So there was nothing more to do than to grab Dani and head downtown. Michael parked in Josh’s driveway and knocked. He was early, so he might need to wait?—
The door opened. Whoa.
He’d witnessed plenty of Dani’s dress-ups and funky outfits over the years. He’d seen her in princess gowns and zombie makeup and everything in between. But he’d never seen her like this.
She stood in the doorway, draped in a fire-red strapless gown. The silky dress hugged her curves like it was custom made. Her smooth skin shimmered in the porch light, her hair swept up high on her head. Full lips he couldn’t wait to kiss matched her dress. She was a knockout.
Dani quirked an eyebrow. “I’ll take that gaping jaw as a good sign.”
Uh, yeah. “It’s going to be hard to focus on Victor Bellmont tonight when all I want to do is this.” He moved in and kissed her.
She kissed him back for a moment, then pulled away. “We’ll have time for that later, but right now we need to get to work.”
He pretended to frown. “But I’m trying to find a better work-kiss balance in my life. With all the overtime this week, the kissing part is way behind.”
She laughed and dragged him off the porch. “Let’s go, Martinelli. Work first. Then play.”
In the car, they went over the plan again.
“So we arrive, mingle and scope out the place, and meet Victor,” Michael said. “Finn will be there for backup if needed. He should’ve planted weapons for us by the time we get there. No way we’d make it through security with them.”
“Kumar herself is there to help clear the way too. She’s providing the tech.”
“Salvador said the warrant came through, so once we’re set, we’ll plant the bugs in Bellmont’s office. Then tomorrow, we’ll regroup with your team and mine and figure out how to build a case against him.”
“Shouldn’t be too hard. We might have enough time for dancing too.”
Michael wasn’t much of a dancer, but with Dani, he’d definitely make an exception.
They arrived at the downtown skyscraper with a throng of people in evening wear exiting limos and sports cars. Michael scanned the crowd as they waited in line to go through security. Dani gave him a flirty smile and straightened his bow tie. Probably, she was watching his back and studying the security guards at his six.
“See anyone we know?” he asked.
“Not yet, but the night is young.”
“Hopefully Finn made it.” And had been able to sneak their weapons in with the caterers. Not knowing who to trust on the police force meant they were keeping those in the know to a select few.
Once they finally made it through the line, they stepped into the main event. The ballroom had been transformed into a tropical rainforest, complete with real trees and a system spraying a light mist into the air. Servers wearing all black carried trays of canapés and champagne flutes. Along one wall, a bar was laid out to look like a jungle outpost.
“I’m not seeing Finn, but I do see Martha over there by the stage area.” Michael gave a slight nod in that direction.
Dani picked up on it and turned to stand beside him. She snagged a glass from a server walking by and held it without taking a sip. “I bet this is the good stuff. No box wine here.”
Michael smiled. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
She bounced on her toes. Not enough that anyone else would probably notice, but he did.
“I can’t help it. This is kind of my dream-come-true moment as I live out the scene from every spy movie ever. The hero and heroine undercover at a gala full of the rich and famous.”
He laughed. Man, he loved this woman.
“But back to the mission, let’s go talk to Martha.”
He led the way slowly through the room, stepping around other couples, smiling and chatting as if they were only here to have fun. But on the way, he counted eleven security cameras and fifteen armed men probably meant to be a blend-in security force.
“Martha! I love your dress.” Dani stepped over to the executive assistant and looked around in awe. “And this is amazing. I can’t imagine all the time you put into this event.”
Martha looked taken aback. Her dark-green formal dress matched the flora around them, almost as if she were trying to fade into the background. “Ms. Kim? I didn’t expect to see you. I don’t remember you being on the guest list.”
