The Chameleon

by Michele Hauf

  “Jack Angelo,” he offered carefully. “I thought we were supposed to meet in another hour?”

  She shrugged. “You on a schedule, Jack? I just took care of what needed to be done. Let’s go talk to Clive.”

  Clive was the man in charge, the leader of the crew. The only person Jack wanted to talk to. And apparently he had been vetted by this woman. In a manner that baffled him.

  “Are you part of the crew?”

  “No questions until after Clive talks to you.” She pulled down the visor and opened the mirror. Peeling away one large flutter of false eyelash from her lid, she winced. “I hate these things. But they distract, yeah?”

  Jack was about to say that watching her strip to her panties had been a bigger distraction, but he’d pass on that one. He was too cold to feel any sort of heat in his extremities, especially his dick. Too bad. She had given him a free one, and he’d been too frozen to react.

  “Where we headed?” he asked as he pulled away from the curb.

  “Northeast. Edge of the city. I’ll tell you when to turn. Flip on the radio. There’s a great polka station.”

  He flicked her a wonky look as he twisted on the radio.

  “Seriously. It’ll put your head in a different place. And don’t you need that when the whole world is like a big ice rink and one wrong step will land you flat on your back?”

  “Point taken. Polka, it is.” Though he much preferred some Queen.

  He dialed until he heard the jaunty beat of an accordion, and decided the day’s adventure was only getting started. And with this exotic bird at his side, it could prove quite an experience.

  Polka and black panties? Oi.

  Chapter 3

  Clive had set up the crew in an old auto body shop at the edge of the Toukola district, which wasn’t far from where her new partner in crime, Jack Angelo, was staying. The garage sported three defunct car bays and an office walled in with corrugated tin. And a working heating system, which, Clive had explained, had been the key selling point.

  Saskia, now comfortable since she’d ditched the spike heels and skirt, led Jack into the shop and set her leather bag down by the big, red, wheeled tool bench. Niles stood across the room beside Clive, his ever-present leather jacket collar flipped up against his neck. Both men were discussing something they’d drawn on the oil-stained concrete floor with white chalk.

  “They’re diagramming the building layout,” she offered as Jack looked around the vast space. He’d slipped on a winter overcoat before stepping outside, and beneath that, the suit and tie were impeccable. But a yellow tie? Was the man asking for attention? “Come on, I’ll introduce you to Clive and we’ll take a look at what they’ve got so far.”

  She noted that Jack took in everything, yet he also seemed relaxed, casual. He either put up a good show or really was that laid back. She knew, from experience, that he was quite aware of his surroundings. Except when he’d been drinking.

  Clive turned and nodded to her as he left Niles with a stick of chalk and a couple papers in hand. “Sass! You’re back early. I take it things went well?”

  “Clive, I’d like you to meet Jack Angelo. Jack, this is Clive Hendrix. I found Jack at the Aarnivalkea checking out the safe deposit boxes.”

  “Is that so?” Clive slapped his palm against Jack’s for a firm shake and held it a bit longer than normal.

  The man had his quirks. For one, he wasn’t a big talker. And never gave out any information that wasn’t necessary. Much to Saskia’s annoyance. His silver hair and tanned skin with a brisk line of stubble edging his jaw gave him a fashion model look. He was sexy in a disarming manner, and she hated to admit that because he had to be twenty years older than her twenty-nine.

  Jack released the handshake and nodded. “I always like to take a look at the location as a civilian. You know. Before I get involved in schematics and subterfuge. Gives me a different angle.”

  “I can understand that,” Clive said. “Doing your homework. So the things I’ve been told about you are true. And the suit. So dapper! I’m not sure you’ll want to dress so fancy for the actual heist.”

  Smoothing a hand down the bright tie, Jack said, “Who expects a bloke to rob a bank in a suit?”

  Clive conceded with a nod. “Point made. If Sass says you’re good, you’re good. Right, Sass?”

  A wince was always unavoidable when he tossed out the ridiculous nickname so often. “Of course. I’m a good judge of character. You got the layout of the bank drawn out?”

  “Yes, though Niles thinks my scale is off. We’ve got the building plans from the secretary at the city planning office. Niles is killer when it comes to sweet-talking the ladies. Come take a look.”

  “Jack,” Saskia said as they approached the chalk drawing. “This is Niles. He’s our tech guy, and, apparently, our resident sweet talker.”

  The man with skin so dark it gleamed, and a bald pate, offered Jack a hand shake and bowed, offering, “Namaste. You’re our muscle and getaway driver, eh?”

  “That’s what I was hired for.” Jack tugged at his tie. “So what’s the ETA for this party?”

  “Five days,” Clive offered. “Maybe four. I’ve already planned our movement. The only thing holding us back is waiting on a few items.”

  “Which are?”

  “I’ll let Sass fill you in. I’m headed out to walk the bank myself. Have an appointment at five with the manager. We’ll compare notes tomorrow, yes, Jack?”

  “Of course.”

  “You’ll be staying with Sass,” Clive said. “You keep an eye on him.”

  She nodded, but Jack spoke up, “I have a room already. Not far from here, actually.”

  “No. I like to keep my crew in as few places as possible, and Sass has a sweet little rental in the vicinity. Besides, you’re the new guy. Someone has to keep an eye on you. You don’t like it? Walk.”

  Jack crossed his arms, and lifted a brow as Clive filed past and left the garage with a creak of the outer door.

  Saskia could imagine his thoughts. They mirrored her own when she’d first met the enigmatic Clive and he’d asked her to stay with Niles. “He’s like that. Little to say. Likes to order people around. But he’s got the plan right here.” She tapped her temple. “We just follow along.”

  “Is that so?” Jack wandered over to the chalk drawing. “I don’t like not knowing the big picture. And such a short ETA? You people must have been involved in planning for some time. If not, there are too many variables that need to be worked out. If everyone isn’t on the same page…”

  “He and Clive are going to clash,” Niles declared as he wandered off toward the garage office.

  Indeed. But how would it flare up? Saskia almost hoped to see them go head to head. It would set Clive off and it would show her Jack’s true nature. Something she was eager to see revealed. The man was a bit too calm and collected for her. Personally, she preferred her men more volatile with spring-loaded reactions.

  On the other hand, cool and calm was a necessity for what they had planned. She was glad to have him on board.

  “I guess we’re roomies,” she offered to Jack. “You know how to cook?”

  “I can make a mean lasagna. But do you always follow Clive’s directions like a sheep?”

  “You wanted in on this crew, Angelo. You want to earn our trust? You gotta follow the rules.”

  “Yeah, I get it. Test out the new guy. Make him prove his worth.”

  “But mostly that we can rely on you when the clock is ticking and we need your eyes on the getaway.”

  “Don’t worry about it, sweetie.”

  Sweetie. Ugh. But it was marginally better than Sass.

  “Good. I’m in the mood for a hot homemade meal. Getting tired of microwave pizza. Let’s head to your hotel and grab your things; then we’ll get you settled at my place.”
<
br />   She strode toward the door, knowing Jack remained where he stood, staring down at the diagram on the concrete. Probably wondering what he’d gotten himself into.

  A hell of a lot more than he bargained for, she knew that. And it was her job to make sure he didn’t fall off course. Or it would be her neck in the wringer.

  “Come on, Jack! If we leave now the car might still hold a little warmth.”

  * * * *

  “It’s the Hotel Hop,” Jack offered as Saskia navigated the streets.

  “I know.” She caught his wondering lift of brow. “I am your vetter. I know things about you, Jack. Have to. It’s my job.”

  Okay, then. Of course, she must have followed him to the bank somehow. He settled back and took everything in while the daylight still glimmered on the horizon. They weren’t driving into Helsinki’s heart. Nor was the bank in city center. But he needed to familiarize himself with the area. At the very least, the people, and the transportation, and the pulse of the traffic. The bank was at the edge of the city so they should be able to avoid rush hour traffic, if it came to that. Not that they’d be working at such times, but he had to know how the city operated at all hours.

  “Do they have a tube system in Helsinki?”

  “Yes, the metro. Most of the lines are aboveground but they’ve a few underground. But most important? They have an awesome sportswear store close to the hotel. You want to stop and pick up a warm coat?”

  “You think I’m cold?”

  “I think you must be a freakin’ icicle. Come on, man, my tits are hard as rocks. I hate this weather. Why, of all places, did it have to be Finland in January?”

  “Rocky tits, eh?”

  “Figured you’d get stuck on that one.”

  “Is your bra black lace, too?”

  “Not wearing one. Which is why they’re frozen. What about you? Since you deem undergarments a good topic. Boxers or briefs?”

  “Depends on my mood.”

  “A man of mystery. Gotta love that. So tell me about your nickname, Gentleman Jack. I hear it’s because you’re anything but a gentleman.”

  He squeezed a hand over his opposite fist, his jaw pulsing.

  “I take offense,” he said. “I am extremely gentlemanly. In fact, I always apologize before I push in a bloke’s teeth or kick him in the kidneys. Mama Angelo taught me manners and respect.”

  Saskia laughed. “Oh, the fun we’re going to have.”

  “Is that so? Roughing up blokes is your idea of a good time?”

  “If they’re deserving? Sure. I like some action tossed in to counteract the muscle-numbing concentration required for safe cracking.”

  “I find it hard to believe a woman like you can rough up any size man.”

  “Like me?” Saskia reached across before catching Jack’s tie and pulling it hard.

  He struggled as she pulled over to the curb, parking. Catching his hand with her other hand, she then head-butted him. He yelped. The move had been unexpected and he wasn’t accustomed to fighting women.

  She sat back with satisfaction. Jack’s skull stung.

  “Point taken,” he said nastily. “You’ve a hard head, you know that?”

  “It protects my smarts.” With a wink, she pulled back into traffic.

  * * * *

  Once parked, Saskia got out and Jack followed as they strolled through the lobby. No sign of the redhead, but then, she’d gone home and was sleeping off her long shift. He walked at Saskia’s side, aiming toward his room. But when he realized she was walking slightly ahead of him—and seemed to know where she was going—a suspicious tingle crimped the back of his neck.

  Sure, as she’d stated, she had been following him. To keep an eye on him. And she could have easily followed him to the hotel, maybe even to his room. But he was keener than that. He hadn’t sensed a tail when he’d arrived earlier today. And even after his attention had turned to the sexy receptionist, he’d kept his wits and hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. It took more than a couple shots of whiskey to confuse his senses.

  Only thing he’d sensed was the hot receptionist’s sweet arse in his hands as he’d banged her against the wall. Of course, that had ended…oddly. He pressed a hand over the passport he’d tucked inside his overcoat pocket.

  Why did it seem that every woman he encountered of late had it in for him? Was it something in the frigid air?

  When Saskia stopped at his room door and waited for him to slide in the keycard, Jack’s face drained of blood. She knew this room. And the obvious reason was because of what he didn’t want to consider. And yet… She had put on a disguise for the bank.

  She widened her big blue eyes at him, waiting. The receptionist’s eyes had been green. Of course, eye color could easily be changed.

  Shite. Really?

  He slipped in the keycard and pulled it out. The lock mechanism clicked and Saskia pushed the door inside. Jack stalked up behind her as she entered the room. When she turned to speak to him, Jack slammed his hand up under her chin and pinned her to the wall. “Who the bloody hell are you?”

  Chapter 4

  Now this was the kind of aggression she’d hoped to see in Jack Angelo.

  Saskia reacted to the violent shove against the wall. She put up her feet against Jack’s hips and kicked him away from her. The man rolled over the end of the bed. Lunging, she jumped on his back and grabbed him by the shoulders. Together they tumbled to the floor. She landed on top of his chest. He grunted as her knee dug into his ribs. A swing of her fist was caught by his hand about her wrist, sounding a smart smack of flesh.

  With a deft flip, he slammed her to the floor, shoulders hitting the flat carpeting hard.

  “I am not going to fight a woman,” he insisted, even as he struggled to keep her from kicking him. A well-placed knee to her thigh compressed the femoral artery and Saskia hissed. “Is this the kind of man you said you wanted? Trying to rile me up, eh?”

  “Just defending myself, actually.”

  He sprang up from her and stepped back. He rubbed a hand along his stubble-darkened jaw. “Who are you working for?”

  Saskia rolled to a crouch, then stood and stepped back toward the window. Though she preferred having the door at her back. Why was he so suspicious of her? She had been the one to react to his sudden suspicion. And she’d only physically challenged him to show him he was dealing with a woman who could hold her own. She’d found it necessary over the years. Men always thought they were stronger than women.

  It didn’t require size or even muscle to defeat a man bigger than her. Smarts and quick thinking always triumphed. And if that didn’t work, she could manipulate the shit out of his macho ego. Been there, done that. In this very room.

  “You led me right to this room,” Jack said.

  Right. She’d hadn’t been thinking. Stupid move!

  “You couldn’t have known which room I was staying in.”

  “I could have,” she countered coolly. Then, with a grin, she decided it wasn’t necessary to keep up the game any longer. At least, not this particular episode of the play. “Oh, Jack, yes! Slam me against the wall, you big Irish bull!”

  He pointed at her, but couldn’t get out any words. His lips thinned as his jaw tightened, and the veins in his neck looked ready to burst. If that tie were any tighter…

  Saskia watched as recall darkened his gaze and he shook his head. “You?”

  She performed a hair-fluffing motion, as if a glamour girl checking her style. “I’ve been told I make a ravishing redhead.”

  “With green eyes.” Jack’s jaw dropped open. Then he exclaimed, “I fucked you!”

  “A quickie, but a goodie nonetheless. Now grab your things.” She nodded toward the small carryon bag sitting on the table. “We’re headed back to my place.”

  “Wait a minute. I’m not go
ing anywhere with—that means you were also the—bloody hell!”

  She sat on the chair before the window. The man needed a few minutes to process. And the way he flexed his fingers in and out of fists and stalked from the end of the bed to the nightstand was indication he could blow at any minute.

  Really, he needed to loosen that tie.

  “I figured the woman I screwed here this morning was the same as the one on the train. How else had she gotten my passport? Unless she was working with that other woman. But she was a fake. I saw the belly and tits—” He thrust an accusing finger at her. “I don’t like this.”

  “I never asked your opinion of my methods. I was given an assignment to vet you. And I carried it out. Clive handed the passport information to Niles, who did a dark net search on you. I’m not sure what he found, but you passed muster, otherwise Clive wouldn’t have accepted you so easily.”

  “Letting a little girl do his dirty work, eh?”

  Saskia straightened, shifting back her shoulders. “I am not a little girl. I am a skilled master of disguise who knows how to get the job done.”

  Shoving his fists down at his sides, Jack gave her an assessing look that ended with a bob of his head. “That you are.” With a heavy sigh, he went about gathering his things into the carryon, then strode toward the door. “You coming?”

  That had been much easier than she’d anticipated. He’d accepted her con. Which went a long way toward his trustworthiness to Saskia. He knew how and why games were played in their line of work. He was either playing along now, or could graciously accept defeat.

  Either way, she’d stay on guard. Her job security demanded she not let the man out of her sight. It had also been suggested that seduction could be necessary. Not a difficult challenge, especially when he was so handsome. And virile. Mm… She wanted more.

  And she would have more.

  Let the games continue.

  * * * *