29. Emmett

Chapter 29

Emmett

Martine gave me a knowing smile. “Wife? Now that sounds like a story I would love to hear.”

What was I supposed to do now? Martine not only knew who I genuinely was but also knew my mother. The wife story wouldn’t fly. But if I dropped it, Jenn would get suspicious. She was the one I truly had to hide things from, and having her in Martine’s office was not part of my plan.

Why did I bring out the Krista cover in the first place?

Because you’re so accustomed to lying to people that you can’t control yourself?

I crossed the distance to Jenn. Fortunately, she slipped in next to me so I could wrap an arm around her waist. Whether it was because she was smart or scared didn’t matter. She went along with it.

“The poor thing hates it when I sneak off to do business.”

Martine idly fiddled with one of her gold bracelets. “And yet she was the one sneaking around my casino?”

“Sorry.” Jenn looked up at me, as though begging for help.

No matter how many times I tried to convince myself there could be something between us, my job would always prevent it. Not just my past. Not just my father. “Did you get lost, honey bear?”

Jenn nodded vigorously. “I was looking for the ladies’ room. Someone told me it was right beside the restaurant, but the cave walls… there was this painting. There were all these little nooks and crannies everywhere, and the lights, and…” She took in a shuddering breath.

Martine came closer, chin and brows drawn down as though attempting to put her prey at ease. “The architecture can be quite bewildering your first time here.”

Jenn tensed. She was even more scared than after the break-in or after finding out about Noah. Too many things were piling on top of each other, pressing her soul down.

Will’s voice came over my earpiece. “Little longer. Almost—location.”

I kissed Jenn’s temple and let go of her, holding my hand out to Martine. “A pleasure, as always.”

She held her hand out, expecting me to kiss it, which I did. “I’ll be in touch, Reginald.”

With my mother, she meant.

Martine withdrew her hand and held both of hers out for Jenn to take them. Martine blinked slowly as she wrapped her hands around Jenn’s, the faux smile not leaving her face, “You should track down a wedding ring, my dear.”

Jenn snapped her hands back, staring at the left one. “I know. I lost it?—”

I finished for her, “I suspect it went down the shower drain last night. We’ll do one more pass of the hotel suite, and if we don’t find it, I’m afraid I’ll be paying for a new one.”

Martine strolled back to her wall of windows and waved a hand over her shoulder to dismiss us. “Make sure he buys you a bigger one, darling.”

She knew we weren’t married. She knew Jenn wasn’t a particularly convincing liar. So she must have known Jenn wasn’t part of the game. But Martine had kept up the ruse, for my benefit.

Which told me Martine was going to help us.

I took Jenn by the hand and escorted her out of the office. Her steps were tentative, so I held her as we walked down the stairs—partially to keep her moving, partially in case she tripped and I had to catch her. “You were supposed to stay at the blackjack table.”

“You didn’t say you were meeting with the manager.”

“She’s the auction coordinator.”

“I’ve met auction coordinators before.” As we reached the bottom step, she was still shaking. “They’re not usually scary women who watch out of an underground bank of windows like they’re a cartoon supervillain with armed guards and secret passageways inside a?—”

I stopped, spinning her to face me. “Secret passageways?”

Jenn raised her hand, pointing toward the ladies’ room. “It’s over?—”

I seized her wrist, yanking it behind me, attempting to make it appear like I was pulling her into a quick embrace. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” She tried to pull away, but I held her tight.

Hopefully, I’d moved fast enough to disguise her pointing at the hidden tunnel. I leaned closer, both to whisper and so she wouldn’t see me turn my earpiece microphone back on. “Do you forget what just happened? A man was guarding a secret door you stumbled through. You don’t point it out to everyone else.”

“Two men.”

Will, I hope you heard that part. “Two armed men?”

“Yeah.” She stopped resisting, and her body went soft against me. This wasn’t fair to either of us. The cover was all wrong, no matter how right it felt. “There was a section of a fresco on the wall—it stood out. I pressed it, and the wall swung open. One guard was sitting behind a desk, and the other one jumped me.”

If Jayce was going to sneak in that way, we’d have to do something about those guards.

Will said over the comms, “—her by the?—”

What was that supposed to mean? Her by the what?

Think, man.

Will and the team were searching for a way through the tunnels between the Garden and the Rock. What were the tunnels like besides the beautiful caverns under the Garden? Narrow? Wide enough for supplies? It had been used as an escape tunnel more than once to keep the inhabitants safe so there’d be room for a lot of people to pass.

And if Martine had two armed guards on the other side, it wasn’t a complete secret.

I had to position myself in roughly the right area so my GPS would be helpful. I pulled back from Jenn and cupped her cheek in my palm. “I’m sorry.”

She blinked rapidly, but didn’t flinch from my grasp. “For what?”

“I should have asked if you were okay. Were you scared?”

“Terrified.” She spluttered a laugh. “And I fell, so my knees hurt, but then I saw you…”

“Do you need to sit?” I glanced down at her pants, which were no worse for wear.

“I’m okay.” Her eyes glistened, and she nodded quickly. “But I lost all your money.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. It was so preposterous. The money wasn’t important. She’d found the secret entrance for us, and that was what mattered. “Have you tried roulette yet?”

The roulette tables were near the ladies’ room. Using her again, aren’t you?

“I honestly think I have the worst luck in the world.”

I slid my hand down from her face, along her arm, and took her hand. “Mine’s pretty good. Maybe it’ll rub off on you.”

Her fingers flexed in my grip, and I glanced at her long enough to witness her cheeks reddening. “How do you know the manager?”

I towed her through the crowd, which had thickened since we arrived. “I’ve been here a few times.”

She stayed close to me, wrapping her free hand around my arm. “This whole situation feels like something out of a spy movie.”

I chuckled, trying to keep my tone light. “Oh yeah? Which one?”

“I don’t know—James Bond?” She glanced around nervously. “That Martine woman could pass for a Bond villain or something.”

Hopefully, Martine’s far from a villain. We arrived at a roulette table, and I pulled out a chair for her.

“Although…” Jenn sat, looking up at me with amusement in her eyes. “What if everyone thinks she’s the Bond girl, but it turns out to be a case of mistaken identity?”

I grinned at her. “What does that make you?”

Her cheeks reddened more. “The real Bond girl?”

When the dealer was ready, I pulled out a few hundred euros and placed them on the table. “The temptress? Here to uncover my secrets?”

Jenn’s fingers trembled slightly. She was flirting to distract herself, wasn’t she? To get over what happened?

My turn to play along. It wasn’t a hardship, despite knowing the danger she was in and how much I was keeping from her. If it kept her calm and distracted from the very real threats around us, I’d suffer.

“So, Miss Temptress”—I gestured to the roulette wheel—“where should we place our bet?”

Jenn bit her lip, considering. “If you’ve got the luck, you should pick.”

I winked at her. “It’s not luck, it’s skill.”

Her playful smile faded, and her gaze dropped to my lips.

The wink might have been taking it too far. She’d been open about her feelings for me, and I was using those feelings to manipulate her.

To make her feel better.

That was a supportive thing, right? Not selfish?

“We’re close,” said Jayce over the earpiece.

I reached past Jenn and picked up my chips. Straightened. Held them in front of her. Blow on them , I mouthed.

Definitely too far. But damn, it felt good.

Jenn moistened her lips, dark blue eyes locked with mine. I felt that all the way in the pit of my stomach. And when she blew on the chips, the sensation dropped lower.

Then her father’s voice wove its way through my brain. ‘You’re not good enough for my little girl.’

What was I doing?

“Can you hear me?” Jayce snorted. “Just flirt some more if you can’t talk.”

I hadn’t heard Rav’s voice yet. Hopefully, he was far enough away, and my signal was still scrambled so he couldn’t make out my words. “You choose the bet, Krista.”

“Who’s Krista?” asked Jayce. Her voice came through so clearly, she must have been close. “Where’s Jenn?”

I carefully placed the chips in her hand, my fingers lingering for a moment longer than necessary. With deliberate movements, I shifted behind her chair, my heart racing as I gently ran my hands over her shoulders.

Jenn hesitated, then placed a small bet on red. She took my hand from her right shoulder, pulling me closer as the ball spun. She twisted her head to look at me from the corner of her eye. “So, if I’m the temptress in this scenario, what’s my evil plan? To seduce you away from your mission?”

“Maybe you’re working with me, but you’re a double agent? Trying to throw me off my game?” I should have been able to talk Massimo out of the scarab at the restaurant, or convince Jean-Philippe or Dante to hand it over at the gallery. But every time Dante looked at her, the right words flew from my brain. She was throwing me off my game.

“Am I succeeding?” Her eyes met mine with an intensity that almost pushed her father’s voice—and the idea of my team listening to our conversation—out of my head. As the word ‘ Yes’ formed on my tongue, the ball landed on black. Jenn groaned, letting go of me and slumping back in her chair. “See? Even your luck isn’t enough to rub off on me.”

“I have eyes on them,” whispered Jayce. “Security desk with two armed men.”

Drew said, “—areful.” Proximity must have played a large part with the watch-connected earpiece. No doubt, he’d told her to be careful, but was farther away from me than Jayce was.

“It’s a little early for dinner”—I tossed a chip onto the table, and it rolled, eventually settling on red fifteen—“but did you want to visit the restaurant and grab something to eat?”

Jenn stood and faced me. She might have been disappointed with another loss, but her nerves had calmed from earlier. “You sure? I’d like to avoid the real world a bit longer.”

“I’m free for the evening.” I’d finished my conversation with Martine but had to wait for her proposal to Mum. Jayce was close enough that she’d mapped a route to the Casino. They didn’t need anything else from me. “I’m all yours.”

The ball clattered into a slot on the roulette wheel behind Jenn. A few cheers rose from the players and observers.

“Quinze, rouge,” droned the croupier. “Fifteen, red.”

Jenn’s lids fluttered shut, and she grumbled, “Seriously?”

I shrugged, holding down the self-satisfied grin I wanted to flash. Thirty-five-to-one odds. “Guess I got lucky.”