Chapter Ten

“You want to go over the plan one more time?” Darby asked.

“Find the woman, knock her out, and take a few pictures.”

He grunted again before looking at his watch. “All right. Showtime.”

He emerged from their shadowed hiding spot, checked the traffic before crossing the street and walking up to the Gentlemen’s Club. Their target was the woman Davorin was rumored to be enamored with. Darby disappeared inside so Keres made her way around the building, to the back where the kitchen was located. She laid her coat on a closed dumpster lid before entering. The club offered an exclusive dining room, available only to the top tier paying members. The shifts were changing, giving her an excellent opportunity to blend in. The place was so large that one more server went unchecked. She followed the leads, grabbing an apron and a tray to head into the dining room. Eyeing everyone seated, she saw her mark sitting with some men dressed in tuxes.

Keres kept to the sides of the room, blending in with the darkened corner. A server came over to the table she was watching and saw that the women ordered something. The server smiled and headed over to the bar to place the order. This was the opportunity she was looking for. Lifting her chin, acting like she completely belonged among the staff, she gathered a few discarded empty glasses and walked over to the bar.

“You new?”

Keres whipped her head up and saw that the bartender was talking to her.

“How could you tell?” she asked.

“You have that oh-fuck-what-do-I-do look.”

She smiled. “Guilty.”

He leaned in a little. “Fake it till you make it.”

“Thanks, I’ll do that.” She glanced over her shoulder. “That’s Sapphira Todd? She’s very beautiful.”

“Yep, that she is.”

She didn’t know which drink belonged to Sapphira. “Do you need any help?”

“Uh, ”— he looked behind himsel f— “Yeah. Ms. Todd likes four olives in her martini. Can you watch this order so I can grab another jar?”

“Sure,” she replied, unable to believe the answer was dropped in her lap. There was only one martini in the gathered drinks.

Working quickly, Keres opened her ring and as she grabbed the glasses in a ruse of putting them on a tray. The powder went into the liquid and immediately dissolved. The bartender came back and quickly speared four olives and dropped them in the glass. Then he tapped his ear and spoke in it, and a moment later, the server came back to pick up the tray and deliver the drinks. Keres covertly watched as Sapphira took a long drink of her martini, then walked away from the bar to head back into the kitchen.

The blueprints she and Darby poured over showed there was a bathroom located next to the employee lockers. She pushed inside, locked the door, and slipped her phone out of her pocket to send a quick message to Darby. Then she undressed and buried the black slacks and white button-down shirt into the trash. Under them, she wore a strapless corset that was the standard uniform for the other part of the club. She had gotten the outfit, very reminiscent of the iconic Playboy Bunny, at a costume store and it was a size too small. One deep breath and her boobs would pop out.

After throwing her hair into a high ponytail, she unlocked the door and gave a quick peek out to make sure no one was nearby. She made her way down the opposite side of the kitchen, where the hallway opened to the social club. Low mood lighting set the tone, with round tables lit only with a candle. The stage was lit up and several women were dancing, the only scrap of clothing they wore was a G-string. She made her way around the perimeter of the room until she saw Darby. He gave her a nod and she bent over him, like she was taking his order.

“You ready?” she asked.

“Yep,” he replied.

She straightened and headed away from him, near the stairs that led to the upper offices. Then Darby started making a loud ruckus, whistling and yelling for the dancers to take it all off. All the attention was immediately on him. From the dining room, Sapphira appeared and the two men she’d been having dinner with made a beeline to Darby. Keres didn’t care about that. Darby could take care of himself. Instead, she watched Sapphira Todd. The woman suddenly raised a hand to her forehead and swayed a little. Putting on a concerned face, she walked over.

“Are you all right, Ms. Todd?” she asked in a concerned voice.

“I-I’m suddenly dizzy.”

“Let me help you.”

Sapphira grabbed hold of Keres’s hand. “Please. Help me to my office.”

Slowly, they traversed the stairs until they reached the top. Sapphira punched the code on her office door and tried to open it. Keres took over and they stumbled over the threshold. Sapphira practically collapsed onto the sofa located along one wall, completely knocked out.

Keres carefully moved the unconscious woman until she lay completely spread out. Then she took her phone out from her bodice and snapped a few pictures before rearranging the woman’s dress. Down came the top, exposing her strapless bra, and up came the bottom of the dress, revealing her panties. Keres took a few more photos before straightening Sapphira’s clothes.

What she did was despicable. There wasn’t any doubt about that. As a woman who had been violated, this added an additional ick factor, but that was exactly what they needed. Sapphira Todd was the cherry on top of their revenge pie. A final warning to Davorin that all he held dear could easily be stripped away.

Slipping the phone back into her bodice, Keres didn’t look back as she exited the office and headed back down the stairs. She didn’t stop, walking through the dining room and kitchen to leave the club. She grabbed her coat and slipped it on, hiding her sexy outfit and blending in with the foot traffic on the street.

****

The gym was completely dark when she made it home.

Running up the steps, Darby opened the apartment door before she could and looked her over.

“You okay?” he asked.

She noticed his busted lip. “Better than you, it looks like.”

He shrugged. “The bouncer was a tad bit excited to be throwing someone out of the club. You have the pictures?”

Keres took out her phone and handed it over to him. “I’m going to put on clothes that fully cover my lady bits.”

Darby chuckled as she headed to her bedroom. Peeling out of the skimpy satin bodysuit, she threw on some pajamas and headed back to the living room where Darby waited for her.

“Have you sent them yet?”

He shook his head. “Was waiting for you. How’re we going to word this?”

Keres thought for a moment. “Let him stew in the knowledge that he isn’t untouchable.”

Darby thought for a moment then he punched out a message, attached the pictures, and hit “send.” Keres sat next to him as he picked up the hammer from the coffee table, put the phone on the floor, and smashed the device all to hell.

A sense of satisfaction filled her. Even though everything she and Darby had done wouldn’t bring back their loved ones, their killer now felt vulnerable. And that was the best revenge of all.