“And hello to you, too,” Julie replied coolly.
“Is that Eric?” Asia’s voice pierced into her ear. “Tell him I said hi.”
Julie dipped her head. “Shut up, Asia. If I can’t IM and email simultaneously, you know I can’t do more than one conversation at a time.”
“I’m serious, Julie,” Eric said as he gave her clothes a critical appraisal. “What alias is this?”
“I call it Kick-Ass Julie.” She wore her black leather boots, dark jeans, a tank top and a military-inspired olive-green jacket. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Inspired, actually.
Eric looked at her as if she had lost her senses, but she would defend her decision to the end. His attention rested on her hair. “What did I tell you about the hair?” He glared at her high ponytail.
How could she explain that the style went with the outfit? “And here I thought you’d be thrilled that I’m completely covered.” She pointed at her jacket with a flourish.
“I am,” he said with a soft growl.
“Then why are you growling at me?”
“Because he’s hot for you,” Asia interjected.
Julie closed her eyes. “One more word from you, Asia, and I’m taking out the earpiece.”
Eric’s gaze swept down her body and her skin
tingled. “Do you really think this is going to get your target in that outfit?”
She sighed. “Eric, do you know what Lloyd was wearing in that picture Martha provided?”
“A red T-shirt. What about it?”
“It was a T-shirt for a video game. It had a woman who has a long ponytail, a military jacket and long black boots.”
Eric paused and she knew she’d surprised him by picking up on that detail. “That doesn’t mean he’s attracted to a video game character,” he argued.
“Are you kidding? These video games allow guys to create their dream girls. They can choose what the heroine will look like, what they’ll wear and how much they will jiggle.” She motioned at her outfit. “His shirt had this girl on it and that’s what I’m going with.”
“Suit yourself.”
“Thanks for the pep talk,” she said dryly. “Which alias would you have recommended?”
His gaze grew intense for a second before he ruthlessly banked it. “Never mind.”
“No, tell me.”
He exhaled sharply. “It’s too late to change, anyway.”
She wanted to scream with frustration. Which alias did he think was the sexiest? No, he would never tell her. He would never give her that much power over him.
She’d find out on her own, but that was would have to wait. She slapped her hands together and rubbed her palms. “So, where’s Lloyd?”
Eric looked past Julie’s shoulder. “Our target is at the bar with two other friends.”
She grimaced. It was going to be difficult separating him from the pack.
“Did Asia check the audio?” Eric asked.
“Triple-checked it,” Asia chirped in Julie’s ear. Julie simply nodded.
“Max is stationed near the bar and will take pictures with his digital camera. Try not to leave the bar.”
“I will if he wants to dance.” They had been through all this several times as they prepped for this night. She was ready for this. She felt like a fighter before leaving his corner. She wanted to move. She needed to get in there while her blood was pumping.
“I can’t hear what’s going on because some of our equipment just failed and there’s no time to replace it.” He clenched his jaw, the only physical sign of how he felt about that. She knew from their team meetings how much it bothered him that he wouldn’t be in constant contact with her. “You remember the signal if you’re in trouble.”
“Yes.” She wanted to bounce on her feet and throw a few punches. Anything to get rid of this excess energy.
“What’s the signal?”
“Eric, don’t crowd me,” she pleaded as she took a couple of steps into the club. “Go away before you blow my cover.”
He reached for her hand. It was firm but gentle. That surprised her. She looked into his eyes.
“Promise me that you’ll back off if you get a bad vibe.”
“I promise,” she said and let go. She hated making that promise, but she did it for Eric’s peace of mind.
Julie made her way to the bar and tried not to be obvious as she searched for her target. She noticed the women all wore very short, strapless dresses. Even the waitresses wore black camisoles and black short-shorts. She stuck out like a sore thumb. Her alias idea was going to be a disadvantage.