay—thanks." There was nothing I could do about any of that right now, even if I wanted. And I didn't want to, but I had half a thought to sit them both down when we got back to L.A. and give them a stern talking-to.

Sam walked to the sofas and sat beside Caleigh. Charley and Elaine sat together on the other one. They all intently stared at the laptop, while I stood behind the sofa and paced. I couldn't sit still when one of my girls was undercover. It didn't matter that Maya had limited experience. I would've felt the same way if it had been Sam or Caleigh in an elevator headed to the penthouse. Okay, so maybe I paced a drop faster because it was our sweet, innocent, scared-of-earthquakes Maya.

Where was a burger when you needed it? Didn't Charley order room service?

Maya stepped off the elevator at the pool party. The guards either recognized her from earlier or really approved of her new outfit and let her through without a hassle. The party was still going strong. If people had left, it hadn't been many. Maya immediately zeroed in on Speedo guy. This was going to be interesting.

The volume of the music and the chatter of partygoers distorted the mic some, but we could see Maya coming on to the guy. Like Caleigh had suspected, Speedo was too drunk to suddenly wonder why this beautiful woman was giving him any attention. After ten minutes of whispering and giggling, she managed to get him over to the elevators. He pulled a key card out of his trunks, and there was a chorus of "ewws" in my hotel suite. I couldn't see Maya's expression, but I was certain she was grimacing as they rode up to the penthouse.

"You must be super important if you have your own key," Maya said.

Speedo wiggled his brows up and down. "Heavy and I go way back."

"What if she gets hurt?" Charley asked.

"We won't let that happen," Sam said and placed her Taser on the table.

Charley and Elaine inhaled sharply, but Charley leaned closer to look at the weapon. There was a gleam in her eyes that had me making a mental note to not leave Charley alone with it.

"I need to get one of those," she said.

My point exactly.

Speedo inched closer to Maya, and the camera jumped.

"What was that?" Elaine asked.

"He probably pinched her butt," Caleigh said then shot an apologetic look toward Charley. Maya's mom had to have known this could get sticky, but knowing that and seeing it, or in this case assuming it, were two different things.

The elevator dinged and then opened to a small hallway. There were two sets of double doors across from one another.

I stopped pacing and sat on the edge of the sofa, beside Caleigh.

Speedo stepped forward, and suddenly the camera was teetering. Charley softly gasped. Elaine squeezed her hand. The camera shifted to Speedo on one knee on the elevator floor.