Tinsel In A Tangle

“Uh, so, as you may have guessed, all four of the students Knoll admitted are now in study abroad programs in Africa. Ignatius is unusual in that we have so many African locations, but it relates to the missionary history. He’s sent his own smugglers near the countries where the diamond mining industry is not tightly regulated.”

Adam whistled. “It’s a pretty ingenious plan, actually. He’s sent members of his own team, probably ones he knows he can trust, to the region under a completely legitimate cover. No one will look twice at college kids traveling with a conservative University’s long-standing study and missionary programs. I didn’t Knoll was so creative.” He snorted. “If he’d put half as much thought into his last business, maybe it wouldn’t have failed.”

Jess wondered what would happen now that she’d handed over most of her information. There was nothing stopping him from walking away; she wasn’t sure what else she could contribute to the partnership.

“Have you ever been to Vegas before?”

She blinked at the change of subject. “Once. Three years ago. For my sister-in-law’s bachelorette party.”

“Good.” He nodded. “You know what to expect then.”

She supposed so. “Booze, gambling, half-naked women with fake tits, good restaurants, pool parties, Britney Spears, conferences, and Carrot Top.”

“Exactly.” He grinned at her and she couldn’t help but smile back. Something about the crinkles at the edges of those bright blue eyes. They made her want to be funny, to make him laugh, to impress the hell out of him.

Dangerous ideas, all. She was in over her head here. She needed to worry about herself, not about impressing him. Or, maybe that wasn’t a bad idea. She needed him more than he needed her. But if he liked having her around...hmmm.

“You have the strangest smile on your face,” he murmured. “What are you thinking about right now?” He reached over and traced a finger along her bottom lip. She wondered what he would do if she sucked the tip into her mouth. “Whatever it is, it’s making me extremely nervous.”

Jess just gazed at him with her lips curved. She could work with that.

Chapter Seven

Jess was glad Adam wasn’t with her as she checked into the Wynn Las Vegas. If he’d been standing next to her, she would have felt required to act cool and collected, as though she was accustomed to staying in suites at luxury resorts.

On her own, however, she felt free to stare as long as she wanted at the five-star surroundings. The fresh bouquets of rainbow-colored flowers on every surface, the huge parasols that hung over the lobby bars, the eight different fine dining restaurants. She took her time wandering through the casino dotted with high-stakes tables, the sumptuous gardens in the lobby, the esplanade of shops like Cartier, Dior, and Prada.

Wandering outside, she strolled next to pool after turquoise pool where tan women in itsy-bitsy bikinis and straw fedoras stood chatting and checking their phones. She peeked into the private cabanas that boasted mini-fridges, plasma TVs, and plush sofas. She even found a secluded, adults-only European pool that allowed topless sunbathing.

When she finally pushed her keycard into her suite door, she felt like she’d taken a stroll on another planet. Yes, she’d been to Vegas before. But for heaven’s sake, she traveled on a budget. Growing up in a family of five kids with one working parent, one learned a pretty frugal way of life.

She decided to take a shower. The glass-enclosed cube with eighteen different jets looked a little too good to pass up. Especially since her neck had a four-hour-flight crick in it, and her mind was fuzzy from the mimosas.

As the plane had rolled to a stop, Adam said, “When we land, we go our separate ways. I’ve booked a room in your name at the Wynn. Go check in and I’ll meet up with you later.”

“Why?”

She didn’t much care for the condescending expression that crossed over his face. “When you’re in the hunt, you always act in the present while planning for the future,” he said. “Let’s say that in two months, Knoll or law enforcement decides to investigate the missing diamonds. Maybe Knoll remembers that he felt like he was being in watched in Vegas. Maybe he remembers what I look like. Well, lucky him. There are more security cameras in Vegas than practically anywhere else in the world. If we’re captured together on the footage, now we’re linked. You’re traveling under your own name. If they put all the pieces together, Blondie, for the rest of your life, you’re associated with a theft.”

While she felt lame for being so naïve, she had to appreciate the foresight. She just wished he’d been more detailed. What did “later” mean? Tonight? Tomorrow? She was completely disoriented about time already. It was just after noon, Vegas time, which seemed impossible, but their flight had been early, and they gained a few hours flying here.

The pulsating jets in the steamy shower did wonders for her muscles and state of mind. After a decadent twenty minutes, she forced herself to get out. Should she try to nap? Save her energy for later? What was her part on the surveillance of Knoll and Sedarno? Wrapping herself in a lush white towel, she walked out of the bathroom.

And shrieked when she saw the large stranger sitting on her sofa.

Of course, she immediately felt foolish when he grinned. “Easy, Blondie, just me.”

His disguise was very Vegas. His brown hair was styled into spikes with frosted blond tips, and he wore crazy-large sunglasses with purple lenses. Tan pants and a strangely shiny purple golf shirt completed the look.

“You look like an aging boy band member about to play the US Open,” she said.

He laughed. “Good. Exactly what I was going for.”

“I’d ask how you got in here, but that would be silly.” She wrapped her towel a little tighter around her body, acutely aware that while it was thick, it wasn’t long. She was showing a hell of a lot of bare, wet leg. She couldn’t see his eyes behind the ridiculous shades, and she wondered if he was looking at her legs. Wondered what it said about her that she hoped he was.

“Sorry for the intrusion,” he said. “But I got some news. Things are moving faster than I anticipated. My contact on Knoll’s staff told me that he and Sedarno are meeting this afternoon. They’re playing golf here. Tee time is 1:30.”

“Golf? Where?”