“You’re kidding.”
“I wish I were.”
He sighs. “Damn it. I thought we’d have more time.”
“So did I. But it’s now or never. From what Alissa told me, Svetlana—the Nine of Diamonds—disappeared the same night she finished up her contract. If Jack is their next target, we’ll have to act fast.”
“Right… Right…” He pauses. “Obviously then, our move is to keep Jack in our sight at all times tomorrow evening.”
“Agreed. You can disguise yourself as the Ace of Clubs again, and I’ll be there as a singer. Jack works in my section, and Clubs is close by, so between the two of us, we’ll be able to keep an eye on him.”
“But that wouldn’t make much of a difference. Even Rouge can’t murder a man in front of a hundred witnesses.”
“Right.” I pace the room. “We’ll have to follow Jack home. You’ll get on the bus with him—you’ll be dressed as a waiter, so you won’t have any trouble getting aboard—and then I’ll follow behind. We can join Jack in his room at the Caterpillar and make sure nothing happens to him.”
“And what do we do if someone does come to collect?”
“We’ll be ready. I doubt they’d do away with him at the actual hotel. But if they do, we’ll have our phones. We can record everything. Maybe you could start an Instagram livestream or something. Make sure everything that happens is documented. Then we’ll be practically invincible.” I swallow. “Worst case, we call the cops.”
“Worst case is we get killed too, Bianca.”
I bite my lip. “If my death means countless other lives are saved, it’ll be worth it.”
A long pause in the conversation.
“Are you there, Harrison?”
“Yeah. I’m just thinking it over. Because no way in hell am I going to allow you to put your life on the line.”
“You don’t have a choice. It’s my life.”
Another long pause. “I would be devastated if something happened to you.”
Warmth fills my heart at his words. “I would feel the same way about you, but we’re talking about the bigger picture here.”
He sighs. “I’ll do everything in my power to ensure that doesn’t happen.”
“I’ve never felt safer than when I’ve been with you.”
“I’ll do my damnedest to make sure you’re okay.” His voice darkens. “Even if it means laying my own life down.”
“It won’t come to that.”
“It better not. I have a whole life ahead of me, and I want to spend it with you.”
Again my heart soars. But it’s not the time for us to be declaring our feelings for each other.
“Do you have a firearm?” I ask. “We should be armed.”
“Yeah. I’ll have that on me. Except… Shit. I won’t. I’ll be in my Ace of Clubs outfit. Those shorts don’t even have pockets.”
“Even if they did, someone would easily see you were packing.”
Harrison’s bulge is already conspicuous in those teeny shorts. A gun would be extremely obvious.
“I’ll hand the gun off to you, then. Have you ever fired one before?”
I exhale. “No.”
