“If Gabe is so worried about Melody’s credibility,“ he said, “then let’s get an accomplice that will be reliable.” Eddie’s eyes lit up, as if he’d realized the brilliancy of his plan.
“Who’re we going to send in?” A hint of skepticism lingered in her tone, even though she totally got where he was headed.
Eddie’s ebony gaze jumped between Rio and Rivera and then a mischievous grin curled up one corner of his mouth.
“Hey...” Rivera bellowed in protest, “I’m not dressing up like a chick, man.”
Rio snorted. “We want him to take our bait.” The thought of Rivera in drag sent a sliver of laughter splintering through her. “Not go running for the hills.”
Eddie slapped Rivera on the arm. “Not you, stupid. I’m talking about your friend in records.”
Eddie’s true intent lit up in Rio’s mind in bright green neon.
Victoria
. “No shit!” Her enthusiasm poured out with her words. “She’s perfect.” Rio giggled. “At least she will be with a little help from me.” She paused a moment, letting the cleverness of Eddie’s plan sink in. “God, you’re smart.”
“That’s what I like about you, Laraquette.” Eddie tossed her a chuckle and a wink. “You know a good thing when you see it.”
* * *
Victoria perched her hands on her hips and scrutinized them all, one at a time. First Eddie, then Rio, and finally Paul. “This is like a joke, right?” If it was, it wasn’t funny.
Paul answered with a slight shake of the head. He gave her a fond glance with his imposing, coffee-brown eyes.
She struggled with his influence, reminding herself of the millions of reasons that this wasn’t a good idea.
“I’m just a records clerk,” she said. “I’m not equipped to partake in some undercover operation.” She hesitated, overcome with feelings of inadequacy. This was such a bad idea. Why didn’t they see that?
“Viki...” Paul reached for her hand and trapped her gaze with his. He’d turned the charm up a notch. Paul wasn’t playing fair. “I can understand how you might have reservations,” he said. “But I have faith in your ability to do this thing.”
Victoria needed a convincing argument to discourage him, but her ability to reason failed her. She called upon the words, but none came. Instead, his enticing gaze trapped her and she quickly forgot what she’d been trying to prevent, much less why.
An impulsive hint of doubt zapped the last bit of her remaining confidence. She tried, and failed, to come up with a last-ditch effort to dissuade him from this scheme. It certainly wasn’t a plan. The term
plan
indicated rational thinking and there was nothing sane in assuming that she could pull off an undercover mission.
“Do I look like the kind of girl he’d have working with him?” Victoria waited for them to take a long, hard look at her wild hair that she felt compelled to restrain daily into this neatly braided, bun-like thing at the back of her head. She wore very little makeup, and hid her overdeveloped body beneath concealing clothes.
“Not yet,” Rio said. “But with a few pointers from me, you’ll fit in nicely.” Rio’s voice held so much certainty and confidence that it quelled Victoria’s idea that she wasn’t suitable.
But would Rio really be able to turn Victoria’s Plain Jane guise into a blazing beauty? That’s what she’d need to be to pull this off. Victoria Simmons was not accustomed to turning heads when she walked by. As far as she knew, the only eye she’d ever caught was Paul Rivera’s. And that was okay with her, but the problem, she figured, was that Paul expected everyone else to see what he saw.
They were expecting to present a dolled-up version of herself to Lester, thinking he wouldn’t be able to pass up the opportunity to add another accomplice to his stable of unethical beauties.
She hoped she didn’t end up a disappointment.
CHAPTER 21
CHRIS Bradley prided himself on being good at the art of misdirection. He knew he was inconspicuous sitting at a slot machine near Lester’s pit surrounding numerous blackjack tables. Every so often he dropped a coin into the slot, allowing him to keep up the illusion.
From all appearances, it might seem that Chris was totally wrapped up in his slot machine and the gambling, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He had zeroed in on Lester and his actions a long time ago.
Lester, his target, was actively involved in keeping the entrants of the poker tournament happy—so long as they were women, and pretty ones.
Chris spied covertly as another girl—an amazingly hot girl—approached Lester.
Don’t be an accomplice. Please, don’t be his partner
. Chris let the mantra drift through his thoughts as if it would subliminally make it so.
The girl signed a marker and then took a rack of chips from Lester, diminishing Chris’s hopes for her innocence.
Damn
.
The picture of her walking away spoke to his libido. The way those lime-green slacks shifted with her bottom while the tight fitting, pink sweater stayed put.
“Eyes on the prize.” Laraquette’s voice mocked playfully as it filtered through his earpiece.
“Oh, believe me,” he said softly, surely, “that’s exactly where they are!”
“I’m sure she’d be pleased to know that you’re ogling her like a vulture circling its prey,” Laraquette said.
“Isn’t your break over?” Chris asked, but didn’t say her name. It wouldn’t pay for anyone who might overhear their conversation to know who was talking. “Don’t you have a poker game to play?”
“No, it’s not,” she said, understated. “And yes, I do.”
“Hey, hey, hey...here she comes.” Rivera’s voice filtered into the conversation. That must mean Melody and Victoria had arrived.
Chris recognized Melody in an instant, but...
Who’s that with her
?
He sensed something vaguely familiar about the pretty brunette with long, flowing curls and a petite Barbie doll figure walking confidently alongside Melody. Scantily clad in a black, tight-fitting mini skirt and a cropped off T-shirt, Melody’s companion looked like a wild sex kitten. One Chris would like the chance to tame.
“Well...” a voice Chris had no chance of recognizing filtered through his earpiece. “What do you guys think?”
“She looks good,” Rivera said with a quick, satisfying snicker. “Doesn’t she?”
No way
. Chris finally recognized his sex kitten, thanks to Rivera. She instantly moved one step out of his reach. Even though he was a firm believer in all’s fair in love and war, he’d learned early on that any woman associated with the FVC or his fellow agents was off limits.
The airwaves quieted as Melody and Victoria approached Lester. Chris, sitting within earshot, spied upon them while periodically dropping a coin into the slot and pretending to be contemplating his odds of winning.
When Lester saw the girls approaching, he donned his brightest smile and gestured to them with open arms. “Ladies...to what do I owe this pleasure?”
Lester fancied himself a ladies’ man. He was quite unaware that he could possibly be anything less.
“This is my cousin, Bethany.” Melody introduced Victoria by the name Dickie had created for her, which had come with a convenient bank account to complete the illusion. “She’s here from Jersey, and looking for work.” She put it out there and left it at that, but success depended upon Lester thinking it was his idea.
“Have you spoke to her about our little arrangement?” he said to Melody, casual-like. “Would she be interested?”
“Yeah,” she said. “She’s interested.”
Well
, breezed through Victoria’s thoughts. This guy deserved to get busted after opening up his illegal dealings with such blatant disregard.
“What you got in mind, sugar?” Victoria said in the sexiest voice she could find.
“Mel will fill you in.” Lester reached for her hand. “If you’re interested,” he said, tracing his fingertip up her forearm. “Come by tomorrow.”
Victoria cringed underneath his touch, but hid it with a well-disguised smile. “All right.”
“Come on, let’s go have a drink.” Melody latched onto Victoria’s wrist and pulled her away.
Lester watched them with great eagerness as they strolled off.
“Glance over your shoulder and flash him a cute little smile,” Chris said into Victoria’s earpiece.
Victoria looked over her left shoulder and added a slight wink to go along with her tempting smile.
Chris easily heard Lester express his approval with a caveman-like grunt.
Good thing she’s not my girl
.
Still, Lester’s flagrant disrespect for someone connected with the FVC Unit didn’t set well with a guy like Chris Bradley.
CHAPTER 22
LESTER Perzinsky had always liked to put on airs. After twenty some-odd years of a Vegas-styled education in street-smarts, he’d learned to perfect the illusion quite successfully.
He closed the front door of his new home on the outskirts of the celebrated community Skyland, compliments of his new benefactor. Being on the outer reaches of the elite community, some could argue the location was akin to the Porsche 924, often referred to as the
poor man’s Porsche
.
Lester, like so many others who worried about keeping up with the Joneses, had enough money to purchase a less expensive home on the outskirts, but not quite enough to land him inside the heart of the community. Still, he was content with the notion of falsely projecting an image that acquainted him with the more financially stable society of the area.
While things were a little touch-n-go at first, the end result was well worth the anxiety and uncertainty that plagued him during the onset of the deal. And it hadn’t happened upon him a moment too soon.
His wife Meredith had been edgy and distant ever since she found out about the money, or lack thereof, a few months ago. Luckily, he had concocted his ingenious markers scheme just in time to keep her from walking out the door.
To his dismay, she remained aloof and detached even though he’d been providing her with a few grand a week in spending money. He could tell she no longer trusted him and he was certain she was looking for a new man. One with more money than he could get his hands on.
But this new house of nearly three thousand square feet in the prestigious neighborhood would surely change her tune and entice her to forget about moving on.
Lester moved jubilantly toward his white Ford sedan, a 95 model. A vehicle he willingly drove just so he could keep Meredith happy in her brand new convertible Mustang, a car he purchased a couple of months ago. He was able to save a little cash by purchasing the vehicle with a V6 instead of the highly coveted V8 engine. Meredith didn’t know the difference. All she saw was the style of the car; to her they both looked the same.
Up until recently, they’d lived comfortably for almost two years in the high-rise apartment. He’d kept her happy with clothes and a couple of trips to Hawaii and Cancun during the last year. Eventually Meredith’s champagne taste caught up with his beer budget. Lester had been struggling, barely able to keep up with the minimum payments on the credit cards.
That’s when she found out he was not quite as financially viable as he’d led her to believe. The result was pitiful really. Begging her to stay was his low point, but Lester couldn’t help himself. He could not get enough of Meredith Vincent and losing her was not an option.
Oddly enough, for a man to be so fanatical about one woman, Lester was unable to remain faithful. He was discreet, however. He never wined and dined other women. The extent of his dalliances consisted of talking his stable of casino accomplices into a quickie in his car every once in a while, using the money they gained from his scam as leverage. Simply put, if they wanted to keep raking in the proceeds the Golden Sunset had to offer, they had to agree to satisfy his manly urges upon occasion.
Lester looked forward to having Melody’s cousin sate his fire next.
But not for a few days. He anticipated Meredith would see to all his needs and desires for several days once she got a look at her new home.
That too, would give his next conquest time to get used to the money from his scheme. He’d let them get used to the cash and then threatened to take it away if they refused a quick rendezvous out in the parking lot.
Lester anticipated nothing less from Melody’s cousin, expecting her to follow suit.
He shut the car door and started the engine, letting the air conditioning cool the interior before he shifted the car into gear. He grabbed his cell phone and hit the speed dial and then waited impatiently, tapping his forefinger on the steering wheel.
Hearing Melody’s sexy voice greet him with a warm “
hello
”, he smiled.
“It’s Lester,” he said. “Why don’t you have your cousin come in tomorrow too? I’ll meet you both out in the parking lot during my lunch break.”
“You don’t think that’s a bit bold?”
“Nah...casino brass is so wrapped up in the tournament, they’re not aware of anything else that’s going on.” Lester’s cocky attitude established his firm belief in his words.
Melody was just one in a long line of partners in crime who assisted Lester in his elaborate scheme to steal from his employer.
Lester ignored the gravity of the infraction he committed against the Golden Sunset Hotel and Casino, a multi-million dollar corporation with annual revenues toping eight hundred million dollars, as damaging financially or otherwise. The way he saw it, the thousands of dollars he stole every week was merely a drop in the bucket compared to the annual totals of the casino’s revenue. He even fancied that he might be doing them a favor by giving them a valid tax write-off.
CHAPTER 23
JUICED with anticipation, Chris Bradley wandered around the casino with a watchful eye on Lester Perzinsky. They were moving one step closer to identifying the elusive mastermind behind the tainted poker tournament. He could feel it. A dirty pit boss would probably know a little something about shady gambling.
But it was curiously odd that LaCall and Laraquette were at different poker tables, and yet both were raking in the dough. Sure, they could be that good, but it was almost like someone was playing with them.
How could the FVC build a solid case against someone when their undercover agents were the only ones profiting from the supposed crime?
Chris divided his attention between Laraquette and LaCall’s newfound domination at the poker tables, and Rivera as he monitored his girl closely while she and Melody prepared to turn Lester Perzinsky into an unwilling informant.
* * *
Paul Rivera wasn’t nearly as interested in watching Melody do her thing as he was in seeing what would happen when Victoria finally took center stage.
His pride wanted Victoria to do well. Then again, succeeding in tricking Lester Perzinsky might take her in a direction Paul didn’t want to see her go. What if she stumbled? Victoria wasn’t that kind of girl.
Paul amused himself with thoughts of Victoria while Melody signed the marker and walked away with a rack of chips, as if there were nothing different about this day from any other.
What a waste. Melody would’ve been great at undercover work.
But reforming the hooker was Bradley’s deal. He liked saving the damsels. But even Bradley would think twice before getting mixed up with a drug addict.
* * *
The lag in time between Melody’s approach to Lester and then Victoria’s ran smoothly and virtually uneventful. The pit boss went about his duties like a dedicated employee. Judging by initial appearances, Lester Perzinsky did his employer proud.
Even though Victoria had been told repeatedly that she looked ravishing, she felt like her nerves were going to rattle out of her skin as she stepped up to the pit boss.
“Well, hello there.” Lester offered up a smile that seemed just a bit too friendly for her tastes. “What can I do for you?”
“I’d like a one hundred dollar marker please,” she said, surprised at how calm and friendly she sounded.
“That’s right,” Paul’s soothing voice echoed praises through Victoria’s earpiece while Lester prepared the marker, “reel him in, sweetie.”
“Here you go.” Lester smiled again and offered her the casino’s receipt padded clipboard and an ink pen. She thought she saw a hint of lust twinkling in his eyes. Surely that wasn’t the case. She had to be mistaken. “If you’ll just sign right here,” he added, pointing out the appropriate line.
Victoria perused the marker, issued to Bethany Morton, while Lester counted out one thousand dollars in chips and racked them up with precision. He took the receipt pad from her, ripped the bottom copy out and handed her the single slip of paper along with the rack of chips.
She draped her fingers around the tray. Lester rubbed his hands over hers before releasing the rack to her. Victoria glanced up, just in time to see Lester’s sordid grin. She felt like he was mentally undressing her. He topped it off with a salacious wink.
Victoria’s instincts begged her to strike him across the face. But for the good of Paul and the FVC, she contained her anger and shoved her feelings deep inside the pit of her soul. She smiled, glanced away shyly and pulled away from Lester.
She walked away casually, fighting the urge to run.
“You’re doing fine, hon.” Rivera’s calm voice reassured Victoria. “Just wander around a bit and then take your chips to the cashier.”
“I need to wash my hands,” she said softly. “That guy’s gross.” Disgust rattled through Victoria and shook her shoulders.
“And you think Rivera isn’t?” Chris snorted.
“Very funny, Bradley.” Paul laughed dryly.
“Okay, boys,” Rio’s voice poured through Victoria’s earpiece, scolding the guys.
“Break time again?” Chris asked.
“Apparently just in time,” she said.
“Where are you?” Paul asked.
Rio laughed. “Watching you.”
“Okay, Melody.” Victoria let her colleagues know she’d made contact with their informant. “What now?” She looked to the FVC Unit’s questionable witness for guidance.
“If you’re ready, we’ll cash out and grab a bite to eat while we wait for our appointment.”
Appointment? Well, that’s one way to put it. “Okay.”
“Viki...” Paul said inside her earpiece, “advise Melody to walk outside and show us the car where you two’ll meet Perzinsky.”
A good idea. The thought hadn’t crossed her mind until now that she didn’t want to be trapped inside a car with that guy unless Paul knew exactly where to find her.
* * *
For the second time today Victoria and Melody approached Lester’s white sedan. This time he was waiting in the driver’s seat.
Melody pushed her toward the front passenger door with such ferocity that it made Victoria wonder about Lester. Nobody involved knew Lester better than Melody. If she didn’t want to sit with him, there had to be a reason.
With an equal measure of hesitance and reluctance, Victoria eased into the front seat. She glanced halfheartedly at Lester, suddenly feeling vulnerable. She hoped Paul and his friends didn’t take too long to swoop in and save her from this predicament they’d gotten her into.
Melody reached up from the backseat, distracting Victoria from her thoughts of rescue, and handed Lester a wad of cash.
He snatched at it without so much as a simple thank you. Skimming through the bills, he counted them as if verifying his entire cut was there. Lester stuffed the wad inside the inner pocket of his Golden Sunset jacket and then turned to Victoria, grinning.
“You got something for me, darling?” he questioned with mixed undertones resonating in his voice. She didn’t like the sound of it—or the implication—not one bit. “Was that easy money, or what?” he added, as if wanting her to think about the simplicity, not to mention shadiness, with which she’d just obtained four hundred and fifty dollars.
Lester’s ogling stare made Victoria self-conscious, but she managed to tamp it down and disguise it well. She handed him a folded wad of money and nearly cringed when his fingers brushed over hers.
“You know, sweetness...” He had this look in his eye and a heaviness in his tone that told Victoria he had more than a few bucks on his mind. “If you want to continue this little arrangement,” he said, “we can let Mel go back inside and you can light my fire.” A veil of ruthlessness clouded his eyes.
“So let me see if I’ve got this straight. If I want your windfall to continue to blow my way...” She wasn’t the only one reaping the monetary rewards. Maybe she’d misread his intentions. Just to be sure, she asked, “I have to have sex with you. Here in the car?” Surely she’d misunderstood. Did people this appalling really exist outside the movies?
Well, of course they do. Victoria thought about who she worked for. The FVC Unit didn’t go after mischievous teenagers or petty thieves whose greatest ambitions were to score a couple hundred bucks robbing the local gas station. This department was there to take down the truly bad criminals. She had a feeling she was currently sitting in the presence of one of them.
“Yep.” With a nod, Lester confirmed her suspicions. “You have to give it up to keep the money coming.”
Maybe Melody and the others had easily surrendered to Lester’s disgusting demands, but Victoria Simmons wouldn’t be so effortlessly swayed and conquered.
“Well...” The objection rumbled up Victoria’s throat before she had a chance to tame it. “It’s going to take a lot more than four hundred and fifty bucks to get into my pants!”
Her protests only seemed to encourage Lester. He shifted in the car’s bucket seat and twisted around to face her. “You come back later this evening and wear different clothes,” he bargained with her. “And I’ll give you another marker. When we meet back here to divvy up...you will ride the pony.”
Victoria’s gaze fell, momentarily, into Lester’s lap.
Pony...my, aren’t we the optimist
. She stifled the urge to laugh, cramming it down inside her gut.
“Take the deal.” Paul’s voice urged inside her earpiece, anger fueling his tone. “Agree to his terms. I’m going to bust that guy’s ass.”
“And if I rock your world...?” She said to Lester and then let her gaze journey around the expanse of his dated vehicle. “Here...in this luxurious setting, you’ll continue with the markers?” The fact that she was gathering evidence slipped into her mind. She needed more. The more evidence the better. “How many times a week?”
“Three or four,” he said with a little shrug, as if it were no big deal.
Victoria pretended to be adding the numbers in her head. After a moment, she stopped abruptly and turned to Lester. “And I have to ride the pony...out here in the car...how often?”
Lester snickered, as if his desire to have her was increasing. “Just every couple of months or so.” He grinned, obviously assuming that he had her right where he wanted her.
“Okay, I’ll be back later,” Victoria said with a confident nod. “You give me another marker, and I’ll ride the pony like it’s never been done before.”
She latched onto the door handle and fought the deep, inbred desire to bolt from the car and run. Opening the door, she braced for the thick desert heat just as it festered around her. Victoria slammed the car door and strolled toward the casino.
After a few steps, secure in the knowledge that she was out of Lester’s range, she spoke softly, “You get that?”
“Every word,” Paul’s voice chimed through her earpiece. “And I’m going to beat the crap out of that jerk.”
“Easy there, killer,” Chris urged with a measure of rationale.
“Leave him alone,” Victoria said in a low but determined voice. “He’s just defending my honor.”
“None of us like to hear a dirt-bag talking to one of our own like that.” Chris defended his advice. “But the fact remains, we have to put a lid on our personal feelings or risk blowing the job.”
As much as she hated being wrong, she had to admit: he had a point. “You’re right,” she said and moved on. “Where’s Rio? I need a change of clothes.”
* * *
Rio had laid out a variety of outfits onto the bed in her hotel room. Victoria snapped up a few pieces, inspected them and finally settled on a skimpy skirt and matching blouse.
“They tell me you’re really taking to undercover work.” Rio leaned against the dresser and crossed one ankle over the other.
“Yeah. It’s kind of fun.” Victoria took her chosen garments into the bathroom and left the door cracked open enough to continue their conversation. “I had no idea it’d be such a rush.”
“It can be very addictive. And rewarding.” Rio checked her watch. Her time away from the poker table was limited.
“Dealing with scum like Lester makes me really want to nail him to the wall,” her determined voice drifted out from the bathroom.
“Well, Victoria...” Rio let a hint of the amusement bubbling up inside her escape. “I believe you’ve been bitten by the truth and justice bug.” She let the bulk of her laughter go as a grand idea took shape in her mind. Seeds of a plan emerged, designed to get even with Gabe for being a bit too nosey about her private conversations with Eddie.
“I believe I might have.” She came out of the bathroom and ran her hands self-consciously over the skirt covering her hips.
“You’ll knock his socks off.” Rio nodded. They both knew whose socks Rio was talking about. Paul Rivera.
“I wonder if he’ll like me like this.” Victoria’s thoughts escaped amid an insecure tone.
“You’re kidding, right?” Rio laughed.
“Easy for you to say,” Victoria said as if she were on an inadequately lower caliber than Rio. “You’ve got everybody jonesing for you.”
“Oh, please...” Rio rolled her eyes, dismissing Victoria’s opinion. She let her thoughts settle around the girl. They could be friends. “How would you like to help me out with a little joke on Gabe?”
“Gabe Dalton?” Victoria asked in a panic-ridden voice. “I don’t want to get fired.”
Rio’s devilish laughter rippled across the hotel room.
* * *
Nearly half an hour later, Rio assisted Victoria by helping her place her concealed earpiece and mic. She gave her accomplice a quick wink and continued to place her hardware.
“Do you think this dress makes me look fat?” Rio asked, even though she was wearing blue jeans.
“Nah...not at all,” Victoria said as if she really meant it.
Yep, they could definitely be friends.
Victoria’s hardware in place, Rio stepped back and waited a few seconds, giving Dickie time to make the connection.
Feeling confident that he had, she said, “It’s that time of the month...bloating and all.” Rio bottled her urge to laugh. The guys were going to hate this one. This was definite payback for all the practical jokes any of them had ever played on her.
Multiple voices echoed disapproval through their earpieces. Victoria snickered.
“Don’t you just hate it?” Rio chuckled softly, enjoying the prank. “The monthly curse!”
“Yeah—” Victoria squared her shoulders, determined. Had she caught Rio’s retribution bug? Maybe. “And I hate the way that little string...” Victoria’s words trailed off, but they confirmed Rio’s belief. Gabe deserved some reprisal for his nosiness.
“No...no...no!” Strong voices of censure screamed through their earpieces, beseeching them to stop. Now.
Victoria’s laughter joined Rio’s, filling the room.
Rio strolled toward the door. “You want to skydive on
all
my conversations?” Payback was definitely a bitch. And this one had been a longtime coming. “Careful what you wish for.”
In the hallway, Eddie was waiting by the door. She gave him a quick once-over, wondering what he thought about her prank.
Amusement glistened in his chocolate eyes and he shook his head. Gentle laughter rumbled out.
He followed them to the elevator and silence hung in the air as they rode down to the lobby. Eddie shadowed Rio as she headed for the casino floor and the poker tournament. Victoria went off to find Lester.