Chapter Twenty-Five

Back in the main rooms of the house, I spotted Aristide standing in a corner, leaning close to a young woman who was making a great show of letting him peer down her décolletage, while pretending not to.

I made my way over to them. "Aristide, darling," I said, with the feigned coolness of suppressed jealousy. "May I speak to you for a moment?"

"Of course, chérie." With an apologetic look at the woman, he took my arm and led me over to another corner of the room.

"Try to look as though I am scolding you for flirting outrageously with that woman," I said.

He made one of his expressively innocent gestures that I was certain would give the right impression to anyone who happened to be watching us. "I was not flirting with her," he protested. "We just happened to share an interest in art."

I didn't have time to argue the point. We needed to move, and fast.

"We have to go," I said.

He was instantly alert, a kind of sharpness in his gaze I had not seen there before. I wondered if I had underestimated him. Perhaps he was not just a pretty face.

"What's happened?" he asked. I noticed that his accent seemed remarkably less pronounced now that he was not playing the seducer. I supposed being excessively French had worked in his favor on more than one occasion.

"We must contact Major Ramsey. The map isn't here. It's at Lazaro's nightclub."

"There are marks on your arms," he said, looking down at the bare skin. I followed his gaze. Sure enough, the marks of Lazaro's fingers were slowly appearing in a pale purple against my fair skin.

"It's nothing," I said. "Let's go."

Understanding flashed in his eyes, and I saw indecision there. He was wondering if he needed to address this situation. Ultimately, though, he acceded to my wishes. After all, the mission took precedence over the slight I had received.

He led me through the crowd to the front door and we collected my coat while he used the telephone in the foyer. I didn't understand the French, but I expected he was asking Ramsey to meet us. We'd sent Jakub and the car away, not knowing how long the job would take.

Cheevers held up the coat for me, and I slipped it on, glad to cover up the bruises on my arms. I thought, perhaps, he had noticed them, for there was sympathy in his gaze as he opened the door for me.

I wondered how many other women had left this flat with bruises—or worse.

Back in the frigid air, I breathed a sigh of relief. We might have a long night ahead of us, but at least we were free of the party and of Nico Lazaro.

"Are you all right?" Aristide asked me.

"Yes," I said. "He didn't hurt me."

"You're bruised."

"So is he."

Major Ramsey arrived in record time. We had been standing outside, a bit down the street, for perhaps ten minutes before he arrived. I was extremely glad of the warmth of Noelle's mink coat.

Almost before the car had pulled to a stop, Ramsey was getting out and coming toward us. I expected him to demand information about what I had overheard regarding the map in the safe, but it appeared Aristide had also told him about my encounter with Lazaro.

"What did he do?" he demanded, his gaze intent.

"It's nothing."

"Tell me." He was using his commanding officer voice, and I'd learned it was better not to argue with it.

"He tried to kiss me. I'm fine."

He knew that wasn't the whole truth. "And what else?"

I sighed. "He pushed me against his desk and wouldn't let me go until I stuck a letter opener into his kidney. Then I broke his nose. I know how to take care of myself, and it wasn't…"

My words trailed off as the major turned and stalked down the street in the direction of the flat. I hurried after him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to have a word with Lazaro."

"No. Major, wait."

He ignored me, and I had to increase my pace to keep up with him. I caught his arm before he could reach the building.

"You can't do that," I said.

"Let go of me, please."

"Ramsey…"

He turned to look at me, and his eyes were steel gray. "That man cannot be allowed to go on treating women that way. If you hadn't had the wherewithal to do what you did, you know what would have happened."

"But it didn't," I said.

I felt the tension in his arm beneath my hand, like a steel cable that was ready to snap. It was always a bit surprising to me to see this side of the major. Normally, he was so cool and controlled. But this was not the first time I'd seen this more volatile side of him.

There'd been several times when he'd had to keep himself in check. It was the military discipline that prevented him from letting his temper have free rein, but that discipline was holding on by shreds at the moment. And we didn't have time for this.

"We've got a job to do, and you are not going to put everything in jeopardy," I said. "So pull yourself together."

It seemed my sharp words were enough to cool his temper because I felt the tension in his arm lessen ever so slightly, and I dropped my hand from it.

He looked down at me, his expression unreadable. "I don't want you to be harmed because of me, Electra."

"Well, you did try to warn me."

"That doesn't matter. I knew his reputation, but I didn't think he would go so far. Not in the middle of a party."

"All's well that ends well," I said lightly, though I was, in all honesty, a bit shaken by the situation. I'd never had a man be quite so physically aggressive with me before. I knew it happened, of course, but I had never imagined it happening to me.

I wondered again if there had been other women who had not been so fortunate as I had and had been unable to make an escape. It seemed likely; Mr. Lazaro had been very comfortable with the entire thing, as though it was something he had done successfully before.

It was a good thing for Mr. Lazaro that Colm and Toby weren't in London. If they heard of this, I wouldn't have been able to stop either of them from demonstrating their protectiveness to Nico Lazaro in an extremely violent way.

"Let's just get the job done," I said. "We can deal with Lazaro later."

He let out a breath, nodded.

"I do appreciate the sentiment," I said as I slipped my arm through his and led him back to where Aristide was waiting for us near the car.

"You've got blood on your hand," Ramsey said.

"It's all right," I said. "It's not mine."

We discussed our options on the way to the nightclub. Somehow, Ramsey had been able to acquire the plans to the building, and he spread them out on his lap, Aristide and I on either side of him looking them over.

"I've been there," Aristide said. "The office is on the second floor of the building, here." He pointed to a place on the plans. "The ground and first floors are part of the nightclub itself. The office will be where they keep the earnings in the safe, so it's likely well guarded."

"If I recall correctly, there's usually a guard posted at the stairs," Major Ramsey said.

Aristide looked at me and winked. "We could send Ellie to lure him away. I'm sure she'd manage it."

"We will not be sending Miss McDonnell to lure him away," Major Ramsey said, his voice tight.

"No, because then who would open the locks for you?" I asked. "You'd be lost without me, Aristide."

"I tell you this, and still you rebuff me," Aristide said with a wounded expression, pressing a hand to his chest. "When this is all over, Ellie, how will I go on without you?"

"I have a feeling you'll make do."

"If we could continue with the plan…" Major Ramsey said tersely.

I pointed on the plans to what appeared to be a set of French doors leading to a balcony. "Can't we go in here? It looks as though it faces the back garden and not the street."

"We could," Aristide said. "But the balcony doesn't connect to any other rooms. You'd have to find a way to get up to the second floor."

"That's a long way down," I mused. "Is there anything that might make the outside scalable?"

"You're in evening dress," Major Ramsey pointed out. I hadn't remembered that little fact, but it was something to consider. There wasn't any spare time for me to collect more suitable clothes and change.

"I can climb a tree in a skirt, if need be," I said.

Aristide's eyes flashed, but I shot him a look before he could make some sort of inappropriate comment.

"There aren't any trees on that side of the building," Ramsey said.

"Ivy?" I suggested flippantly.

"A Rapunzel to let us in, perhaps," Aristide said.

"Focus, if you please." Ramsey was clearly losing patience, and I realized it was time for me to stop jesting with Aristide and formulate a plan.

"What about some sort of ladder? Is there a garden shed on the grounds? We may be able to find one there."

"It would be too obvious on the outside of the building," the major said. "I imagine the garden will be deserted in this weather, but I don't think we should take the chance of such a blatant entrance."

"What about a rope ladder or something of the sort?" I asked. "We could toss up a grappling hook, and Aristide could climb it and lower the ladder for us."

"There are both a grappling hook and embarkation ladder in the boot," Major Ramsey said. I was not entirely surprised. He was the sort of man who liked to be prepared.

"But Aristide will not be accompanying you," he went on. "It will be you and me going into the office."

"Can you climb a rope?" I asked. "Your injuries…"

"Are healed," he said, though I knew he was stretching the truth. It could be that his wounds had healed outwardly, but it was clear how much they still pained him. Especially after his violent encounter with that assailant. Major Ramsey climbing a rope to scale a wall before helping me up seemed risky.

"I think I can climb it," I said.

Major Ramsey looked at me dubiously, and I felt the familiar irritations I'd always had when Colm and Toby had doubted I could do something they could.

"You don't think I can do it?" I challenged him.

"I think it will be difficult in a gown," he replied carefully.

"I have no doubt you could do it if you needed to," I said. "But you don't. I'll do it."

He was going to continue arguing with me, but I didn't give him a chance. "Ingress should be easy enough. Then as long as they don't come into the office, we should be able to get in and out fairly quickly."

"Some sort of distraction in the nightclub would be even better," Major Ramsey said, with a glance at Aristide.

Aristide grinned. "I'll take care of that."

I had no doubt that he would find a way to call enough attention to himself that Ramsey and I could get in and out.

"How long shall I stay inside?" Aristide asked.

"Not more than an hour, I should think," I said. Inwardly, I hoped the safe was not one of the more difficult varieties. There was no sense worrying the men about this possibility.

Major Ramsey next unfolded a map of London. "Once you leave the nightclub, meet us here," he said, tracing a path to what looked to be a side street about half a mile from the nightclub. "Jakub can wait there, out of the way, and we can get away without being seen."

And, just like that, our plan was set.