Hidden Deception: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

by Colleen Helme

  “Uh… I won’t.”

  “Good. See you tonight.” He let go of my hand and then turned to head back to his office, thinking that he had helped me out enough times that I owed him for the rest of my life, so he expected nothing less.

  Way to spoil the moment! Of course, this was the Uncle Joey I knew and loved, so it sat better than him being all mushy anyway. I hurried out to the elevator and pushed the call button. I got in without thinking too hard about dead bodies and remembered the surveillance camera.

  Glancing up, I found a round reddish ball thing in the corner and figured that had to be it. But instead of making faces, I decided to blow a kiss and wink instead. I didn’t know where Ramos was, since I hadn’t seen him anywhere after the meeting, but I hoped he’d see it.

  I checked the time and realized it was after five, and I hadn’t texted my kids. Good thing it wasn’t my turn for the car pool. I sent a quick text to Josh and Savannah that I was on my way home and got in my car.

  Half an hour later, I pulled into my garage. Savannah greeted me with a happy smile and told me all about her day, while I pulled off my boots and rubbed my feet. She was still reveling in her status as a popular girl and had begun to think about trying out for cheerleader.

  “You’re too young for that,” I said.

  “Huh? What are you talking about?”

  Oops. I hadn’t been watching her speak and just now realized she’d only thought about the cheerleading part. “Dating,” I improvised. “You’re only twelve.” She wondered if I’d even been listening… at all. “Which reminds me, your birthday’s next week. Are you excited?”

  “Yeah. I can’t wait to wear the outfit you got me in Paris!” That started her thinking about her birthday plans and saved me from looking like a total lunatic. We chatted about the sleepover she wanted to have with her two best friends that Friday night.

  She’d decided on a Paris theme, and we’d even bought some Eiffel Tower keychains and a few other knick-knacks while we were in Paris, just for her party. Since there was a French pastry shop nearby, we made plans to get French pastries instead of cake, and I found I was almost as excited as she was.

  After that, I checked on Josh, who was in the office on the computer working on his ten-page biology report. So far, he only had two pages done, and the stress was getting to him. With the report due on Friday, that meant he only had tonight and tomorrow night to finish. I felt bad about that whole deal, so I offered to get pizza for dinner and ordered his favorite, which cheered him up a little.

  In the midst of all this, Chris called to tell me he had to work late tonight and probably wouldn’t be home until ten-thirty or eleven. Even though I’d been expecting this, it still astonished me to realize how much control Uncle Joey had over our lives.

  “Wow, that’s late,” I said. “Did something unexpected come up?”

  “Yeah. It’s a case that got dumped on me at the last minute, but I’ve got people helping, so we should be able to pull it off by our deadline.”

  “That’s good. I’m glad you’ve got help.” I wondered who was helping, and a mental picture of Elisa drooling over him and doing her perky best to meet his every need jumped into my mind. Then I wondered who was in Uncle Joey’s tight fist and had dumped the case on Chris, but now was not the time to ask. “Well, then I’m glad we got to have lunch together, at least.”

  “Me too,” he agreed. “Uh… I’ve got to go. See you tonight.”

  “Okay. Love you.”

  “You too.” We disconnected, and I let out a sigh. At least he didn’t ask me about my day, or my plans for tonight, so it saved me from lying to him. That was positive, since telling him I was meeting with the Russian mob would probably give him a heart attack.

  Our pizza came. So while we ate, I knew it was time to tell my kids something about tonight, even if it wasn’t the whole truth.

  “Oh… before I forget… I have a work-related meeting that I have to attend tonight. I have to leave at eight-thirty, but I should be home by ten, maybe ten-thirty. Will you guys be all right for an hour or so? Dad won’t be home until then, either, but I’m sure it won’t be any later than that.”

  Josh was thinking, what kind of a work meeting starts at nine at night? Savannah pretty much thought the same thing.

  “Sure,” Josh said. “What’s it for?” He kept his gaze on mine, challenging me to explain, but seriously, what could I say?

  “Good. I’m helping a client, and this is the only time they can meet.”

  “Oh… okay, that makes sense.”

  “Yeah, to be honest, I’d rather not go at all, but it’s not something I can get out of.”

  “It’s okay, we’ll be fine.” He was thinking that since I’d started having ‘premonitions,’ lots of things had changed in our lives. It didn’t bother him too much, especially since I’d helped his friend, Chloe. And that trip to Paris was pretty great, so he couldn’t complain, although he still worried a bit.

  Savannah accepted my explanation and even thought it made me the coolest mom ever. Like I was a spy or something. She hoped I’d tell her all about it sometime. “Yeah… we’ll be fine.”

  “Good. Why don’t you get to bed by ten, and I’ll come in and say goodnight when I get home?”

  “Sure,” Savannah agreed, but she figured she could watch TV until I got home without me getting too mad at her.

  Josh nodded his head in agreement as well, but he thought he’d play video games as soon as I left, since he needed a break from all his homework, and I wouldn’t be there to stop him.

  I just smiled and tried not to sigh out loud. Most parents didn’t have to make decisions based on what their kids were thinking, so I decided this was one of the times I’d be like those parents and let it go.

  After dinner, the kids went back to their homework, and I headed to my bedroom closet. I needed to find something to wear tonight that looked classy and maybe a little slutty at the same time. The only thing I owned that even came close to something like that was a little red dress I’d picked up after the holidays.

  It was short, so it showed off my legs, and it hugged all my curves without exposing too much skin, which suited me just fine. Plus, I could see Kate wearing it, although she’d prefer something a lot more revealing in the chest part. But since I had to be Kate, my version would be lots classier. In fact, I planned to out-do her in every way, including a smart, confident, sexy, and fearless attitude even Uncle Joey would be proud of.

  That settled my nerves a bit. At least until it was time to go.

  Although I looked hot and sexy, I totally failed at the confident and fearless part. Even the red lipstick didn’t do much to hide the mounting anxiety in my eyes. Maybe now was one of those times to take an anti-anxiety pill. I still had a few left from when I got shot, but as much as I might need one, it was still a bad idea. I needed my wits about me, so I nixed that thought pretty quick and took a couple of swigs of antacid instead.

  Ready by eight-thirty, and since it was chilly outside, I threw on my tan trench jacket and buttoned it all the way up, mostly to hide my little red dress from my kids. They might get the wrong idea. My stun-flashlight was fully charged, so I threw it in my purse for personal safety and headed downstairs.

  Poking my head inside the office, I said goodbye to the kids. I picked up that Savannah had gone in there to negotiate who got the big screen TV once I left. Intent on their goal, they didn’t even look my way, and I knew that they could hardly wait for me to leave.

  Whoa. Now I wanted to open and close the front door before I left, just to see what they did. This could get interesting. As I reached the front door, my phone chirped with a text. I checked it to find that Uncle Joey had arrived. Dang! Now I’d just have to leave and hope they worked it out. I yelled goodbye again and pulled open the door.

  I stepped out and shut it hard, then waited for a few seconds, listening for all I was worth. Not hearing a thing, I wanted to open it again in the worst way but, wi
th the limo and Uncle Joey waiting, there wasn’t time to go back in and referee. I turned from the door and smacked into a hard body.

  “Oof.”

  “Whoa, babe.” Ramos grabbed my arms to steady me. “What’s going on?”

  “Oh… sorry, I didn’t see you there.” After I caught my balance, he let me go.

  “Yeah, I got that. You sneaking out?”

  “Oh… no. It’s just my kids. They could hardly wait for me to leave. Since I know what they’re up to, I really wanted to catch them in the act… you know?” At Ramos’ puzzled expression, I quickly continued. “Not that they’re doing anything bad… it’s just that they’re supposed to finish their homework and go to bed, but that’s not what they’re planning. They want to watch TV and play video games instead.”

  “Huh.” He didn’t think that was so bad.

  “Oh… it’s not bad, it’s just that they’re supposed to get their homework done first.”

  “Right.” He’d never thought about what it was like for me to have two kids, and be able to listen to their thoughts. “So… they don’t know you can read their minds?”

  “Absolutely not. Can you imagine?”

  He chuckled. “Hmm… well, at that age… or any age really, I’d never want my mother to know what I was thinking.”

  “Yeah, so I mostly keep my shields up around them. Still, I pick up stuff. Sometimes the things I find out are good, and sometimes I have to try and blot it from my mind forever.”

  “That makes sense.” He admired that I managed it at all. Hearing thoughts had to be some kind of a juggling act, and learning not to respond to thoughts would be the hardest thing of all.

  “You got that right. I’m glad I don’t have to worry about that with you.”

  “Yeah, me too.” He didn’t always like that I could read his mind but, at the same time, he liked that he didn’t have to talk much, either.

  We reached the limo, and he opened the door for me. I slid inside and sat next to Uncle Joey. Ramos followed me in and sat opposite us.

  “Who’s driving?” I asked.

  “Nick,” Uncle Joey replied. “He’s our backup.”

  As I nodded, the seriousness of the situation rolled over me, and my stomach did a little flip-flop, making me grateful I’d had the foresight to take some antacid. “Have you found out what happened to the money or the jewels yet?”

  “No,” Uncle Joey replied. “That’s why this meeting is so important.” He glanced at me and frowned. “You look a little pale.”

  “Oh… well, I’m just nervous. You know… Russian mob and all.”

  He shook his head. “Shelby… you’ll be fine. We’re just meeting with them to gather information, and because of you, we have the advantage. So pull yourself together. We can’t have you looking like a scared rabbit; they’ll pick up on that like a pack of hungry wolves.”

  “Okay, but if you’re trying to make me feel better, that’s a horrible analogy.”

  Uncle Joey let out a huff. “Maybe, but you’ve got to toughen up. Pretend you’re Kate. That should help.”

  “Hey… no fair. I hate Kate.”

  He chuckled. “That’s right, but just think how much she’d hate knowing you were pretending to be her.”

  “Okay… you have a point. I’ll do my best to be snooty and evil.”

  Ramos chuckled, thinking he looked forward to seeing me try, since I didn’t have an evil bone in my body. I wanted to thank him for the compliment, but sent him a smile instead.

  We drove the rest of the way in silence, each of us lost in our thoughts. Uncle Joey wondered how he was going to solve this mess, and how Zack ever thought he could get away with it. Something about this whole thing bothered him, and he just couldn’t believe Zack had double-crossed him. But nothing else made sense… still, there had to be more to it.

  Ramos had brought a few extra weapons, but he hoped he didn’t have to use them. He didn’t think Yuri would try anything before the meeting, but after the meeting was a whole different matter, and he wouldn’t put it past him to do something then.

  After hearing that, I put my shields up tight, knowing that if I heard anymore, I was likely to be sick. I glanced out the window and tried to shake off my mounting anxiety. Nothing was going to happen that I wouldn’t know about beforehand, so we’d be fine, right? Just then we pulled over to the curb.

  “Are we here?”

  “Yup,” Ramos answered. “It’s show time.”

  Chapter 7

  “Before we go in, you need to leave your jacket here,” Uncle Joey said, thinking Kate would never wear a drab-looking jacket like that.

  “Oh, yeah, you’re probably right. But, I can take my purse with me, right?”

  “Sure.”

  As I pulled off my jacket, Ramos stepped out of the car and held the door open. Without the jacket, my dress seemed shorter than ever, especially as I shimmied out of the car in my tall heels and stepped onto the pavement. Ramos offered his hand and I took it, picking up that he liked the barely-covered look I offered him. Straightening up, I pulled the dress down and heard him chuckle.

  “Hey, watch it,” I said, narrowing my eyes.

  His gaze met mine, and his lips turned up in that sexy half-smile of his that always did crazy things to my insides. Along with the smoldering heat in his gaze, I found it hard to breathe. Or form a coherent thought. Shouldn’t there be a law against him looking at me like that?

  I let out a sigh and managed to pull my gaze away, finally registering my surroundings. Shock spiked through me to find that we were in a seedy part of town with a few shady-looking characters smoking cigarettes in the doorways and congregating in loud groups up and down the block. Those closest to us focused their attention on me, just like the pack of hungry wolves Uncle Joey had talked about. Without thinking, I took a step closer to Ramos and grabbed his arm.

  The buildings in front of us were closed up tight with metal gratings pulled over them for security. A few neon lights buzzed above them, and litter lined the sidewalk. This was an exclusive club? It couldn’t be here, and nothing nearby looked like a private club either.

  Uncle Joey emerged from the car and shut the door. It immediately took off, leaving us stranded in the middle of the block with nowhere to go. That was all it took for the men loitering on the sidewalk to approach us, and my heart slammed into my chest.

  Ramos stepped in front of both me and Uncle Joey, squarely facing them. He moved his jacket aside, showing them his gun. They jerked to a stop and assessed his intentions. From his stance and the deadly intent on his face, they rightly picked up that he’d use the gun first and ask questions later. As they retreated to their places along the sidewalk, I let out a relieved breath.

  “Let’s go.” Uncle Joey took my arm in his, leaving Ramos to follow behind us, and we headed around the building into a wide, well-lit alley. Near the back end, a man sat in a chair beside a wooden staircase going up to the second floor of the building. As we approached, he stood to block our way.

  Ramos gave him Uncle Joey’s name, and he checked his clipboard, then moved aside and sent us up the stairs and through another door. Inside the building, the entryway was like a small room with a hallway blocked by a security checkpoint that looked just like those at the airport.

  Four burly men came to attention, and another man joined them from a room that resembled an office off to the left. “Mr. Manetto,” he said. “As you requested, we have everything ready. The other party has not yet arrived. If you would be so kind as to put your weapons in this container, I will make sure they are kept in a safe place until your return.”

  Ramos took his gun out of his shoulder holster, then another from an ankle holster, along with a couple of knives from various places on his person. Uncle Joey did the same, removing three knives along with a gun.

  The proprietor glanced my way with lifted eyebrows, expecting me to unload the weapons from my purse. With a jolt, I realized I had my stun flashlight in there a
nd quickly pulled it out. As I placed it in the plastic container, I heard a few snickers from the guards, along with the thought that a flashlight wasn’t a weapon, and that was pretty funny. Did I plan to hit somebody over the head with that? Or maybe shine it in their eyes? Snicker, snicker.

  “It’s a stun gun,” I said, wanting to zap one of them right then and there. “I’m not a fan of blood.”

  “Uh… thank you,” the proprietor said, holding back a smile. He fitted a lid over the container and wrote ‘Manetto’ in marker across the top. “I’ll put these in the safe. You may proceed.” He waited for us to go through the metal detectors, watching in case we’d accidently forgotten one of our weapons.

  One of the guards held his hands out for my purse and checked inside before handing it to another man, then motioned me through the metal detector. On the other side, the guard handed me my purse, and I waited for Uncle Joey and Ramos to join me.

  At the end of a long hallway, another guard opened a door and ushered us into a large, carpeted room, separated with half-walls for privacy around tables and chairs in small clusters, with a bar at the back. In one corner, a musician played a saxophone with a pianist accompanying him, and a tiny hardwood dance floor in front of them.

  The lights were turned down low, and the acoustics kept the sounds muted, so the music wasn’t too loud, but pitched just right so others couldn’t overhear a private conversation. A woman approached us at the door. Ramos gave her the Manetto name, and she led us to a round table for six in a private corner.

  She waited while we took our seats, Uncle Joey between me and Ramos, then asked for our drinks order. Uncle Joey and Ramos both ordered scotch, and I ordered red wine to go with my dress.

  As she left for our drinks, the entry door opened, and three men came inside. Even without hearing recognition from Uncle Joey’s mind, I would have known they were the Russian mob anywhere. Short hair on their heads, a few days’ growth of beard on their faces, and wearing black from head to toe.

  The two bodyguards were huge, even bigger than the guys we’d met coming in, and I tried to hold in the quiver of dread that brought goosebumps to my arms. Yuri’s face seemed mildly friendly, mostly because it didn’t look like his nose had been broken about ten times like those of his guards.