With a nice evening dress and a pair of high heels, the disguise was complete.
Except, it didn’t feel like a disguise.
It was as if the clothing was a second skin. Even Amy seemed taken back by my transformation. “Loretta’s a looker.”
I nodded. “Yeah, she really is.”
Loretta was a beautiful woman.
And I was Loretta.
I forgot that I had even dressed up like this to escape the mob. They would never guess this was me. I could barely see Larry the bank teller in my reflection.
The next day, Amy decided to have a girl’s night out with me. I suspected it was as much of an opportunity for her to relax as it was to train me. Nonetheless, it was hard for me to relax and blend in.
I was still getting used to walking in heels. It wasn’t that they hurt. I just had a hard time finding my balance. After a few hours of wandering, I was beginning to find my footing.
Amy and I went shopping for more clothes. I had to admit I was taking a liking to clothes shopping. The dresses and shoes on display at the various stores looked cute. I even bought a pair of frilly looking socks.
I wasn’t sure what kind of look I was going for with Loretta. I went with my gut whenever Amy left it up to me. It felt as though I was trying to be cute without drawing too much attention to myself. It was a good idea for a man being chased by the mob.
It helped that the FBI was paying for all of this. I couldn’t help but splurge a little. I bought a pair of blouses, a dark evening dress, and another set of underwear. I found myself buying several spare sets of panties as well.
Your tax dollars at work.
I wondered why I was enjoying myself so much. I was under witness protection. The mob was sending hitmen after me. Yet, I felt happier than I ever was for some reason.
When we got back to our hotel room, Amy noticed a man waiting for us in the lobby. He was tall and broad-shouldered. I guessed he was another FBI agent. I breathed a sigh of relief. I had more than just Amy to protect me.
However, Amy was surprised at his presence. “Agent Clark?”
“Call me, Ben,” he said warmly. “I’m here to check up on you, Amy. And our VIP, of course.”
Amy’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Change of plans,” he said, an inviting smile on his face. “And who is this?”
“This is my cousin, Loretta,” Amy said to my shock. “Say hi to my coworker.”
She kicked my shin and made me step forward. I croaked out. “Hello…”
“You know our boss frowns on meeting with family while on duty,” Ben said, ignoring me. “You’re here on a mission.”
“I won’t tell if you won’t,” Amy replied. I didn’t know what the hell was going on. I decided to keep my mouth shut before I said something stupid. “Besides, my mission is over.”
Ben looked surprised. “Where is Larry?”
Amy shrugged. “I handed him off to another agent. It was someone I never met before. The orders came up from top.”
“You know where he is?”
Amy feigned ignorance. “Beats me. They hauled him off before I could even fire off a question. Everything about this case is on a need to know basis.”
“Really? I wanted to ask him a few questions,” he said. I felt the air leaves my lungs. This guy was out to get me. It was no wonder Amy sensed that something was wrong. “Well, I’ll just go to the director for more information. It’s very important that I speak with Larry for my investigation. Do you know the agent who spoke with him?”
“Like I said, it was on a need to know basis,” Amy said with a smile. She was a much better liar than I was. “They hauled him off before we could even get settled in. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.”
It was a good thing I was so stunned because I would’ve given up my identity to Ben. I knew the FBI had a leak. Could he have told the mob about my location in the safe house?
It was a chilling thought.
Ben paused for a moment. “Thank you, ladies. I’ve taken enough of your time. I’ll be nearby if you need me, Amy.”
He walked off as Amy guided me back to our hotel room. She sighed and said. “Ben wasn’t supposed to know where I had taken you. Either someone crossed wires or he’s a rogue agent…”
I gulped. “Aren’t you being a little paranoid?”
“You can’t be too paranoid in this line of work,” she replied. “I have to get to the bottom of this.”
“Are you going to have to move me again, Amy?”
She shook her head. “I’ll have to tell my higher-ups where you’re heading if I move you. At this point, it’ll be safer for you to stay put for now.”
I wondered where all of this would lead. It didn’t seem like the case against the mob was moving fast enough. At the same time, people in the FBI were working against us. I didn’t know how long I could go on living in fear. I just wanted things to get back to normal.
Hell, I wasn’t sure what normal would even be. I had spent days in hiding and on the run. I had dressed up as a woman and learned how to live as one. At least I’d have an interesting story to tell once this was over.
If it ever got to that point.
It was a living hell staying alone in the hotel room. Amy would have to go out and do a little sleuthing about Ben on her own. That left me seeing ghosts in every corner of the hotel room. I even ordered room service to leave food at the door. Like she said, you could never be too paranoid in this line of work.
It didn’t help that Ben was hanging around the hotel lobby. He must have booked a room here. I think he suspected that Amy wasn’t truthful with him. However, she had been called away by the FBI for help on the case. I was given strict orders not to leave the room.
I kept my disguise on all day. I even began to sleep in it. My clothes, makeup, and wig felt like a protective armor. They would keep me safe from Ben and the mob.
Nonetheless, I was getting sick of staying in the hotel room all day. It didn’t help my paranoid mind to keep seeing the same four walls each day. Against Amy’s orders, I went down to the hotel’s dining area. It was a nice restaurant type place with a bar to the side.
However, it was hard to relax when I heard the news on the bar’s television. The mob was fighting tooth and nail against the FBI. They had sent hitmen against snitches. The FBI had a hard time protecting their informants.
I saw someone reading about how the bank I had worked at had been closed down. Several of my co-workers had been targeted by the mob. They were all under witness protection even though they had nothing to do with Steve. I guessed it was a way of the FBI throwing the mob off my scent.
There was nothing left to do but drink away my sorrows.
I ordered a drink at the bar. To my surprise, the bartender poured me a glass of vodka for free. He said one of my admirers had ordered it for me.
I couldn’t refuse a free drink.
The free refills kept coming as my mysterious patron ordered them for me. I forgot that I was even on the run. My disguise felt like a second skin. No one suspected that Loretta was actually Larry. Hell, they even thought I was beautiful.
A couple guys sat down next to me and ordered me a drink. It was strange being the subject of such sweet talk. Nonetheless, I was here to keep a low profile. I thanked the men for the drink but refused their offer to come up to their room.
Then, another man sat down next to me and tried to charm me. He looked to be a truck driver on a stop. “You alone, sweetie.”
It was nice to flirt with someone. It sure beat talking to Amy about how the mob was trying to murder me. “I’m here with my cousin. She’s out because of work.”
He asked with a wink. “Sure you don’t want to take a ride in my truck? It’s a big hauler.”
I shook my head. “I’ve never ridden in a truck like that.”
“There’s a first time for everything,” he chuckled, sitting closer to me. I didn’t think he was talking about a joyride
. “You’re always free to take a ride in my truck.”
I forced a smile. “If I have time…”
He slid a business card to me. “If you do make time, give me a buzz. I’ll be here all week,”
He paid for another drink for me and left. I pocketed the card. It was always worth a thought if he was serious about giving me an actual ride.
I loved that everyone was on their best behavior around me. They brought me free drinks and complimented my good looks. Sure, I knew that they were after one thing and one thing only. However, I had never been treated with so much respect before.
I was going to miss this treatment after going back to being Larry. In spite of the circumstance, I didn’t miss my old life that much. My job as a bank teller was boring. Everyone treated me like crap.
Then again, I wasn’t sure when my life as Loretta would end either. The fight against the mob was still going strong. Amy was trying to get to the bottom of the leak. As strange as it was, I didn’t mind being disguised as a woman.
I was about to leave when I saw a familiar face watching me.
It was Ben.
He was sitting at a table and nursing a drink with a strange smile on his face.
Did he suspect me?
If he did, he would probably make a move.
I had to get out of here. I raced back to my hotel room. I nearly had a panic attack when I heard the phone ring.
Nervously, I picked it up and spoke in Loretta’s voice. “Hello?”
It was Amy. “Larry, are you okay?”
“Fine as ever,” I replied, taking a deep breath. “What’s up?”
“Ben was lying,” she revealed. “He was never supposed to question you. He might be working with the mob as a rogue agent.”
I gulped. “He’s still stalking the hotel but he hasn’t made any moves against me. Can you get him arrested?”
“It’s not that simple,” Amy sighed. “He has rank over me and it’s hard to make a case against a fellow agent. I need evidence that’s iron tight.”
I groaned. “This nightmare never ends…”
“Well, I do have good news, Larry.”
My ears perked up. “What is it?”
“We know for sure the mob doesn’t know where you are. They’ve hit your friends and family with questions but have nothing. Most of them are searching for you in the wrong places after we leaked false information about your whereabouts.”
I sighed in relief. “Okay, but when will you make a case against them?”
“There’s more good news,” she continued. “We’ve begun to seize the mob’s assets. We’ve also frozen a few of their accounts. The hitmen will come after you as long as they’re paid. They’ve already searched long and hard with nothing to show for it. Without money, the mob can’t continue to hunt you.”
That was very good news! “What about Ben?”
The hitmen may have been working for money but a man like Ben would be fighting for his survival. He would want to find me in order to cover up his involvement with the mob. I only needed to avoid him if I wanted to make it out of this alive.
“I’m going to need something concrete against him,” Amy replied to my disappointment. “Like a recording of him conspiring with the mob. Or phone records and text messages implicating him. Otherwise, I’m putting both of us at risk if we go to my boss empty-handed.”
It felt like I was nearly at the end. I just had to wait for the FBI to close in on the mob. They wouldn’t be able to keep stalking me without money to pay their hitmen. I just had to keep my head down until the whole thing blew over.
Except for the fact that Ben was still here. “What do you want me to do? Ben’s down at the lobby. I think he’s booked a room.”
“Sit tight, Larry,” she said firmly. “Just stay out of trouble until I figure something out.”
“Okay…”
I put the phone back in its cradle.
I was nervous as hell about Ben. He was the only one who could discover my true identity. I needed to get rid of him before he figured out who Loretta really was.
I thought about what Amy had said. She needed Ben’s phone to build a case against him. It likely had some evidence about his connection to the mob.
I was tired of hiding. I wanted to fight back. If I could get Ben’s phone, then I could pass it along to Amy and the FBI. It was dangerous but so was holing up in the hotel room with Ben on the prowl.
It wouldn’t be easy to steal an FBI agent’s phone. I needed him to be comfortable around me. When he was most vulnerable, then I could steal his phone from under his nose.
Amy had told Larry to sit tight and keep his head down.
But Loretta was another story.
The next night, I came down to the bar. I saw Ben talking over the phone at the edge of the bar with a drink in hand. In his conversation, he was careful not to implicate himself but he did talk about Steve, the bank, and me. I sensed the person on the other line worked for the mob. It wasn’t the smoking gun I needed to put him in prison.
I needed something stronger.
My heart raced as I sat at the bar. I wasn’t sure how to approach him. Ben had access to all of the information I had given to the FBI. He probably had pictures of me dating back to elementary school. I wasn’t sure my disguise would hold up against him.
Hell, I didn’t know how to make a move. My voice could crack or my cheek bones would give me away. He had been distracted by Amy the last time he saw me. If I made a mistake, I was dead.
Thankfully, Ben made the first move. “How are you doing, Loretta?”
I jolted awake when I saw him sit down to me at the bar. “H-hello. You must be Amy’s coworker.”
He smiled a wicked grin. “Yes, I saw you the other day. You must be very excited to hear stories about your cousin’s work.”
Ben was fishing me for information. I shook my head as I formulated a plan. “She never tells me very much.”
He sipped his drink. “Too bad. I bet she gets in all kinds of adventures.”
This was my opening. “Well, Amy did tell me about some guy’s she’s hiding. It was pretty hush-hush. I guess it would be okay telling you since you’re another FBI agent.”
Ben’s eyes widened in surprised before narrowing. “Really? Is Amy with him now?”
He had taken the bait. “She’s prepping him up to take him to Alaska?”
“Alaska, huh?” he murmured. “Where to?”
I said the first Alaskan town that came to my head. “Anchorage. They want to bury him deep.”
Ben chuckled as he got up to leave. “That’s what the FBI does best. I hope Amy doesn’t drag you along up there. Give her my regards, Loretta.”
I stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. “Ben, I’d like to get to know you better. Amy never told me anything about you.”
He shrugged. “She can be like that about her work friends, sometimes.”
I forced a blush on my face. “Even the cute ones?”
He chuckled again. “To be fair, Amy never told me about her lovely cousins either.”
“I saw you looking at me yesterday at the bar, Ben.”
“You don’t look related to Amy,” he said. My heart raced when I heard those words. “I guess you came from the beautiful side of the family.”
I relaxed and smiled. “You’re not so bad looking yourself. I wish Amy had told me about you sooner. She always holds out on me!”
Ben folded his arms which flexed his muscles. I knew my flirting had an effect on him. “And I wish she had your personality and charms.”
I noticed him looking at me from head to toe. I had never tried to pull a move on another man. It seemed to be working beyond my wildest imagination. “You know, I never got to buy you a drink the other night.”
I clasped my hands together. “I’d love to have a drink with you, Ben!”
He pointed at the elevator. “Why don’t we have one at my room? I’ve got a bottle of whiskey I’ve been saving for
a special occasion.”
My plan was working so far. I smiled and said. “That sounds delightful.”
As we walked, I couldn’t help but notice how sexy Ben looked. I knew the FBI training made you go through an obstacle course but he looked to be in top shape. I could see the outline of his muscular body under his suit.
Nonetheless, I had to get down to business. I needed to distract him and get his phone. I wasn’t sure how I would get it off of him without him noticing. Then again, he seemed to be at ease with me. Hell, he was even flirting with the person he was after!
The Trans Ultra Collection Vol 1 Page 2
