“We’re going to cut a deal,” I said.
“With Charlie?”
“With everyone.”
Vero, Kevin, and I hid behind a column in the lobby, avoiding the security camera mounted behind the front desk. Vero and I had agreed that our plan would work better if Javi wasn’t involved. And if Lady Luck was not on our side, at least we wouldn’t take anyone else down with us. We’d left her newly minted husband upstairs in his room, where he was probably still waiting for us. By the time he realized we weren’t coming back, we’d be on our way to Ricky’s house.
“What now?” Vero asked.
“We find Ricky’s home address.”
“There’s no way that woman at the front desk is going to let me commandeer her computer.”
“We don’t need a computer,” I said, dropping Kevin into Vero’s arms. “Ricky’s address is probably printed on his pay stub. All we have to do is get a look at it. Stay here,” I said, straightening my wig before stepping around the column. I approached the desk, smiling sweetly.
“Hi,” I said, affecting an accent that sounded disturbingly like my agent’s. “My cousin, Ricky, works here. He’s out sick, and he asked me to pick up his paycheck for him.”
“Sure, what’s his last name?”
I stumbled. Only his first name had been printed on his name badge. “Ricky… the valet?”
“Oh, no! He’s sick? That must be why he left early the other day. We were all a little freaked out, honestly. It’s not like Ricky to blow off work. He must be feeling pretty terrible.”
I peeked over the counter, hoping for a glimpse of his pay stub. “Nothing a big, fat check won’t fix.”
She sifted through a stack of envelopes under the counter and slid one toward me. Ricky’s full name and home address were visible through the window.
“Thank you!” I said, committing it to memory. “On second thought, I have an appointment at the spa next door. Maybe you should hold on to this and I can come back after my massage to pick it up.”
“Sure thing,” she said, tucking it under her station.
Vero stepped out from behind the column and followed me out the front door.
“You really think this will work?” she asked as I hailed a cab.
“It has to.” I wasn’t here to play craps with Charlie. I was holding some pretty powerful cards, and I was willing to bet I knew what all the other players in this game would do.
I was betting Feliks had flown here because he didn’t trust Charlie with the files on that thumb drive.
And I was betting that distrust was justified.
I was also betting that Charlie and Feliks weren’t the only ones willing to gamble for those files. Behind most powerful men, there was often a woman maneuvering on the outskirts of their game, watching for tells, biding her time until she found just the right opening to play the cards up her sleeve and claim her own seat at the table.
Cam said only two other people in Feliks’s inner circle had access to the wallet containing his crypto, and I was betting Feliks’s attorney was one of them.
I opened my contacts toB.B.and dialed Kat’s number.
“Ms. Donovan,” she answered. “This is quite a surprise.” There wasan unusually ragged edge to her voice, as if the stress of all this was beginning to wear on her.
“Well, buckle in, because you’re about to get another one. I have something that belongs to your boss.”
“You found the car?”
“I found the key.” The line went silent. “Charlie has Cam. I have the flash drive. I think you and I can help each other.”
Kat’s pause was palpable. “Who else knows you have it?”
I grinned, certain I’d played the right card. “For now, just you and me.”
