Shadow of a Doubt (Tangled Ivy Book 2) (24 page)

“A tracking device. I’m going to plant this on Levin so we can make sure he doesn’t get anywhere near where I’ll be impersonating him.”

“How in the world are you going to plant it on him?” I asked. Reggie looked befuddled, too. “Just walk up to him?”

Devon stood, holstering his gun and tucking the tracker inside his jacket pocket. “It’s my job,” he said to me. “You know this. I’ll figure it out.”

“Dude, she’d have a way better chance of getting that on him at Club Elegance than you will,” Reggie interjected.

“By posing as a prostitute, you mean?” I asked. I wasn’t stupid.

Reggie looked embarrassed, but said frankly, “Yeah. It
is
Amsterdam, you know.”

Devon glanced at me as I chimed in. “I can do that,” I said, jumping at the chance to help Devon. “There will be lots of prostitutes there. I can get close enough to plant the transmitter, then slide out the back door.”

He didn’t say anything, so I added, “Please, Devon. Let me do something.”

“You’ll never get close enough, and she can,” Reggie chimed in. “Plus, she’s his type.”

Devon glanced at Reggie, who was studying his laptop. “What do you mean?”

“I mean this guy has a thing for the blondes,” Reggie said, turning his laptop around so we could see the screen. Sure enough, there were several pictures of a tall man with dark hair accompanied by beautiful women—all willowy blondes with hair nearly as light as mine.

“Ivy, a moment, please,” Devon said, taking my hand. He drew me out of Reggie’s earshot.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I want you to think very hard about what you’re asking to do,” Devon said. “You want to help and I understand that, but this will be an aggressive role using sex as currency. I don’t think you’ve considered how that might . . . affect you.”

Stiffening, I said, “Do you think I’m going to freak out or something?”

His gaze didn’t falter. “Possibly.”

I felt heat flood my cheeks. “I won’t.”

“You don’t know that,” he said. “I’m not in the habit of sugarcoating things, so I won’t patronize you by doing so. Any kind of panic attack, flashback, or even faltering in who you’re supposed to be and what you’re doing could lead to very unpleasant consequences. For all of us.”

“I said I’ll be okay.”

Devon looked in my eyes, measuring, it seemed. “Fine,” he said curtly. “But we’ll go together. You’ll accompany me. We’ll attract his interest and you can pop over for a hello, plant the transmitter, then we’re out of there.”

“Okay.”

I hurried to my suitcase, rummaging through it and grabbing a few things. Hustling into the bathroom, I stripped off my clothes, and replaced them with matching pink lace bikini panties and bra.
I brushed my hair until it shone, then added a layer of deep crimson lipstick.

Outside the bathroom, I grabbed a suit jacket from Devon’s luggage. I shrugged it on and found a wide belt to keep it closed, then I rolled up the sleeves and slipped on a pair of black heels that wrapped around my ankles.

“How do I look?” I asked the two men. The cut of Devon’s coat was such that the deep V went nearly to my waist, exposing the lacy bra. “Do I look like a prostitute?”

“Now that’s a question I wouldn’t dream of actually answering,” Devon replied. His levity made me smile and eased my nerves.

Reggie’s eyes zeroed in on my cleavage, then dropped to my legs. I saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed.

“Your eyes look about to fall out of your head, mate,” Devon teased him.

“You look amazing,” Reggie blurted to me. Impulsively, I leaned down and gave him a hug. He turned beet red. “So what’s my job?” he asked Devon, after clearing his throat slightly.

“You keep track of the transmitter and make sure it’s working when we plant it,” Devon said. “You’ll be in the car.”

Devon handed me the transmitter, which I slid into the inside pocket of the jacket I wore. “Plant this in a similar location,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be somewhere permanent, just on his person for a few hours.”

“Understood.”

“You have everything you need?” Devon asked Reggie, who nodded, slipping his laptop into his backpack.

“Ready.”

Devon had a car waiting when we went downstairs and I assumed the hotel had arranged for it. He got behind the wheel and I slid into the passenger seat. Reggie got in back.

Club Elegance wasn’t far from our hotel and we were pulling up sooner than I was prepared for, but I didn’t let it show. Devon’s words were echoing inside my head, but I was determined to not let him down.

Reggie replaced Devon behind the wheel after we got out about a block from the club.

“Stay close,” Devon said to him before stepping away. He slid his arm around my waist and I clung to him the way I imagined a woman who knew he was her paycheck would . . . and that the amount of that paycheck depended on how well she pleased him.

Devon gave his fake name at the door and we were shown upstairs. It was a dark place, light filtering through the dim rooms and hallways from golden sconces on the walls. Upstairs was a big room with a stage in the middle. A barely clad woman danced to music I didn’t recognize. Men milled in groups, both standing and sitting, as other nearly naked women draped themselves on their laps.

The VIP area seemed to be the couches edging the room, and that’s where we were led. My nerves were jangling something fierce as I watched the prostitutes plying their wares. Some men obviously wanted to try the merchandise first, and I had to look away from where two men were fondling a woman’s breasts. She didn’t seem to mind, but I had a hard time wrapping my head around that.

Devon sat down on the cranberry velvet seat and I was going to sit next to him, but he pulled me down onto his lap instead. A server came by immediately, setting up bottles of liquor for us and pouring us both martinis.

Handing one to me, Devon said in an undertone, “All right, darling?”

I nodded, taking a large gulp of the drink, then set aside the glass. Leaning down, I kissed Devon’s neck and whispered in his ear, “Is he here?”

“Right behind you.”

I waited a moment, then casually turned and glanced over my shoulder. The man who’d been on Reggie’s screen sat on the couch beside us. He was surrounded by several other men; a quick count turned up six.

Women had already latched on to their group and I noticed a brunette trying to get Levin’s attention. He humored her, but didn’t seem terribly interested.

“Can you work this?” Devon asked me, his arm tightening around my back. “If you can’t, then I’ll come up with another plan.”

“I’m fine,” I said, smothering my anxiety. “Trust me.” Devon wouldn’t have let me do this if he thought me incapable. And I knew how I looked. It had never taken much to get men’s attention. Even with the competition here, I was confident I could make my way onto Levin’s lap.

“Then let’s be quick about it,” Devon muttered.

I decided the jacket wasn’t going to work, so I slipped my hand inside and grabbed the tracking device, moving it inside my bra. After shrugging off Devon’s jacket, I took his empty glass and stood. I tossed my hair to the side, the long strands on full display for Levin to see, then leaned down to make Devon another drink.

My legs were long and the shoes showed them off well. I felt Devon’s hands on my hips and ass as I poured the vodka. Turning, I handed him the drink, then smiled as I straddled his lap.

Devon made quick work of that drink and I flipped my hair to the other side so I could see Levin. From the corner of my eye, I could tell he was looking our way. Devon’s hands skated up my thighs to rest on my waist, his lips tracing the curves of my cleavage. Sliding my fingers into his hair, I cut a sideways glance to Levin.

He was watching. Avidly. I sent him a coy smile and winked. He crooked his finger, beckoning me.

I felt a rush of adrenaline as I realized the ploy was working perfectly. I said to Devon, “He wants me to come over.”

“Then go. I’ll put up a bit of a fuss, then come get you. Put both hands in your hair when you’re done.”

With that last direction, I eased off his lap and strutted toward Levin. The brunette was still trying in vain to win his attention and she shot me a dirty look when I stopped in front of them.

“You can go,” I told her, looking down my nose. “I’m here now.”

Muttering angrily in another language, she stood and stalked off. I looked at Levin and raised an eyebrow.

“You wanted me?” I asked.

He looked me over from head to toe before giving me a satisfied smile. “Come sit down,” he invited. There was a predatory gleam in his eyes that made me want to shudder, but I suppressed it. I was helping Devon. I could do this.

I went to sit sideways on his lap, but he stopped me. “No. Like how you were sitting with him,” he said, gesturing toward Devon, who was watching us with an aggravated expression. The brunette had apparently decided to try her luck with him because she’d poured herself a drink and sat next to him, her scarlet-tipped fingers sliding up his thigh.

Jealousy spiked hard in me and I made myself tear my gaze away. It wasn’t real, just like what I was doing with Levin wasn’t real. I had to remember that.

I straddled Levin as I’d done to Devon, tamping down the squeamishness that surged inside. I didn’t let men get this close to me, sexually, and never had. Until Devon. But I had a job to do, and Devon was counting on me.

“You’re very beautiful,” Levin said, his accent thick. He was a big guy, as big as Devon. He was older than Devon, I’d guess in his mid-fifties, and had a hard edge to him. You wouldn’t want to meet Devon in a dark alley, but with this guy, you knew he wouldn’t even need a dark alley to crush first and ask questions later. A jagged scar ran down his left cheek.

“Thank you,” I said with as real a smile as I could muster. “What’s your name?”

“André,” he replied. “And yours?”

I decided to stick with the truth as much as possible, an adage my grams had taught me. “Ivy.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Ivy,” Levin said. His hands were on my waist and large enough to nearly span my body. If I wanted to get away, he’d have no problem subduing me and making me stay. I broke out in a cold sweat.

“Are you in town for business . . . or pleasure?” I asked, forcing my panic into submission. I crossed my arms over my chest and rested my hands on my shoulders, then slowly drew the straps of my bra down my arms. Teasing him, I let my palms drift down my chest to cover my breasts, palming the tracking device in the process.

“Business,” Levin replied, his gaze avidly watching my movements. “But I think I can spare a few hours for pleasure.” I felt his fingers at my back as he undid the clasp on my bra, the fabric falling from me.

I let the straps drop from my shoulders and slid my hands inside his jacket to circle his chest. Levin dipped his head, his mouth settling over my breast.

The cold sweat was back with a vengeance, as was a whisper of panic, but I didn’t let it overtake me. I was almost done. I focused on breathing. I’d found the inside pocket of his jacket and dropped the tracking device inside. Relief flooded me. I’d done it. Now, to just get out of this.

Levin was caught up in things, I could tell, the hard press of his erection difficult to mask when I was sitting in this position. His mouth moved to my other breast as his hands tightened on my hips, pulling me down to grind against him.

Glancing up, I looked for Devon, and when I saw him, all the breath left my body.

He was staring at Levin with murder in his eyes.

Devon’s icy blue gaze was unblinking as he watched Levin touch me, the hard set of his jaw clenched in anger. His hands were tightly fisted and it seemed he only held himself back by his own fragile restraint.

Raising my arms, I slid my fingers into my hair, pulling the long strands up. Levin took that as encouragement, his mouth moving up my neck as his hands covered my breasts.

“I’m afraid there’s been a mistake.” Devon’s voice. I let out a slow breath of relief. “The lady is promised to me for the evening.”

Levin didn’t bother responding, he just snapped his fingers. One of the lackeys nearby jumped to his feet and approached Devon.

He didn’t get far. Devon moved faster than I would’ve thought possible, smashing the heel of his hand against the guy’s temple in a vicious jab. The guy dropped like a rock.

That got Levin’s attention and he sat back in his chair, his steely gaze now resting on Devon.

“As I said, the lady is mine,” Devon repeated.

“Listen, I don’t want trouble—” I began, squirming to get off Levin’s lap.

“Hush,” he said to me, his grip tightening and holding me in place. “Whatever you were told, find two others here and I’ll take care of the bill,” he offered to Devon, then waved him away. His hands slid up my rib cage, flitting lightly across my breasts before resting on my shoulders.

“I’m afraid no one else will do,” Devon said, his lips twisting in the semblance of a smile. In the next instant, he had his gun in his hand, the muzzle pointed directly at Levin’s forehead.

I gasped, suddenly terrified. I was sure the men with Levin were armed. Devon was vastly outnumbered. And as I’d feared, the men with Levin all went for their guns.

“Stop!” Levin ordered, his voice commanding. His men immediately obeyed, all of them warily eyeing Devon.

Gesturing to me, Levin said, “No whore is worth this much trouble, my friend. You want her that badly, then take her.”

My knees were shaking as Devon pulled me off Levin’s lap. He didn’t turn his back as we sidled away, and I grabbed the jacket I’d discarded earlier, pulling it on as we walked. When we were at the hallway, Devon holstered his gun and we moved at a faster clip. We didn’t speak until we were outside and walking down the street to where our car stood idling, Reggie inside.

“I did it,” I said quietly. “You know that, right? The tracker is on him.”

Devon still looked pissed and I eyed him. He had a tight grip on my hand. He didn’t respond at all to what I’d said.

“Devon?” I asked.

Looking left and right, Devon suddenly stopped and stepped into an empty alley, pulling me in with him.