Pimpernel

by Sheralyn Pratt

  Chapter 35

  Jack took a calming breath and stepped into the elevator. Talk about a curve ball from out of nowhere.

  She’d kissed him. She’d. Kissed. Him.

  It was best not to read into the move. People did crazy things when they were stressed, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t thought about kissing her a hundred times or so himself. Of course he had, but he would never have actually done it. There were women you kissed until it was time to part ways, and there were women you didn’t go there with. Claire fell in the latter category. Or she had until she kissed him.

  The good news? Jack would have ample opportunities to burn off steam that night when Natasha’s men abducted “Daniel” after they realized Claire wouldn’t be coming home. So there was that to look forward to, but…what was he supposed to do? He didn’t even have to close his eyes to remember the feel of her inexperienced lips against his. And while her taste was gone, he still felt the hum of it in his mouth. The taste of her—the smell—was like a rich dessert he’d been allowed a single taste of before it had been taken away.

  He wanted another bite. Now.

  That was bad. Very bad.

  “Why did she do that?” he muttered out loud as the elevator started up. “What was she thinking?”

  No reply came, which was no surprise.

  He couldn’t let himself think about it. Not now. There was too much at stake. He had to follow his own advice and block out the distractions. The only thing he needed to focus on now was the outcome—where he wanted things to be in two days time. Everything else needed to be pushed to the side.

  Especially feelings.

  Chapter 36

  When Claire awoke the next morning, her first thought was Did I really kiss Jack, or was that a dream? She was pretty sure she had, and when she opened her eyes she was certain. She wasn’t in her apartment. She was in the stark safe room where nothing needed adjusting. The only thing different from the night before was that the TV screen was on and there was a message on it.

  When you are ready, please signal your guard. He will bring you up to Margot for breakfast and an update.

  As much as Claire wanted to get out of the room, the thought of going up and meeting with Margot made her want to press the snooze button on life. She never thought she’d meet a woman that intimidated her more than her own mother, but she’d been wrong. Margot was just a few years older than Claire, yet everything about her felt so untouchable. If there was a single thing she could say or do to impress the other woman, Claire couldn’t think of it.

  But the request on the screen didn’t start with, If you feel like it… It wasn’t an option to go up for breakfast. It was pretty much a demand. That meant Claire needed to put on her big-girl pants and get to business.

  Speaking of big-girl pants, none of the clothes in the safe house were her own. They were all bought new, and the underwear might have been normal for Margot, but Claire couldn’t tell the front from the back when it came to the panties in the dresser. Both sides covered about the same amount.

  First things first. She needed a shower. She needed to get out of the skimpy dress she’d somehow managed to sleep in. She needed to brush her teeth, get clean, and move through her morning routine. She took her time, although with no clock in the room there was no way to know exactly how long that ended up being. The room was underground, so there was no way to judge the time.

  When the on-duty, oversized muscle man led Claire down polished subterranean tunnels to a private elevator, Claire was surprised to find they led directly up to Margot’s office. The fact that the woman had a private little safe room/prison beneath office was equal parts creepy and impressive. It certainly spoke to the kind of clientele she might work with, but all thoughts of the hypothetical dried up when Claire stepped into Margot’s office and found the woman manning that giant wall screen of hers.

  Time: 8:37 a.m. It was earlier than she’d imagined, all considering.

  Margot stood leaning against her desk, eyes on nine different feeds filling the screen. Without looking Claire’s way, she gestured to a tea cart. “Hope you’re hungry.”

  Yes. She was. But Claire was also curious.

  The top-left of the screen had a window tracking a flight coming in from New York City. Estimated time of arrival, 43 minutes. Middle-top showed the inside of a hotel room with the Luxor in the background. The top-right video seemed focused on an empty room, as did the video on the bottom-right, but the rest of the windows were busy. One showed an office space with police officers milling about, probably collecting evidence. The other four showed men in suits sitting in separate interrogation rooms. Claire recognized one of the men as a bodyguard for her family. Had he been arrested? If so, for what?

  Before Claire could ask, Margot turned to face her. “Jack doesn’t think you need to stay in the safe room the whole time. He thinks you might be a good pair of extra eyes up here, if you’re feeling up to it.”

  “Definitely,” Claire said, feeling like she now had permission to ask about the video feeds on the wall. “Seems like a lot happened while I was sleeping. I know the guy in video five.”

  Margot nodded. “He’s worked for your family for several years now. We knew your mom would send people to the apartment for you after last night, so Jack went back to your apartment as Daniel. When they realized you weren’t home, they abducted him instead to try to learn your whereabouts.”

  Claire felt her heart stop in her chest. “Is he—”

  “Don’t worry. Jack was planning on being taken.” Margot pointed to the four men in interrogation rooms on the screen. “We were hoping your mother might be at the second location and be part of the bust, but when it became clear that wouldn’t be the case we brought the police in to arrest who was there. It all went down about 4:30 this morning.”

  Her mom had almost been arrested while Claire had been sleeping? That seemed so impossible. Her mind wasn’t big enough to imagine it, and she didn’t really want to try. “Is he okay?”

  Margot looked genuinely confused. “Who?”

  “Jack.”

  If Margot had a normal face, the corners of her eyes would have crinkled slightly as she smiled. As it was, only a look of amusement glinted in her eyes. “Of course. He’s getting ready for the next phase as we speak.”

  Next phase? “Which is?”

  As Claire spoke the words, a dapper man stepped into Margot’s office wearing a pinstripe suit with a cobalt blue tie. Claire’s first thought was that it must be one of the actual employees that worked at Margot’s firm. Her second thought was that she must be the plainest person in the entire office. This man about the same height as Margot in her heels, with blond hair and pleasant green eyes. His cheek bones were high and prominent, and he had a nice dimple in his chin. He was handsome, yes, but in this case, the suit really did make the man. He looked elegant.

  “Tell me, darling,” the man said in a British accent as he approached Margot. “Am I fit for society?”

  The man self-inspected as he approached, fastening his top jacket button before adjusting the sleeve. Claire had been to enough formal dinners to know a Savile Row suit when she saw one, and this one wasn’t off the rack. It was tailored to the millimeter, somehow morphing the suit into a type male lingerie that only allowed you to see his face, hands, and Patek Philippe watch. Claire’s OCD might have literally purred at the sight of him, but Margot approached the man without blinking an eye, her hand brushing some invisible flecks of dust off his shoulder.

  “You look good,” she said, eyeing him closely, and even running her fingers through his styled hair. Only then did the man turn to look at Claire. Against her will, Claire mentally thanked Margot for the fact that she wasn’t wearing sweats at the moment. She might be the least glamorous person in the room, but at least she didn’t look homeless…even though she technically was.

  “And what say you?” the man asked in that sexy accent of his. “Do I look ready to get down to business?”
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  Claire blushed, which made her blush even more. “I…yeah, you look great.”

  He smiled kindly at her, and she caught a twinkle in his eye. “Thank you. And if I may return the compliment, might I say that it’s good to see you looking well rested.”

  It was an oddly specific compliment to receive from a man she’d never met before. “Thank you.”

  The moment she said the words, Claire’s mental map pinged on the man’s lips. Daniel’s lips. Jack’s lips.

  Confused, Claire stood, noting that this British man was more than three inches taller than Jack. Plus, their facial structures were nothing alike. When she overlayed her mental map of Jack’s face with this man’s only one feature remained the same. The lips. Which meant she was staring at them at the moment. The man noted her stare with a bit of amusement in his eye.

  Claire stole a look at Margot, who was looking at her like she was waiting for her to catch up, and that’s when Claire knew. She looked back at the man.

  “Jack?”

  He smiled, his voice not losing the accent. “Is it that obvious, my dear?”

  “No,” Claire said, still unable to believe it. Her hand reached up to touch his face, and he let her. “It’s not obvious at all.”

  The “skin” felt a little cooler to the touch than actual skin, but it did feel real. It moved like it was real, too.

  “This is amazing,” she muttered, thinking back to how well he’d pulled off Daniel all those weeks. It seemed he could step into the shoes of a refined British man just as well. “You look ready to walk into any State dinner I’ve ever been to.”

  “High praise, indeed,” he said with a smile. Even his teeth were different.

  Who was this guy?

  He turned to Margot. “Everything in order then?”

  Margot nodded, handing him a slim Tumi attaché case. “Everything is set up and ready to go at the push of a button.”

  “Well, then,” he said, giving the case a light tap with his fingers. “Wish me luck.”

  Margot walked back to her desk. “I would never wish something as fickle as luck on you. Just go be you. The clock is ticking.”

  Jack gave her a quick salute. “Yes, captain.” Then he turned and sent Claire a wink. “I shall see you again shortly.”

  She didn’t know what to say in response, which is why she watched like an idiot as Jack walked out the door in probably the best disguise Claire had ever seen.

  “I need you to be out of the room for this part,” Margot said once Jack was gone. “I’ll have a guard return you to the safe room and you can eat breakfast down there. We’ll talk after.”

  Claire’s hands gripped the chair in reflex. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” Margot said, pressing a button under her desk. “I can assure you that nothing dramatic will happen, like getting kidnapped again. But this is one you don’t get to watch real time.”

  An instant later, the oversized guard who had brought Claire stepped forward and gestured back to the elevator. “This way, ma’am.”

  Knowing she didn’t have a choice, Claire let herself be led back to the safe room.

  Chapter 37

  Kali beat Everett Ramsey to The Four Seasons by a solid five minutes. Jack met her in a camera blindspot two blocks away, where she pulled up on a black Ducati Diavel. Flipping up her visor, she unstraddled the bike and walked over to pass him a Coterie shopping bag. Despite looking like it held nothing more than a day’s worth of shopping, the bag weighed at least twelve pounds.

  “He likes to keep two guards on him,” she said in her no-nonsense way. “The other two guards are the advance team. They move in and out. I would guess they’ll leave within five minutes of Ramsey arriving at the hotel so they can go prepare the next location.”

  What Kali didn’t mention was that in the bag she’d just handed them were each of their guns, which she had replaced with useless stand-ins at the airport. Not everyone could pull off a stunt like that.

  Jack really needed to double down on getting this woman on his permanent team.

  “Thanks,” he said. “Go join up with Ren now. He’s going to need you.”

  She nodded. “No joke. I saw the space. It’s massive. We could use two more people than we’ve got to cover it, but we’ll make do.”

  “If any two people can, it’s you two,” Jack said, confused when Kali looked resigned at the compliment. Her eyes flickered in the direction of the hotel. The wistful look in her eye paired with her sleek black outfit with the Ducati in the background made her look like she was posing for an ad campaign.

  To eyes that didn’t know her as well, she might look like some sexy, carefree bad girl. But Jack knew better. There was nothing about Kali’s life that was free at the moment. But as quickly as the look of wishing she was another person in another place came, it left again and she was back to business.

  “Oh, and one other thing,” she said, walking back to the motorcycle. “Eastman’s lawyer has decided to step up and provide the evidence to get all charges dropped. Sounds like he’ll be released before the end of the day.”

  Jack nodded. “That’s good news for us and Margot knows what to do with it.”

  Kali straddled the bike and flipped down the visor. “You’d better get going. My tracker puts Eastman’s advance team at four minutes out.”

  Without another word, they both went separate ways.

  Chapter 38

  Just as Kali predicted, Everett Ramsey’s security team did a walkthrough of his Presidential suite at the Four Seasons before giving the okay for their employer to be escorted in.

  Jack stayed hidden until Everett completed barking his demands—everything from the temperature of the room to sending someone to pick up Natasha. When Everett’s entourage consisted of only him and two guards, Jack made his appearance sitting at the polished desk overlooking the strip.

  “Good day, Mr. Ramsey,” he said in a crisp British accent. “Welcome to Las Vegas.”

  Two guns were immediately trained on him as Everett stepped forward. “Who are you? Why are you in here?”

  Jack gestured to the two chairs on the other side of the desk. “I’m here for a civil discussion, sir. I realize we are in America, the land of freedom to bear arms, but I assure you that no guns are required. I certainly don’t have one.”

  Mr. Ramsey shook his head, his stance wide and his head high. “And yet, you broke into my suite, Mr…”

  “Blake,” Jack filled in for him. “Percy Blake, at your service. And I am a messenger.” He looked at both guards and put his hands up playfully. “So, again, please don’t shoot.”

  “Mr. Blake,” Everett said as if testing the feel of his name on his tongue. On either side of him, his guards kept their guns raised. The one on the right seemed to be lightly testing the weight of his gun, sensing it was off. “To what do I owe the honor?”

  Jack made his smile pleasant. “I am here to advise you to return to New York. Immediately.”

  “Why would I do that? I just got here.”

  Jack reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a single business card with the stamp of a blue flower on it. He placed it between them on the table.

  At first Claire’s father looked confused, then something clicked in the back of his mind. A moment later he blinked and realization visibly dawned in his eyes. He looked back up at Jack, eyes widening as he realized who he was dealing with.

  “You can leave now and be saved, or stay here and go down with your wife,” Jack said in the accent that made everything sound more elegant. “This is your one and only warning.”

  “No. If you are who you say you are, there is a huge bounty for anyone who knows who your boss is.” Claire’s father looked pleased that he knew this, his posture growing even more confident. “I’ve never looked it up, but I’ve heard people talk about it. You’re in my suite, surrounded by my security. I’m the one with the power to make demands right now.”

  Jack clicked his tongue in disapp
ointment as he brought the attaché case up onto the desk. The two bodyguards tensed, threatening to shoot, although the one on the right had clearly realized that his gun wasn’t his gun.

  “If you hold all power in this hotel room, why would I willingly walk in here?” Jack said, giving them no reaction as he opened the attaché case and hit a button to wake up the laptop inside. He then turned the case to face Claire’s father. “Do you know what this is, Mr. Ramsey? Look closely.”

  The guns stayed up as Mr. Ramsey shook his head. “You’re not going to distract me, Mr. Blake. I have you.”

  Jack stood where he was, keeping his hands in sight so the guards could calm down a bit. “Look at the screen, sir. It would be unwise not to.”

  There was a moment where they locked eyes in a battle of wills, but in the end, Mr. Ramsey looked. “They’re numbered accounts.”

  “Indeed,” Jack replied. “Do you recognize them?”

  A flash of worry touched on Everett’s face as he leaned forward for a closer look. When he froze Jack knew he recognized the numbers as his own.

  “Shoot me or take me hostage, and it all disappears,” Jack warned. “Even the offshore accounts.”

  Mr. Ramsey straightened, looking confident again. “Not possible.”

  “I thought you might say as much,” Jack said politely. “So to demonstrate how serious I am, my people will now penalize you five million dollars for threatening to collect on my bounty. You see, that is the price of threatening the Pimpernel. Whatever you threaten to take from him, he will take from you. You threaten to collect on my $5 million bounty, so that is the price of your final warning.”

  Mr. Ramsey laughed. “This is quite the production you’re putting on here, I have to say, but—” Jack knew the screen had changed because Ramsey stopped talking.

  “Feel free to verify the withdrawal with your accounting department,” Jack said, shutting the attaché. “If you want more to disappear, you will detain me. For every second I am held here against my will, another million will be transferred over to me as compensation.”