Invisible Recruit (Silhouette Bombshell)

by Mary Buckham

  “Believe or not,” Jayleen spoke directly to Vaughn. “The cards are meant to help, not harm.”

  “Does this card mean anything else?” Kelly asked.

  Jayleen sucked in a deep breath. “It means one must face the fact that troubles are often self-created and that only by identifying them can you eliminate repeated negative patterns. By doing so you will no longer add your forces to the opposing force’s energy.”

  “Well, I think that’s a good card.” Kelly smiled at the group. “In fact that sounds like something my gran would say. Not the same way, of course. She’d say, ‘Get out of your own way girl, you’re making things worse than they are.’”

  Alex was the one who laughed first, a snort then a full-blown belly laugh. Jayleen joined in with a grin. Vaughn wished she could release enough tension to do more than smile, but too much was riding on tonight’s outcome and she was responsible for all of it.

  Opposing forces, her big toe. He had a name—Stone—and if Vaughn had anything to do with it, he was going to be sorely disappointed by tonight’s outcome when her team returned with ledger in hand well within their twelve-hour time frame.

  Aunt Francine’s silver stretch limo slid to a silent stop before the snake line of partygoers and pulsing neon lines announcing the Scarlet Club on West 28th between 10th and 11th, the low thrum of Afrika Bambaataa beating its electrofunk rhythm through the muggy night.

  Vaughn glanced at her team members. They looked good. Real good. Kelly in a powder blue Stella McCartney that made her resemble a forties starlet, especially with the way Alex had waved Kelly’s blond hair into a Veronica Lake style. Alex looked smashing in a simple silk sapphire sheath that contrasted nicely with her copper skin and thick waist-length black hair. Very wanton seductress.

  And then there was Jayleen, who actually was the most eye-catching of them all with her hip-high leather boots, black leather mini and bustier displaying her cleavage to its full advantage. Even the makeup Alex had applied to the woman fit the outfit—blood red lipstick, deep smoky eye shadow and a mole just to the left of her full lips.

  “You want to explain why I’m the one who has to look like a cross between a drag queen and a vampire?” Jayleen had demanded when first shown the outfit.

  “I don’t think that bustier is going to give the impression of a man-wanna-be-female or a bat guy,” Alex countered before Vaughn could pipe up.

  “I think you look very sexy,” Kelly added, smiling.

  Jayleen had simply sniffed and tied and stuffed herself into the form-fitting, knock-’em-dead designer dress. She’d cornrowed her hair off her face, displaying every angle and slant to her killer visage. No doubt if they survived the night, the woman would have a dozen offers to pose for both mainstream and X-rated material.

  They might all be headed for disaster, but they would be doing it dressed to the nines. Vaughn would have to remember to thank her aunt later; having connections in the fashion industry did come in handy. Another detail Stone didn’t know.

  Vaughn tugged the sequined Versace tube dress that split center-thigh and exposed a long line of leg, though it tended to ride too low for Vaughn’s usual comfort level. Her voice held steady as she asked, “Ready, ladies?”

  “Not quite.” Leave it to Jayleen to be the party pooper. “I’d like a few more details to this suicide mission.”

  “It’s simple.” Vaughn kept the frustration out of her voice. “I get us in the door.”

  “A big if with this line.” Jayleen waved at the crowd beyond the tinted glass shielding them.

  “Let her finish.” Alex ran her fingers across butter-soft leather seats. “Vaughn’s got us this far. Let’s give her a chance.”

  “Thank you.” Vaughn nodded toward the Idaho girl, appreciating her more and more every minute. “Like I said, I get us in the front door. We find Giorgio. Get him alone in his office. Keep him occupied. Break into his safe and waltz out.”

  Why was it when you put some plans into words they sounded really dicey?

  “Yeah, it’s that part after getting through the front doors that worries me.” Jayleen eyed Vaughn, then glanced at the other two. “Those details are a little scant for my liking.”

  “We improvise.” Vaughn ratcheted up her smile and leaned toward the handle, afraid if she didn’t move soon all her muscles would lock into place and Stone would be proved right—she didn’t belong as an operative, especially leading a team. “Now, let’s go.”

  The door silently slid open as Vaughn extended one Miu Miu–shod foot to the pavement. “Remember, ladies, we’re a team.” She glanced over her shoulder at them and added, “Smile, follow me and own it.”

  “Those Stone’s orders or your own?” Alex grinned.

  “Or more improvisation?” Jayleen murmured, loud enough for Vaughn to hear.

  Instead of replying, Vaughn glided from the car, a move she’d made many times before, praying her team believed in her enough to follow, that they weren’t in over their heads and that she wasn’t, either.

  Ignoring the throng halted by a burly bouncer who looked part WWE wrestler and part pit bull, Vaughn smiled brightly and waltzed right up to the man, laying one hand across his steel-ribbed chest.

  “Ice, it’s been a while,” she purred.

  “Miss Vaughn.” He looked beyond her before his gaze slid back to hers. “Last time was Templeton’s. You was with that producer dude. I haven’t seen you here before.”

  “I’ve saved this place for a special occasion.” She waved her free hand toward her team. “I brought some of my best friends, as a surprise for Giorgio.”

  “Surprise?”

  She nodded her head toward Jayleen and deepened her smile before asking, “Do you think he’ll like?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “What about the others?”

  Opening her eyes wide, she shrugged. “Appetizers?”

  The man’s laugh vibrated through him like a subway train deep underground.

  “I guess I’ll let you in then.” He moved to unfasten the silk cord, earning grumbles and complaints from the nearest patrons.

  “You are a sweetheart.” Vaughn rose on tiptoe to brush a kiss across his stubbly cheek. “And soooo very yummy.”

  The man’s grin assured her that he didn’t have a clue what was going down. First step accomplished. If only the next phase moved as smoothly.

  She breezed past him and stepped into the dim, pulse-pounding interior.

  “What was that all about? Another ex-boyfriend?” Jayleen asked as they drew together inside the main foyer, a small anteroom opening to a packed dance floor with scarlet strobe lights giving everything the look of a vampire orgy.

  “No. A friend, something you might want to learn how to cultivate. I got us in.” Vaughn scanned the area in front of her. “If we used Stone’s plan we’d be waiting in that line until after our time frame expired.”

  “Good move.” Alex moved up close on her other side, winking at an Armani male model giving her the once-over. “Fun place. What now?”

  “Improvise.” Vaughn hoped it’d be enough. “Giorgio no doubt has a room in the back or on an upper level. Let’s find it.”

  “I’m not sure I can do this.” Kelly leaned toward Vaughn, her voice a raw whisper, her glance darting around the room. “They have nothing like this in Kansas.”

  That was the challenge to the team concept. If one member failed, they all failed, and Stone would win. Which wasn’t an option.

  “Kelly, I believe in you. Alex believes in you. Jayleen is guarding your back.” In theory at least, but Vaughn would skip over that detail. “And Ling Mai believes in you, or you wouldn’t be here. So now it’s up to you. We go forward as a team or we turn around and kiss this mission goodbye.”

  Vaughn watched as the kindergarten teacher swallowed hard and nodded. “You lead. I’ll follow,” she said, angling her head upward.

  Good. Another hurdle surmounted.

  “I just want to know one thing.” Jaylee
n held her ground, letting other patrons wash around her.

  “What now?” Vaughn asked in exasperation.

  Jayleen glared at her, lights making her appear more exotic and dangerous than usual. “Where’s our backup plan, if this improvisation of yours goes south? Big-time.”

  “We run like hell.” Vaughn ratcheted up her plastic smile. “Ladies, let’s go.”

  Bumping and grinding their way across the packed floor Vaughn was sure she’d lost Kelly once or twice. The blonde had no sense of survival as one patron after another, both male and female, snagged her into form-hugging, skin-rubbing dance moves. Definitely not the Kansas two-step.

  Vaughn finally leaned over the openmouthed Kelly and shouted to be heard over the music. “Pretend you’re getting your class to the bathrooms. They all need to get there ASAP. And together. No stopping, no getting distracted. Now think about the team. Got it?”

  The other woman gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry. It’s a first.”

  And was going to be a last if they didn’t get to Giorgio’s and get that ledger.

  Vaughn nodded and pushed forward, following Jayleen’s lead. Now there was a woman who could hold her own on a dance floor, impervious to the sensation she created brushing her way through the throng. The woman let nothing stop her. Now it was only a question of whether she’d hold fast for the team, as well.

  Vaughn would deal with that if or when it came up; for now, the focus was on reaching Giorgio’s office. For a second, Vaughn hesitated, wondering if maybe Stone’s plan to reconnoiter the club as patrons first, then wait until after the club closed and do a little after-hours B and E might have more merit than she’d originally given it. Then she brushed the thought aside. Now was not the time to get cold feet. Now was the time to be brazen. Well-behaved women rarely made history.

  It was Alex, though, who took the lead once they reached the solid oak door at the far end of the dance floor. The door was guarded by not one but two bruisers who made Ice outside look like a playground bully.

  Alex shimmied right up to them, took a cue from Vaughn’s earlier example and greeted them like long-lost friends.

  “Hey, boys,” she cooed, as if she did it every night of the week, rubbing up against the nearest refrigerator. “I’ve got a big surprise for your boss man.”

  “Go away,” the monster growled.

  “And have to tell Giorgio later that you wouldn’t let us through?”

  Vaughn watched one guard trade glances with the other. The first chink.

  Alex responded by shaking her waterfall of straight, dark hair with one hand while sucking an index finger as a lollipop, her attention still on the barbarian guarding the gate.

  She definitely had everyone’s attention now, especially Kelly’s. Vaughn was glad for the dark shadows, otherwise Kelly’s face would be glowing with a neon blush. Even Jayleen’s eyes were wider than usual.

  “What you want?” the first guard asked, his voice huskier than a moment ago.

  “To surprise Giorgio,” came Alex’s low, throaty response. Man oh man, whatever they taught those cowgirls out in Idaho, it held a mighty powerful kick.

  “You need four of youse to do it?”

  “She-Ra here gets first dibs.” Alex angled her head toward Jayleen. “Then Chicky Boom Boom. Then me.”

  Vaughn swallowed a groan. She was Chicky Boom Boom? Her mother would have been appalled. On the other hand, it was much better than Stone’s tag.

  “And her?” The guard squinted at Kelly.

  Alex released a laugh a full octave lower than her speaking voice before answering. “Oh, she likes to watch.”

  Vaughn ducked her head, but not before she saw the big guy’s jaw drop.

  Alex deserved an Academy Award for this. And if they made it out in one piece, Vaughn just might have to make a few calls to get her one. Or at least a facsimile.

  “The boss know you’re here?” The second guard sidled up, obviously the brighter of the two, or the less distracted.

  “I told you, it’s a surprise.” Then, to seal the deal, Alex released a soul-deep sigh and turned toward Vaughn. “Come on, if these boys don’t know what they’re missing we can always play elsewhere.”

  “Wait.” The first guard shuffled his feet before asking, “What’s in it for us?”

  At Jayleen’s groan, he added, “I mean, in case the boss is miffed. It could cost us our jobs, us letting you in there without an invite.”

  “You’ll get to watch the video.” It was Kelly who stepped forward, looking like the kindergarten teacher she was, and flooring them all.

  “Video?” came the squeak.

  “Yup. We’ll make you your own hard copy.”

  The first guard nodded his head like a bobble head.

  They were in.

  We just might pull this off. Take that, Stone, put it in your pipe and smoke it.

  Vaughn led the way as the door opened, spying Giorgio behind a Danish Modern cherrywood desk, talking into a cell phone.

  “What the—”

  “Shh, it’s a surprise.” Vaughn circled around behind him so he could get a full view of her team, and Jayleen in particular, who slid into the room, the door closing silently behind them.

  Giorgio looked like other nightclub owners and managers Vaughn had met over the years. Slicked-back hair, Armani suit, muscles kept in shape from a membership in an exclusive gym and just a shade of seediness around the edges. With Giorgio, it showed in the lines bracketing his eyes. Harsh lines shadowing cold orbs. This was not a man one would want as an enemy.

  “Hello, big boy.” Jayleen formed her lips in a sinred lipstick pout, draping forward across the desk until her boobs all but burst from the bustier. “We’re here for some fun.”

  Giorgio snapped his phone closed and started to stand up, but Vaughn already had her hands twined around his neck. A lover’s embrace, or at least that was what she hoped he remembered. Reaching the vagus nerve slightly below his Adam’s apple, she applied a firm pinch.

  The man slumped backward, dead weight as Vaughn maneuvered him back into his leather swivel chair.

  “Wow, how’d you learn to do that?” Alex whistled, crossing around the desk to help.

  “A boyfriend who was a former SEAL.”

  “Cool. How long will it last?”

  “Not long. Jayleen, you have the stuff?”

  “’Course I do.” Jayleen stepped forward and deftly inserted a needle into the vein of the man’s right arm. At Kelly’s wide-eyed look, she muttered, “What? I learned a few tricks on the street. This stuff will have him sleeping for just enough time for us to get in and do our stuff. He won’t even know what hit him.”

  Vaughn glanced to where Kelly still stood by the door, glad Jayleen wasn’t squeamish about needles and veins. “Kelly, you listen at the door in case those bouncers get curious. Jayleen, when you’re done, you and Alex make Giorgio here look like he’s been having a good time. When he wakes we don’t want him to have a clue what happened.”

  “And you?” Jayleen asked, even as she finished and started tugging Giorgio’s necktie and shirttail loose.

  “I’ll get the ledger.”

  Wall safe seemed the best bet. It took her less than fifteen seconds to find it, thanking heaven that it was an older tumbler brand, and set to work.

  By the time she’d finished pulling out a small ledger and turned around, Jayleen had Giorgio’s pants unzipped, his shirttail dangling, and Alex was applying a tube of lipstick along the hem.

  “What—oh, smart idea.” Vaughn had to give the two women credit; they were inventive.

  “Got it?” Alex capped her lipstick and straightened.

  “Yeah. Ready to go?”

  “How we going to get a ledger out of here without the goons noticing?” Jayleen asked. “None of these dresses leave a lot to the imagination.”

  She had a point.

  But before Vaughn could come up with a solution, Jayleen started untying the top strings to her b
ustier and grabbed the ledger, stuffing it along her lower back.

  “There.” She grinned, looking up and answering Kelly’s quizzical expression. “Let’s face it, no one’s looking at my backside.”

  Another good point.

  Leaving a still dazed Giorgio slumped in his chair, they sauntered out of the room, left instructions with the bodyguards to give their boss a few minutes to recuperate, gave them a blank surveillance video they’d found inside the office and exited the club.

  It wasn’t until they reached the limo and were once again inside it that Alex let out a war whoop.

  “We did it! We’re one hell of a team.”

  Vaughn’s sentiments exactly.

  She just hoped Ling Mai—and Stone—agreed.

  Chapter 6

  “Do you have any idea of the risk you took? Of the risk you put your team in?” Stone’s voice crashed against her, a wall of icy rage, stronger for the control she heard in its depths. “The guards had weapons.”

  “They didn’t use them.”

  “There were hundreds of civilians who could have been at risk if events backfired.”

  “They didn’t. No bullets, no blood.”

  “Giorgio can ID you to the authorities if he recognized your face.”

  “He didn’t.” Not that she had given him much of a chance. “Besides, what’s he going to say? Some society deb waltzed in there and stole a ledger. He’d be the laughingstock of the city.”

  “And what if he decides to pursue private retaliation?”

  “Are you angry because we completed the mission or because we didn’t fail?” she shot back, tired, exhausted and no longer quite so afraid that this man could sabotage her plans. Not when her team was the only team to have completed their assignment successfully.

  But now it was only Stone and herself in Ling Mai’s office, waiting for the director in spite of the late hour, Vaughn still wearing her Versace. An outfit that showed way too much skin and seduction for her peace of mind. Stone had given her one hot, slow look that still had her nerve endings jangling before he announced an emergency meeting—Vaughn, himself and Ling Mai, while the rest of her team waited outside closed doors.