by Donna Hill
They all nodded.
“We don’t have much time,” Jake said, looking at his wife. “I’ll work on the timeline and getting the schematics for the ship.”
“And I’ll be getting us outfitted.” Eva smiled. She turned to Jinx. “And we’re going to need you to get the ship’s roster.”
Jinx was on it. “Done. Already on my list.” He tapped the side of his head.
“Rita, me and you are going to have to do a little shopping for the accessories.” Eva winked at her cousin.
Rita grinned. “You know I love shopping.”
Jake slung his hands into his pockets. “We got everything covered, gang”
They murmured agreement.
Jake checked his watch. “The clock is ticking, folks. Let’s get busy.”
6
Eva was in her office. One of her many responsibilities was to oversee the ordering and delivery of materials—from fabrics to accessories—and all the supplies that the designers needed. She dealt with the vendors and manufacturers personally. She was on a first-name basis with them all. That was in addition to supervising the design team and framing the looks for the new season. In some ways, she had to be clairvoyant to see into the future of fashion and try to get there before everyone else. It was stressful, but rewarding to see her vision come to life on the runway and in store windows. More than a few women in Manhattan wore her designs.
She turned on her computer and opened her Excel spreadsheet of manufacturers, dragged in a short breath of apprehension. She had to be sure to cover her tracks. Anything out of the ordinary, and it would all blow back on her. The entire plan would be shot to hell. Securing the goods was integral to the sting.
Fashion Week was in four months. The designers were deep in the throes of putting the outfits together, working unbelievable hours under incredible pressure. Models were all over the place, coming in for fittings, playing diva, and being general pains in the ass. It was chaotic, to say the least, which is exactly what Eva needed.
There were three vendors in Hong Kong that she could use to get the supplies her gang required. Their stones were exquisite. So good that they had to be taken to jewelers to verify that they were fakes. Timing was crucial.
She opened the file containing order forms, keyed in the information, checked that everything was correct, set the order up as an e-mail, and clicked SEND.
It had begun, the rush. They were going to do a double tap and turn this sting right back on Lenora Ingram’s FB-fucking-I ass. She wanted diamonds and money Eva smiled to herself. She’d get them all right—or at least some damned good replicas. By the time that bitch figured it out, the team would be ghosts. Not to mention the extra little trick they had up their sleeve.
Eva’s heart pounded. The familiar hot flush began in the tips of her toes and scooted up her legs. Her pulse rate increased. Her nipples grew hard, and she felt the dampness between her legs. A shudder of need pulsed in the pit of her stomach.
Eva reached for the phone and dialed. “Hey, baby,” she said when Jake answered. “Think you can get away for about an hour”
The tone of his wife’s obvious lust gave him an intense hard-on. “You’re feeling it too,” he stated more than asked. “When have I ever been able to tell you no I have a lock on my office door. That’s all we need.”
Eva grinned. “See you in twenty minutes. I’m leaving now.”
“I’m ready.”
Eva turned off her computer, snatched up her purse, and darted out.
“Tara, I need to run out for a couple of hours. If any emergencies come up, call me on my cell.”
“Where are you going Sebastian may ask.”
“Tell him I had some errands to run, and I’ll be back.”
Sebastian Long was the owner of the company, the only person she answered to. Sebastian was probably the best absentee employer that any employee could want. Not to mention a brilliant designer. She’d done her apprenticeship under him. However, he did have a habit of calling in or popping up unannounced. But for the most part, he left the running of the day-to-day office activities to Eva. He said he trusted her implicitly, and trust was something that Sebastian didn’t hand over easily. Eight years earlier, he’d nearly lost everything he’d begun to build by trusting his then live-in girlfriend, Traci Jennings. Eva never liked her.
Eva’d been with Sebastian when he was working out of his apartment in Greenwich Village. When Traci came along, Sebastian lost all his good sense. Traci was pretty and evil, seeing Sebastian as her meal ticket. He’d let her handle the books and the ordering of materials. Then one day, the orders stopped being delivered, checks started bouncing, and Traci was gone. She’d emptied his bank account, ruined his credit and reputation among his vendors.
It took him more than three years to get back out into the world again. It was Eva who was there, convincing him that he was too talented to let that conniving bitch beat him into submission. Together they pieced the business back together one step at a time. Now they could compete on an even playing field with the best of them.
At the moment, he was in negotiations with an architect to work on designs for a new location. He was expanding the business. If Eva had her way, she would be heading up the new office in SoHo. She smiled.
Sebastian Long was tall, dark-haired, and handsome, with royal blue eyes that were no less than mesmerizing. If she were into white guys, she’d get it on with Sebastian in a heartbeat.
A big knot of guilt tightened in her belly. The last thing she wanted to do was screw over Sebastian. They’d been through so much together. Whatever she needed to do to protect the business and save her neck she would have to do. Somehow she’d find a way to make it all up to Sebastian.
In the meantime, she planned to release this hot flash of desire in the arms of her husband.
* * *
Jake walked out onto the sales floor. He could still smell Eva’s scent even though she’d been gone for more than an hour. His insides continued to hum as if she strummed him like the strings of a guitar.
No one else could ever understand the chemistry between the two of them. It was beyond explanation. Sometimes the sheer power of it would leave him dazed, bewildered. He would do anything in the world for Eva. Anything. And after this was over, he swore they were out. They’d find someplace to live, start over, have a real life.
He adjusted his tie as he approached a potential buyer. Running a high-end dealership had pretty much fallen into Jake’s lap. Having dropped out of school at an early age and running around with his brother Jinx, he had to find a way to make money. He hopped around from one mechanic’s shop to the next, learning the trade, but most of all learning about cars—luxury cars, in particular. He could take an engine apart with his eyes closed and put it back together. He could rattle off a car’s attributes and faults just by listening to the motor kick on. He got his first job at sales during the summer of his seventeenth birthday. He was working for a used-car dealer, and he sold more heaps in one month than the owner sold in a year. He knew he had the gift. Being mechanically inclined, he had plenty of opportunity to practice picking the locks of cars, for starters. He worked his way up to doors, safes, alarm systems. There wasn’t a security barrier that he couldn’t crack. If he couldn’t talk his way through a door, he simply broke in—carefully, of course.
“Nice-looking car.” He walked up to the middle-aged gentleman.
“I was looking for something for my wife.”
Jake relaxed his stance, put on his best smile. “Why don’t you tell me a little bit about your wife, and I guarantee I can find the perfect car for her.” He patted him on the shoulder and lowered his voice. “And she’ll love you for it.”
A little more than an hour later, Jake completed the paperwork on a red Mercedes-Benz convertible, two-seater, black leather interior, fully loaded, sleek and sexy. Jake grinned. From what the buyer told him about his wife, he had her beat in age by at least fifteen years. He wanted to keep her happ
y. That little baby would keep a smile on her face for months.
He filed the paperwork away after confirming with the warehouse that the car would be ready for delivery in seven business days.
Jake reached for the cold cup of coffee on his desk when his cell phone rang.
He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open. It was Jinx.
“She’s for real.”
Jake drew in a breath. “Then it’s a go.”
“Later, bro.”
“Yeah, later.”
Jake slid the phone back into his pocket, looked pensively out the window. This was the most dangerous, complex sting they’d ever attempted. Nothing could be left to chance. They all had to walk away from this clean. He’d made a promise to his wife that he intended to keep, and not from behind bars.
Now that Lenora Ingram’s identity had been confirmed, they were on the clock. He pulled out his cell and called Eva on hers, telling her about Jinx’s confirmation.
“Fine. I already got things going on this end. Barring any holdups, the delivery should be here in the next two to three days.”
“Great. What about Rita”
“I’ll give her a call as soon as I get off with you.”
Jake puffed out a breath. “Babe, I’m really sorry about this. I should have listened to you.”
“Hmmm, you should have, but we won’t dwell on it,” she said with a hint of humor in her voice. “Hey, there is no way you could have known, and neither could I. I went over everything in my head a zillion times, Jake, and there’s nothing I would have done differently.”
“All we can do this time out is make sure there are no mistakes. There are too many moving parts.”
“Exactly.”
“I’ll see you at home. I should be in around six.”
Eva listened to sewing machines, the barked out instructions, and the grunts of complaints coming from the design floor; then she picked out Sebastian’s voice above the fray. “I may have to pull a late one, but I’ll get in as soon as I can.”
“I’ll keep dinner warm.”
“Thanks I—” She glanced up. Sebastian was standing in the doorway. “Gotta go, hon.” She hung up. “Bass.” She stood and came around her desk to greet him in a warm hug. “I didn’t expect you today.”
Sebastian kissed her on the cheek. “That’s one of the perks of being the boss.” He held her at arm’s length. “You look tired. I’ve told you a million times to keep those legs of yours closed and get some rest at night.” He chuckled at their private joke.
She cocked her head to the side and made a face. “Thanks, Bass.” She poked him in the ribs.
“Honesty between friends. That’s our motto.” He let her go and stepped around her, took a seat on the small sofa in the corner of her office. “So bring me up to date. It looks like Armageddon out there.”
Eva laughed. “It’s not that bad. You know things are always crazy this time of year.” She plopped down next to him, patted his thigh. “How are things with you How did it go with the architect”
He tapped out a cigarette from his pack, put it between his lips, but didn’t light up. He’d quit six months earlier, and this was all part of his rehab, he’d said. “Hmmm, I wish I could say things went well.”
“They didn’t”
“The kind of money he wants, I’ll never get the space built in my lifetime.”
“Go with someone else.”
“I don’t have much of a choice. I’ve already signed a lease for the space for ten years.” He ran his hand over his face. “I’ll figure something out. I’m going to have to rearrange some funds, cut back on a few things to make it happen.”
Eva’s insides jerked. “Cut back … Uh, now We’re right in the middle of preparing for Fashion Week.” She kept her expression even.
He nodded slowly. “I know. But we’re going to have to find a way to trim and still make it all work.” He pushed up from the chair. He put the cigarette in his mouth, took it out, and used it as a pointer as he paced in front of her. “Next week we’re going to have to do a visual and paper inventory. Look at the forecast sheets and see where we are. Take a look at what’s on order and where we may be able to make some cuts.”
She swallowed over the dryness in her throat. Cuts. Inventory. Her head pounded. “Sure. But I can take care of that. You need to concern yourself with finding another architect. There has to be someone else out there. Uh, maybe I can start hunting down some designers.”
Sebastian grinned. “Always willing to jump in and help. That’s why I love you.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. He straightened. “You have enough to do managing everything and everybody for Fashion Week. I can handle the inventory. I’ll pull in Tara to help.”
A trickle of sweat dribbled down her spine. “Whatever you think is best. But you know you can count on me.”
“I know.” He checked his watch. “Gotta run. I have a dinner date.”
Eva smiled. “Is she cute” She winked.
Sebastian blushed. “Very. If things work out, I’ll invite you and Jake over for dinner to meet her.”
Eva stood and took his hands. “I hope it does work. You deserve someone good in your life.”
He grinned; his brilliant blue eyes sparkled. “Yeah. I do, don’t I.”
She walked him to the door.
“I’ll see you next week, and we can get started.”
She nodded. “Enjoy your dinner.”
Sebastian headed down the short walkway that led to the open studio floor.
Eva squeezed her eyes shut, clenched her fists until her nails bit into her palms. “Shit, shit, triple shit!”
7
Rita had a small workroom set up down the hall from her bedroom. To the casual observer, it looked like your basic office space. But this was where she created her masterpieces. She had three top-of-the-line computers, two scanners, digital cameras, printers, ink, and parchment paper that she had shipped to her from Europe and all the programs most forgers only dream of. She could create anything she wanted, from a simple birth certificate to passports, designer labels to federal identification.
The whole forgery thing was born of necessity. With her mother half-drunk or strung out on drugs most of the time, someone had to put a signature on her school forms, her report cards, permission slips. By the time she was in seventh grade, Rita had a little hustle going. For five bucks, she would forge a parent’s signature for a classmate. All she needed was a sample and the money.
She used the money to buy food, keep the lights on, and take Eva with her to the movies on Saturdays. And if they needed something extra, Eva would just pick a pocket or two. Man, that girl was good at lifting wallets, watches, anything that wasn’t nailed down. She was the fucking Houdini when it came to making shit disappear.
Rita shut the door to the room and stepped inside, shaking her head and smiling at her train of thought. She removed her robe and took a seat in front of a worktable in her underwear. On the table was a list of all the items she would have to recreate: ship IDs, passports, ship letterhead, and, of course, a suitcase full of counterfeit bills.
The bills would take the longest, and they couldn’t look like Monopoly money. She put her headphones on, turned on her iPod, and went to work.
* * *
Eva stopped at her favorite wig store on Thirty-fourth Street and purchased wigs for herself and Rita. Then she walked along the streets of the Garment District picking out the accessories that they would need, as well as some additional fabric. After Jinx got the photos of the ship and the crew, she would know better what else they needed in terms of uniform. Nothing could be out of place.
She treated herself to an ice cream cone and headed home with her packages.
* * *
Jinx signed for the UPS package and shut the door. Once inside, he ripped open the envelope and dumped the photographs on the table. He smiled and rubbed his hands together. The crew, the captain, the interior and exterior of t
he ship—it was all there. He took the pictures into his bedroom, where he kept his computer and scanner. He scanned all the photos, imported them into his computer, and then enlarged them. No detail was missed. Eva and Jake would need everything. He printed out the colored photos and put them in plastic sleeves. Damn, it was good to have friends.
* * *
Jake looked up when Eva walked in. He hurried over to take her packages. “Whatcha got there, girl” He kissed her on the mouth.
“Supplies,” she murmured against his lips, then walked inside. She looked at the floor plans spread out on the living room table. “I see you’ve been busy.” She walked over to the bar, fixed herself a drink, then brought it to the table. She sat down on the couch and kicked off her shoes.
Jake sat beside her, lifted her legs, and put them up on his lap. He massaged her feet while she sipped her drink.
“The alarm system … it’s a tough one.”
Eva’s glass stopped midway. She looked at her husband. His eyes were focused on the lines and boxes on the paper. His jaw flexed. Damnit, if Jake got a case of the nerves, they were screwed.
“Tell me what it is, baby,” she said her voice even but firm.
“I … I’ve never gotten into a safe like this one. And I don’t have enough time to practice.”
“Then you’re gonna have to make time. Simple as that.” She reached over and took his chin, forcing him to look at her. “This is your thing, baby. It’s what you do.” She pressed her lips together into a smile. “It’s what we do.”
He flashed a wicked grin. “Oh, this safe thing,” he chuckled, “I figured it out about an hour ago,” he lied smoothly, not liking the worry in Eva’s eyes. “I’m just going to play around with the mechanisms on the computer. I set up a program.” That much was true. He just hadn’t gotten it to work yet.
She reached behind her for a pillow and threw it. “You bastard!”
He snatched it before it made contact with his head, grabbed Eva, and pushed her down on the couch. He stared into her eyes. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest.
