A Brilliant Deception

by Kim Foster

  “I’m so sorry,” I mumbled, wearing my sunglasses, not letting him get a look at my face. And then strode straight out the elevator doors. His face showed zero expression of alarm.

  Grinning, I tucked the key card into my purse. I now had full access to Marina Bay Sands resort.

  I changed into the bikini in the restroom and arrived at the SkyPark poolside a few minutes later, walking out onto the sun-baked deck. This was the pool on the very top of the entire complex, on the platform that sat two hundred meters up in the sky, straddling all three towers.

  I spotted Chips Walker immediately. I recognized him from the photograph: middle-aged, deeply tanned, yellowish-blond hair. Right after that, my eye landed on Ethan, over by the bar. He was disguised as a waiter at the poolside bar, wearing a black shirt and a long white apron.

  I set my sights on my objective. I needed to distract Walker long enough to give Ethan a chance to swipe his phone. Then we’d need to slip his phone back to him—all without him realizing what we had done.

  I considered my possible tactics. I quickly realized the best way to separate Walker from his phone was to get him into the water. My heart thumped as I quickly approached the pool. I wanted to get this done.

  “Montgomery, slow down,” Ethan said into my earpiece. “Be cool.”

  I slowed my walk to a casual sashay. From the corner of my eye, I saw Walker’s head turn.

  “You got him,” Ethan said. “Now keep walking, keep his attention. Nice and slow, over to the bar.”

  I strolled to the bar to get a cocktail. Once I had a frosty Bellini in my hand, I strolled back to the lounge chairs by the poolside, right where Walker was sitting.

  “Can I find you a lounge chair, miss?” Ethan said to me, holding a towel and a tray.

  I flashed him a smile. “That would be lovely.”

  He had kept the lounge chair next to Walker folded and unoccupied. He now unfolded it and helped me settle in.

  I was aware that on the other side of the palm tree, Walker was watching me. Now I had to start talking to him. And—most importantly—I needed to get him in the pool.

  The talking thing proved to be no problem. He started chatting me up the second I sat down.

  “That looks refreshing,” he said.

  I turned and looked at him through my overlarge sunglasses, over the rim of my drink. “It is. Bellinis are perfect for a sweltering day like this.” I flipped my hair away from my neck, feeling utterly ridiculous.

  He didn’t seem to find anything I was doing ridiculous in any way. So I kept going, making a big deal over the heat, fanning myself with the magazine I’d brought. I felt self-conscious in the pitiful coverage offered by my black bikini.

  Of course, in my next move, I knocked my glass over with the magazine. The drink went flying and Bellini spilled all over the place. “Oops!”

  I could hear a snort of laughter from Ethan in my earpiece. Damn. Had I messed it up completely?

  I flicked a glance in Walker’s direction as another pool attendant bustled over to clean up the mess.

  “It’s okay, Montgomery,” Ethan said. “He’s not going to write you off completely because of that. He’ll probably think it’s cute. I would.”

  “Looks like I might have had one Bellini too many,” I said, trying for a recovery. Walker laughed, clearly not put off. Ethan was right.

  With that, I started to enjoy myself. I had Walker hooked. The power felt . . . exhilarating. And now, it was time to get into the pool. “Oh no, I’m all sticky now,” I said in mock dismay, glancing down at my bare stomach, where I’d spilled the Bellini. I watched as Walker’s eyes went to my skin. “I think I’ll go in for a dip.”

  I slipped off the lounge chair and slid into the silken water.

  I had to admit—it was an incredible experience. The infinity pool was two hundred meters aboveground, with the edge looking like it dropped off into midair, with the ultra-urban skyline of Singapore in the background.

  I turned around to see Walker watching me closely. I felt my cheeks go warm and I tried not to squirm with discomfort.

  “Nice blush, Montgomery. Perfectly timed,” Ethan said.

  “Why don’t you come in?” I said to Walker. “The water is gorgeous.”

  Fortunately, he took the invitation. As he plunged into the water and moved toward me, I now had the small matter of keeping him away from me—but still in the water—long enough to give Ethan a chance to swipe the phone.

  I could see Ethan walking toward us with a tray, ready to “tidy up.” Partway there, he got called away by someone demanding more towels.

  Damn.

  Walker approached me in the water, moving in very close. “So where are you from, gorgeous? And—are you enjoying your stay in my hotel?”

  I opened my eyes wide and let out a small gasp. “This is your hotel?” This was getting easier and easier. Nothing I said or did seemed to be absurd to this guy.

  He smiled and waded even closer. “Maybe later I can show you some of the more exclusive parts of my hotel?”

  I steeled myself to do whatever it took to keep him distracted. If I had to, I would make out with this guy, right here. There was too much at stake. But . . . I hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

  The quicker Ethan could get that phone and get out of here, the better. Nearby, a few kids jumped in the water and started splashing. The cool water drops from their splashing sizzled on my skin.

  Through my peripheral vision I saw Ethan reach Walker’s lounge chair, clearing glassware. I turned away and focused on Walker, who was boasting about various buildings he’d built.

  Ethan straightened and walked briskly away. “Got it,” he said, in my earpiece.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. Walker had seen nothing. Ethan had been super-smooth about the lift.

  Was it wrong of me to find that sexy?

  I knew Ethan would now take the phone to Gladys, who was sequestered in one of the hotel rooms, and once she’d downloaded all his information, we’d have to find a way to return it.

  One step at a time. What I needed to do now was hold Walker’s attention just a little longer, while Gladys got the data we badly needed.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Ethan had Walker’s phone tucked in his jacket pocket. He moved quickly through the back hallways of the resort and down the service elevator, to the suite where Gladys and Templeton were eagerly awaiting him.

  Cat had been amazing, he thought as he strode down a long corridor. Impressive. Professional. And . . . she had looked just as good in that bikini as he’d imagined.

  “Here it is,” he said, handing the phone to Gladys once Templeton had granted him entrance. The hotel suite was luxurious: sleek and modern furnishings, thick pile carpet, incredible view over the Singapore waterfront.

  Templeton strode back to the other room where he was assisting Felix with his disguise—putting the finishing touches on his security guard uniform. In spite of Templeton’s fussing, it was an easy disguise to pull off. There were hundreds of guards, nobody knew them all.

  Felix’s task was to go to the area where the Lionheart Ring was being held—once Gladys had figured out which one it was—and take photographs of the security features that protected it. They were keeping themselves busy with the uniform, but really, they were in a holding pattern, too.

  Ethan waited, pacing, while Gladys hacked in and downloaded all the information she could get. “This should take me less than fifteen minutes,” she said. Ethan checked his watch. It was everything he could do not to jump right out of his skin. He tried not to think about Cat, left alone in that pool with the ultra-sleazy Chips Walker. The sooner he could get back to her, the sooner she could make her getaway. But he knew they had to do the job properly.

  Ethan paced over to the window. He squinted out, gazing over the skyline, and took a few deep breaths.

  He thought back to the morning, when Cat had suddenly appeared at breakfast. That moment when he’d thought she
’d spent the night with Jack . . . that had not been a good moment. He’d felt relieved about the hospital, and then immediately guilty about that. The fact she’d spent the night in an emergency department should not have made him feel better.

  A tight feeling centered in Ethan’s chest. This was exactly why he’d been reluctant to work with Cat again, to join her team. The idea of competing with Jack Barlow for her affections made him want to snarl. The easier thing to do would be to stop caring, stop even trying to compete.

  But how could he stop himself from wanting to be near her? Ever since their ride on the Orient Express, he had been having difficulty thinking of anything else. He was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Just as toxic, just as destructive.

  He’d been trying to keep her at arm’s length since then, attempting to maintain professional boundaries, but he wasn’t sure how successful he’d been. Ethan needed to find a way to walk away. He hated wondering where Cat’s heart belonged. Ever since he’d turned his life around, years ago, his impulse had always been to bail before his heart could be broken again. Always be the one to do the leaving and the rejecting. Impossible to get hurt that way.

  Shit. I should have stayed in Kenya.

  He glanced at his watch again. Gladys should be finishing any second.

  “Oh dear,” Gladys said, staring at her screen.

  “What?”

  “A small hitch, dear. Nothing dreadful. There’s an extra security layer. It’ll take me a few minutes to get through . . .”

  Ethan squeezed his fists. More time for Cat to be in a highly vulnerable position. He took a deep breath. She would be fine; Cat could handle herself. And there was no real danger.

  Right?

  Chapter Forty

  Jack stood in the heart of the security control room. He was disguised as an insurance underwriter, which meant the brownest, most ordinary suit on the planet, steel-rimmed glasses, and a plain briefcase full of files.

  Jack was connected to the rest of the team through their earpieces. He knew Cat and Ethan had succeeded in grabbing Walker’s cell phone, and that Gladys was, at that moment, downloading the billionaire’s passwords and data. Everyone else was doing his or her part; now he needed to do his.

  He stood before the chief of security and channeled his driest, most monotone voice. “We received a report that you’ve upgraded the system,” Jack said to the security man. He pushed his glasses up higher on his nose. “In order to measure the risk exposure and recalculate the premiums, we need to know about the increased measures. I need to know about the security upgrades.”

  Jack waited, holding his breath, keeping his features smooth. He desperately needed this man to comply. The team needed this information—without it, they wouldn’t know exactly where the Lionheart was being held, and they wouldn’t have nearly enough detail on the security features that protected it. Gladys had attempted to obtain the information online, but the details about the upgrades hadn’t been recorded in the system yet. Jack would need to get that intel in person.

  The chief of security narrowed his eyes at Jack. “I haven’t heard anything about this. I’m going to call your head office for verification.”

  “By all means,” Jack said, keeping a level gaze and handing the man his business card with a phone number printed on it.

  The security man dialed and put the phone to his ear. Once the call connected, Jack overheard a British voice coming through the receiver. “Eastern Shield Insurance, Albert Max speaking, how can I help you?”

  Jack kept his breathing steady. He knew Gladys had intercepted and redirected the call; this was Templeton speaking.

  The security chief exchanged a few short sentences of inquiry with Templeton and glanced over at Jack. The man listened, nodded, and finally hung up. “You check out. Okay, what do you need to know?”

  A few minutes later, Jack was poring over paper files that contained details on the security systems. And though he wanted the details, he was also looking to confirm the exact location of the Lionheart. As he took photographs with the spy camera located in his tie clip, he experienced a thrill along the back of his neck. See, he could do the James Bond thing.

  He immediately chastised himself for being so ridiculous. Head in the game, Barlow.

  It quickly became obvious where the Lionheart was likely being held. There was one vault with much more security than the others. That had to be it.

  “I have to make a quick phone call to the head office,” Jack said to the security man, and stood. “And I’m going to get more coffee.”

  He moved to the corner of the room, by the coffee machine, and put his phone to his ear, pretending to make a call. “Okay, it’s in the vault in the Singapura Wing, top floor of the middle tower. I think,” he whispered, knowing the earpiece would pick up his words. He looked back at the chief of security, who was engrossed in a conversation with one of his managers.

  “Right, Jack, got it. Singapura Wing,” Gladys said.

  “Felix, you got that?” Jack said. “Go there, get your photos, and get out.” Jack knew Felix needed to go in person to the vault for on-the-ground assessment of the security measures.

  Then Ethan’s voice came on the line. “Barlow, are you sure that’s the one?”

  Jack exhaled through his nose. “Yes. I’m sure.”

  “Because you said ‘I think’ . . .”

  He closed his eyes. Fine. He would try to get further confirmation. “Felix, just go. I’ll try to confirm.”

  He poured a cup of stale coffee, then returned to the security chief. “Right, they’re wondering, in particular, about the upgrades to this”—he looked down at the files and ran his finger down the page, pretending to look for the name—“this vault. In the Singapura Wing. Can you tell me what you’ve got there right now?”

  The security chief gave him an immovable stare. “Valuables.”

  Jack tried for a smile. “Obviously. But, for insurance purposes, we need to know the nature of those valuables. The replacement cost, for starters.”

  The security chief, at that moment, looked up toward the door. Someone new had entered the office. Jack’s eyes flicked in the same direction, and his chest collapsed inward.

  It was someone Jack recognized, and it was about the last person he wanted to see.

  Hendrickx. Interpol.

  Jack quickly pretended to drop his file, letting the pages fall so he could crouch down to the ground and stay hidden, collecting his papers. The security chief walked away, in Hendrickx’s direction.

  Jack kept his head down, but swiveled his eyes up, to see if Hendrickx had spotted him. He was speaking with one of the managers at a work station; there was no sign he’d seen Jack.

  Jack’s stomach flipped over. He had to get out of there. But he also needed to warn everybody else. He pretended to make another phone call, but really he was speaking into his earpiece, communicating with everyone. “Big problem,” he said in a low voice. “Hendrickx is here. He just walked in.”

  “What?” Templeton said with alarm.

  “Oh dear,” said Gladys. “I’m finishing up. I have everything off Walker’s phone now.”

  “I’ll run the phone back up to the pool right now,” Ethan said.

  There was quiet on the line after that.

  “Cat?” Jack said. There was nothing, only some faint crackling. “Cat, answer! You need to get out of there.” They all knew Cat was still up at the pool, keeping Walker distracted.

  Jack dared another glance over to Hendrickx, who was in heated conversation with the security chief. They were standing close enough that Jack could hear a few words. And what he heard was Hendrickx asking the chief of security for the current location of Chips Walker.

  The security man shrugged. He called out to the room, in general, “Anyone know where Walker is?”

  Shit. Hendrickx was looking for Walker? If he found him, he’d find Cat, too. And that would be bad.

  A woman seated in front of a bank of security
cameras said, “Yeah, I think I saw him up at the pool a little while ago.” She squinted at the screens. “There he is—I can see him there now.”

  Hendrickx abruptly turned and stalked out, clearly on a mission. Jack’s stomach dropped.

  “Cat,” he whispered into his earpiece. “Pick up. Do you copy? You have to get out of there. Hendrickx is on his way to you.”

  There was nothing but static.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Brilliant sunlight glanced off the pool’s surface and into my eyes as I laughed at yet another of Walker’s horrible jokes. I subtly waded two steps away from him—and his wandering hands. For the past fifteen minutes I’d been putting on an excellent show, flirting and keeping him very interested. It was a fine line I walked, between holding his attention . . . and encouraging him to sweep me straight up to his penthouse suite. At the same time, I was also trying to keep from being drowned by the kids who were playing right next to us.

  Only a few minutes ago, one kid had taken a flying leap into the pool, cannonball-style. He’d splashed water all over me, including directly into my left ear, where my earpiece was inserted. I couldn’t hear a thing through it. I hoped it would come back to life soon.

  In the meantime, I needed to focus on keeping Walker from returning to his deck chair and retrieving his things. And subsequently discovering his cell phone was missing.

  Last I’d heard Ethan and Gladys had almost finished downloading everything. It wouldn’t be long now. At least that was what I was praying for. The way Walker was eyeing me hungrily, it was going to be difficult enough, even now, to discreetly slip away.

  And then, things got a whole lot worse, because Hendrickx appeared.

  I watched in horror as the tall, red-haired Interpol agent entered the pool area, scanning the crowd, looking for someone. Panic spasmed through my chest. I knew exactly who he was looking for. Me.

  I lunged for my sunglasses, sitting on the edge of the pool, and pushed them on my face. It was a scanty disguise, but it was a start. I turned my face partially away.