Undercover Nightingale

by Rosnau, Wendy

  She left the bedroom. She was getting tired of not knowing the reason she was in Budapest. She didn’t trust Filip. Not like she had Yurii. She should call Cyrus and tell him that Filip had been shot. Surely he would either give her a reason to stay, or tell her to fly back to Athens.

  She knew who Casso Salavich was. Knew he was a powerful man in the criminal world in Europe. Perhaps they were there to take him down?

  She didn’t like being kept in the dark, and she didn’t like the situation of owing a stranger for his hospitality—a stranger who was into nasty business.

  The direction of her thoughts took a sudden turn, and Allegra touched her lips. Toriago wasn’t all talk and smooth moves. He knew how to kiss a woman and make her remember it. Make her want more. She couldn’t blame him entirely for what had happened. She had kissed him back downstairs, and she had played the game perfectly.

  But that game wouldn’t have been necessary if she knew why the hell she was in Budapest. The bottom line was she was going to call Cyrus and demand a few answers. And the sooner the better, while Filip was still on his back.

  She took a shower. Toriago hadn’t said where he was going, but she suspected he’d gone looking for the mystery man in the trench coat. Out of the shower, she dried her hair, then found Toriago’s shaving kit and rummaged through it. He’d been telling the truth about an antibiotic for her cut. She used it, along with his toothbrush—after all, he had offered it to her.

  She left the bathroom wearing the white robe she’d found behind the door—compliments of the hotel.

  Toriago still wasn’t back when she strolled into the living room. She found wine and gin behind the small half-circle bar. He must have had some sent up while she was in the lobby. She poured a glass of wine and stepped out on the balcony.

  The moon was out and the cool air made her shiver. She tugged the ends of the white robe together, pulled up the collar. Sipped the wine.

  The city lights sent a golden glow over the street below. Budapest was beautiful at night, a place she would enjoy if she were on her own time. She could see the shadow of the Buda Hills in the distance, Parliament, and the Danube at its narrowest as it passed through the city.

  It was by luck that she was on the balcony when Toriago exited the alley. She watched him cross the street and head back to the hotel. His lazy sauntering gait was back.

  Yes, she’d noticed his confident stride, just like she’d noticed everything else, from his nice ass and powerhouse shoulders to his hard abdomen. Scars and all, he had the complete package.

  But he was about more than a great body, a handsome face, and excellent taste in hotel suites. He had spent time in prison, and was about to climb into bed with Casso Salavich.

  She was caught up in watching Toriago when another man exited the same alley. She studied the second man. He didn’t cross the street. Instead he flagged a taxi.

  She was still standing on the balcony, wrapped in a white robe fifteen minutes later when Toriago came through the front door carrying the bag he’d insisted she leave behind in the bar. She came back into the living room sliding the balcony door shut.

  “Do you have a death wish?”

  “Meaning?”

  “I’d just as soon not everyone know we’re on the eighth floor. Someone blew up your car, and a few hours ago you were followed. Standing out there wearing that is like waving a flag. You could be picked off from across the street.”

  “Afraid for me, or yourself?”

  “I’d like to avoid being shot today if I can.”

  “You’re a tough guy. Prison memories and a big bad scar. What’s one more to add to your bragging rights?”

  He set her bag down next to the couch. “Have any scars you’d like to show me and brag about?”

  She had a couple, but they weren’t worth bragging about. Actually she couldn’t remember where she’d gotten them.

  “Why was Filip at Salavich’s bastion today?”

  That was a very good question, she thought. Allegra cautioned herself not to say too much. She was supposed to be Filip’s woman, nothing more, and until she contacted Cyrus she would continue the ruse.

  “He doesn’t discuss his business with me.”

  “And you’re all right with that?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “I don’t think you’re the kind of woman who goes into anything blind. You handled yourself pretty good downstairs.”

  “Just pretty good?”

  “The disguise was quick thinking.”

  “Since we’re on that subject, I think it would be best if Filip was spared the details.”

  “You want me to lie to him?”

  “I don’t see any reason to upset him with details that aren’t important.”

  He eyed the robe, then the belt tied around her waist. “Sharing secrets with you would be my pleasure, señorita.”

  The look he was giving her told her that his silence was going to cost her. She didn’t like his wolf’s grin any more than she liked her position right now. If Filip thought he couldn’t trust her, then what?

  She’d been going over in her mind the time she’d spent with him the past few days and the one thing that stuck out was Filip standing on his yacht with a detonator in his hand, the Sera Vedette on fire and the captain fish bait.

  She finished her wine and set the glass on the bar. Turning slowly, she asked, “What would it take for you to forget what happened downstairs?”

  “I rarely forget anything. I have a healthy memory.”

  “Your price, Toriago?”

  “As I recall, your cash flow is tight at the moment.”

  “Then why don’t you tell me what you have in mind.”

  “There is one thing.” He grinned.

  It was a self-serving naughty grin, akin to a dog’s after he’d cornered a fox.

  “You’re saying if I sleep with you, it will cancel my debts, and make you forget what happened in the bar?”

  “Is that what you’re offering?”

  Allegra walked to the couch and sat. Curling her legs beneath her, she studied Toriago, wondering who he had met in the alley. Wondered if she slept with him if she would be digging herself a deeper hole, or if his healthy memory would suddenly turn fuzzy.

  “I think the ball is in your court, señorita.”

  “I’m thinking.”

  “About whether you can trust me or not?”

  “I don’t do trust. I do cause and effect. We make a deal, and if you break it, then—”

  “Then you kill me with your gun when my back is turned.”

  Allegra smiled. “You’ve played this game before. Good.”

  He took off his jacket, tossed it on a chair. Her eyes locked on it, pictured the phone in his pocket. She decided before the night was over that she would call Cyrus.

  Before he sat down across from her, he pulled his shirt from his pants and unbuttoned it. He lit a cigarette, leaned forward and tossed the lighter on the coffee table between them, and reached for the ashtray. “Could you do it?”

  “Do what?”

  “Kill me? I’m still going over in my mind the whole trust, cause and effect thing.”

  She tried to keep her eyes from drifting to his open shirt. “Some business is more unpleasant than others. But survival is survival.”

  “Whether it requires that you shoot a man or sleep with him?”

  “Filip wouldn’t like what happened downstairs. I see no reason to upset him after the bad day he’s already had. I’ll tell Filip about the tail I picked up. I think he should know that the shooter could be here. But the rest—”

  “Do you think you’re up to it?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Downstairs it seemed like that kiss took a lot out of you.”

  “Are you saying it was lacking?”

  “Let’s just say under less pressure and some rest I would hope you could do better. Of course there could be another explanation.”

  “And tha
t is?”

  “Has it been a while since you slept with Filip?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “Like I said. You seemed a bit out of practice. One minute you were hot, then you were cold. Well, I don’t know Filip, but some men aren’t very good when it comes to knowing what a woman wants or needs. You can’t be blamed for that.”

  Allegra sank into the couch a little deeper. Yes, it had been a while, but in her business there wasn’t much time for personal gratification—routine bred acceptance—yet that had nothing to do with her performance tonight. She had been at the top of her game, and if he didn’t think so then maybe he was the one who was out of practice.

  “Maybe I just don’t like you, Toriago.”

  “But you’re still willing to sleep with me?” He shook his head. “No, I don’t think that’s it. There must be something about me that you like or you wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice so much.”

  “An oversized ego usually means a man’s been shortchanged in another area.” She smiled. “You have my sympathy.”

  He grinned, the wolf was back. “There’s only one way to find out.”

  “Perhaps I’ll tell Filip the truth and save you the embarrassment. Who did you meet after you left the hotel? I saw you step out of the alley. I was on the balcony, remember?”

  “I didn’t meet anyone.”

  “I saw a man leave the alley less than a minute after you, and it wasn’t your chauffeur.”

  “I went looking for our friend in the trench coat, and when I didn’t find…him, I searched the surrounding area. After that, I went to the bar and got your bag. Trust me, I didn’t meet anyone.”

  “As I said, trust isn’t something I do. My mother raised me to be a realist. She said never trust a man you haven’t known forever. Since forever is an untouchable, unreachable phenomenon for a man, you can understand my dilemma.”

  She uncurled her legs and got off the couch. She started past him, but he reached out and grabbed her arm and stopped her.

  “I can get you out of here. Find you a safe place if that’s what you need. If you’re afraid of Petrov—”

  She pulled away. “I’m not.”

  He stood, reached up and brushed his thumb over the cut on her cheek. “I notice everything. You don’t know him as well as you pretend to. It’s in your eyes when you look at him.”

  “You’re mistaken if you think that’s what you see.”

  His thumb stroked her temple. “It’s not everyday a woman agrees to sleep with a stranger to keep a minor secret from her boyfriend. Whatever you need to walk away from, I can help.” He dropped his hand. “The offer has no time limit.”

  “You’re a contradiction, Toriago. One minute your eyes are stripping me naked, and the next minute you’re playing Boy Scout. You see, I can read eyes, too. I can also read body language.” Allegra shifted her attention to Toriago’s crotch. “As lacking as my performance was downstairs, I managed to do something right. And for the record, when I’m wrong, I say so. I can see that you haven’t been shortchanged. My mistake.”

  Allegra picked up the bag next to the couch and escaped into the bedroom. When she closed the door behind her and turned, she found Filip awake.

  “I’m thirsty. Get me some water.”

  “Of course. I brought you some pain killers.” She left the room and retrieved a glass of water from the bathroom, then stepped back into the bedroom. She sat down beside him and gave him the pills and held the water glass for him.

  “The wound should be cleaned and bandaged.” She touched his forehead. “You have a fever.”

  “Where are we?”

  “You don’t remember?”

  “If I did I wouldn’t be asking.”

  “We’re in Toriago’s suite. I didn’t know where to take you. He suggested we stay with him.”

  “Why would he be so generous?”

  “I don’t know. But when I went downstairs to get you some clean clothes and the medical supplies, I was followed. It could be the shooter from this afternoon. I think it’s good that we’re here. That way—”

  “You don’t think until you’re told to think.” His eyes drifted over her. “Why are you wearing his robe?”

  “I took a shower. But the robe isn’t—”

  “To wash his scent off you?”

  “What?”

  “I saw the way you looked at him in the car. The way you looked at his body, and the way he was looking at you. He would have taken you in the car in front of me if I had told him he could have you.”

  She opened her mouth to deny it, but in a split second Filip grabbed her around the neck, his fingers digging deeply into her flesh. He squeezed harder—hard enough to cut off her air supply.

  Allegra reached up to pry his hand away, but he pulled her down beside him, his fingers still squeezing the life out of her. He sat up and leaned over her, his strength coming out of nowhere, considering the shape he was in.

  “I thought I told you how we were going to play this game. You are my woman. We’re here on business, nothing else, so stay away from Toriago. Now go put some clothes on.”

  When Filip released her she rolled off the bed choking and gasping for air, clutching her bruised throat. She felt dizzy as she struggled up from her knees and she backed up and used the wall to steady herself. She tried to speak, but she couldn’t breathe.

  “Did you hear me? Get some clothes on, then bandage up this damn wound.”

  Chapter 6

  Allegra heard the shower turn on, and quickly rose from the couch. She hurried down the hall, past the bathroom and slipped into Toriago’s bedroom.

  After Filip had nearly choked her to death she had decided calling Cyrus was the only thing she could do. She should have called him sooner.

  In the bedroom she hurried to the bed, switched on the light that sat on the nightstand, then quickly scanned the room. Toriago’s leather jacket was draped over a chair.

  Right pocket.

  Got it.

  She pulled out the phone and quickly punched in the code number. It started to ring.

  Once.

  Twice.

  She heard the shower turn off.

  A third ring.

  Number four.

  Dammit, answer the phone.

  On the sixth ring the voice mail turned on.

  She had no choice but to leave a message, then disconnect. She slid the phone back into the pocket of Toriago’s jacket, then turned to leave. But it was too late. The bathroom door opened.

  There was only one way out of the bedroom. Caught in the act, she scrambled to the bed and sat down just as Toriago walked into the room wearing a pair of black PJ bottoms and nothing else.

  The look on his face when he saw her seated on the bed was priceless. It was complete surprise, and then it turned wary as he glanced around the room. “What are you doing in here?”

  The truth would damn her. A lame excuse would be worse. She thought about making a joke and trying to be funny. It wasn’t really her style, and anyway she didn’t see anything funny about the day’s events, or the fact that Filip had nearly killed her a few hours ago.

  In the end, she said, “I owe you for saving my life…twice, remember?”

  He angled his head, took in her appearance. She didn’t look like she was there to seduce him—she had changed back into her jeans and the black sweater she’d bought downstairs. But she’d turned him on wearing jeans before.

  “Then you really are a woman who pays her debts no matter what the price.”

  She had declined eating with him when he’d ordered up a late supper. She didn’t think she could swallow, and it still hurt to talk.

  Keeping her voice in check, seeing a way out, she said, “Most men would find that an admirable quality. Since you’re not one of them, I’ll say goodnight.”

  She stood, started past him and almost made it out the door when he stopped her. Pulling her around to face him, keeping his eyes locked on hers, he closed the door
.

  There was a moment of awkward silence, then he curled his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her into his space. The pressure on her neck was excruciating, but she refused to make a sound.

  He dipped his head and kissed her, pulled back, and said, “I guess I’m a lucky man tonight.”

  “Then we have a deal?”

  He searched her face, looked into her eyes.

  “Is it there? Can you read my eyes? If you can, then you know I’m not playing a game.”

  He didn’t answer. Instead he released her and walked over to the desk. He picked up his jacket and pulled out his phone. In that moment she thought it was all over. That he knew why she was in his room. But he only checked his messages, then turned off the phone and set it on the desk.

  Facing her, he said with a smile, “It would be a shame to be interrupted. Take off your sweater.”

  He didn’t waste time, and she was all for getting it over with. She might enjoy looking at his body, but until now she hadn’t considered what he would think of hers.

  She was thinner than she had ever been. Not as curvy, and her breasts were a small handful.

  Still, she’d given him a hard-on once before, and at the moment it was rising to the occasion again. In fact, it was giving a parade performance that could flag a train.

  “Second thoughts?”

  “No.” She pulled off her sweater and dropped it to the floor.

  His eyes went straight to her breasts covered in blue satin, and she felt her nipples constrict in response to his stare down.

  “Now the jeans.”

  She kicked off her shoes, unzipped her pants and slid them past her thighs. She bent over, pushed them down her legs and stepped out of them leaving her in a blue thong.

  He didn’t bait her again. Instead he walked toward her and circled her as if he was deciding whether she was worth taking to bed or not. Again she wondered if he thought she was too thin. She couldn’t explain how she’d lost the weight. She’d just woken up one morning and she was twenty pounds thinner.

  She refocused her energy as he circled her again. Whatever his eccentricities were, she would meet them head on.

  He stopped behind her and unhooked her bra. His hands on her shoulders, he slowly slid the straps off her shoulders.