Control
Page 27
“Get those son of a bitches,” he said, his fingers wrapping around Mollie’s hand, no doubt remembering what she and her sister had recently gone through with an outlaw motorcycle gang.
“There will be no ‘getting’ anyone,” Chase said. “We’re there as a shadow organization to gather evidence. Find out if they’re selling drugs, how the operation works, and who’s behind it. The more we can give the Department of State, the better equipped they’ll be to make it an official investigation.”
Sax nodded, even as he envisioned wrapping his hands around Darius’s throat. “Understood.”
Chase leaned back in his chair, pressing his fingertips together. “Let’s try to keep this low-key. I know you guys love all that SEAL action, but for this mission, no shooting, no dead bodies, and no reason to cover our asses as far as the media goes.”
Sax traded looks with Julian and Risk, knowing exactly what Chase was talking about. “Unless it becomes necessary,” Sax conceded.
“Which it shouldn’t. Because you’re flying a commercial airline into Nassau, you won’t be able to take weapons. Even if it’s broken down, we can’t afford to have you detained and questioned. You’re going as a resort guest, an ordinary Joe Schmo.” Chase turned to Vivi. “Vivi will help you with your wardrobe and identity details.”
Sax stood. “I don’t have to wear flowery shirts, do I? I’m not a flowery kind of guy.” Uh oh. Sax did not like the twitch of a smile on Vivi’s face. “Let me rephrase: I detest flowery shirts.”
Vivi crooked her finger. Sax sauntered over and came to a stop in front of her.
She seemed to assess him. “Yeah, you need work.”
“Me?”
“You’re too good-looking. Too confident.” She put firm hands on his shoulders. “You’re the kind of guy who has trouble getting a woman into bed.”
Sax ignored the snorts from the peanut gallery. “You mean in theory, of course.”
“For your role,” she said, betraying no hint of humor. “You should be desperate enough to buy drugs in order to score. This is what I wanted you to look like.” She nodded to Chase, who flashed a picture of a total schlub on the screen: slouched shoulders, thick black eyeglass frames, and a T-shirt that announced he was available for free gynecological exams, complete with a cartoon image of some grinning goober with a stethoscope.
“Uh, yeah…no freakin’ way,” Sax said.
“Well, Chase nixed it anyway.” Vivi sighed, clearly disappointed. “So we’re going with plan B: boring, rumpled guy who works too many long hours in the financial markets.” Another image filled the screen: a pale, slight man in a wrinkled button-down shirt who clearly took no pride in his appearance. Vivi seemed to be enjoying Sax’s less-than-enthusiastic reaction. “Can you manage that, big, bad Navy SEAL guy?”
He wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction of arguing. “You bet, princess.”
The moniker didn’t even get a blink from her. “You need to droop.”
More snickers from the peanut gallery.
“His shoulders,” she said, giving them an eye roll that intimated, men. She turned back to Sax. “Drop your shoulders and pull them in slightly like this.”
He mirrored her.
“No, more slouched.”
Damn, he felt as though he were doing some stupid dance, moving his shoulders until she gave him a curt nod of approval. He knew the guys were barely holding in their chuckles. “Go ahead and laugh, asshats. I wouldn’t want you busting your balls holding it in.”
And they did, unleashing guffaws of laughter.
“Forget them,” Vivi said. “I think you have the idea. Now, for your wardrobe…“She pulled out several bland shirts and the pants to go with them. Then she laid out a pair of scuffed black loafers. “You’ll have to ditch your bowling shoe sneakers.”
Sax propped his black shoes with the Native American inlays on the edge of the table. “These are Thorocraft shoes. Finely crafted and damned expensive. Women happen to dig them.” Shoes and his ’Vette were his luxuries in life.
She set down a couple pair of baggy shorts that probably went to his knees. “I’ve seen you at the gym. You have to play down your build. That means keeping your shirt on and staying away from the Wild side of the resort. That’s the nude side.”
Risk put his hand to his heart and gave a sorrowful shake of his head. “Aw, Saxy, that’s a killer. I feel for you, bud.”
“And you’ll wear these.” She held out a pair of glasses with thin, metal frames. “To give you that intellectual look.” When he slid them on, she frowned. “Your eyes are too striking. You’ll need to wear these brown contacts.”
“Hey, hey, hey, are you saying brown eyes are boring?” Knox said, pasting on a mock stern expression.
Vivi struck back with a juicy Southern accent. “Not when they’re as rich and chocolaty as yours, Knoxy.” She gave him an admonishing glare and turned back to Sax. “We’ll work on your hair, but I have a couple of ideas. Like temporary brown spray.”
“Ah, so this is why Chase told me to slather on the sunscreen a week ago.” Sax glanced at his arm, which was the whitest he’d ever seen it.
Vivi glanced at Chase. “But you didn’t tell him to back off of his workouts.”
Sax flexed said biceps. “He did, and I did. I lowered my weights and only ran for an hour a day instead of two. It’s not unheard of for an overworked financial guy to work out some of his frustrations at the gym, especially if he isn’t getting any. But I’ll downplay it where I can.”
He was going to look and act like a boring pencil pusher, and he couldn’t break out his gun. Oh, boy. He couldn’t wait.
Love stories you’ll never forget
By authors you’ll always remember
eOriginal Romance from Random House
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