Guilty Pleasures (9 page)

Eva heaved a sigh. This was all new to her: this feeling of helplessness, being the pawn that was moved around the chessboard. She was accustomed to being the game master, not the other way around. And damnit, she wasn't going to become a pawn now.

She grabbed her purse, car keys, and jacket. While Jake was with his brother Jinx, she needed a powwow with her girl Rita.

Eva smiled as she drove through the city streets. She had begun to formulate a plan. If this chick Lenora was for real, they needed to be ready.

*   *   *

Stan lay in bed next to Lenora. He stared up at the ceiling. He'd been wound tighter than a roll of aluminum foil since he'd confessed the affair to her. After she'd ranted and raved, calling him every kind of fool in the book, she'd made love to him like a woman possessed—the first time they'd been intimate in months. She kept asking all during the act whether “Leslie” was as good as she was. He wished he knew. So of course he told her no. No one was as good as she was. Then after that first night, not another word was said about the incident. When he'd tried to make love to her this evening, she turned her back on him.

She was up to something. It wasn't like Lenora to let anything slide, especially something this big. He turned his head to look at her in the shadows of the bedroom.

How had their marriage come to this
They'd been so in love once upon a time. They were going to conquer the world together. At first it seemed that they would, but somewhere up the ladder, his foot got stuck in one of the rungs while she kept on going. The higher she rose and the more money she made, the less she seemed to love him. She no longer looked at him with admiration in her eyes, just disdain. So he started to let himself go. It wasn't as if she cared. Maybe he should have left a long time ago. But there was still a big part of him that loved Lenora and ached for her to love him back—again.

He turned his face to stare at the ceiling, folded his hands atop his rounded belly. There was still the matter of the blackmail. Now that he'd told his wife, Leslie—or whatever her name was—didn't have that hold on him, but she'd promised worse. He had one more day to come up with the money.

Lenora's insurance policy was worth a hundred grand. But he didn't have the balls to kill her. He started to sweat. His life had gone from zero to one hundred miles per hour in a blink, and he couldn't even remember if it was worth it.

Lenora's voice came to him in the dark, distant. “You need to plan on taking some time off from work.”

“What
”

“You heard me. Put in for your vacation.”

Stan pushed himself to a halfway sitting position. “I don't understand.”

“You don't need to understand. Just do what I ask, Stan. I'll explain when it's time.”

She reached for him. And he was thankful.

*   *   *

When Jake came back home with Jinx in tow, Eva and Rita were sitting in the living room. Jake saw the dark sparkle in Eva's eye, and that wicked smile, and he knew she had a plan.

Now this was the Eva he knew and loved.

*   *   *

They stayed up until the sun was high in the morning sky, planning. Everyone knew what they needed to do. The moment Jinx verified Lenora Ingram's identity, the pieces would begin falling in place. This would be their biggest sting yet, the first time they'd all worked together. If one of them failed, they all failed—and they had no intention of letting that happen.

“Everybody knows what they have to do. Right
” Eva said.

“I'll get cracking on breaking into the FBI files,” Jinx said, rubbing his eyes and yawning much too loudly.

Rita stood and stretched. “I'll get started on the documents.” She looked at them each in turn. “I'm gonna need recent pictures of everyone. Better yet, y'all go get some new passport photos, and I'll hook them up in Photoshop.”

They all nodded.

“We don't have much time,” Jake said, looking at his wife. “I'll work on the timeline and getting the schematics for the ship.”

“And I'll be getting us outfitted.” Eva smiled. She turned to Jinx. “And we're going to need you to get the ship's roster.”

Jinx was on it. “Done. Already on my list.” He tapped the side of his head.

“Rita, me and you are going to have to do a little shopping for the accessories.” Eva winked at her cousin.

Rita grinned. “You know I love shopping.”

Jake slung his hands into his pockets. “We got everything covered, gang
”

They murmured agreement.

Jake checked his watch. “The clock is ticking, folks. Let's get busy.”

 

6

Eva was in her office. One of her many responsibilities was to oversee the ordering and delivery of materials—from fabrics to accessories—and all the supplies that the designers needed. She dealt with the vendors and manufacturers personally. She was on a first-name basis with them all. That was in addition to supervising the design team and framing the looks for the new season. In some ways, she had to be clairvoyant to see into the future of fashion and try to get there before everyone else. It was stressful, but rewarding to see her vision come to life on the runway and in store windows. More than a few women in Manhattan wore her designs.

She turned on her computer and opened her Excel spreadsheet of manufacturers, dragged in a short breath of apprehension. She had to be sure to cover her tracks. Anything out of the ordinary, and it would all blow back on her. The entire plan would be shot to hell. Securing the goods was integral to the sting.

Fashion Week was in four months. The designers were deep in the throes of putting the outfits together, working unbelievable hours under incredible pressure. Models were all over the place, coming in for fittings, playing diva, and being general pains in the ass. It was chaotic, to say the least, which is exactly what Eva needed.

There were three vendors in Hong Kong that she could use to get the supplies her gang required. Their stones were exquisite. So good that they had to be taken to jewelers to verify that they were fakes. Timing was crucial.

She opened the file containing order forms, keyed in the information, checked that everything was correct, set the order up as an e-mail, and clicked
SEND
.

It had begun, the rush. They were going to do a double tap and turn this sting right back on Lenora Ingram's FB-fucking-I ass. She wanted diamonds and money
Eva smiled to herself. She'd get them all right—or at least some damned good replicas. By the time that bitch figured it out, the team would be ghosts. Not to mention the extra little trick they had up their sleeve.

Eva's heart pounded. The familiar hot flush began in the tips of her toes and scooted up her legs. Her pulse rate increased. Her nipples grew hard, and she felt the dampness between her legs. A shudder of need pulsed in the pit of her stomach.

Eva reached for the phone and dialed. “Hey, baby,” she said when Jake answered. “Think you can get away for about an hour
”

The tone of his wife's obvious lust gave him an intense hard-on. “You're feeling it too,” he stated more than asked. “When have I ever been able to tell you no
I have a lock on my office door. That's all we need.”