Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
SAGE
I’d been in a meeting with Linc, Hunter, Xander, and our new client for all of ten minutes, and already I knew I did not like Missy Kline.
If I had to guess, I’d have put her somewhere in her mid-thirties, but it was hard to tell with all the cosmetic surgery she’d had done.
She’d come sauntering into the office fifteen minutes ago, wearing tan heels at least six inches high, a pair of winter white slacks with a matching see-through button-down with a gold camisole beneath.
She had a pair of flashy diamond studs in her ears, and the rock on her finger was so big I could have ice skated on it.
She had money, no doubt about it. The woman wore it like a badge of honor, but that wasn’t the source of my dislike.
That came five minutes after we entered the conference room and Linc started detailing the plan we’d made for how this was going to go down.
As soon as he finished talking, she looked over at me, curled her lip, and declared, “I’m unsure your plan will work, Mr. Sheppard, seeing as my husband has a taste for the finer things in life.
I’m not sure your employee is up for the task.
Okay, so my jeans were tight, my top had a faded Harley logo on the front, and I’d opted for a pair of brown cowboy boots—old but still awesome—instead of heels. If I had to guess, just one of her fancy shoes cost more than everything on my body, but for god’s sake, it wasn’t like I was a troll.
“I can assure you, Ms. Winthrop is up for the task, you don’t need to worry about that.
” He cocked one brow, lifting his chin to look down his nose at her.
“You’ll be hard pressed to find a better team than mine, but if you’d like to try your luck with another private investigator, I’d be happy to make some recommendations.
As it is, we only agreed to take your case as a courtesy to a long-standing client who referred you to us.
We have plenty of other jobs we’re currently putting aside to handle yours, so if you aren’t sure my people are right for the job, please say so now so I can stop wasting their time. ”
Ooh, BURN.
She quickly backpedaled after Linc skillfully put her in her place, and we continued from there.
Several more times throughout the meeting she made subtle jabs at the professionalism and ability of each of us.
She questioned and re-questioned our plan, made completely ridiculous suggestions, and acted like she could do a better job than the men in the room who had been at this for years and were the baddest of the badasses out there.
But hey, money was money, and as long as her check cleared, I was willing to let her snooty behavior slide.
What should have been a thirty-minute meeting, tops, dragged into an hour and a half by the time she was done making us repeat ourselves over and over again.
I was about ready to start pulling my hair out by the time Linc escorted her out of the room.
“I need coffee,” I muttered as I moved out of the conference room with Hunter and Xander.
“Hell,” Hunter grunted, “I need bourbon. Woman’s gonna be a serious pain in the ass before all this is through.”
I had no doubt about that.
He broke off from our little circle and moved away and I turned to Xander, tipping my head back to look up at him as I asked, “Are all the clients like that?”
“With fees like ours, most of the people who can afford us are rich, entitled assholes.”
One side of my mouth came up in a grin. “So that’s a yes?”
He didn’t answer right away. Those inky eyes slid down to my mouth, and his frown grew more severe, like the sight of my smile pissed him off. And when he finally did speak, it was to issue a warning. “Don’t fuck this up.”
My grin fell and my hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. “You know, since meeting you, for the first time in my life I’ve been having extremely vivid fantasies about committing murder. Maybe one of these days I’ll give in and act one of them out.”
Then I spun around and stormed off.
The butterflies floating around in my belly were due more to excitement than nerves.
As I took the elevator up to the third floor, it felt like I was coming out of my skin.
Hunter and Xander were already waiting for me, and while I wasn’t necessarily thrilled that the Bearded Bastard was in tow, I was too busy feeling like a badass Jennifer Garner in Alias to let him bring me down.
Alpha Omega booked a room in the swanky hotel where my mark liked to pick up his nightly entertainment.
From there, they’d track and record all my movements, and it allowed them to be close enough to intervene if things went tits up.
It would have been cooler if they were camped out in a van outside—that was how they did it in all the spy movies—but Linc had looked at me like I’d lost my mind when I suggested as much.
The doors to the elevator opened, and I headed down the hall to what I’d dubbed the “Control Room” for no other reason than it sounded cool as hell. After all, I was a badass private investigator now, and I wanted a freaking control room.
“You know, it would be a lot cooler if we had a code word to get in here,” I said the moment Hunter opened the door for me.
“Talked about this already, Sage. This isn’t a TV show. Truth is, most of these jobs are boring as hell.”
“How about you don’t rain on my parade.” I pushed into the room and dropped my duffle bag on the bed as I took in the setup. Xander had three laptops open on the desk, each projecting images of the bar downstairs from different angles. Definitely a control room vibe. Yay.
“How’d you get those images?” I asked, pointing to the computer screens.
He turned from where he’d been typing at warp speed on one of the laptops and regarded me with all the warmth of a Siberian winter. “I hacked into the hotel’s security feed, so as long as you’re in the bar we’ll have eyes on you to make sure you don’t screw up.”
“I’m not gonna screw up,” I bit back, flipping him the bird for added effect.
“Christ. Knew Linc was punishing me for somethin’ when he teamed me up with you two,” Hunter grunted from across the room, and I turned to see him staring up at the ceiling as if searching for divine intervention.
“I’ll behave if Sasquatch does,” I said, throwing my thumb out in Xander’s direction before looking back at Hunter. “So where are we?”
“Client turned on the GPS to the mark’s phone, so we’ve been able to track him. Looks like he’s about ten minutes out.”
I turned to the computer screen that looked like a digital map of downtown Richmond with a blinking red dot moving across it.
I moved closer, squeezed in next to Xander, and leaned in to get a better look, ignoring the way the big man’s entire body went tense at my proximity.
“You know, I don’t get it. If this woman’s so certain her husband’s cheating, why not just leave him instead of paying our crazy fees to find proof of something she already knows in her gut?
” Xander’s head turned in my direction, his features almost surprised at my question. “What?”
“You make it sound so easy,” he said, his voice gentler than I’d ever heard it before.
“It’s far from easy,” I replied earnestly.
“But aren’t the people you love supposed to add to your life?
I mean, the people you surround yourself with are supposed to bring you joy, not take it away, so if there’s someone who makes you sad more than they make you happy, you should cut them out.
No matter how hard it is. Life’s way too short to be unhappy all the time. ”
Something I couldn’t read flashed in those deep, dark eyes, and for a moment, I thought, just maybe, we could start to get along.
Then, as he was so prone to doing, the jerkoff opened his mouth and ruined it.
“The mark’ll be here any minute, so you better get yourself ready.
” He took in my boots, jeans, and tee that read “Single and Suspicious” before sneering.
“This dude goes for high class pieces. I hope to fuck you brought somethin’ to change into, ’cause no way in hell you’ll get in there lookin’ like that. ”
Ignoring the biting sting those words caused, I stood tall and moved to my bag. The outfit I brought for tonight was going to make our target fall to his knees when he saw me. Hopefully, it would have the added effect of making Xander Caine swallow his own tongue as well.
And I hoped he’d choke on it.
I took in my reflection in the bathroom mirror, pleased with the outcome.
The slinky red dress I brought for tonight hugged me like a second skin, accentuating every curve.
Two thick straps ran over the tops of my shoulders, and the neckline plunged into a deep V at the front, with an even bigger one at my back, making a bra impossible.
The hemline reached all the way to my knees, but thanks to the slit in the back of the skirt, it was far more tempting than modest. But what I loved most about the dress was the shimmery gold appliqué sewn into the front left side by my ribs, giving just a hint of flash.
I wore a pair of high-heeled gold sandals with a gazillion complicated straps from my toes all the way to my ankles.
A pair of simple gold hoops graced my ears, and a thin gold chain wrapped around my neck before dipping into my cleavage.
My eyeshadow was dark and smoky, and my hair hung loose in big curls with plenty of volume.
There was no way the jackass was going to be able to resist. I’d make sure of it.
When I stepped out of the bathroom, I knew I’d chosen wisely by the sound of Hunter’s appreciative whistle and his rumbled, “Damn, sweetheart. Don’t know where that dress came from, but I’m puttin’ the designer of it in my goddamn will.”