They reached their SUV just as flashing red and blue lights raced around the corner, headed straight for the strip mall lot. A large white SWAT vehicle rumbled behind them. They were always called out to active shooter situations. M waited until she had a clear path to the vehicle than made a run for it, clicking the key fob button as she approached to unlock the doors. Loki followed right on her heels and they managed to get inside and get the thing started before the cops shut everything down. With seconds to go, she backed out of her spot and took off down the road, narrowly avoiding a light pole and some overturned trash bins along the way.
It wasn’t until they were nearly back to her apartment that she finally glanced at Loki again. He was staring out his side window, frowning.
“Sure you don’t want to go to the ER?” she asked one final time. “Last chance.”
“I’m sure.” He looked over at her. “We need to make a pact here. Work together or walk away now.”
She parallel parked on the street, then got out. Loki moved a bit slower with his injury, but stood by her side as she locked up the car. “No more secrets about this case. What you know, I know.”
“And vice versa.” He held out his left hand. “Deal?”
The last thing M needed right now was a partner messing with her mojo, but Loki was right. She did need him. At least for now. “Deal.”
5
“Tell me again why we have to get all dressed up for this thing?” M said from behind the privacy screen in her apartment. “I mean I get that it’s a charity ball and everything, but wouldn’t we be safer pretending to be part of the wait staff than guests?”
Loki exhaled slowly and adjusted the gold cufflinks adorning his crisp white tuxedo shirt. “My backer is throwing the party. He wants us mixing and mingling, not clearing dirty dishes and refilling drinks. I was able to get into the national security databases earlier and from what I found, the singer’s our guy. Word on the street has it there’s going to be another info leak tonight. Best guess is it’ll happen at the party.” He checked his reflection once more in the mirror before grabbing his black tux jacket to slip it on.
He had one arm in when she came around the privacy screen and his world rocked on its axis. M was a gorgeous woman, no doubt about that. But tonight… Well, tonight she was stunningly beautiful. She was also wearing the exact opposite of the demure little black cocktail dress he’d instructed her to put on. Instead, she’d worn a form-fitting burgundy lace number that hinted at her luscious curves and conjured visions of steamy nights and bodies writhing in decadent satin sheets. For once, he caught a hint of hesitation in her expression.
“Do I look all right?” she asked, leaning past him to see into the full-length mirror behind him. She tugged at the delicate lace dress, fidgeting. “I know you wanted me to go with the black one, but it was too low-cut and tight and my thigh holster wouldn’t fit underneath it. Red’s not my best color, but it’s the only other fancy dress I have on hand with shoes that match.”
Loki took his time, admiring her from each side just because he could, his gaze narrowed. All right didn’t begin to do her justice in that gown. The burgundy color brought out the creaminess of her skin and despite her opinions to the contrary, the color went well with her dark hair.
Her hair, that’s what was different. She must’ve colored it again in the shower earlier. Gone was the pink, replaced by a deep cherry red that looked black until the lights hit it just right. She was exquisite. Truly beautiful. A vision he’d carry with him for years to come.
He didn’t tell her that though, not yet. Their partnership was still too new, too tentative. He’d spooked her enough with that ill-advised episode in the kitchen when he’d damned near taken her up against the wall. No. They were working together now, to solve what was turning out to be a far more important case than he’d ever imagined. Lives were at stake. Any personal feelings or attraction he might be harboring for the beautiful M would have to wait until all this was over and the world was safe again. Then, maybe…
“So?” she asked, giving him an exasperated stare. “Is it that bad then?”
“You look fine,” he said, turning away before she saw just how much she affected him. “Ready?”
“Fine? That’s all I get, huh?” She rolled her eyes and walked over to grab her coat from the closet. “You look like a walking cliché in that monkey suit.”
“Low. Kevin Low,” he said, chuc
kling as he helped her with her jacket as best he could with his injury. His fingertips brushed the soft skin of her shoulders and his breath caught in his chest. Loki cleared his throat and frowned, shoving his unwanted awareness aside. They were partnering up to get this mission done. That was it. “At your service.”
She snorted. “Let’s go get this over with, super spy.”
They walked into the tastefully decorated ballroom of the convention center downtown about half an hour later. Loki helped M from the back seat of the car then instructed the driver to meet them back there at midnight. He figured that would give them plenty of time for dinner and the charity auction afterward, during which they could hopefully pinpoint their mole and take them down before any more harm was done.
Loki checked their coats at the station inside the lobby then led M into the ballroom itself, where a good-sized crowd of about a hundred or so couples mixed and mingled while a small live band played in the far corner. Against one wall was a lavish buffet and open bar and against the other were tables set up to hold the abundance of donated items for the auction.
M suggested they hit that area first, to avoid the lines for dinner and to check out all the items while everyone else was distracted with food. Loki had to admit that his backer had outdone himself with the ball. The room was decorated in tasteful shades of white and gold, with overhead lighting in pastel shades of purple and blue, casting an ethereal glow over the entire room. On each table were massive floral centerpieces towering at least four feet high and blooming with lush lilies and roses, and a large dance floor had been set up in front of the area where the band played. At the front of the ballroom was a large stage where the MC for tonight’s auction would raffle off everything from jewels and vacations to dates and dances with the city’s most eligible bachelors. As part of the cost of attendance tonight, everyone had to donate something to the cause. And there was Todd Martin’s grinning face—all white teeth and golden boy looks—grinning back from a large placard on an easel behind the table. He was, of course, donating the performance of a song of the highest bidder’s choice as his item. Given he had one of the top ten songs on the billboard charts right now, he’d make some teenage girl’s dreams come true. He’d also, if Loki’s luck stayed strong, squeal like a pig when cornered and confronted about leaking intel about the arms-deal Loki’s client had spent months orchestrating between a US-backed coalition and Chinese militants against the new communist party rising up in the East.
“He looks too young and innocent to be a spy,” M said, staring at the kid’s image on the poster. “Then again, people always tell me I don’t look like one either.”
Loki gave her another appreciative once-over. Yep. That dress was made for her. Fit like a glove and made her look like a ripe cherry ready to be picked. His mouth watered and his lips tingled, wondering what her skin would feel like beneath his hands, if she was ticklish anywhere, if she tasted as sweet as the vanilla and cinnamon scent of her perfume suggested.
Another couple squeezed around them in the crowded room and brought Loki’s mind back to reality. No matter how attractive he found M, this wasn’t the time to start thinking with his cock instead of his brains. There was too much on the line tonight.
The lights in the room dimmed and the MC for the auction took the stage. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the fifth annual Wonderland Charity Ball and Auction.” Applause rose as the MC introduced himself and the corporate backers for the event. “And now, while you all help yourselves to the delicious food on the buffet, let’s get things started by auctioning off a few items of jewelry.”
M and Loki made their way across the room to the buffet and each fixed themselves a plate. While his backer had gotten them tickets to the event, all the tables had been sold out, so he and M stood against the wall to nibble their food while they watched the bidding ramp up on stage. A large flat screen TV behind the stage showcased each item being auctioned for the crowd to see. Up first was a sparkly emerald and diamond tennis bracelet.
Loki devoured his food quickly, glad to have something in his stomach at last. He’d not eaten all day. Neither had M that he knew of. They’d been too busy researching Todd Martin and his parents. Turned out that not only had the Marcagonoffs been in the KGB, they’d been top advisors to Putin and his cronies before leaving Russia and defecting to the US. And while he’d not had the security clearance to get access to most of the intel they’d shared about the Kremlin’s illegal activities over the years regarding weapons dealing and black-market sales of nuclear weapons to terrorist organizations around the globe, he’d seen enough to understand why the US Marshall’s service had basically erased any evidence of Martin’s parents’ existence. In truth, it was a wonder they’d survived this long, even in Witness Protection.