M grinned. “Baby, I was born ready to do this.”
12
They ended up stopping at that thrift store after all. M went inside and bought a short denim skirt and a grunge rock T-shirt. She changed in the dressing room and paid the cashier on the way out, looking for all the world like an emo teen, or part of some cheesy pop star’s fan base. Exactly what she was going for.
Her neighborhood wasn’t exactly ritzy, but it was quiet. For a questionable teen to walk into her apartment building unaccompanied like this? Yeah, distraction achieved. She only prayed that Todd Martin would still be there when they arrived.
Loki parked the SUV about a block away and they snuck close to the building then hid in the shadows until his guys arrived. Cam was pretty much what she’d expected—young, cute, with a gorgeous-geek kind of vibe going on. Hunter reminded her of the lunks in her gym who spent hours a day honing their huge physiques to perfection, except based on what Loki had told her, Hunter came by his massive size naturally. There was a kindness and consideration in his eyes, however, that told her he was far deeper and more complex than people gave him credit for. She liked them both immediately, which was unusual for her. It normally took her some time to warm up to new people, if she ever did. But with these guys it felt like home, like she’d always belonged.
Dangerous, that, since this was a one-time thing and she had her own job and promotion to get back to, didn’t she? Too bad that job and that promotion seemed less important these days. For years, her solitary work had sustained her, kept her alone and happy. But spending this time with Loki—working together, being together—had shown her there was a different way of doing things, a different way of being. She wasn’t sure going back to being a one-woman show would satisfy her anymore. Sure, they had their issues, and Loki was far too bossy for his own good sometimes, but she could work on that. Question was, did she want to put in the time and effort to stay?
“Right,” Loki said, breaking into her thoughts and bringing her back to the present. “Here’s what we’re going to do. Hunter, I want you to go around to the back entrances and wait. If Martin tries to run for it that way, you catch him. Cam, you do the same out front. M, you’ll come inside with me.”
“What about your disguise?” she asked, frowning. “You can’t just walk in there the way you are, Martin will recognize you from the charity ball in an instant.”
“That’s the plan, darling.” He winked again. “I’m the bait.”
“But—” She wanted to argue, but Loki held up a hand to silence her.
“No. I’m done playing games. I’m tired of always wearing a façade, not being my true self. Besides, you do it so much better than me, darling. So this time, I’m going in as myself, for better or worse. And if Martin gives us any shit, we’ll take him down. Together. Deal?”
Part of her wanted to kiss him silly, the other part of her wanted to slap him for putting himself in such a precarious position. In the end, she shook on it because what else was she going to do in front of his buddies? “Deal,” she agreed reluctantly. “But I swear if you get yourself injured, I’m going to kill you.”
“Sounds like a valid threat to me,” Cam said, snickering.
“She looks like she could kick some serious ass, Low.” Hunter grinned. “I’m on her side.”
“Thanks, guys.” M smiled. “Let’s do this thing.”
“Yep, let’s do it,” Loki agreed. Hunter disappeared down the alleyway to their right while Cam ducked around the corner to head toward the front of the building. M held tight to Loki’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He looked down at her, his green eyes warm in the cool night. “We get this done, you and I have things to discuss, darling.”
“Agreed,” she said, tugging him toward the entrance. “Come on.”
They walked inside the lobby and M’s heart plummeted to her toes. No sign of Martin anywhere. She walked up to the security desk and hoped the guy on duty would be able to see past her crazy costume. “Hey, Tony. It’s Mirabelle from 4D.”
At first the guy gave her an incredulous stare, but once she pulled off the ridiculous wig, his expression warmed. He smiled, “Miss M, don’t you look…interesting tonight.”
“Costume party,” she said, playing it off. “I came by here earlier and saw you talking to a guy. Any idea where he might’ve gone?”
“Top floor. Meeting a friend who lives there. Want me to ring them again for you?” Tony picked up his phone and started dialing, but M stopped him.
“No, no. That’s fine.” She shot Loki a look. “We’re just going up to my place now. Thanks.”
“Sure thing, Miss M. You have a good night, now.” Tony eyed her, then Loki with interest.
“Martin’s on the roof, I’d guarantee it,” M said, once they were in the privacy of the elevator. “There’s an entrance on the top floor.” She slid her feet out of the crazy shoes too, knowing she’d be able to maneuver and fight better without them. The skirt was a bit short and tight, but she’d make do. Certainly wasn’t the weirdest thing she’d ever fought in. There’d been this one time in Budapest, at a circus when…
“Who’s he meeting with?” Loki asked, frowning.
“I’m sorry?”
“The security guy said he called up to verify Martin’s ID. That means he must know someone in this building who vouched for him, right?”
“Yes.” M narrowed her gaze. “Do you think it’s his buyer? We know Martin’s the mole, but have you identified exactly who he’s selling his secrets to?”
Loki tapped his fingers against the wall. “No, not yet. Cam’s been working on it, but so far has hit a brick wall. It could be his buyer, or someone connected to them. Guess we’ll find out.”
M’s smile widened into a grin as she jimmied open the emergency phone compartment in the wall and pulled out a gun and holster, an extra magazine of ammo, and a wicked looking knife which she strapped to her thigh. “Guess we will. You weaponed up?”