by Gennita Low
“Coward,” she complained.
“You want to be brave enough to have two left feet stomping on your little toes?” he challenged. This wasn’t even swaying music. It was the kind of music that required him to do things Steve McMillan didn’t do. Not in public anyway.
“Stay here and eat munchies then, and watch me,” Marlena ordered, and pulled the young ambassador from some developing country onto the dance floor just outside the patio.
Steve sat down on one of the soft leather sofas by an aquarium, but he didn’t take his eyes off Marlena. She was having a good time, laughing softly as she moved sensuously in her partner’s arms, her steps matching the music perfectly. He sniffed. He turned to look at the fish in the tank. They were exotic, like the woman on his mind, and they, too, seemed to be swimming to the music. His eyes wandered back to Marlena. She seemed to have forgotten about him, talking animatedly to her partner. He considered cutting in. Rudely.
“Oh, an empty seat with no crowd,” a voice murmured. Steve turned to find a tall, attractive woman standing by the sofa. “May I join you?”
He shifted slightly to make room, and she sat down gracefully, crossing her model-length legs as she held a glass of champagne between long, elegant fingers decked with rings. Close up, she was even more beautiful, her short blond hair cut in a blunt pageboy, accentuating classical features. Her striking eyes were a dark amber, reminding him of honey, and they studied him with warm curiosity.
“I’ve never seen you before.”
“Steve,” he said, holding out his hand.
“Tess.” She sat back comfortably. “You look out of place here.”
“Really?” Steve shrugged. “I didn’t know it showed.”
“You aren’t talking to the right people. Sitting alone tells me you either don’t know or don’t care.”
Steve studied the woman thoughtfully. Here was someone to provide information. She returned his gaze just as frankly. “I’m here as company,” he explained, resisting the urge to look at Marlena and her dance partner.
She lifted an eyebrow and sipped her drink. “You aren’t here to do business, then.”
“I’m not sure what business someone like Max Shoggi would have with du Scheum, or why a prince would need to talk business with some of the questionable characters milling around. Besides, I suspect it’s all about politics, anyway.” He tried to sound nonchalant, flashing her a smile. If he could just get her to answer a few questions, he might end up with more clues.
“Everything is about politics, darling, don’t you know?” Tess shook her head, gold hoops in her ears glinting, reflecting the lights from the fish tank. “I can tell you need a lesson in how big business and politics are done in D.C.”
“So give me a lesson,” Steve invited. “I’m new around here, as you can tell.”
She smiled, and he thought he saw amusement in her eyes. She flicked her hair with her free hand and took another sip of champagne. “Like a fish out of water, hmm?” she asked.
More than she would ever know, Steve silently acknowledged, but he just nodded.
“Hmm, how do I make this sound interesting? Do you like baseball?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, suppose you have the best seats to watch the World Series. Let’s make it a Subway Series, between the Yankees and the Mets. Suppose you want to sell those tickets.”
“I wouldn’t. I would want to watch it,” Steve said. He wanted to keep this woman amused enough to impart more information than baseball games.
Tess laughed. “Business, remember?” she reminded gently. “We’re doing business.”
“Okay.”
Her eyes glinted, and now he was very sure she was laughing at him. “Let’s make it less personal. Some guy has these tickets, and he’s going to sell them to the highest bidder,” she said. “Now, it’s illegal to sell them a dollar above face value. What do you think he’ll do to get around this?
“Different ways. He can sell through an ad without specifying the price.”
“He would still get caught, if a cop called up,” Tess pointed out.
The woman was trying to tell him something. “There is another way. He can sell a pencil for two thousand dollars and if you buy it, he’d throw in a free gift—say, two tickets to the World Series.”
“Ah, so you do know how to do business.” Tess finished her drink and as if by magic, one of the uniformed servants appeared with a tray offering munchies and drinks. She chose some chocolaty thing and another glass of champagne. Steve shook his head, not needing another drink. She licked her fingers and took another sip, closing her eyes as she savored the taste. “Hmm...to tell the truth, I come to these things for the champagne. Simply divine.”
He wanted to get back on track, but not too obviously. “So, you’re here for business, right? And you’re hoping to buy a pencil for two thousand dollars.”
“Or I might be trying to sell a pencil for two thousand dollars,” she countered, a wicked light entering her golden eyes now. She glanced to her right. He followed her gaze. Marlena had finished her dance and was approaching them. Tess murmured softly, “Do you suppose she’s buying or selling, darling?”
Marlena reached them, and Steve got up to give her room to sit down. Although she was smiling, Steve felt her anger, but nothing in her expression betrayed that. “I’ve been looking for you, T,” she said, without any formal greeting. “You’ve been trying out some of those evasive tactics your new friends taught you.”
“I don’t know what you mean, I’ve been here all night,” Tess drawled lazily, leaning a little back into the sofa. Marlena had, Steve noted, the most expressive eyes. She seemed to be able to convey many emotions in between sentences. Right now they held Tess’s gaze challengingly. “Sit down, darling. You look indecently gorgeous, as usual.”
“And you look like you need to mud wrestle once in a while,” Marlena retorted, joining the woman on the sofa. She reached for Steve’s hand. “You’ve lost some weight.”
“Maybe I’ve been mud wrestling, you never know.” Tess looked at their clasped hands and took another sip of her drink.
Perched on the arm of the sofa closer to Marlena, Steve watched them exchange air kisses. Definitely a woman thing, he decided. Must be the fear of lipstick. The two women studied each other for a few seconds, and he wondered whether they were friends. He couldn’t tell, from the way they were dueling with words.
“I knew you would catch sight of me if I chose the right place to sit.” The mockery in Tess’s voice was obvious as she turned to Steve. “So, it’s Marlena you’re keeping company.”
“I’m her lackey,” Steve told her dutifully.
Beautifully curved eyebrows lifted a fraction, amusement gleaming from the eyes that slanted slightly at the corners. “Lackey?” she drawled out the word, then laughed. “I don’t see anything lacking in him, M darling.”
“T darling,” Marlena drawled back. “You haven’t seen all of him.”
“Well, do tell, what does he lack?”
Marlena gave Steve a wicked grin. “Well...He definitely lacks manners.”
“Maybe you lack finesse. Sometimes it takes a subtle touch. His manners were fine while you were away, I assure you.”
Steve watched as Marlena leaned back, cocking her head to one side as she looked directly at the other woman. Definitely not friends, he decided.
“Always playing with words,” Marlena commented, after a moment. With the nearby soft aquarium lights reflecting the exotic colors of the fish, her eyes looked like glittering jewels as she added softly, “Just don’t play your mind games with me.”
Tess’s smile was indolent, amused. “Don’t mind me. You’re the control freak.” She turned to Steve again, dismissing Marlena with a sweep of her elegant hand. “I was bored till I spotted this interesting man over here. But things are looking better now.”
Steve didn’t know what the woman was up to, but her words were calculated to rile Marlena. She was al
so succeeding. “It looks like an interesting party,” he said. No harm in digging for more information. Tess, whoever she was, liked to talk. “There are too many important people here for me to find it boring.”
“True,” Tess said, “but they are such a lackluster bunch.”
Steve laughed. The woman obviously loved words, and the way she used them was funny. “Here to buy pencils, of course,” he joked.
Tess laughed back, genuine pleasure in her eyes. “And to keep company.” When Marlena used a napkin to fan herself, she added, “You should go freshen up, darling. You look a little out of breath.”
Marlena’s eyes narrowed. “A breath of fresh air sounds great.” She touched Steve’s knee briefly as she got up and brushed his lips with hers, murmuring, “Don’t go anywhere, especially with her. She eats lackeys for breakfast.”
“I won’t,” Steve promised. He watched her go off. She was mad as hell. Jealous, too. He felt ridiculously pleased.
“I suppose I’d better go after her before she returns to scratch my eyes out,” Tess said thoughtfully. She uncrossed her shapely legs and arched a brow at Steve. “She’s a possessive woman.”
When she lifted a hand for his help, Steve obliged, pulling her to her feet. “I gather you don’t like Marlena. Have you known her long?”
Tess was eye-to-eye with him on her feet, and he was surprised at how direct her gaze was. Cool. Fearless. It reminded him of Marlena.
“It was nice talking to you, sailor,” she said and smiled when he blinked in surprise. Did she know about him? She nodded her head to their right. “In that far corner, that man in white is du Scheum. He’s a powerful man, with many enemies and friends.”
Steve looked in that direction. “Who are you? Why are you telling me this?” he demanded quietly.
“Things never look quite the way they ought to, darling. Now I’d better go find Marlena. You know how it is—strange things happen around that girl. She can’t keep out of trouble.” When Steve tried to stop her from going, she evaded his hand with a speed that stunned him. She was still smiling but her voice was cool. “You may be a fish out of water here, darling, but that doesn’t mean you can’t adapt. You can still step into danger outside jungles.”
Before Steve could say anything, she slipped away. He wasn’t quite sure what had happened there, but that woman knew who he was and had given him a warning. She’d cleverly sidestepped his question about knowing Marlena. He frowned, looking at the group of men talking. That was du Scheum, huh? Danger, Tess said. Was she saying something was going to happen tonight? He recalled Cam’s words earlier that day.
It’s her shtick, actually. She arrives at the scene with a lot of fanfare and lots of people keep an eye on her. She usually has some arm candy on her—um...pardon me, Steve—that she takes around to several very public bashes. Then wham! Someone disappears, or gets whacked, and she always has an alibi.
Steve pursed his lips grimly. Well, he wasn’t just any arm candy; she couldn’t make him her alibi. Task Force Two’s intel stated Marlena Maxwell was in D.C. on business. He understood the dangers of putting a lot of important people in one room, and D.C. had plenty of VIPs. If she truly had been hired to kill someone, he must find proof. And a way to stop her. One thing he knew for certain—no one was going to get whacked under his watch.
Chapter Seven
Marlena read the note from a waiting uniformed servant as she pretended to finish yet another glass of champagne. This was the second bid for the night. Soon she would have to confirm the sale to the highest bidder, and her job would be finished for tonight. She thought of Steve. He hadn’t seen her quiet negotiation, thanks to the dancing and to Tess.
It was important to be seen and remembered. She knew there were all kinds of people watching her. Probably CIA. Some enemies. A few friends. Most of them knew why she was there and would be reporting to their respective bosses about the bidders present, and who could be the winning buyer. Her job was to muddy up the water, so they could never be too sure. She didn’t want her long-term plans running afoul. No one must die before his time.
There were several rest rooms to choose from, and Marlena made sure she met enough people on her way out to the back patio. She stopped an acquaintance to ask the time, then chatted briefly with someone else before slipping inside. She didn’t have to wait long, which was good, since she was about to burst. Seeing Stash and Tess together did horrible things to her temper. She even had to cut short her important conversation with her dance partner, just to get back to Stash. Knowing she kept breaking the rules where he was concerned shocked her. Infuriated her.
The door swung open. Tess came in and locked the door behind her, her golden eyes giving the rest room a quick look around.
“I’ve already activated a bug sensor. It’s clean,” Marlena assured her, looking at Tess’s reflection in the mirror as she played with her hair.
Tess joined her at the big marble counter and surveyed all the tiny jars of expensive perfumes and lotions laid out for the guests’ convenience. She picked one up, pulled off the stopper, and sniffed appreciatively. “My favorite,” she declared.
“You look good playing the blond vamp.” Marlena couldn’t help it. She couldn’t forget the sight of them on the sofa, sitting there chatting so intimately.
Tess laughed, a deep-throated sound that echoed through the room. Her eyes caught Marlena’s in the mirror. “You’re mad at me.”
She was, but wasn’t going to admit it. “What makes you think so?”
Tess chose another bottle and removed the stopper. “Because you weren’t listening to us. You were too busy reacting.”
“I didn’t bring him along for you to sink your teeth into.” Seeing Stash and Tess so cozy together hadn’t gone down well at all. She knew what Tess was, and how good she was at what she did. Still, he didn’t have to fall so easily under her spell.
“He does have delicious possibilities,” Tess said in a musing tone of voice, as if she found the idea very tempting. “But like I just said, you weren’t listening.”
“So tell me what it is I missed. Did you find anything from the information I gave you over the phone, rather than this probing stuff you’re so good at?” Marlena knew she could depend on Tess to discover Steve McMillan’s motives, but she would much rather deal with hard facts right now. Tess’s methods were too intimate for her liking.
“One thing’s for sure. He’s not lacking in the brain department.”
Marlena sighed. “More word games? Tell me something I don’t know.”
“He’s trained.”
“As if I can’t tell that from watching the way he sits or the way he works a room. T, darling, you’ve trained me well enough to get this info without your professional eye.”
Tess dabbed some perfume behind her ear, then adjusted a stray golden curl out of the way. Marlena waited patiently. Tess had always been very deliberate, not showing her hand until she deemed it the right moment. It was a very annoying trait, calculated to make the other person react, something Marlena wasn’t going to do, not after she’d been told she was reacting rather than listening. Well, she was listening now.
“He wants you.”
Tess’s announcement shouldn’t have caused any surprise to Marlena but those three simple words zapped through her. For some reason she hadn’t wanted to think about that subject, and having it brought out into the open like that also summed up how confused she was about Stash. She didn’t want any of these contradictory feelings. She swallowed, then tried to be nonchalant. She knew more was to come. Tess always had a surprise or two up her sleeve. “And?” She didn’t want to admit that part of her was eager for anything about Steve McMillan.
“And he doesn’t want what you are.” Tess turned slightly, and for the first time gazed directly at Marlena’s profile. “A big conflict, don’t you think? Especially from a man who tries to follow orders all the time, and right now his orders are in conflict with his emotions. I thought it’d be
fun to give him a choice.”
Marlena looked up. That was it—the thing up Tess’s sleeve. She was a master manipulator, always moving people around like chess pieces. “Choices? What the hell are you talking about? You sound more and more like those guys you hang around with.”
“You have a choice too.”
Marlena was a loner; she worked alone. All her kind did. She understood too well how too much trust could endanger one. “My feelings for Stash have nothing to do with my choice to be alone.”
“Don’t you want him?” Gentle. Probing.
Marlena didn’t want to be probed, so she went on the attack. “Sometimes want isn’t enough, T. You yourself should know. Sometimes you have to let the man make the choice.” Regret flooded her as soon as the words came out. Tess was just doing what she did best. She shouldn’t have hit below the belt like that. Marlena touched Tess’s elbow apologetically. “I’m sorry. Brought back some bad memories, haven’t I? Get over him, T. How long since you transferred?”
“Four months.” Tess washed and dried her hands carefully, her face still devoid of expression, a direct contrast to the amused woman a few moments ago.
Marlena sighed. “Think you’ll ever see him again?”
“We’re not talking about me. Or him. He has issues with his past he has to deal with. Which brings us back to you and Mr. Steve McMillan.”
Marlena was relieved. She didn’t like apologizing, and was only too glad to veer away from the subject that hurt Tess. Now that she looked closely, she noticed the little lines of strain around T’s mouth. Of all things, Marlena understood the need to control and its toll on one’s psyche. She let Tess change the subject. In a milder voice, she continued, “There’s nothing you’re saying that haven’t already crossed my mind. You think I don’t see the price you paid? I see it in your eyes, T. Your Alex hurt you. Want isn’t enough.”
“No, want isn’t enough,” Tess agreed gravely. She smiled, as if she were about to say something, but changed her mind.
