CHAPTER THREE
Parker stared at his and Lexi’s reflection in the gold mirrored doors of the elevator. With her dress clinging to her curves, and him wearing his best fitting suit, and they looked like a power couple.
“I almost forgot,” he said, darting a hand into his suit pocket. “Mr. Silver is nearsighted.”
Her mouth fell open as he pulled out the black frames he’d worn while impersonating a scientist on a previous mission. After the mission was over, she’d made it no secret that the glasses made her hot. He slipped them on and completed his Clark Kent disguise.
“You’re evil,” she said, grinning. “That’s so unfair.”
“No, this makes it fair. The way you look? Sweetheart, a man can only take so much.”
He had a laptop and the card sensor tucked inside a messenger bag slung over his shoulder. Parker’s mouth went dry when Lexi fiddled with her engagement ring and wedding band. He hadn’t told her to flirt with Halverson, but . . . he hadn’t told her not to, either. Halverson was single, according to his Facebook profile and tax returns.
It’s for the greater good, he reminded himself for the millionth time. She hesitantly pulled the rings off. The black diamond engagement ring and wedding band were passed to Parker.
“I’m going to want those back as soon as this is over,” she said. “I feel naked without them.”
A grin tugged at his lips. “Don’t worry. I’ll have you naked with just them on after this is over.”
A stone sank in his stomach as they parted ways in the lobby, trying to keep up appearances. If everything went according to plan, he’d have the data copied to his laptop a minute after Lexi made contact, and then they’d be on to dinner. He’d strip her dress off and have her beneath him soon after, moaning his name on a breathless voice.
He couldn’t fucking wait.
The Oak Room bar was located to the right of a curved, marble staircase. He knew from the hotel map a bank of elevators at the base of those stairs would take them to the entrance of the no-longer-secret bunker, which housed the data center.
Halverson wasn’t in the bar yet. It was mostly empty. A few guests milled about under the enormous chandelier, whose crystals were shaped like oak leaves. The place had an old-world feel, with its thick carpet and dim lighting.
Lexi stood at the center of the bar and ordered a drink, never looking at Parker as he lurked at the entrance. There were open tables nearby, but he didn’t want to pick a spot too soon and force her to bring the mark to him.
This was going to work. Lexi looked amazing, standing alone in her slinky black dress, sipping on her cocktail. The other men in the bar were already eye-fucking her. Parker shoved a hand in his pocket and tightened it into a fist around her engagement ring. He’d watched Lexi for years with his asshole friend Matt, secretly wanting her, unaware how bad his “friend” really was.
Now she was Parker’s, and he was going to hang on to this amazing woman with all he had.
A text message buzzed his phone.
Jared: Status.
Parker: At the bar, waiting to make contact.
Jared: I pulled Winters. He’ll back you up tomorrow.
What the fuck? Colby Winters was a great guy and one of Titan’s best, but bringing him in wasn’t just unnecessary, it was overkill.
Parker: Don’t need backup. Keep him with the other guys on the Bahrain job.
An American tech company had sent one of their programmers to an instructional conference in Bahrain, and now that programmer was missing. Titan had been hired to figure out what the fuck happened, and if it was a kidnap-for-ransom as suspected, they’d been authorized to attempt rescue.
It’d be all hands on deck, which meant Parker needed to get back to HQ as soon as this Meridian hack was over. That was the thing with his job. Bad guys didn’t keep nine-to-five hours, or deal him one project at a time, which was really fucking inconsiderate.
Jared: Was this up for a fucking discussion? Winters is en route, deal with it.
That charming Jared personality, it gets me every time.
Parker pocketed the phone and put eyes on Lexi. She’d turned sideways to the bar, he assumed so she could keep watch on the staircase. As if on cue, Halverson lumbered up the steps, carrying his briefcase and loosening the tie around his neck.
Showtime.
Only, instead of turning into the bar, the guy kept walking.
Every step he took toward the main exit made Parker’s blood pressure leap upward. Shit! He scrambled for ideas, but all he could hear was the warning alarm in his head, and the fact Halverson had posted a picture from this bar every Friday night for the last seventeen weeks.
Parker stood there like a chump with his dick in his hands as Halverson went out the door, taking their best chance of accessing the server room quickly and undetected with him.
This was bad.
A visual check-in with Lexi confirmed everything he was feeling. Panic swam in her eyes, and her expression screamed, “What do we do now?” He retrieved his phone and thumbed a message out to her.
Parker: Hang out where you are. I need a minute.
Lexi: Okay.
Not helpful thoughts ran through his mind like bad code. He was supposed to be smarter than this. He always had contingency plans. But, fuck, he’d been so sure this would work.
They could catch Halverson tomorrow morning on his way in. Lexi could stop him in the atrium, maybe ask him for directions like a lost hotel guest. It was believable. The place was huge. Then, she’d strike up a conversation and keep him in one spot while Parker got what he needed.
It’d be a much bigger challenge, though. Halverson could be in a hurry and brush her off. Parker might freak Halverson if he hovered too close. He factored the probability of pulling it off, and determined it was less than twenty percent.
They’d have to try. There was a one hundred percent chance of him attempting to hack the door keypad if they didn’t.
Lexi: Heads up. He’s back.
By the time Parker looked up, Halverson was making a beeline for Lexi. Relief was short-lived, and Parker worked his jaw. He was about to watch another guy hit on his wife, he could feel it. Illogical possession burned in him, even as he trusted Lexi completely.
“Hey, Clark,” Halverson said to the bartender. “What’s next on the list?”
“A Negroni. It’s gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth.”
“Alright, let’s do it.” Halverson’s attention turned toward Lexi, and he didn’t seem to notice as Parker slipped onto the barstool beside him. Why would he? He was too focused on the beautiful woman drinking alone. Parker kept his gaze forward, but could watch everything through the mirror behind the bar.
As the bartender mixed Halverson’s drink, Parker took out his phone and set it on the polished wood before him. The card reader and his laptop were powered on, but the app on his phone said “No signal found.” He shifted the messenger bag in his lap, getting it as close as possible without looking suspect.
The Negroni was garnished with an orange peel and plunked down in front of Halverson, who immediately snapped a picture with his phone. He didn’t give Lexi a chance to ask, he just started talking.
“Clark here has a list of the top twenty-five cocktails every bartender should know. I’ve been trying them out, a different one each week.” He picked up the drink, examined it for a moment, then took a sip.
“Oh, yeah?” she asked. “And how’s the Negroni?”
Halverson made a face. “Meh. It’s just okay.”
Parker glanced down at his screen, and his eyebrows tugged together. Still nothing? He’d tested it earlier today with this specific bag. Even if the keycard was in Halverson’s pocket on the far side of his body, the reader should have picked up a faint signal. Which meant his card wasn’t broadcasting at all, or . . . it wasn’t on him.
Son of bitch. The briefcase.
Halverson had ditched it in his car, and then come back for his drink. Well, this just kept getting worse. What now? Parker could search records and find out which car was Halverson’s, then hope it was a newer model so he could hack the keyless entry. But that shit took time and a fuck-ton of luck. He shot a message to Lexi.
Parker: No card on him. Keep him talking.
Her gaze fell to her phone, then darted to meet his in the mirror, giving him confirmation she’d try. He was about to get off the stool and take his ass outside when the app abruptly responded. “Source found! Signal strength: weak.”
Another guy clapped a hand on Halverson’s back and flashed a warm smile. He was similar to Halverson in age, but this guy looked like he was trying too hard. Did he have a spray tan?
“Which cocktail is it tonight, Greg?” Spray Tan asked.
“A Negroni.”
“The verdict?”
Lexi eyed the new man. “Your friend named it the world’s okayist drink.”
Parker didn’t have a clue who the douche-y guy was, but there was a keycard broadcasting from somewhere on him. Spray Tan moved to stand on the other side of Lexi, and the signal dropped out completely.
Parker: New guy is new target.
She glanced down at her phone, and he watched relief flit through her. Spray Tan wore a suit, not a uniform, so it seemed likely he worked for Meridian, and not the hotel. Parker sure the fuck hoped so.
“I’m Richard, by the way,” he said.
His name was Dick. Of course it was.
“And I’m Greg,” Halverson chimed in. He looked annoyed his friend had interrupted him, probably wanting Lexi all to himself. Yeah, keep dreaming, pal.
“I’m Lea.” The lie rolled off Lexi’s tongue with confidence. “It’s nice to meet you both. How do you know each other?”
Richard wanted the focus on him. “We work together.”
Bingo. Now all Parker needed to do was get close, and do it organically. If he acted unnatural, it’d cause their mark to act the same way.
“What brings you to the Sycamore?” Halverson said, while Richard ordered a beer.
Lexi picked up her drink and turned, leaning her back against the bar, making it easier for her to talk to both men equally. “Work. What do you guys do?”
“We’re both networking engineers,” Richard said. “We maintain servers and how they communicate with each other.” He used the excuse of grabbing his beer to lean close to her. Too close. “I’m sure that sounds boring as hell to someone like you.”
The guy’s tone was condescending and Parker rubbed his hand over his lips. It’d look like a mindless gesture to anyone else, but he’d done it to hide his scowl. Just because Lexi was a girl, it meant she wasn’t into technology? This idiot didn’t realize he was talking to SilverChaos. She could code circles around this guy. She was so good, she could annihilate him and never leave the ghost of a digital fingerprint.
Destroying someone wasn’t her style, though.
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “It doesn’t sound boring to me. I’m a database programmer.”
“Oh.” Richard’s face blanked as he struggled with how to get his foot out of his mouth.
Parker was still working on a plan to move, when Lexi’s gaze caught his for a split second. Something flashed in her eyes. A warning? What was she trying to tell him? She straightened from the bar, and the drink clasped in her hand collided with Richard’s chest.
Cranberry juice and vodka splashed everywhere. Ice cubes clattered to the floor. A dark stain spread on his white shirt, tinting it pink, and he gasped as the cold seeped in.
“Oh my God!” she cried. “I’m so sorry!” Her empty glass was abandoned on the bar with a thud, and she grabbed at the stack of paper napkins.
“It’s okay.” Although his tone was sharp and said otherwise. His arms were flung out, and he stared down at the damage, before finally taking the offered napkins from Lexi. “You got me good.”
It came out as half of a joke, but was true. She did her part, pretending to be mortified, but Parker knew it had been a calculated move. “I can’t believe I did that,” she said in a rush. “Do you have anything in your pockets? Is your phone okay?”
Dread froze his expression. He stabbed his hands into his pockets and pulled out handfuls of stuff, dumping everything that wasn’t his phone on top of the bar. A pen, his wallet, and a thick, white plastic card.
Parker’s phone leaped to life, and when he set his bag on the wood, the app’s status changed from yellow to green. Hell yeah. Green means go.
He punched the “Record” button.