Chapter 27
Markus and Gabby left “Together” as quietly as they could and made a beeline for G and Jasmine’s place. The mansioniest mansion presided over the party from atop a cliff a short way down the beach.
Gabby’s dress and pumps were the wrong choice for anything but a cocktail party. She slipped the shoes off and scurried along the hydrangea-lined path, trying to avoid rocks. Why had she worn heels?
“Maybe we should check someone else’s room first,” Markus said, “You already searched G’s office.”
“I overheard Jasmine talking at the tea party. She does all of her actual work from her walk-in closet. There’s probably a computer or an iPad or something in there.”
When they arrived at G and Jasmine’s door, everything was quiet. That was good, but the house was locked.
“How are we going to get in?” Gabby peered through the window into the empty house.
With a self-satisfied smile, Markus punched the code in and swung the door open for her like it was no big deal. “Madame.”
“How’d you do that?” Gabby glanced at him with a hefty appreciation. Nothing was sexier than a competent man in a tux.
“I watched G enter the code last time,” he said, like it was no big deal.
In the interest of being efficient, they bypassed the kitchen and great room and headed up the stairs to the main bedroom, which occupied the entire second floor of the mansion.
It was everything you’d expect it to be.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean.
A private deck with sliding doors that let in the noise of the waterfall spilling onto the rocks below.
Gabby put her hands on her hips and looked around. “Do you like it?” she asked. To her mind, it was beautiful but not very cozy or welcoming.
Markus stopped to appreciate the room. “It’s big, nice lighting, but where’s the TV?”
“I know, right?” It wasn’t a space designed for regular people, which made sense, given that Jasmine and Genesis weren’t very regular. “I like mine better. Justin really did a great job.”
“Oh, you like your bedroom better than this?” He angled a look at her.
“You should see—” she started to say before cutting herself short.
“Should I?” He raised a brow.
Gabby made a show of looking out the window and testing the sliding doors. “I like the deck, though.” She was not thinking about the deck, and Markus was boring a hole through her back with his gaze. She didn’t need to be a psychic to feel that.
More gruffly, he said, “There,” and made toward what must be Jasmine’s closet.
The term “closet” didn’t really reflect the room. Her closet was the size of a Blockbuster Video. After the party earlier, Gabby was going down an early aughts rabbit hole.
The back wall was nothing but designer clothes, racks of shoes that looked like they’d never been worn, and more bikinis than a person could wear in a year.
There were framed photos of Jasmine’s modeling days, including one of her kneeling on the beach and making bedroom eyes into the camera with her arms crossed over her breasts.
The frothy surf crashed over her shoulders.
Gabby said, “I feel like the ocean is cumming on her back in that one. Am I wrong?”
“No, I believe that was the artistic intent,” Markus said dryly.
“And if it’s a swimsuit ad, where’s the swimsuit?” Gabby asked.
“That one is for Inner Beauty’s new fragrance line.”
Gabby found Jasmine’s office in the form of a small desk tucked against the wall, between a display of purses and jewelry. At first glance, it looked like a makeup desk, but there were no brushes or powders to be seen. Tucked in a drawer, Gabby found some snapshots and a sleek Apple laptop.
She thumbed through the photos, mostly pictures of Genesis and Jasmine dressed up for various occasions.
Then there were pics of her and some of the girls.
Selfies of her and Naomi with smiles plastered across their faces.
Then she found one of Naomi, Jasmine, and Amanda Duvall with the same big smiles. Amanda looked like Inner-G material.
“How about a USB?” she asked. “Do we have one?”
Markus searched his pockets. She saw him come up with a condom but no USB drive.
He saw that she’d seen. They locked eyes for a moment, neither saying anything. If it had been yesterday, they definitely would have made a joke or maybe made use of it.
Markus shoved it back in his pocket. “Let’s just take the whole laptop. We’ll return it later.”
After a cursory search of the premises for Sheridan’s phone, they were ready to skedaddle. Just as they were shutting the front door behind them, Genesis appeared, looking downtrodden.
“Hey,” he said, barely glancing up.
Gabby started stammering. “Oh, hi… We were just looking for you.” Which didn’t make any sense after she said it because they knew damn well that Genesis was at Together, the worst party that Inner-G had ever hosted.
He gave a nod, seemingly unconcerned that they were leaving his house. “Well, you found me.”
Gabby tucked the computer under her arm more tightly.
“Want a drink?” Genesis asked. With a heavy sigh, he said, “I know we’re a dry resort, but I need a drink.” Genesis looked ten years older than he had earlier that night.
Gabby and Markus exchanged a glance. She thought they came to a nonverbal agreement—definitely not staying.
Just as she said, “No,” he said, “Yes,” which about summarized their communication. With a shrug, she said, “Just one.”
Genesis opened the door for them and ushered them over to his bar. He poured two fingers of whiskey into highball glasses for each of them. “Together was a bust. Jasmine is off with the girls, not talking to me.” Genesis looked at Gabby. “I thought you might be with them.”
“Sorry, man,” Markus said, clapping him on the back. “Some nights are like that.”
“It feels like everything is falling apart.” He threw back the whiskey. “Did I tell you I was set to make Power Couple 2?”
“Really? That’s awesome.” Markus sounded truly happy for him.
G shook his head. “The finances are falling apart.”
“Can’t you fund it?” Gabby asked.
G shook his head. “No, we just look rich. The outside investors aren’t coming through.”
Phil’s comment about the All You Can Eat shrimp buffet crossed her mind.
After one more drink than they agreed to, Markus said, “I’m going to walk Gia back to the cottage. If you want, I’ll meet you for another drink after.”
G waved him off. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He gave Markus a hug. “Thanks for being here for me, man.”
“Same,” Markus answered.
Back at the honeymoon cottage, they made quick work of duplicating the hard drive.
Just as they were finishing, the phone rang. It was Valentina. Gabby grimaced because this wasn’t going to be good.
“At least we have the hard drive,” Markus said, sounding unconvinced.
“Agents?” Valentina said. “Are you both there?”
“Yes.”
“Good, because I want both of you to hear how fucking disappointed I am. What the hell happened today? I was expecting a psychic to get off a plane no later than twenty-three hundred hours EST, and we have no psychic and no communication from you.”
Markus rubbed the back of his neck like he was trying to get a knot out.
“She refused to leave, Agent Monroe,” Gabby said. “She believes she’s being targeted by President Simon.”
Valentina was silent for a beat. “Where the hell is this coming from?”
Gabby started to explain, and Valentina cut her off. “That’s absurd. You need to get her off that resort and on a plane to Washington.”
“We did duplicate Jasmine Love’s computer tonight.”
“That’s fine, but you disobeyed a direct order to evacuate. This is about chain of command. When your senior officer says go, you GO. When the president of the United States says to move, you fucking hustle. What did you do?”
Gabby was silent.
“You went to a party and copied a hard drive. You continued with the mission against direct orders. Sheridan Lane is supposed to be in Washington, DC, and she is still on the fucking resort in the Azores.”
Uh… that was all true.
“This is the simplest, most luxurious mission that anyone at the EOD has ever been assigned, and you two are screwing it up. I could have asked an intern to do this job.” With finality, she said, “You’re done.”
“But—”
“No ‘buts.’ You’re off the case. I’m placing you on administrative leave, effective immediately, and expediting your paperwork. Do not leave that cottage and wait for evacuation.”
“Val—”
“Sit tight and don’t do a damn thing until we get there.”
“We found—”
“I don’t want to hear it. You are civilians now, and if you do anything, you will be arrested. So stay put or say hello to the Portuguese government for me.”
The call went dead.