7. Damon
7
DAMON
I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
Good old Ari. Always the perfect student. She even had her glasses on, which was adding to the allure.
We’d all agreed to meet Lucas in his hotel suite. Though suite hardly covered it. He had the whole damned floor.
Plenty of room. Snacks were laid out. I’d already eaten half my weight in them.
Galen had forced Ari to eat something, and I was grateful for that because I knew her. When she was tense, she didn’t eat.
Lucas shoved his hands in his jeans. “Since we’re all on board, we might as well get to the important things.”
“What important things?” Ari muttered the question softly as she picked at the grapes on her plate. Galen frowned at her. This was not the picture of a woman who wanted to be here.
Of course not, you idiot. She’s an analyst. She doesn’t go in the field. She’s scared.
We were walking right into the lion’s den. Basically a den of thieves, murderers, and God knew what else, all dressed in bespoke suits. The wealthiest people in the world would be buying and selling anything they wanted. She should be afraid.
Lucas clicked a button on the remote, and a screen came down, showing a list of all the major players. “The Black Rose Auction is put on every year.” Lucas clicked to the next slide. “From the moment you arrive, you’ll have a concierge. They’ll take care of all your needs while you’re there. I cannot stress this enough: This auction is unlike any you’ve ever seen. It’s not going to be some nice, refined affair with everyone silently raising their paddles while bidding on artwork and jewelry. Trust nothing and nobody, and know there is always another game being played. Oh, and stay the fuck away from Reaper if you can. He has a way of seeing through people. It can be... discomfiting.”
Ari’s brows furrowed. “He owns some really famous high-end sex clubs, right? How do you go from sex clubs to an underground auction?”
Lucas shook his head. “He’s a man of many talents. I’m serious. Stay away from him. We don’t want to be on his radar. In and out. No muss. No fuss. And no matter what you see or hear, just think, None of my business .”
I knew what Lucas was thinking of. Reaper was a master and connoisseur of kink. “Think of the Black Rose Auction as part auction, part fantasy playground, with a very sexy component.”
Ari very calmly turned to Galen. “Everything has been a mess, from the prince’s murky background, to Damon, who has been doing God knows what until now, and now you’re telling me the auction has a sexy component.”
Lucas shook his head. “None of that has anything to do with us. We won’t be participating in the auction at all. We will be switching out the Royal Heart after it’s shown.”
Ari sighed. “Look, I don’t care how consenting adults get their rocks off. If this Reaper guy runs kink clubs, I can only imagine what the auction is like. But as long as everyone is of age, consenting, and there willingly, whatever. My concern is the legality of the exchanges. If deals will be honored. These aren’t refined collectors. Some of these people will be carrying weapons and be used to getting their own way. This is dangerous, and I don’t know what to expect. How can I plan for the unpredictable?”
Lucas was completely unfazed. “Reaper runs a tight ship. No violence will be tolerated. I have no word on if they’ll be confiscating weapons or not. Usually the fear of his retribution is enough to keep people in line. But he won’t risk it. We’ll need to get weapons in another way.”
“And you think he’s not going to notice when we slip a priceless necklace out from under his nose?” she asked.
Lucas shook his head. “He’ll never know. We’ll be replacing it with a stellar replica. But we need to be careful. If we’re not, it could mean our lives.”
Ari glowered at Galen. “You want me to walk in there when not one of you can guarantee my safety?”
Lucas sighed. “ I will guarantee your safety. If you use the safe word on comms, I will walk you out that front door myself. No one will touch me. I’m royalty.”
I pushed away from the wall. “It won’t come to that, Ari. I will get you out of there before anything goes wrong. If anything goes the least bit sideways, I will abandon this job in a minute if it means your safety. But just so you know, we’re all risking something on this job.”
Galen scowled. “Like Lucas said, if you use the safe word, I will send men in. I don’t give a fuck who will be pissed off.”
Her brow furrowed. “So we’ve got our backup exfil in place. Tell me we’ve got more than one. I’ll need us to know them all backward and forward.”
Lucas sighed. “We do. You will be safe. I’m telling you what you’re dealing with so you can walk in with eyes wide open, so that nothing scares you or concerns you in the moment. That’s how you walk into a field assignment.”
I crossed my arms. “Lucas, when was the last time you were on a field assignment? From what I understand, you preferred to do things when people weren’t at home.”
He chuckled low. “Let’s just say I’ve had my fair share of too much adventure, okay? In my misspent youth, I learned to watch my back, trust my instincts, and be prepared. I’m only trying to prepare you, Ari, not scare you.” He turned to Galen. “She’s on your team, so I know how much you value her. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“No, Galen. I’m the one who’ll make sure Ari doesn’t leave my side,” I assured him.
Ari sat back down and grumbled, “That’s what I’m worried about.”
Galen nodded at Lucas. “What else will we be dealing with?”
Lucas slid his gaze to Ari and continued. “The cover story is the other piece I’ve been working on. Since you’re going in together as a couple, I’m going to need you to be a couple. You’ll get fake names and a background to go along with them. The IDs have been backstopped by the best in the business. They’ll come complete with employment history, tax records, and prior dating and social media profiles too. It won’t get you security clearance or anything, but it’s enough to make you real. But I can’t stress this enough: Reaper thinks anything is suspicious and it’s game over, so you need to sell the covers.”
Ari just chuckled. “And let me guess, there’s only one bed?”
Lucas smiled sheepishly. “The good news is the two of you are already acquainted with each other. You’ll work it out. The other component is you will need to meet with the concierge in person. Also, you need to move in together to establish your cover. Once you send in your RSVP, you will be watched. Sometimes there are people who don’t want to wait for the auction to begin, so they try and either influence buyers to drop out or participants not to take part, that sort of thing. To make sure everyone is following the rules, they will have you followed.”
Even Galen groaned at that one. “Is there no good news here? You’re telling us that not only will they be surveilled at the auction but before it as well?”
Lucas shrugged. “Yup, that’s the gist.”
Ari groaned. “The good news just keeps coming, doesn’t it?”
Lucas nodded. “The auction is in a week and a half. As soon as they receive your RSVP, we need to assume you’re being watched. So you will be staying at a hotel together, acting like a couple madly in love. Inside the hotel room, you should be okay, but remember that outside your room, you must sell the act.”
I rolled my shoulders. “In terms of safety, can we get some of Galen’s people in there too?”
He shook his head. “No, invites are already out. You’ll have me and Penny. Penny has a piece of her work up for auction, and she’s pretty badass in the field. Galen, you can have as many people as you want watching them before, and you can have your people outside the perimeter of the location, but no men inside. Even the staff members are heavily vetted.”
Galen nodded and turned his gaze to Ari. “I have full faith in my people. As long as you can hold up your end, Damon, Ari will be ready.”
I lifted my gaze to hers, knowing full well we were going to have a hell of a time establishing trust. In a week and a half, we were either going to be on this mission together as a unit, or one of us would be dead. And I would be the one in need of a body bag.