Trevor couldn’t believe how badly he wanted to bail on the mission and spend the rest of the night kissing Alina. He’d thought she was attractive the first time he’d seen her, but holding her in his arms and feeling her body against his, knowing she wasn’t wearing anything underneath that dress, damn near made him burst into flames.
But then he remembered he might be only a few feet away from the man who’d built the bomb that had killed John. He couldn’t let this opportunity to get something on Thorn slip away, not after all the work Skye and Evan had done to track Shishani down. He owed John that much at the very least.
He took a deep breath and got his inner animal under control. He hadn’t been quite sure about bringing Alina with him tonight, but Skye had convinced him that he stood a much better chance of getting into the place with the cover she’d concocted. Flat-out, a lone man trying to weasel his way into a private gambling establishment was an uphill battle, no matter how rich he was supposed to be. Besides, Skye had already created their fake identities and set everything up. According to her, it had been too late to change the plan. Trevor was pretty sure she’d been working him.
In the end, though, Trevor hadn’t needed anyone to twist his arm to get him to go along with the plan. His head still wasn’t a hundred percent sold on his new partner, but his gut told him to trust her.
“Just hand your credit chit to the dealer at the first table you choose,” Teddy said as he escorted them into the private gaming area.
Trevor thanked the man, fighting back the growl clawing its way out of his throat as Teddy gave Alina a long, lingering look before he walked away. The urge to rip the guy’s face off for having the balls even to lay eyes on her was so strong, his claws actually extended.
He cursed under his breath and forced them back in. His animal nature was merely trying to lay claim to someone who didn’t belong to him. Alina was his partner, not his woman. That kiss, amazing as it had been, had just been part of their cover.
“Chill the hell out,” he muttered to himself.
“What was that?” Alina asked, raising her voice to be heard over the cheering at the nearest craps table.
“Nothing,” Trevor said. “I was just saying it’s nicer in here than I imagined.”
She turned slightly to survey the room, giving him a nice glimpse of cleavage. Couple that with the intoxicating pheromones she was putting off, and it was enough to make his inner coyote howl.
Get a fucking grip! What the hell is going on in your head?
“Is that him?” Alina asked, pulling him out of his daydreams.
Trevor dragged his gaze away from her and looked over to see Shishani standing at one of the craps tables, dark eyes intent on the bets his fellow gamblers were placing while he sipped the drink in his hand.
“Do we keep an eye on him until he leaves, then follow him?” Alina wanted to know.
Trevor shook his head. “No. As much as he likes to gamble, he could be here until this place closes. I sure as hell don’t feel like waiting around that long to talk to him.”
“You have a better plan?” she prompted.
“Yeah, I do. One that revolves around you and your distracting beauty.”
She appreciated the compliment—again—but couldn’t help but grimace. “I hesitate to ask.”
Trevor gave her a smile as he reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket and came out with two very fancy-looking pens. She watched curiously as he turned toward the wall—probably so no camera could see what he was doing—and started taking the pens apart. One held a tiny vial…like one of those tubes that sample perfumes came in. The other contained a tiny piece of plastic, not much bigger than the eraser on a pencil.
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing too extreme. Which, I admit, is rather disappointing for me.” He motioned off to the left with his chin. “The restrooms are down a hallway over in that direction. At the end of that corridor is an emergency exit. As you can imagine in a place like this, the hallway is covered by cameras, and the door is heavily alarmed.”
He held up the small piece of plastic. “Step one of the plan involves me planting this device in the hallway. When I activate it, it will momentarily pause the cameras and trip a piece of software code in the security system that will disengage the door lock and alarm. Once I activate the device, it should give us about thirty seconds to get Shishani out the door and into the alley out back.”
“Nice toy,” she murmured, looking at the tiny device. “But I have a question. How are we going to get Shishani into that hallway so we can get him out the door?”
Trevor held up the small glass vial. “That’s where this—and you—come in.”
“You want me to drug him?” she asked in confusion, having a hard time imagining how that was going to help. “Don’t you think security will get suspicious when Shishani starts stumbling around as we lead him toward the restroom?”
Trevor chuckled. “It’s not that kind of drug. It’s a powerful diuretic designed to make him have to go to the bathroom really badly—as in really, really badly. We simply need to follow him casually down the hall when that happens and take him right out the back.”
Alina had to admit, that seemed like a pretty good plan. “You need me to slip the drug into his drink?”
Trevor shook his head. “I can do that. I need you to distract him—and anyone else who might be looking our way—long enough to let me do it.”
She looked doubtful. “What if I can’t distract him, or anyone else, long enough for you to slip it in his drink?”
Trevor arched a brow as he slowly scanned her up and down. “Something tells me that’s not going to be an issue. If anything, you’ll have so many guys after you, we’ll never make it to the back hallway without a bunch of them following you like lovesick puppies.”
