IT TURNED OUT VIX’S father was more than happy to let us go to that party instead of him. In fact, he’d been thinking of sending someone else for a while but had never gotten around to doing it.

“I’m really glad we don’t have to do anything business-related, just show up there,” I said as I walked out of the bathroom. Theo was busy with something that he was holding, and I assumed it was the tracker. When his eyes lifted to me, his jaw went slack.

“What?” I made my way toward him, swaying my hips more than usual, which wasn’t that hard to do in my black high heels. My red dress was very tight and coming just to above my knees. It also offered a nice view of my cleavage, and Theo seemed to be having a hard time focusing. I was wearing a blonde wig and blue contacts, so when I stopped in front of him, I placed my hand on my hip. “Did the cat get your tongue or what?”

He blinked at me. It was a little weird to see him with light-colored contacts, but damn, he was hot in a white dress shirt and black pants. His tie was a little too loose, so I got hold of it and adjusted it.

“Don’t tell me you prefer me as a blonde,” I finally said, my hand lingering on his chest.

“You always look beautiful, no matter what you put on.” His eyes bored into mine. It would be so easy to incline my head and capture his lips with mine. The way his gaze settled on my mouth made me realize he was thinking the same thing. Too bad I wasn’t supposed to mess up my make-up.

“You can’t keep that,” he suddenly said.

“What?” A frown creased my brow.

“Your piercing.”

“Shit. I forgot.” Vix’s father didn’t allow his employees to have any piercings or tattoos. I hurried to the bathroom, and when I came back, Theo put on his suit jacket and ran a hand through his hair. He glanced across the room at his leather jacket, and a smile spread across my lips.

“Don’t tell me you also have a lucky jacket,” I teased.

“No, it’s just this...” He shrugged his shoulders as if he wasn’t comfortable in a suit.

“You have no idea how perfectly it fits you.” I grinned, letting my gaze travel up and down his body and showing him just how much I liked what I was seeing.

He licked his lips and glanced down at his watch. “We’re going to be late.”

“No, we won’t. Come on.” So many things could go wrong tonight, but for some reason, I felt confident. I had Theo by my side, and even without a weapon, I was sure we could find our way out of trouble.

***

“THIS IS SO WEIRD,” I said as Theo and I walked into a spacious room filled with people. There were multiple tables with food and drinks, and a big dance floor. Some people were sitting at their tables at the other end of the room, while some were chatting and laughing in small circles.

“I know,” he said. My arm was looped through his, and we’d agreed that we’d pretend to be a couple because that would make it easier for us to go together everywhere and not get separated.

Theo now knew more about Vix’s father’s company than I did, since he’d spent the week researching it and learning everything we needed so he could keep up with the conversation if someone approached us, and all I had to do was smile and look pretty. Everyone was wearing expensive dresses and fancy suits, and the waiters were rushing around with tall glasses of champagne. The music was slow and kind of nice, but no one was dancing, probably because it was still too early.

“Do you see him?” I whispered to Theo after I looked around and didn’t see Jerome anywhere. It would be really funny if he didn’t show up, especially since we’d gone to so much trouble to get here.

“Not yet.”

“What are we going to do?” I had a feeling everyone was staring at us, or maybe that was just my impression since I felt a little out of place among all these people. The party was on the top floor, so there was a really nice view of the city.

I let go of Theo and went closer to a huge window while he stopped to talk to some guy. But as I kept glancing around the room, I still couldn’t see Jerome. Was he late or was he not coming at all? Minutes dragged by, and I was already considering downing one of the glasses of champagne, but then Theo offered me his hand.

“Wanna dance?” he asked, and I furrowed my brow.

“In case you didn’t notice, no one’s doing that.”

“So what? It’s better to stand out than make everyone suspicious because you’re trying to stay out of sight.” His lips brushed my ear as he leaned in. “And I can see the whole room from the dance floor, including the elevators.”

“Okay.” At this point, I didn’t even care if Jerome was going to come or not. I placed my hand in Theo’s and let him pull me onto the dance floor. When his arm snaked around my waist and his eyes focused on mine, I forgot that we weren’t alone in the room. As we swayed in rhythm with the music, I wrapped my arms around his neck, just enjoying the sensation of his warm body pressed against mine. We’d never been on a date, and this was almost like one. If Jerome didn’t get here, I supposed we could use this opportunity and have some fun.

Theo’s grip on me tightened, except his gaze wasn’t on me but across the room.

“What is it?” I asked quietly, since I couldn’t stop and turn my head to check.

“He’s here.” Theo’s lips barely moved as he said it. “But we have a problem.”

“What kind of a problem?” Of course, there’d always be something, and since Theo hadn’t started toward Jerome, I assumed it wasn’t possible for him to go talk to Jerome for some reason. What if there was someone with him who could recognize us? What if Jerome had brought Walter here? That seemed very unlikely, but I didn’t know, and Theo wasn’t saying anything.

He twirled me around so suddenly that I almost yelped, then he pulled me toward him, pressing himself against my back. Warmth shot up my body as his hands rested low on my hips, but this was not the time to get distracted, because I was looking straight at Jerome. Two bodyguards were with him, and he was standing near one of the walls.

A man and a woman approached him, and he smiled at them. As they launched into a conversation, I realized why Theo had said we had a problem. There was a camera in the corner right above the spot where Jerome was standing, so if we went closer to talk to him, the camera would very likely catch us planting the tracker on him. Shit.

I turned around in Theo’s embrace, forcing my lips into a bright smile. People were watching us with more interest now, and one couple joined us on the dance floor. “Can we wait for him to move?”

“We don’t have a choice, but he seems intent on staying there,” he mumbled.

I could understand why Jerome wanted to stay there. The window was far enough away, so if someone burst through it or if anything happened, it would be easier for him to escape unscathed. The elevators were only a few steps away too. “Maybe he’ll get thirsty or hungry.”

“That’s not going to help.” Theo spun me around again, and I noticed Jerome waving over one of the waiters, who immediately brought him whatever he wanted. Right. He wasn’t going to move from that corner at all, was he?

When I was facing Theo again, I leaned in, my lips brushing his ear. “Then what are we going to do?”

“I don’t know.” He grabbed onto my thigh, lifting my leg up and tipping me back, and a gasp escaped my throat. My dress slid up a bit as his fingers briefly caressed my skin before he let go. I wasn’t sure if he’d done that because he wanted to or because he thought that would somehow help us get to Jerome, but we were too far away from him to be able to accidentally bump into him.

“He’s on the move,” Theo said, and I glanced to the side and realized Jerome and his guards were going for the elevators. Was he leaving already? Shit. But if we started toward him now, we’d be too late anyway. Theo tugged me closer so our lips were only inches apart, but he was looking toward the elevator.

“Is he leaving?” I whispered, placing my hand on Theo’s cheek.

“We’ll see.”

I lowered my hand down his back and slipped it into the back pocket of his pants, giving him a little squeeze. He jumped, his breath catching.

“Please don’t do that or I...”

I tilted my head at him and gave him a wicked smile.

“The elevator stopped just one floor below. I think he went to one of the offices,” he managed to say, but his voice was a little breathy.

“Do you think we can get there?”

“I don’t know. Let’s find out.” He leaned his forehead against mine, then glanced around, as if he’d just realized everyone was watching us. But if they remembered us only as a couple who had gotten carried away on the dance floor at a business party, then I didn’t see that as an issue. I bit down on my lip, pretending to be embarrassed, and I tugged at Theo’s arm, nodding toward the elevators.

No one would find it strange that we’d decided to go somewhere more private. As soon as we entered the elevator, Theo looked up, and I glanced around for cameras too. There was only one, and it was just above the floor buttons. When the door closed, I grasped Theo’s suit jacket and pulled him toward me. If we wanted to play this right, we had to be convincing. And I really, really wanted to kiss him right now, even if we were in the middle of a dangerous mission.

“I don’t think I can wait until we get to the car,” I said, batting my eyelashes at him. “I want you now.”

The next thing I knew, his lips were on mine, and it was as if a current of electricity zapped through me. I was vaguely aware of him pressing some buttons, and I was sure we’d end up right where Jerome had gone even though Theo had pretended not to look.

My fingers found their way into his hair, and his hands roamed up and down my back. His kiss intensified, his lips pressing against mine with an almost bruising force. The elevator door dinged a moment before it opened, and I took a step back, catching Theo’s tie and pulling him into the hallway with me. It was mostly dark in here, with only a few lights on.

I assumed the offices were here and that they were locked at this hour, but I had no idea where Jerome was. I didn’t see any guards either, which kind of made me happy, because that meant I could keep kissing Theo. This kiss was nothing like the first and only one we’d shared before everything had gone to hell. It wasn’t sweet, or shy, or innocent. I parted his lips with my tongue, seeking his. His hand was on my thigh again, and it was slowly traveling up.

“What the...?” someone said, and we broke apart with a gasp, my lips tingling. I turned my head toward the voice. Jerome and his guards were staring at us.