“Especiallybecause it might tip them off to the tracking devices.”
Inod. “Andwe need to finish here quickly so we can get to the other pieces before they do.ButIgotFlynntalking about the security on the piece enough to know that it’s aPX-three-twenty-six-H.”
“Whoo,”Ledgersays in a release of his breath. “Theguy is serious about security.Soour only option is to purposely set off the alarm, then.”
Itake a deep breath.Itreally is the only way.Wecould break in during the dead of night to do it, but we’d still setoff the alarm and could get caught.Sowe need to have someone set it off who won’t arouse suspicion, and the only person who can do that isMonaLiza.It’llbe extra tough sinceMonaLizahas been in the mansion for a week.Peoplehere know her and her mannerisms well.Inod. “I’llneed to impersonateMonaLiza.”
Frommy peripherals,Isee someone coming down the hall.Idon’t look directly at them, butIcan tell by the man’s gait and speed that he is security.Ilean even closer intoLedgerand breathe into his ear, “Don’tlook, but someone is coming.”Idon’t look, either, butIcan tell by the sound of the man’s footfalls that he’s about to ask why we are here when we shouldn’t be.
Ledgercan sense it, too.Hesays, “Kissme.”
It’sa great way to deflect suspicion, soIdo.Ipress my lips againstLedger’s, and for good measure,Ipress my body into his, too, sinceI’malready so close, anyway.Hewraps an arm around my waist, holding me close.
Oh, my.
Iforgot how incredible it feels to kissLedgerLancaster.Howit feels to be so close to him.Tohave him holding me tight.Toshare the same air.Tofeel the gentle caress of his lips against mine.EventhoughI’mleaning into him and he’s holding me tight and security is almost to us, his kiss is still so soft and tender, likeI’ma rare, undiscovered gem, showing he’s so perfectly in control of the situation.
I’vegot my hand on the wall he’s leaning against, andIjust really want to run the fingers of my other hand through his hair.Iwant to stand here and fake kissLedgerall day long.Tofeel his heartbeat next tomine.Connectwith him in a way that doesn’t require a single word.Everythingis taking me right back toMoldova, andIcan’t believeIever managed to repress how incredible his kisses are.HowdidIever get past the craving of wanting this every moment?
Thesecurity guard clears his throat loudly, andIpull back, acting surprised that he is there, looking around dazed, as ifIforgotIwas even there.Itisn’t a hard reaction to fake.
Hesays something inSerbian, andIshow confusion before saying in a hopeful voice, “English?”
“You’renot supposed to be back here,” the man repeats, this time inEnglish.
“I’mso sorry,”Isay, fanning my shirt to cool myself. “Asif looking at art isn’t enough, hearing this guy talk about it just makes me unable to wait a second longer before planting my lips on him.”Theguy looks unimpressed, soIadd, “We’llgo, though.”
I’mnot saying the words with my own personality, soLedgerknows it’s all a show, but in reality,I’mfeeling the words deeply.Ifelt the kiss deeply.Ireach up and squeeze the locket of my necklace as if it can somehow ground me and help me force my head back into the mission. “Oh, andIleft my handbag with a young woman in dark slacks and a light blue blouse.Shetold us her name…Um,Mila,Ithink?Mika?WherecanIfind her?”
“Headstraight down this hall,” the guard says, emphasizing the word “straight,” in case we were thinking of going somewhere else we shouldn’t. “You’lleither find herin an office on your right just before you get to the lobby, or she’ll be in the lobby itself.”
Ithank him, andLedgerandIstart walking down the hall.Ledgerglances over at me, andIknow he’s probably trying to assess whether the kiss was as real for me asI’msure it seemed while we were kissing, and suddenly everything feels awkward.I’vekissed people while undercover before, and it’s never been a big deal.Ever.
ButIshouldn’t ever kissLedger.Itmakes me desperately want thingsIcan never have.Plus, we are partners on this mission, so having one of us get our feelings tied up in things is very muchnothelpful.Ineed to shake myself out of this.Isthat even possible?Ilet out a breath that comes out as a huff of a humorless laugh.NowIremember whyIrepressed what kissingLedgerfeels like.Becauseit’s hard to work with the man whenIfully remember.
Ineed to figure out how repressing works again.
Istart by reminding myself that it isn’t real.JustbecauseLedgeris a great kisser and can make itfeellike there is a lot of emotion being poured into a kiss, doesn’t mean that there actually is.He’san intelligence operative.Hefakes things as part of his job.Andhe’s really good at his job.
SoIjust look atLedgerwith whatIhope is an expression of pure focus on the mission and not any lingering kissing bliss, andImouth to him,Thatwas close.
Heclears his throat and then nods.
Yeah, the awkwardness is still there.
Aswe near the office on the right just beforethe lobby, a woman’s voice carries through the open door.She’sspeakingSerbian, but it isn’t hard to tell by the tone of her voice that she’s berating someone.Myguess is it’sPetra, and the someone isMila.NowonderMilahates her boss—Petrakeeps going on, relentless about chidingMilafor whatever she feels she did wrong.
Wereach the door, andLedgerknocks on the frame to get the attention of the two women.Milasees us and immediately hurries over, looking embarrassed that we heard whatever her boss was saying. “I’msorry,” she says. “Letme go get your bag.”
Whenwe reach the lobby,Ledgerglances back in the direction of the office. “Idon’t speakSerbian, soIdon’t know what your boss was saying, butIcan see why she’s no fun to work with.”
Milalooks a little relieved at the reminder that we couldn’t understand her boss even though we heard her words, and she just nods. “It’sokay.”Butthe girl does look rattled, andIhate that she’s exposed to that daily.I’mglad that we’ll be able to help her.
“Mila,”Isay, “do you have access toEliza’sschedule?Orcan you get access to it?”IfI’mgoing to impersonate her in a place where everyone knows her face well,I’mgoing to need to have her face.
“Iknow it well sinceI’mthe one doing all the work around here.”Sheglances back toward the office.
“Doyou know what her schedule is today?”Ledgerasks.
