Chapter 15

Janus

“Felicity? Felicity Rogers? Really, Janus?”

“Really,” I reply, chuckling lightly. “Felix for short.”

Dani considers the nickname. I can tell by the look on her face that she has discovered that she actually quite likes it.

“Oh, I guess that’s…okay, then.”

“As if I’d give you a terrible name deliberately.”

“You one hundred percent definitely would.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

Dani watches me forge our cover identities in silence before curiosity clearly takes over.

“What’s your cover name, Janus?”

“Antony Marshall. Tony.”

I know she can see a twinkle in my eye that suggests there’s more to these cover names that she’s not quite getting.

Dani crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow.

She looks so fucking good when she does that.

“What am I missing here? What’s funny about the names?”

I can’t help but let out a laugh.

“Tony and Felix. How can you not see it?”

“See what?!”

“They’re cats, you idiot. Well, a tiger and a cat, but you get the gist.”

“I thought your animal was a jackal.”

I spin my chair around, rounding on her.

“Yes, but curiosity didn’t kill the jackal.”

Dani looks very clearly confused; I’m thoroughly enjoying causing that look on her face.

“If curiosity killed the cat, why name us after cats?” she asks.

I can tell she’s itching to ask about something but can’t exactly phrase the question.

“As the ultimate ‘fuck you’ to predestined fate,” I reply, as if it’s obvious. “And besides, these cats have claws that they’re not afraid to use.”

I flash her a winning smile, and Dani blushes as she grins in return.

I feel like whooping.

If that wasn’t validation that she wants me, then nothing is.

Then Dani’s phone vibrates. She looks away to check. Her eyes light up.

“Location for tonight is confirmed.”

I nod my head, excitement tinged with apprehension filling me with adrenaline.

“You do have suitable clothing for such an event, don’t you? These live auctions don’t take kindly to those with no money in their pockets, after all.”

She scoffs at me. “I’ve had a dress prepared for such an occasion ever since I landed in Greece. This ain’t my first rodeo and all that.”

“But of course.”

Dani narrows her eyes at me.

“Considering that you’ve been the one clad in scruffy clothes for all this undercover work, I’d say it would be fair for me to redirect your question back at you, Janus.”

I flash her another winning smile just to see her face flush again.

“As a true gentleman, I naturally have a perfectly tailored suit at my disposal at all times.”

Dani laughs. “True gentleman, of course. A sexy British accent doesn’t always equate to being a gentleman, you know.”

I raise an eyebrow. “A sexy accent? Good to know how you truly feel.”

“I’m quite sure you were already well aware of the effect your accent has on poor, impressionable American women like myself, Mr. O’Connell.”

I spin back around in my chair to finish off our fake identities with a flourish.

“I guess you’re right. How could any of you resist me, after all?”

Dani swats my shoulder at the remark.

I chuckle softly. “What time does the auction begin?”

Dani suddenly turns serious. “Seven. Which gives us four hours to look our best.”

“Are you suggesting that I don’t already look my best?”

“Humor is such an over-used way to hide fear, Janus,” Dani observes, hitting the proverbial nail on the head.

“It doesn’t do either of us any good to give in to nervousness now, Dani.”

She regards me for a few seconds, head tilted slightly to the side. “I suppose you’re right.”

“What was that? Did I just hear you…conceding defeat?”

Dani whacks my arm with full force this time. “As if! You’ll never hear me concede defeat to The Jackal.”

“Hmm,” is all I respond with, before carefully storing our fake identities in my bag and getting up from my chair.

I turn to face Dani. “I’ll be by your room at six, then. We can grab a drink before the auction.”

“Alcohol on the job? That sounds like a recipe for disaster.”

“Call it Dutch courage. We’ll need it.”

Dani gives me a smile at the suggestion. “Okay. I’ll see you at six. One drink, and then we’ll head to the auction.”

“It’s a date, then,” I reply cheekily, swiftly moving out of the way before Dani can hit me again.

The next three hours seem to feel like both an eternity and a breeze. I numbly go through my grooming routine, ensuring my hair is perfectly slicked back and that my facial hair is kept to a masterfully precise one millimeter long stubble.

I go over both my own and Dani’s fake identities—having sent her digital copies to do the same—memorizing the information I might need at any moment to maintain our cover.

There is no room to mess up tonight. There’s too much at stake to do so.

So, why did I insist on taking Dani out for a drink first, despite that?

Using alcohol for Dutch courage wasn’t technically a lie, of course. In an event where everyone is drinking, two stone-cold sober people are going to painfully stand out in conversation.

And we need to appear as if we’re completely comfortable with a human auction. That’s not something that even I could easily lie about; it’s that detestable.

Yes. A little alcohol will go a long way to help us with our cover for the night.

But I also simply want to take Dani out on some semblance of a date.

Because, when all is said and done, and if we make it out of this trafficking case alive, she’ll be out of my life once more.

Which means that it’s now or never if I ever want to get through to her.

I had been so sure that what’s best for me was to keep her at arm’s length, so that I couldn’t fall for her once more. But after seeing the damage dealt on those women and children…

Life’s too short. I want Dani. And I want her to realize that.

I’m in front of her hotel door before I know it, dressed in a sharp black tuxedo with a tasteful dark red bow-tie and matching cummerbund. I texted her earlier to ensure I wouldn’t clash with her outfit’s color scheme, of course.

I’m a gentleman, after all.

It feels as if an age has passed before Dani opens the door after I rap my knuckles upon it, announcing my presence.

When she does open the door, I’m greeted by the most stunning version of Danielle Robinson I’ve ever seen.

She’s wearing a slinky, dark gold, vaguely metallic, halter-neck dress that brings out the molten gold in her dark eyes. Her rich chocolate hair has been twisted back, leaving a few artfully placed strands that frame her face.

She turns around to let me see her whole outfit—her dress is backless.

I’m blown away with how gorgeous she looks.

“Wow. Wow. When you said you had an outfit for undercover, I didn’t expect…this.”

Dani smiles radiantly at me. “You don’t look too bad yourself, Mr. O’Connell. Should we get going for that drink?”

I proffer my arm for Dani to take, and we walk with our arms linked down to the waiting taxi.

The bar I take her to is mere seconds away from the location of the human trafficking auction. I order two glasses of Merlot, sitting down at a candle-lit table with Dani once we’ve been served.

The flame from the candle reflects off of Dani’s dress, making her look almost ethereal.

“Earth to Janus,” I vaguely hear Dani say. “You’re staring a little too hard, you know.”

I shake my head slightly and chuckle. “I guess it won’t be so difficult for me to pretend we’re a newly-minted couple at the auction, then.”

I regret mentioning the auction almost immediately—it ruins the atmosphere I was hoping we could keep for at least thirty more minutes.

It’s probably for the best, of course, that we spend our final half hour going over the plan for the evening, but I regret bringing up the subject, nonetheless.

Seven o’clock comes far too soon, and before I know it, Dani and I find ourselves opening the heavy wooden doors of a beautiful building, both somehow simplistic with its white-washed walls and opulent in its grandeur.

If it wasn’t the site of a flesh auction, I’d commend the organizers on their choice of venue.

After getting past security, Dani immediately points out a few familiar faces as discreetly as possible—all corrupt policemen that I met in the precinct and all acting as security agents.

“I wish that was surprising, but it’s merely disappointing,” I murmur to Dani out of the corner of my mouth.

A waiter offers us a glass of champagne, which we both accept and use as an excuse to pause and observe the rest of the people around us.

Everyone is dressed to the nines, as if they were at some glitzy charity event.

I hear Dani inwardly gasp a little. I instinctively react by kissing her quickly.

“That was too obvious, love,” I mutter, my lips millimeters from hers.

Dani looks up at me with a mix of shock and understanding on her face, too engrossed in whatever she saw to wrap her mind around the fact that I just kissed her for the first time in three years.

“On the stage, Janus,” she whispers, keeping up the charade of our little public display of affection to keep our conversation private. “That boy can’t be older than five.”

I swing my head around to check the stage out.

Dani’s right; the boy currently being auctioned off is horrifically young.

I feel my stomach twist violently as I take in the rest of the men, women, and children up on stage, waiting to be auctioned off.

I keep a wan smile on my face before taking a sip of champagne.

“Time to immerse ourselves in the mission now. Get your game face on.”

I glance at her, and, in a second, she transforms her face into a bland and beautiful display of mild amusement. She fits in perfectly.

I can’t help but wish we had never left her hotel room.

But we have a job to do, and people who depend on us to do it.

And hell if I’m going to let anyone lay a hand on that five-year-old boy trembling in fear on stage.

“Come on, Felix, I think you’ll like the next man being auctioned. Let’s get closer.”

Dani smiles beautifully. “You know me so well, Tony.”

I take a breath.

Time to get the evidence we need to blow this operation sky-high.