We went through the plan again, and when Cillian was done, he dragged Aspen upstairs to get their equipment. Fallon walked toward the sitting room, and I focused on Cillian’s phone, which he’d left on the kitchen island. I swiped it, not caring about the consequences of getting caught as I rushed back down to the basement and used the app to unlock the panic room. Vail must’ve been leaning against the door because when the lock disengaged and it opened, he came tumbling out. I caught him before he could hit the floor.
“Rowen?” He grasped my arms and stared up at me, brown eyes wet and red, and face flushed. “You didn’t leave me in here.”
“Listen to me, Vail,” I whispered, checking over my shoulder. “Ye need to stay in here, aye? I know it’s scary, but we’re doing a wee something tonight and can’t protect ye.”
“What?” he asked quietly.
I shook my head. “I can’t tell ye that, but ye need to trust me. I won’t close this door fully, so ye won’t feel trapped, but if ye see someone come in this house, ye need to close this door tight, am I clear?”
“I....” His lower lip wobbled, but he nodded. “I don’t want to get anyone else killed.”
“Ye won’t, I promise. What we’re about to do... it’s our job. It’s what we’re good at and what we’ve always done. This’ll all be over with and ye won’t have to worry about anyone ye love again, aye?”
He trembled but there was trust in his eyes, and that was the best thing I’d ever seen. Finally he nodded. “Okay.”
“Stay here.” I kissed him on the forehead and guided him back into the panic room. I shut the door again until it was nearly closed but made sure it didn’t lock. By the time I made it upstairs and replaced Cillian’s phone, he and Aspen hadn’t returned yet, and I sighed in relief.
This was going to be a tough job, but now that I knew Vail wasn’t as scared, I could focus on my work.
* * *
Getting inside the Whiskey Kiss,a nightclub with dim lighting and a raunchy reputation, wasn’t an issue. There was always some employee ready to take money for fast access. Hell, even getting my iPad hooked into their security cameras didn’t take much effort. A few calls to Ardan’s IT contacts and I had my eyes on every part of the barroom I needed to see from the safety of the front passenger seat in the Expedition. My trusty old iPad had never been put to finer use.
Fantoni, the Giordano cousin, was in the VIP section, with fluffy couches and bottle service, surrounded by fewer guards than I’d expected him to have. Maybe it was overconfidence, but it made our job easier. Fallon was waiting in the wings of the nightclub, handsome in a tight black shirt and even tighter leather pants, and he fit in perfectly, like someone who was meant to be there. Aspen and Cillian were already set up in the gents’ bathroom, locked in stalls and waiting for their prey.
Then there was Lolli. I’d never seen anyone quite like her. She worked the guards like strings on a guitar with a few well-placed words, and with barely a swish of her hips, she was in the VIP section, lying close to Fantoni on a couch. He had a few of his friends there, too, but they were getting handsy with women of their own.
“What’s your name?” Fantoni asked in a breezy Italian accent that filtered through our comms.
Lolli giggled and danced her hand up his thigh, stopping right before the prize. The woman on Fantoni’s other side glared at her, the multicolored lights of the nightclub flashing across her face and making her look like a possessed demon. She was pretty, but she had nothing on Lolli.
“Sarah. What’s yours?”
From the angle of the camera I couldn’t see Lolli’s face, but Ididhave visual on Fantoni, and he was enthralled by her. He practically melted under her touches and soft whispered words.Sucker.
“Marco.”
They flirted like it was the end of the world, and he was close to humping her leg as she weaved her dangerous lies into his ear and giggled. Her black dress sparkled under the lights, and I didn’t miss how his hand crept higher on her thigh, closer to her arse.
“Shall we take this someplace else?” she whispered, loud enough for him to hear over the pounding music. “I’d like to... get to know you better.”
The other woman pouted and pulled at Marco’s shoulder, but he shrugged her off and focused on Lolli. There was nothing more dangerous than a pretty woman to a straight man. Stronger men had been felled by them, and Lolli was the best. She’d already popped Rohypnol in his drink fifteen minutes ago and he had no idea.
He followed her, his tongue practically rolling out of his mouth. Two guards followed them as they headed to the gents’ bathrooms.
I opened the line for the comms so Aspen and Cillian could hear me. “They’re on the move. Heading yer way. Only two guards.”
“Fallon, it’s yer turn,” Cillian grunted out.
Lolli and Fantoni reached the bathrooms and went inside a room I couldn’t see, but I knew what was going to happen. Once I gave Cillian the word that Fallon had distracted the guards, they’d grab Fantoni, who’d likely already begun to feel woozy, and take him out of there.
“Are you okay, baby?” Lolli cooed over the audio feed.
That was my signal. “Fallon, ye’re up.”
Fallon chuckled, and I watched him on the cameras as he stumbled his way to the guards, who stood on either side of the bathroom door. He crashed into one, who shoved him, and he laughed. “Watch it, man,” he sneered at the guard.
“You, go. Now.” The guard stepped toward him, but Fallon shook his head and stepped back into his personal space.
