“Hey, if you want to come, I’m all for it. I just think it’s going to be a waste of your time.”
“Then I guess you’re lucky I have a lot of free time on my hands.” She smiled.
“Lucky is one way of putting it.”
Jace pulled his black sedan into one of the few parking spots available on the crowded Brooklyn street. The city was notoriously unfriendly toward vehicles, and that reputation was well founded. He had outrun angry mobsters on the streets of Moscow, and that was less dangerous than navigating through the various boroughs during rush hour. The sun was just starting to go down, and he was supposed to meet Emma in front of her cousin’s building in two hours. He figured he could get a bit of reconnaissance done before he brought Emma here.
Sure, this wasn’t a bodyguard job, but he wasn’t about to bring her into a pit of vipers. She was just too...small. She talked a good game and was quick-witted enough to handle herself in most situations. But no amount of smarts and bravado could hide just how vulnerable she was when she went walking into Drax.
He might not have wanted to help her at first, but he couldn’t deny that she needed all the help she could get. When they got closer to Joslyn’s friends who were more like Donny, who Joslyn hired to kill Victoria, Emma would need backup.
But before he went in to scope out Drax, he had to see to Michael’s one request for this investigation. He grabbed his phone off the seat next to him and typed in the number he knew by heart.
After two rings, Hansen answered. “About time you called,” he said with his posh British accent.
“So you got my message.”
“Do you think I’m a miracle worker?”
“I think you’re smart enough to get me what I want. If you do, there’s five thousand pounds in it for you.”
That seemed to perk Hansen up. “Well, why didn’t you say that in the first place?”
“It’s more fun to hear you bitch,” Jace deadpanned. “Now, how quick do you think you can get to Russell?”
Hansen snorted. “All you gave me was a first name, probable major, and that he went to Oxford. Do you have any idea how long this would take MI5 to look into?”
“So you already found him?”
“And am currently digging up whatever dirt I can use. It looks like the man has a sealed juvenile record, so once I crack that, I’m guessing we can get the poor bloke to do whatever we want.”
“Don’t make him flee the country, Hansen. We just want him to think that working with us will be more beneficial than him working with his classmate. I also want you to get your hands on that computer.”
“Of course. I’m sure this guy knows his stuff, but he’s no me.”
“There’s only one you,” agreed Jace. He’d met Hansen while working on a job in the Middle East for a private firm. “Private firm” meaning a government mission that the government would deny any involvement in if asked. When working with people in those circumstances, it was easy to get a good idea for skill level, and Hansen was cocky for a reason. “Russell might’ve made contact with Emma earlier today. We need to know exactly what he told her.”
“You don’t think she’d give you updates?”
“I’d rather know the answer before I ask the question.”
“Got it. I’ll see what I can get tonight and try to intercept the mark before he catches the train to work tomorrow.”
“Great. I’ll get the first half of your fee wired to your accounts by tomorrow. If Russell needs any additional persuading, I can send more over.”
“You’re too nice to your informants. There are cheaper ways to get what you want.”
“It’s not my money.” Jace grinned.
“Well, in that case, I think I’ll need a bigger fee.”
“Thanks for your help, Hansen. Keep me updated.” Jace hung up the phone. Emma might be furious if she knew that he was intercepting information, but Jace could guarantee Hansen could find out a hell of a lot more from that laptop that any random classmate from Oxford.
He turned his attention back to the public entrance to Drax. Like he’d suspected, the outside front of the club didn’t look all that shady. Doors were scheduled to open in fifteen minutes, but it probably wouldn’t get too crowded until much later.
Jace held his position in front of the club for another hour before he felt satisfied that there wasn’t any reason not to bring Emma around. He threw the sedan into gear and made his way back to the parking garage where he’d rented a spot for his car. The damn parking spot was more expensive than the room he was renting, but he needed to have a vehicle on hand in case he needed to get out of Dodge fast.
He ran his fingers through his hair a few times and adjusted the collar of his black button-down shirt. He hadn’t ever gone to one of these places for fun, but he knew how to fit in at least. He wondered what Emma would wear. How did a billionaire dress for a night on the town? Would she wear one of those barely there skirts? Of course, considering the conservative, suspicious woman he’d spent the afternoon with, he half thought she’d be covered from head to toe in jeans and a turtleneck.
He laughed at the thought as he jumped out of the car. If he had to tell Emma to change clothes, she’d probably sucker-punch him. He knew she’d thought about it more than once that day, so him insulting her style would be the straw that broke the heiress’s back.
Jace waved down a cab and gave the address of the building where Emma was staying. He was familiar enough with the neighborhood because Victoria lived only a few blocks down, but getting parking in the busy club district at night wasn’t worth it. Besides, the ride would give him and Emma a chance to go over the game plan for the night. Namely, he’d have to convince her to keep quiet while he asked questions.
As soon as the cab came to a stop in front of the building, Jace sent Emma a text to let her know he was there. Even though it would be hilarious to make his way past the doorman and knock on her cousin’s door, he’d let Emma pretend she was pulling one over on her family.
On his way to meet Emma earlier, Jace let Michael know that he would accept their offer of employment and provided them his bank account number to wire a deposit payment. Within the hour, Jace was a much richer man. Looking back, he had done much worse things for much less money. If he played his cards right, Emma would never know he was two-timing her, and he could get his easiest double payday yet.
As he waited, he looked around the street at the various upper class of the city coming home from work or heading out for their upscale dinner dates. This was by far his highest-paying gig, and it was in one of the best locations. He started to feel more stupid for not taking Emma up on her offer immediately.
But his mind went blank as he finally saw the familiar reddish-brown hair poke through the crowd. Her hair was down and flowed around a short black leather jacket. Her small frame was elongated by her ankle boots with a four-inch heel, and her legs were covered by skin-tight dark denim.
Okay, maybe he’d misjudged her, he admitted to himself as he stepped out of the backseat to wave her over.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said as she approached. “I wanted to sneak past Luke and it took him forever to stop checking his email and go back to his wing.”